Development and

Characteristics
of Learners
Overview of Disabilities

PaTTAN Paraeducator
Training

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Email Your Questions to:

Para@[Link]

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 Technical Difficulties:

Call the V Span Trouble Number:

800-628-0833

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 Paraeducator Development Plan Menu
(to be used in conjunction with Paraeducator’s Personal Development Plan)
Directions: This menu is a tool for you to use as you progress through the Paraeducator Course. Whenever you come
across topics about which you would like more information, place a checkmark next to the topic and indicate in the Notes
column any specifics (for example, in #1 indicate which disability). For each topic checked make an entry in the
Paraeducator Personal Development Plan.
 Topics Notes

[Link] of the Disability

[Link] Strategies

[Link]

[Link] (food issues)

[Link]

[Link] Technology and Adaptive Equipment

[Link] and Mobility

[Link]

[Link] Language

[Link] Strategies

[Link] Collection

[Link] Coaching

[Link] Techniques

14. Confidentiality

[Link] Issues

[Link] Issues

[Link] Issues

[Link] Impairment

19. Early Intervention

20. How to be a “Shadow” in a Child Care Center

21. Basic Educational Terminology

22. Other

23.

24.

25.
 Paraeducator Development Plan
What topics do I
need to know Where can I get the What action steps When will I
more about for my information/training? am I going to take? complete this?
job?

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 Local Policy

Your local district’s policies regarding

paraeducator job descriptions, duties,
and responsibilities provide the final
word!

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 Agenda
 Characteristics of student development
 Identify thirteen (13) disability categories
as listed in IDEA
 Characteristics of the disability
 Issues related to the disability
 Discuss Paraeducator’s role in supporting
students with disabilities

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 Learner Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
 Recognize importance of student development
 Identify thirteen disability categories
 List characteristics of the disability
 Discuss issues related to the disability
 Describe the paraeducator’s role in supporting
students with disabilities

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 Student Support Activity
Look at handout #1

Describe this student

Physical development
Social/emotional skills including
behavior
Cognitive and communication
abilities
Daily living skills
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Developmental Expectations
Children learn naturally

All students grow at their

own developmental pace.
Some students can
experience delays in their
development

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 To teach effectively,
educators must always keep in mind the
dynamics and needs of the group of
students as well as the individual
characteristics and needs of each
student in the group…

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How Children Develop
and Learn

Adults must know what

students are like
developmentally as well
as what makes each
student unique.

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 How Children Develop
and Learn
Child development is the accepted body
of knowledge about how students grow
and learn.

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 How Children Develop
and Learn

There are five areas of development that,

together, give us a picture of the whole student:
physical, social/emotional, self help, cognitive,
and speech and language.

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 The Five Primary
Developmental Areas
Physical development –
the ability to move, see, and hear
Language and speech development -
the ability to talk, express needs
Social and emotional development –
the ability to relate to others
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 The Five Primary
Developmental Areas
Self help
(or adaptive development)
-the ability to eat, dress, and
take care of themselves
Cognitive development
-the ability to think and learn

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How Children Develop
and Learn
These developmental
areas are interrelated –
development in one
area affects other
areas.

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 How Children Develop
and Learn
Understanding the stages of
development gives adults
knowledge of what students
will be like, how they may
react to and use the materials
adults select, and how they
will relate to others.

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 How Children Develop
and Learn
All students bring to school a set of unique
characteristics and experiences that affect
how they respond to school experiences,
relate to others, and learn.

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How Children Develop
and Learn
Effective teachers and
other adults get to know
each student in order to
individualize teaching and
learning

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 Students with Special Needs
Ultimately the goal for students with
disabilities is the same as for students
without disabilities: to access the curriculum
and maximize their potential. This is what
meeting individual needs is all about !

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Child Development and Disabilities

Child development The disability

affects the disability affects student
development

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Student Support Activity

Look at handout #1

Describe the skills and

abilities of the student.

