Learners with

Additional Needs
Ed106- Foundation of Special and Inclusive
Education
Objectives
• Identify the various additional needs learners might have;
• Differentiate the additional needs from one another;
• Recognize the characteristics of learners with additional needs;
• Discuss what marginalization means
• Identify different marginalized groups
Learners who are Gifted
and Talented
Gifted and Talented Learners
• They are students with higher abilities than average and are often referred to
as gifted students
– Developmentally advanced
– Require special provisions
– Finish tasks ahead of time and might ask for more challenging ones

• Giftedness- students with extraordinary abilities in various academic areas

• Talent- focuses on students with extraordinary abilities in a specific area
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence
Identification
• Locate the student’s domain of giftedness
• Describe the student’s level of giftedness
• Describe the student’s fields of talent
Learning Characteristics
• High level of intellectual curiosity • Excited about learning new
concepts
• Reads actively
• Independence in learning
• High degree of task commitment
• Good comprehension of complex
• Keen power of observation contents
• Highly verbal • Strong, well-developed imagination
• Gets bored easily • Looks for new ways to do things
• Can retain and recall information • Often gives uncommon responses
to common questions
General Education Adaptations
• Enrichment exercises that will allow learners to study the same topic at a
more advanced level
• Acceleration
• Open ended activities with no right or wrong answers
• Leadership roles can be given
• Extensive reading on subjects of their own interests
• Long-term activities
Learners with Difficulty
Seeing
Visually Impaired Learners
• Students exhibit different levels of clarity of eyesight or visual acuity
• Learners with difficulty seeing are those with issues regarding sight that
interfere with academics
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
– An impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational
performance, which includes both partial sight and blindness
Identification
• Learners with difficulty seeing often have physical signs, such as crossed
eyes, squinting, and eyes that turn outwards.
• They can also be clumsy and like to sit near instructional materials
• They may also show poor eye-hand coordination
• Poor academic performance due to difficulty in reading as well as writing
Learning Characteristics
• Good visual ability is crucial in learning
• Learners with difficulty seeing have restricted ways to learn since most
students learn through visual cues
• Other senses are used instead to acquire knowledge
• Due to limited ability to explore the environment, low motivation to discover
is present
General Education Adaptations
• If using books, utilize the use of Braille or audio recorded formats
• Portions of learning materials may be recorded for students to listen
• All words on board should be clearly written
• Students should be seated near the board
• Buddy system
• Provide additional time extensions
Learners with Difficulty
Hearing
Definition
• Refers to students with an issue regarding hearing that interferes with
academics
• IDEA
– An impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a
child’s educational performance but is not included under the definition of “deafness”
– Deafness is considered when hearing loss is above 90 decibels
– A hearing loss below 90 decibels is called hearing impairment

