Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderADD and ADHD are neurological conditions affecting both learning and behavior. They result from chronic disturbances in the areas of the brain that regulate attention, impulse control, and the executive functions, which control cognitive tasks, motor activity, and social interactions. Hyperactivity may or may not be present. Treatable, but not curable, ADD
and/or ADHD affects three to six percent of the population. Show
Blindness/Low VisionThe following terms are used in an educational context to describe students with visual disabilities:
Brain InjuriesBrain injury may occur in many ways. Traumatic brain injury typically results from accidents; however, insufficient oxygen, stroke, poisoning, or infection may also cause brain injury. Brain injury is one of the fastest growing types of disabilities, especially in the age range of 15 to 28 years. Highly individual; brain injuries can affect students very differently. Depending on the area(s) of the brain affected by the injury, a student may demonstrate difficulties with:
Deaf/Hard of HearingStudents who are deaf or hard of hearing require different accommodations depending on several factors, including the degree of hearing loss, the age of onset, and the type of language or communication system they use. They may use a variety of communication methods, including lip reading, cued speech, signed English and/or American Sign Language.
Students who are deaf communicate in different ways depending on several factors: amount of residual hearing, type of deafness, language skills, age at onset of deafness, speech abilities, speech reading skills, personality, intelligence, family environment and educational background. Some are more easily understood than others. Some use speech only or a combination of sign language, finger spelling, and speech, writing, body language and facial expression. Students who are deaf use many ways to convey an idea to other people. The key is to find out which combination of techniques works best with each student. The important thing is not how you exchange ideas or feelings, but that you communicate.
Adapted from: Communicating with a Student who is Deaf, Seattle Community College; Regional Education Center for Deaf Students. An Online Orientation to serving students who are deaf or hard of hearing is available through the Postsecondary Education Programs Network website. The training takes about one hour and upon completion, participants may download and print a certificate issued by PEPNet. Learning DisabilitiesLearning disabilities are neurologically-based and may interfere with the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical skills. They affect the manner in which individuals with average or above-average intellectual abilities process and/or express information. A learning disability may be characterized by a marked discrepancy between intellectual potential and academic achievement resulting from difficulties with processing information. The effects may change depending upon the learning demands and environments and may manifest in a single academic area or impact performance across a variety of subject areas and disciplines.
Instructors who use a variety of instructional modes will enhance learning for students with learning disabilities. A multi-sensory approach to teaching will increase the ability of students with different functioning learning channels—auditory, visual and/or haptic (hands-on)—to benefit from instruction.
Medical DisabilitiesOther disabilities include conditions affecting one or more of the body’s systems. These include respiratory, immunological, neurological, and circulatory systems.
Similar to those for other disabilities, depending upon the student’s particular condition, and may include:
Physical DisabilitiesA variety of physical disabilities result from congenital conditions, accidents, or progressive neuromuscular diseases. These disabilities may include conditions such as spinal cord injury (paraplegia or quadriplegia), cerebral palsy, spina bifida, amputation, muscular dystrophy, cardiac conditions, cystic fibrosis, paralysis, polio/post-polio, and stroke. Are highly individual; the same diagnosis can affect students very differently.
Psychiatric DisabilitiesPsychiatric disabilities refer to a wide range of behavioral and/or psychological problems characterized by anxiety, mood swings, depression, and/or a compromised assessment of reality. These behaviors persist over time; they are not in response to a particular event. Although many individuals with psychiatric disabilities are stabilized using medications and/or psychotherapy, their behavior and effect may still cycle.
Speech and Language DisabilitiesSpeech and language disabilities may result from hearing loss, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, and/or physical conditions. There may be a range of difficulties from problems with articulation or voice strength to complete absence of voice. Included are difficulties in projection, fluency problems, such as stuttering and stammering, and in articulating particular words or terms.
Which one of the following is the most accurate statement about group differences among students?Which one of the following is the most accurate statement about group differences among students? The average for two groups may be different, but variability within each group keeps us from predicting individual performance.
Which one of the following examples best describes differences between students with a mastery orientation and students with learned helplessness?Which one of the following alternatives best describes the differences between people with a mastery orientation and those with learned helplessness? People with a mastery orientation set high goals and seek challenges. People with learned helplessness underestimate their ability and set low goals.
Which one of the following conditions do Piaget Vygotsky and information processing theorists agree is essential for students cognitive development?Which one of the following to Piaget and Vygotsky agree is essential for children's cognitive development? An environment or situation that presents a cognitive challenge. Vygotsky proposed that thought and language are: Largely independent before age two but closely connected thereafter.
Which one of the following statements most accurately describes behaviorists view of how learning can be best studied?Which one of the following statements most accurately describes behaviorists view of how learning can best be studied? The study of learning will be more objective and scientific if only observable events are considered.
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