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Introduction to Disability Categories

Need to identify the disability:

 For eligibility
 To better match related services to student
needs
 Match individual development levels with
appropriate support

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Thirteen disability categories
as listed in IDEA
Autism
Deaf-blindness
Deafness
Hearing impairment
Emotional disturbance
Mental retardation
Multiple disabilities
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Thirteen disability categories
as listed in IDEA
Orthopedic impairment
Other health impairment
Specific learning disability
Speech/language impairment
Traumatic brain injury
Visual impairment

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 Disability Categories:
Autism
Autism is a developmental
disorder significantly affecting
verbal and nonverbal
communication. Students with
this disability have difficulties
with communication, behavior,
and social skills.

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 Characteristics of Autism
 Unusual responses to sounds
 Difficulties in understanding speech
 Difficulties when talking
 Poor pronunciation and voice control
 Problems understanding things that are
seen
 Problems in understanding gestures
 The senses of touch, taste, and smell

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 Characteristics of Autism
 Clumsiness in skilled movements
 Aloofness and social withdrawal
 Resistance to change
 Socially embarrassing behavior
 Special fears
 Inability to play
 Special skills

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 Disability Categories:
Autism
What might you do?
provide structure in routine and
classroom environment
prepare students for changes in routine
use very concrete language
make language visual
observe activities and choices

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 Disability Categories:
Deaf-Blindness

Deaf-blindness is the combination of a

visual impairment and a hearing loss.
Educational approaches to address
one of these problems may not be the
best way to help a student learn.

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 Characteristics of
Deaf-Blindness

Visual impairment + hearing loss

Access to information is limited by
sensory abilities
Additional time, direct experience, and
repetition to receive, process, and
respond to interaction and
information needed
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Characteristics of Deaf-
Blindness
Teaching through touch
helps students with
extensive sensory loss
Hand-under-hand is an
essential instructional
strategy

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 Disability Categories:
Deaf-Blindness

What might you do?

Maximize the use of vision and
hearing
Learn successful procedures for
“greeting” each student
Help students orient themselves to
classroom, bathroom, cafeteria,
etc.
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Disability Categories:
Deafness
Deafness is a hearing
loss so severe that the
student cannot get
information through the
sense of hearing, even
with the use of
amplification.

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 Characteristics of Deafness

May exhibit unintelligible or no speech

Possible speech and/or language
delays
Usually use hearing aids
May use assistive listening devices
May use sign language

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 Disability Categories:
Deafness

What might you do?

Help the student learn to operate
their listening device
Meet with interpreter to share
homework, vocabulary

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 Disability Categories:
Deafness

What might you do?

Look at environment for best
seating
Work with others to follow good
communication behavior
Facilitate student learning

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 Disability Categories:
Hearing Impairment

Hearing impairment means an

impairment in hearing, whether
permanent or fluctuating, that
adversely affects a child’s educational
performance. It is not as severe as
deafness.

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 Characteristics of Hearing
Impairment

•May exhibit unintelligible or no

speech
•Possible speech and/or language
delays
•Usually use hearing aids
•May use assistive listening devices
•May use sign language

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 Disability Categories:
Hearing Impairment

What might you do?

Optimize learning environment
Organize their instructional
materials
Communicate clearly
Promote self-advocacy

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 Activity
Look at Handout #3

Consider the disabilities that we have

just discussed: autism, deaf-blind,
deafness, and hearing impairment.
Answer the three questions on the
handout relating to these disability
categories.

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 Disability Categories:
Emotional Disturbance

A condition exhibiting one or more of

the following characteristics which
occur over a period of time, and to a
marked degree, which affect a child’s
ability to learn:

inability to learn which cannot be

explained by intellectual, sensory or
health factors
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 Disability Categories:
Emotional Disturbance

inability to build or maintain

satisfactory interpersonal relationships
with peers and teachers
inappropriate types of behavior or
feelings under normal circumstances

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Disability Categories:
Emotional Disturbance
a general pervasive
mood of unhappiness
or depression
a tendency to develop
physical symptoms or
fears associated with
personal or school
problems

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 Characteristics of Emotional
Disturbance

Hyperactivity (short attention span,

impulsiveness)
Aggression/self-injurious behavior
(acting out, fighting)
Withdrawal (failure to initiate;
retreat)