• Main challenge of hearing-impaired students is communication

Identification
• Speaking loudly • Not responding when called
• Positioning ear toward the direction • Has difficulty following directions
of the speaker
• Does not mind loud noises
• Delayed development of speech
• Leaning close to the source of
• Watching the face of the speaker sounds
intently
• Favoring one ear
Learning Characteristics
• Use of hearing aids, combined with lip reading
• Note-taking for those with difficulty in deciphering lip read.
General Education Adaptations
• Assist hearing impaired students to use the residual hearing they have
• Assist students to develop the ability for speech reading
• Be mindful to face class at all times when speaking and presenting information
• Exaggerating pronunciations are not recommended
• Important parts of the lesson should be written on the board. May consider using
images if applicable
• Varied multi-sensory activities is recommended
• Be more patient waiting to hear a response
Learners with Difficulty
Communicating
Definition
• Communication
– The interactive exchange of information, ideas, needs, and desires between among people
(Howard, 2013)
– Used to serve several functions, particularly to narrate, explain, inform, request, and
express feelings and opinions
How is speech different from language?
• Speech • Language
– The expression of language with – Used for communication, a formalized
sounds, or oral production. Speech is code used by a group of people to
produced through precise communicate with one another, that is
physiological and neuromuscular primarily arbitrary.
coordination
– There are five dimensions of language
– Respiration that describe its form
– Phonation – Phonology
– Articulation – Morphology
– Syntax
– Semantics
– Pragmatics
Speech Impairments
• Communication disorders such as stuttering, impaired articulation, and
language or voice impairment.
• Such disorders are significant enough that they can adversely affect a
student’s academic performance
Types of Speech Impairments
• Articulation Disorder • Phonological Disorder
– A child is unable to produce a sound – A child produces multiple patterns of
physically. Severe disorder may render a sound errors with obvious impairment
child’s speech unintelligible. Examples of intelligibility. There is also noted
are substitutions, omissions, distortions, inconsistent articulation of sounds.
and additions of speech sounds
• Example
• Example
– That pie is good.
– I want a blue lollipop
– Cat bye is tood.
– I want a boo wowipop
– Can I get three bananas?
– An I et tee nanas?
• Fluency disorder • Voice disorder
– Difficulties with the rhythm and timing of – Problems with the quality or use of one’s
speech. Stuttering is an example marked by voice resulting from disorders of the
rapid-fire repetitions of consonant or vowel
larynx. Voice may be excessively hoarse,
sounds especially at the beginning of words,
prolongations, hesitations, interjections, and breathy, or too high-pitched
complete verbal blocks
• Example
• Example – Phonation disorder
– Blocks
– Breathiness, hoarsiness
– I want a... banana
– Hypernasality
– Prolongations
– Too much sound resonates from the nose
– I waaaaaant a bbbanana.
– Repetitions – Hyponasality
– I want a ba-ba-ba-banana. – Not enough sound resonating from the nose
Language Disorders
• Involve problems in one or more of the five components of language and are
often classified as expressive or receptive
• Characterized by persistent difficulties in acquiring use of language that
results from deficits in comprehension that include reduced vocabulary,
limited sentence structure, and impairments in discourse, that limit a child’s
functioning
• To diagnose a language disorder, the difficulties must not be due to an
accompanying medical or neurological condition and other developmental
disability
• Expressive Language Disorder
– Interferes with the production of language
– A child may have very limited vocabulary that impacts communication skills or misuses
words and phrases in sentences

• Receptive Language Disorder

– Interferes with the understanding of language
– A child my have difficulty understanding spoken sentences or following the directions a
teacher gives

• Some children may be found to have a combination of both

Identification
• Communication difficulty is oftentimes one of the most common red flag
observed by family members, daycare workers, and early childhood teachers
• To screen children with communication difficulties, early childhood
professionals use questionnaires and developmental checklists to determine
the severity of the delay as compared with typical language development
• Case history and physical examination
– Assessment begins with the case history that provides the specialist the necessary background about the
child’s birth and developmental history, health record, achievement test scores, and adjustment in school
– The specialist examines the mouth, noting irregularities in the tongue, lips, teeth, palate, or other
structures that may affect speech production

• Hearing
– Tested to determine whether an organic hearing problem is the cause of suspected communication
disorder

• Articulation
– Articulation skills are assessed, including identifying speech errors

• Phonological awareness and processing

• Overall language development and vocabulary
• Assessment of language function
• Language samples and observation in natural settings
Learning Characteristics
• Expressive Language Difficulties • Receptive Language Difficulties
– Limited vocabulary – Following oral directions
– Incorrect grammar or syntax – Understanding humor or figurative
– Expressive repetition of information language
– Comprehending compound and
– Difficulty in formulating questions
complex sentences
– Difficulty constructing sentences
– Responding to questions appropriately
General Education Adaptations
• Universal Design for Learning • Practical tips for the Classroom
– Multiple means of presentation, – Provide students with communication
expression, and engagement difficulties the support they need in
order to be successful
– Best implemented in a classroom that
promotes a supportive and respectful
culture, one that acknowledges and
accepts diversity, and allows
accommodations for learners with
difficulties
• Allow children to sit near the teacher and the blackboard
• Get the child’s attention before giving directions
• Use pictures, charts, and other visual aids
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Simplify directions into short steps
• Provide a written copy of directions
• Use gestures
• Use peer-mediated instruction
• Provide extra time
• Model correct language forms and use wait times
• Explicitly teach vocabulary needed in the learning context
Learners with Difficulty
Walking