1)Explain the meaning of the term disability in comparison to handicap and

inability? A disability is an inability to do something, while handicap is a

disadvantage imposed on an individual. Not every inability to do something is a
disability. For example, most six-month-old infants cannot walk or talk, which is not
considered a disability because their inability is age-appropriate. However, if that
inability extends well past the time that most children learn to walk and talk, then we
consider their inability a disability.
2)Define exceptional learners in education and explain different categories of
disabilities?
Exceptional learners are those who require special education to reach their full
potential. Some categories of disability are considered high-incidence because they
are found relatively frequently, while some are considered low-incidence because they
occur relatively rarely.
3)Define special education and explain how and where it may be provided?
Special education means specially designed instruction that meets the unusual needs
of an exceptional student. It may include special materials, teaching techniques, or
equipment and/or facilities.
4)Explain how professional define intellectual disabilities and why they now use
the term intellectual disability instead of mental retardation?
The term intellectual disabilities is now used by many to refer to persons who were in
the past referred to as mentally retarded. The switch from mental retardation to
intellectual disabilities is primarily due to the fact that mental retardation, especially
its shortened term retard, has become an insult.
5)What is the most common classification of intellectual disabilities? Discuss the
selection of the most appropriate educational program depending on the degree
of the learners intellectual disability?
Most school systems use the following classification of intellectual disabilities: mild
(IQ of about 50 to 70), moderate (IQ of about 35 to 50), severe (IQ of about 20 to
35), and profound (IQ below about 20). Major areas of problems for people with
intellectual disabilities are attention, memory, language, self-regulation, motivation
and social development. The focus of educational programs varies according to the
degree of the students intellectual disability or how much support the student
requires. For example, the lesser the degree of intellectual disability, the more the
teacher emphasizes academic skills; the greater the degree of intellectual disability,
the more stress there is on self-help, community living, and vocational skills.
6)Define learning disabilities?
Learning disabilities is a general term that refers to a group of disorders manifested by
significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading,
writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities.
7)Discuss the instructional approaches appropriate for students with learning
disabilities?
There are four major instructional approaches appropriate for students with learning
disabilities: cognitive training, content enhancement, direct instruction and peer
tutoring.
8)Define ADHD and explain the possible causes of the condition?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition characterized by severe
problems of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. It also involves problems in
adaptive behavior, relationship with peers, and substance abuse problems. Learning
disabilities and emotional-behavioral problems often co-exist with ADHD.
9)Define emotional and behavioral disorders and explain the terms
externalizing/internalizing behavior and comorbidity?
The term emotional or behavioral disorder refers to behavior that goes to an extreme,
a problem that is chronic, and behavior that is unacceptable because of social or
cultural expectations.Researchers have identified two pervasive dimensions of
disordered behavior: externalizing (aggressive behavior toward others) and
internalizing (anxious, withdrawn behavior and depression).
10)Discuss the needs of students with emotional and behavioral disabilities with
regard to education and additional services?
Children and youths with emotional or behavioral disorders tend to have multiple and
complex needs. In addition to their problems in school, they typically have family
problems and a variety of difficulties in the community (e.g. illegal activities,
substance abuse, etc.). Thus, they might need, in addition to special education, a
variety of family-oriented services, psychotherapy or counseling , training related to
employment, and so on. Integrating these services into a more coordinated and
effective system is very important.
11)What are speech disorders and what disabilities do they include?
Speech disorders are impairments in the production and use of oral language. They
include the following disabilities:
- Phonological disorders problems in understanding the sound system of
language
- Articulation disorders problems in producing correct speech sounds
- Voice disorders problems in producing voice with appropriate pitch,
loudness, or quality
- Fluency disorders problems in maintaining speech flow (stuttering is the
most frequent type of fluency disorders)
- Motor-speech disorders problems in speaking due to neuromotor damage,
including dysarthria (problems in controlling the production of speech sounds)
and apraxia (problems in planning and coordinating speech).
12)What are language disorders and what types of language disorders are there?
Language disorders include problems in comprehension and expression. The
problems may involve the form (phonology, morphology, syntax), content
(semantics), or use of language (pragmatics). Language disorders may be primary or
secondary. A primary language disorder has no known cause. A secondary
language disorder is caused by another condition, such as intellectual disability,
hearing impairment, autism, cerebral palsy, or traumatic brain injury.
13)Define the terms deaf and hard-of-hearing from an educational viewpoint.
How is deafness classified with regard to the age of onset?
From an educational viewpoint, individuals are classified as: deaf if they are unable to
process linguistic information with or without a hearing aid, and hard of hearing if
they are able to process linguistic information with the help of a hearing aid.
congenitally deaf (those who are born deaf) and adventitiously deaf (those who
become deaf at some time after their birth). Two other frequently used terms are:
prelingual deafness deafness that occurs at birth or early in life before speech and
language develop, and postlingual deafness deafness that occurs after the
development of speech and language.
14)How is hearing impairment identified? Explain the meaning of total
communication approach?
In identifying hearing impairments there are four general types of tests: screening
tests, pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and specialized tests for very
young children. Screening tests for infants often measure otoacustic emissions. Pure-
tone audiometry assesses decibel (intensity) and herz (frequency) levels. Speech
audiometry assesses the ability to detect and understand speech. Specialized tests for
young children include a number of different techniques, like play audiometry (using
a game-like format to test hearing), or evoked-response audiometry (which
measures changes in brain wave activity using an electroencephalograph EEG).