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 Characteristics of Emotional
Disturbance
Immaturity (inappropriate crying, temper
tantrums, poor coping skills)
Learning difficulties (academically
performing below grade level)

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 Characteristics of Emotional
Disturbance
Students with the most serious
emotional disturbances may exhibit:
distorted thinking
excessive anxiety,
bizarre motor acts
 abnormal mood swings
Some are identified as students who
have a severe psychosis or
schizophrenia.
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 Disability Categories:
Emotional Disturbance
What might you do?
Keep rules short
Check for understanding
Provide verbal cues to students to
remind them to prepare for
changing classes or going home
Give written cues such as
schedules or To Do lists
Remain patient
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 Disability Categories:
Mental Retardation

Students with this disability have

impaired mental development which
adversely affects their educational
performance, and who exhibit impaired
adaptive behavior in learning,
maturation, or social development.

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 Characteristics of Mental
Retardation
Students with mental retardation may:
sit up, crawl, or walk later than other
students
learn to talk later, or have trouble
speaking
find it hard to remember things
not understand how to pay for things

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 Characteristics of Mental
Retardation

have trouble understanding social

rules,
have trouble seeing the
consequences of their actions,
have trouble solving problems,
have trouble thinking logically.
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 Disability Categories:
Mental Retardation

What might you do?

Make instruction and practice more
concrete and personally relevant
by relating them to tasks and
experiences the student
understands
Provide additional practice on skills
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 Disability Categories:
Mental Retardation
What might you do?
Provide social skill instruction
Repeat instructions or activity
descriptions;
 Keep directions simple

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 Disability Categories:
Multiple Disabilities
Students with multiple disabilities is
a student who has several
disabilities together (such as
mental retardation, along with
blindness or orthopedic problems)
that cause a need for many
educational services.

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 Characteristics of
Multiple Disabilities
Students with severe or multiple
disabilities may exhibit a wide range
of characteristics, depending on the
combination and severity of
disabilities, and the person’s age.
There are, however, some traits they
may share, including:

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 Characteristics of Multiple
Disabilities
Limited speech or communication;
Difficulty in basic physical mobility;
Tendency to forget skills through
disuse;
Trouble generalizing skills from one
situation to another; and/or
A need for support in major life
activities (e.g., domestic, leisure,
community use, vocational).
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 Disability Categories:
Multiple Disabilities
What might you do?
Provide physical support in daily
activities such as dressing, feeding,
toileting
Learn positioning techniques
Use safe lifting techniques
Ask for training in specialized areas if
you need it (tube feeding, seizures)
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 Disability Categories:
Orthopedic Impairment

Student with this disability have

skeletal problems which may be
first seen at birth (e.g., clubfoot,
cerebral palsy), may be the result
of disease (e.g., polio), or may be
the result of an accident (e.g.,
amputation).

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 Characteristics of
Orthopedic Impairment

Stiffness
commonly in
Instability the back and
Weakness neck, hip and
Pain pelvis,
shoulder, and
Swelling other areas
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 Disability Categories:
Orthopedic Impairment

What might you do?

Learn to accommodate the
classroom environment
Use assistive devices for writing
skills and communication
Consider inclusion issues

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 Disability Categories:
Other Health Impairment

Students with this disability

have limited or heightened
sensitivities to their
environment, or limited
strength or endurance caused
by health problems like
asthma, diabetes, or epilepsy.

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Characteristics of Other Health
Impairment
Unexplained tiredness
Unusual moodiness
Agitation
Weakness
Pale coloration
Breathing problems
Seizures
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 Disability Categories:
Other Health Impairment
What might you do?
Be sure you know which of your
students has which health problem
Get clear direction on what you
need to do in an emergency
Monitor safety and health

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 Activity
Look at Handout #3 again

Consider the disabilities that we have just

discussed: emotional disturbance, mental
retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic
impairment, and other health impairment.
Answer the three questions on the handout
relating to these disability categories.

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 Disability Categories:
Specific Learning Disability

Learning disability is a general term

that describes specific kinds of learning
problems. A learning disability can
cause a person to have trouble
learning and using certain skills. The
skills most often affected are: reading,
writing, listening, speaking, reasoning,
and doing math.

