Understanding Disability Categories

As part of the IEP team, general education teachers and special education teachers must possess an understanding of the eligibility categories used to determine whether a student is eligible to receive special education services. General education teachers and special education teachers must collaborate and communicate in a professional and articulate manner with school psychologists, related service providers, administrators, colleagues, and families when determining eligibility for special education services and providing a rationale to support the need for delivery of services.
Part 1: Disability Comparison Template
Using thetopic Resources and your research, complete the “Disability Comparison Template,”which includes a Part 1 chart focused on IDEA disability categories and the Part 2 chart focused on common, specific learning disabilities. Follow the example provided in the “Autism” row in the template. Document the specific resources used to complete the assignment on the “References” page of the template.
Part 2:Videos
To gain a greater understanding of the challenges faced by students with disabilities, particularly those with dyslexia, explorethe videos from“Through Your Child’s Eyes” as directed as part of the topic assignment.View the videos related to each category below. Focus on the grade level of your choice.
Reading Challenges
Math Challenges
Writing Challenges
Attention Challenges
Organization Challenges
Be prepared to discuss what thevideos taught you about how to recognize some of the typical signs of dyslexia and how dyslexia can affect other areas of learning and life, not just reading.
Part 3: Reflection
In 250-500 words, consider that you learned from researching, completing the matrix, andviewing the videosby discussing the following.
Explain why it is important for teachers to be able to identify developmental and individual differences and recognize some of the typical signs of various disabilities when interacting with students.
Describe how you can use what yousaw in the videosto help you better articulate the challenges faced by students with disabilities to those who are non-disabled. Include discussion of howwhat you observed in the videoscan be used to help you collaborate and seek best practices for working with students with a wide range of disabilities.
Discuss how having a basic understanding of the ways various disabilities affect learning and other areas of a student’s life can assist teachers in responding to the needs of individuals with disabilities.
Support the assignment with a minimum of three scholarly resources.
Submit the completed “Disability Comparison Template” and the written reflection to the instructor.
https://www.understood.org/en/articles/through-your-childs-eyes
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ATTACHED FILE(S)
Disability Comparison Template
Part 1:
For this section of the template, focus on gathering details about the IDEA disability categories. Review the textbook and the topic study materials and use them to complete the chart. Note that “Autism” has been completed for you as an example.

Disability Category

Definition

Characteristics

Causes

Prevalence

Potential Effect on Learning

Autism

Autism is a developmental disability that affects communication (verbal and nonverbal) and social skills.

-Difficulty communicating and interpreting motives and cues of others
-Not comfortable with change
-Poor social skills
-May engage in the same activity over and over (SARRC, n.d.)

The causes of Autism are not clear, but has something to do with brain development before birth

Autism is one of the fastest growing disabilities. Prevalence has changed to 1 in 68 children in U.S. (Autism Society, 2016, para. 2)

Difficulty with written expression. Reading comprehension, math problem solving, fine and gross motor skills may also be affected, over and under selective attention

Deaf-Blind

Deafness

Developmental Delay

Emotional Disturbance

Hearing Impairment

Intellectual Disability

Multiple Disabilities

Orthopedic Impairment

Other Health Impairment

Specific Learning Disability

Speech or Language Impairment

Traumatic Brain Injury

Visual Impairment Including Blindness

Part 2:
For this section of the template, focus on gathering details about common, specific learning disabilities. These disabilities fall under the IDEA disability categories you researched for the chart above. Review the textbook and the topic study materials and use them to complete the chart.

Learning Disability

Definition

Characteristics

Common Assessments for Diagnosis

Potential Effect on Learning and Other Areas of Life

Basic Strategies for Addressing the Disability

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Dyscalculia

Dysgraphia

Dyslexia

Dysphasia/Aphasia

Dyspraxia

Language Processing Disorder (LPD)

Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities

Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit

References
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