Intellectual Disability

How has the label of “Mental Retardation” been used to discriminate against people and do you think the term, "Intellectual Disability" would have a different connotation?

Today, under the provisions of IDEA many teachers must be prepared to help students at a variety of different levels including students with disabilities (14). More specifically the “Least Restrictive Environment,” provisions helps students with disabilities to receive time in general education classrooms with their peers (14). To learn more about this provision, special education in general, and to gain the perspective of a general education teacher working with children receiving special education, I spoke with a general education working at an inclusive school (22).

There have been many changes in education over the last twenty seven years, especially in the area of Special Education. There has been constant revisions of the laws both at the government level and at the state levels. With each revision comes new hope for students who have disabilities. Being part of these experiences have helped in leading others through this profession. Through shared visions and inclusive actions by parents, administrators, advocacy groups, and more, students with disabilities continue to gain more chances at opportunities to live very productive lives. These advancements are, in large part, due to people willing to sacrifice time and energy promoting student rights. Going through the different experiences in this field, how situations are handled, continues to change, and for the most part, they change for the better. This could be due to different advocacy agencies campaigning on how the needs of the students come first.

Postsecondary education offers students with intellectual disabilities more than simply the routine of attending class or even learning the content provided through a course. Although both of these elements are significant, there is a bigger picture that concentrates less on which classes these students take and more on the potential outcomes a

Discuss the critieria for diagnosing student with an intellectual disability and why it is so important that criteria is met.

This essay presents research-based instructional strategies commonly used in classrooms for students with intellectual disabilities. Students with intellectual disabilities learn differently and slower than students without intellectual disabilities. They have trouble learning in school and trouble with everyday life skills. However, they can learn and do learn when taught with the best practices, instructional strategies and principles as presented in this essay.

schub said that individuals with a severe intellectual disability can be at increased risk for pain for several reasons such as having comorbid physical disability, medical conditions, receiving treatment for those disabilities and conditions and incurring new injuries because they are at increased risk for injury. Although self report is that gold standard for pain assessment, children with a severe intellectual disability typically unable to provide a self report pain due to their limited verbal ability. It can be also complicated in this patient population because they exhibit typical pain behavior such as grimacing but they are not really experiencing pain.

When I was asked to reflect on my experiences in EDSE 316 and the fieldwork, I had to think long and hard on how I would sum up four months of classes and fieldwork into four pages. I have learned so much about the various disabilities and how it has change the world of special education. I think a better term would be the “endless possibilities of education”. It wasn’t too long ago when children with disabilities would be stuck in a room in the back of school only to be seen in the beginning and end of the school day. They were the ones who rode the other buses and no one really talked about. This class has allowed me to speak of my own family and how special education impacted my life. I have a brother whose whole life was spent in the special education class, and my own sons with speech and learning disabilities who are now receiving special education services. It also allowed me to reflect on my own participation in the special education program in my early elementary years when I was struggling with my own speech disability. This class gave me the chance to see the timeline of special education, from its earliest beginnings to what it is now.

No matter the type of person or disability they have there is always lessons you can learn from them. I have been working with numerous Down syndrome and Fragile X girls and boys for the past few years. I’ve always recognized the hardships my students go through during school and throughout their daily routine, However, reading in depth about how difficult it is for someone who is intellectually disabled to learn/grasp intellectual concepts and to acclimate into adulthood. It brought a new perspective towards the way I look at my students. I have a new level of respect towards my students because no matter how many stumbling blocks my students have to go through they are always eager and excited to learn. I respect my students immensely.

Although estimates vary, research shows that approximately one percent of the world’s population is affected by intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDDs) (Maulik et al., 419). Developmental disabilities refer to a wide range of severe, long term disabilities which affect physical or cognitive functioning; developmental disabilities appear before age twenty two. Intellectual disabilities refer to a specific category of developmental disabilities that “…are categorized by a limited mental capacity and difficulty with adaptive behaviors…” (NIH, 2010). Adaptive behaviors include, “…conceptual skills (e.g., language, money and time concepts), social

A Special Education Team has one thing in common, the best interest of a student to achieve their educational goals. Having the opportunity to speak with two experienced teachers I learned that not everyone teaches in the same way or believes that students learn a certain way, but in the end they have the needs of the students first. Mrs. Peterson’s definition of terminology, their classification and their learning techniques and social skills play a large part in the curricular needs she teaches in her classroom to promote independent learning. Mr. Olson may view the terminology a little different, but still feels students with intellectual disabilities should be independent in their learning and social skills. Students with Intellectual disabilities

this book examines learning disabilities and how students react to the growing recognition that they are different. "...ability to learn to read, write, spell -- dyslexia, to do mathematics-- dyscalculia, and to write-- dysgraphia." (Brinkerhoff, 2004, pg. 17). These differences do not preclude success. these books are written to promote self-acceptance in students with learning disabilities. This focus on normalization of differences would be beneficial in any classroom. Students with disabilities need support on a social and emotional level, not just an IEP for their education needs.

Since the passage of Public Law 94-142 nearly fifty years ago, the field of special education has made great gains in providing individualized education for students with disabilities. Because of the law, researchers, schools, and teachers are able to find the latest advances in providing successful academic and social experiences for all students. However, while there have been great gains in the field, there are many issues that have yet to be addressed. These issues in special education can limit the educational experiences and outcomes for students with disabilities. Many of the issues regarding special education lie in the area of the education of students with moderate and severe disabilities.

This represents to me how diverse and complex those individuals with learning disabilities can be in their capabilities and in the ways that they need support. They can have a learning disability that affects their academic achievement and memory, along with how they process information, and so much more. One student could have a learning disability that affects their achievement with mathematics but not their reading or language abilities, and vice versa. Short-term, long-term, and working memory can also be affected to varying degrees, and this will be different from student to student. One thing that is typical of students with learning disabilities is that they would probably have average to above average intelligence. However, their academic achievement often shows a deficit of a lower level of intelligence, depending on where their difficulties or challenges are within academics. Emotionally and socially, students will also range in their abilities to make and keep friends, might have classroom behavior problems, might have anxiety, but also might have no social and emotional struggles at all. To me, it depends greatly on the support that they receive at home starting out and within the school while they are learning. The more we support these students the less likely they will be to have as many social and emotional issues, along with grow and develop academic skills while being held to

Throughout my years at Lehigh, I have proclaimed that I have a passion to teach, to show students that mathematics is not difficult, and that they are able to understand mathematics. However, when it came to special education students, my philosophy changed, due to their learning disability. I was ignorant to the special education movement of inclusion, because I feared the idea of teaching students who were not “normal”.