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 Characteristics of Specific
Learning Disability
Students may have difficulty:
Taking in, remembering, and producing
information
Understanding, connecting and
relating new information
Planning, organizational, study and
problem-solving skills
Social skills and self-esteem
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 Disability Categories:
Specific Learning Disability
What might you do?
Adapt the physical
environment
Provide organizational
changes in areas such
as time, instructional
methods, or materials
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 Disability Categories:
Specific Learning Disability

• What might you do?

Use advance organizers (outlines,
study guides, focus questions) to
structure classroom
Allow more time for assignments,
projects
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 Disability Categories:
Speech/Language Impairment
This is a disability that affects
communication such as
stuttering or not being able to
make certain vocal sounds. It
may also be a language delay
or voice impairment.

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 Characteristics of
Speech/Language Impairment
Speech Disorders:
interruption in flow or rhythm of
speech
problems with the way sounds are
formed
difficulties with the pitch, volume,
or quality of the voice

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 Characteristics of
Speech/Language Impairment

Language Disorders:
improper use of words and their
meanings
inability to express ideas
inappropriate grammatical patterns
reduced vocabulary
inability to follow directions
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 Disability Categories:
Speech/language Impairment

What might you do?

Prepare the class
Adapt the physical environment
Provide many opportunities for
student to interact verbally
With student who stutters, use
nonverbal listening skills
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 Disability Categories:
Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an

injury to the brain caused by the
head being hit by something or
shaken violently. This injury can
change how a person acts, moves,
and thinks. A traumatic brain injury
can also change how a student
learns and acts in school

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 Characteristics of Traumatic
Brain Injury
Students with TBI may have one or
more difficulties, including:
Physical disabilities
Sensory issues
Headaches
Fatigue
Seizures
Paralysis
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 Characteristics of Traumatic
Brain Injury
Difficulties with thinking
Short and long term memory
Concentration
Social, behavioral, or emotional
problems
Mood, emotional Changes
Relating to others

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 Disability Categories:
Traumatic Brain Injury

What might you do?

Provide a structured environment
Shorten homework assignments
Use lots of drill and practice
Break instruction into smaller
amounts of time
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 Disability Categories:
Traumatic Brain Injury

What might you do?

Allow student to keep extra set of
books at home
Be clear on classroom rules &
expectations …repeat them often

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 Disability Categories:
Visual Impairment
Students with this disability are blind
or have low vision.

The terms partially sighted, low

vision, legally blind, and totally blind
are used in the educational context to
describe students with visual
impairments.
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 Characteristics of Visual
Impairment
Students with Visual Impairment:
have little reason to explore
environment, missing opportunities
to learn
Are unable to imitate social behavior
Do not understand nonverbal cues
May have obstacles to independence
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 Disability Categories:
Visual Impairment
What might you do?
Use concrete materials and tactile
aids like relief maps, math
manipulatives, and raised-line
paper for writing
Encourage hands-on learning
Help students “see”, e.g.
incidental learning
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 Disability Categories:
Visual Impairment
What might you do?
Produce modified
materials on a copier,
computer or produce
braille
Expect the student to
actively participate and
be engaged
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 Activity
Look at Handout #3 one more time

Consider the disabilities that we have just

discussed: specific learning disability,
speech/language impairment, traumatic
brain injury, and visual impairment.
Answer the three questions on the
handout relating to these disability
categories.

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Student Support Activity
Look at your Student Support
Activity Handout #1

Using your notes from Handout

#3 complete the section on
ideas for supporting your
student.

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 What have we talked about?
The importance of student development
Thirteen disability categories
Characteristics of the disability
Issues related to the disability
The Paraeducator’s role in supporting
students with disabilities

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 Wrap Up
Please complete the evaluation form
for today’s session.
Using the Paraeducator Development
Plan Menu and Action Plan,
incorporate the topics covered
tonight into your plan.
Sign out

PaTTAN Website – [Link]

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Afterschool Videoconferences:

February 12, 2008– Standard #3

“Individual Learning Differences”
March 18, 2008– Standard #4
“ Instructional Strategies”
April 22, 2008– Standard #5
“Learning Environments and
Social Interactions”
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