Most educational programs use a total communication approach which includes
both oral and manual methods.
15)Define the terms blindness and low vision from an educational viewpoint and
name some of the visual problems in adults and children?
According to the educational definition, blindness is needing to use braille or aural
methods, and low vision is being able to read print (enlarged or magnified).The most
common visual problems (myopia - nearsightedness, hyperopia farsightedness and
astigmatism - blurred vision) are the result of errors of refraction.
16)Define autism spectrum disorders. What are the characteristics of autism and
Asperger syndrome?
Autism Spectrum Disorders involve problems with communication skills, social
interactions, and repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior. Autism is
characterized by extreme social withdrawal and impairment in communication. It is
usually evident before the age of three.Asperger syndrome is a milder form of autism
without significant impairments in language and cognition. However, it involves
problems in the other areas, especially social interaction.
17)Explain why scientists believe that the causes of autism spectrum disorders
are neurological and hereditary?
Scientists have established that the causes may be neurological and genetic. That
autism spectrum disorders have a neurological basis is suggested by the fact that
people with autism have a high incidence of brain seizures and cognitive deficits.
Also, studies indicate that brains and heads of young children with autism tend to
grow suddenly and excessively in the first two years of life and then taper off to be
about normal in size by adolescence. Scientific evidence for autism having a
hereditary component is very strong. Studies have shown that when one family
member is diagnosed with autism, the chances are 50 to 200 times higher that another
family member also has autism than in the population as a whole.
18)What is TBI and what are its possible effects?
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is brain damage caused by trauma after a period of
normal neurological development. TBI can result from two categories of injury: open
or closed. The possible effects of TBI include a long list of learning and psychosocial
problems, such as: problems remembering things, problems learning new information,
speech and/or language problems, inappropriate manners, unreasonable fear or
anxiety, sudden swings of mood, depression, aggression, etc.
19)Define deaf-blindness and discuss the appropriate educational principles and
needs of students who are deaf-blind?
Deaf-blindness is defined by significant impairments in both hearing and seeing,
although the individual may have some residual hearing or sight. Causes of deaf-
blindness can be grouped into three categories: (1) genetic/chromosomal syndromes,
(2) prenatal causes, and (3) postnatal causes. The major educational needs of students
who are deaf-blind are communication and orientation and mobility. Both, but
especially communication are required for social interaction.
20)Explain physical disabilities, their characteristics and categories?
Physical disabilities are physical limitations or health problems that interfere with
school attendance or learning to such an extent that special services, training,
equipment, materials, or facilities are required. Children with physical disabilities may
have congenital anomalies (defects they are born with), or they may acquire
disabilities through accident or disease after birth. Some physical disabilities are mild
and transitory; others are profound and progressive (muscular dystrophy). Some are
chronic diseases (cerebral palsy), while some are episodic (epilepsy). Major
categories of physical disabilities are neuromotor impairments, orthopedic or
musculoskeletal disorders, and other conditions that affect health and physical
abilities.
21)Define three different kinds of giftedness and discuss the most appropriate
educational plans for gifted students?
There may be different kinds of giftedness, such as analytic, synthetic and practical.
Analytic giftedness involves being able to take a problem apart, which is a skill
typically measured by conventional intelligence tests. Synthetic giftedness involves
intuition, creativity, or adeptness at coping with novel situations, skills that are
typically associated with high achievement in the arts and sciences. Practical
giftedness involves applying analytic and synthetic abilities to the solution of
everyday problems, the kinds of skills that characterize people who have successful
careers. The plans for educating students with special gifts and talents include
enrichment (additional experiences provided to students without placing them in a
higher grade) or acceleration (placing the students ahead of their age peers).
22)Explain the meaning of the terms normalization and full inclusion. (U14)
Normalization means that every individual, even the most disabled, should have an
educational and living environment as close to normal as possible. The most
controversial issue about integrating students with disabilities into school is that of
full inclusion whereby all students with disabilities are placed in their neighborhood
schools in general education classrooms.
23)What is IDEA and what are some of its principles?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that every school
system must provide a free appropriate public education for every child between the
ages of three and twenty-one, regardless of how or how seriously he or she may be
disabled. IDEA also states that schools place students with disabilities in the least
restrictive environment. Furthermore, IDEA urges educators to consider the use of
assistive technology in servicing students with disabilities, to allow a greater
diversity of students to be placed in typical classrooms.
24)Name some job opportunities in special education. What are the
responsibilities of special education teachers and what is IEP?
Special education teachers work with children and youths who have a variety of
disabilities. A small number of special education teachers work with students with
severe cognitive, emotional, or physical disabilities, primarily teaching them life skills
and basic literacy. However, the majority of special education teachers work with
children with mild to moderate disabilities, using or modifying the general education
curriculum to meet the child's individual needs. Most special education teachers
instruct students at the preschool, elementary, and secondary school level, although
some work with infants and toddlers. Early identification of a child with special needs
is an important part of a special education teacher's job, because early intervention is
essential in educating children with disabilities. Special education teachers help to
develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student receiving special
education. The IEP sets personalized goals for the student and is tailored to that
student's individual needs and abilities. When appropriate, the program includes a
transition plan outlining specific steps to prepare students for high school or, in the
case of older students, a job or postsecondary study. Preparing special education
students for daily life after graduation also is an important aspect of the job. Teachers
provide students with career counseling or help them learn life skills.