Special Education has evolved throughout 20th century. We no longer see children and adults with disabilities as being retarded. Many curriculum guidelines have taken out the term, retardation, and made it impossible for doctors to institutionalize children with disabilities. Here are just 10 childhood disabilities that are prevalent in our school systems.
1. Learning Disability:
The disorder affects the brain’s ability to receive and process information. A learning disability thus is not a problem with intelligence. Individuals with learning disabilities see, hear and understand things differently.
Example: Dyslexia
2. Gifted:
There is no definition for giftedness. Many see children who are gifted as talented and creative. They have a wide range of abilities that are both academic and leisurely. There is also a well-developed attention span, deep curiosity and the ability to grasp, retain and synthesize information.
3. Language Delay:
This is a failure to develop language abilities on the usual evolving timetable. A person with language delay experiences a postponement in the development of the underlying knowledge of language.
4. Pervasive Developmental Disorder:
This is a severe disorder that strikes to 10 to 15 out of 10,000 children. The disorder affects intellectual skills; responses to sights, sounds, smells and other senses as well as the ability to understand language or to talk. Children with PDD may undertake strange postures or perform unusual movements.
Example: Autism
5. Seasonal Affective Disorders:
Children may appear depressive during winter and summer and active during the fall and spring. These mood changes are usually due to seasonal changes and the inability to adjust to the variations.
6. Developmental Disorders:
This disorder occurs at a specific stage in a child’s development, often delaying the development.
Example: Downe Syndrome
7. Behavioural Exceptionalities:
Mental health professionals view behavioural exceptionalities from environmental, psychodynamic and psychosocial perspectives. The disorder represents students with behavioural and/or emotional issues.
Example: Adjustment Disorder
8. Neurological Disorder:
This is a disorder of the body’s nervous system. Despite misconceptions, they are not just abnormalities in the brain. Neurological disorders can be pinpointed in the spinal cord and the nerves as well.
Example: Tourette’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy
9. Deaf/Hard of Hearing:
This is a disorder that affects someone’s hearing. The ability to detect certain frequencies of sound is completely or partially reduced.
10. Blind:
This is a condition caused by physiological and neurological factors. Children who are blind may have vision loss. They have a visual acuity less than 20/60.
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