Intellectual Disability: developmental issues

  Developmental Issues of Intellectual Disability

Potential is not always reached. Negative experiences can influence how people perceive themselves and their ability to reach goals.

Learned Helplessness: Negative experiences can influence how people perceive themselves, their self-esteem and their ability to reach goals- “If at first you don’t succeed, quit!” syndrome

Momentum: The importance of establishing within the student a sense of commitment to take responsibility for their learning; avoid learned helplessness (Bennett, p. 162)

Motivation: directs behaviour toward a goal

Did you know?

An intellectual disability not only affects the child but the whole family too – stress, worry and depression. 7 – 18% of people with intellectual disability have AD/HD 14 – 16% have mental illnesses, e.g. schizophrenia 10% suffer from depression Assessment Rating scales, achievement inventories, personal checklists, and individual administered tests of intelligence can all be used to determine a child’s intellectual and developmental functioning. Medical information relevant to the student’s situation ideally should also be available. It is also most important to include reports by parents, teachers and EAs who know the children and their abilities best. Teachers in the classroom should not wait for the results of formal assessment, but start trying different strategies, based on their own informal assessment of the child’s strengths and needs, to help the child during the assessment waiting period. Privacy regulations must be followed, and student confidentiality maintained at all times. One important factor to consider regarding the assessment of a student: Are the tests results used reliable and valid? Many tests used in Canada may bias against children from lower socio-economic or different cultural groups. This may be one of the reasons there seem to be more children than expected from these groups with ID. www.sujeet.com – “Oh! I forgot to mention that I was born with Down syndrome!”    Inclusion… or not – see previous blogs  Important Considerations ·      Positive attitude: Teachers need to approach students with recognition and acceptance. Students with ID have likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, like all children. Use evaluative and positive feedback. ·      Collaborative approach: It is crucial that both teachers and assistants provide an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding. ·      Instructional scaffolding: to continually encourage remembering. Students will excel with repetition. It is important to offer ‘drill’ and ‘repetition’ of new material in a fun and motivating way (games, puzzles, fun activities). Information, once stored in their long term memory, can be accessed as effectively as any other child can. ·      Use of reciprocal teaching: written material and dialogue involving both teacher and student, will help to discover the meaning of a written passage. Ability to assess low reading levels and accommodate projects with appropriate reading supplies and projects for this ability. ·      Use of technology and a variety of software can be very useful to children with ID. ·      Each program will need to be individualized to each students needs and unique strengths Normalization: People with ID should be seen for their similarities with their peers, not for their differences. They should be allowed to thrive in the larger society, consistent with their age and adaptive ability, as much as possible. Inclusion: Design for Learning/Education for All (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005) supports the principle of inclusion, i.e. keeping all students in the regular classroom as much as possible. It is not possible to lump all special students into one learning environment classification. For some students, a modified school environment may produce better results. Students should be considered on an individual basis, if not, the consequences can be potential disastrous one way or the other. There is no cap on learning! LITERALLY! It just takes longer.