Definition From OSEP & NCDPI – Major Components, Including Incidence and etiology
1.Definition(1) “Speech-Language Impairment” means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation/phonology, a language impairment, or voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Speech-Language Impaired.A pupil who has a speech-language impairment has a disorder in articulation, language, voice, and/or fluency.A speech-language impairment may range in severity from mild to severe.It may be developmental or acquired, and pupils may demonstrate one or any combination of the four parameters listed above Incidence More than 1.4 million students served in the public schools’ special education programs in the 2002-2003 school year were categorized as having a speech or language impairment (//Twenty-sixth Annual Report to Congress//, U.S. Department of Education, 2006). This estimate does not include children who have speech/language problems secondary to other conditions such as deafness. Language disorders may be related to other disabilities such as intellectual disability, learning disability, autism, or cerebral palsy. It is estimated that communication disorders (including speech, language, and hearing disorders) affect one of every 10 people in the United States.
Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. Incidence Information from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that between 2 to 6 per 1,000 children (from 1 in 500 to 1 in 150) have some form of autism/PDD. These disorders are four times more common in boys than in girls, although Rett’s Disorder has only been reported and diagnosed in girls.
Etiology
The causes of autism or PDD are unknown. Currently, researchers are investigating areas such as brain development, structure, genetic factors and biochemical imbalance in the brain as possible causes. These disorders are not caused by psychological factors.
Typical Characteristics of the Disability / Health Issues
Blindness The effect of visual problems on a child's development depends on the severity, type of loss, age at which the condition appears, and overall functioning level of the child. Many children who have multiple disabilities may also have visual impairments resulting in motor, cognitive, and/or social developmental delays.
A young child with visual impairments has little reason to explore interesting objects in the environment and, thus, may miss opportunities to have experiences and to learn. This lack of exploration may continue until learning becomes motivating or until intervention begins.
Because the child cannot see parents or peers, he or she may be unable to imitate social behavior or understand nonverbal cues. Visual handicaps can create obstacles to a growing child's independence.
Deafness
It is useful to know that sound is measured by its loudness or intensity (measured in units called decibels, dB) and its frequency or pitch (measured in units called hertz, Hz). Impairments in hearing can occur in either or both areas, and may exist in only one ear or in both ears. Hearing loss is generally described as slight, mild, moderate, severe, or profound, depending upon how well a person can hear the intensities or frequencies most greatly associated with speech. Generally, only children whose hearing loss is greater than 90 decibels (dB) are considered deaf for the purposes of educational placement. There are four types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing losses are caused by diseases or obstructions in the outer or middle ear (the conduction pathways for sound to reach the inner ear). Conductive hearing losses usually affect all frequencies of hearing evenly and do not result in severe losses. A person with a conductive hearing loss usually is able to use a hearing aid well or can be helped medically or surgically. Sensorineural hearing losses result from damage to the delicate sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the nerves which supply it. These hearing losses can range from mild to profound. They often affect the person's ability to hear certain frequencies more than others. Thus, even with amplification to increase the sound level, a person with a sensorineural hearing loss may perceive distorted sounds, sometimes making the successful use of a hearing aid impossible. A mixed hearing loss refers to a combination of conductive and sensorineural loss and means that a problem occurs in both the outer or middle and the inner ear. A central hearing loss results from damage or impairment to the nerves or nuclei of the central nervous system, either in the pathways to the brain or in the brain itself.
Effects Of The Disability On Development And Learning
Learning disabilities tend to be diagnosed when children reach school age. This is because school focuses on the very things that may be difficult for the child — reading, writing, math, listening, speaking, reasoning. Teachers and parents notice that the child is not learning as expected. problem. There is no one sign that shows a person has a learning disability. Experts look for a noticeable difference between how well a child does in school and how well he or she could do, given his or her intelligence or ability. There are also certain clues that may mean a child has a learning disability. We've listed a few below. Most relate to elementary school tasks, because learning disabilities tend to be identified in elementary school. A child probably won't show all of these signs, or even most of them. However, if a child shows a number of these problems, then parents and the teacher should consider the possibility that the child has a learning disability. When a child has a learning disability, he or she: ·may have trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds; ·may make many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeat and pause often; ·may not understand what he or she reads; ·may have real trouble with spelling; ·may have very messy handwriting or hold a pencil awkwardly; ·may struggle to express ideas in writing; ·may learn language late and have a limited vocabulary; ·may have trouble remembering the sounds that letters make or hearing slight differences between words; ·may have trouble understanding jokes, comic strips, and sarcasm; ·may have trouble following directions; ·may mispronounce words or use a wrong word that sounds similar; ·may have trouble organizing what he or she wants to say or not be able to think of the word he or she needs for writing or conversation; ·may not follow the social rules of conversation, such as taking turns, and may stand too close to the listener; ·may confuse math symbols and misread numbers; ·may not be able to retell a story in order (what happened first, second, third); or ·may not know where to begin a task or how to go on from there.
About 87% of people with intellectual disability will only be a little slower than average in learning new information and skills. When they are children, their limitations may not be obvious. They may not even be diagnosed as having intellectual disability until they get to school. As they become adults, many people with intellectual disability can live independently. Other people may not even consider them as having an intellectual disability. The remaining 13% of people with intellectual disability score below 50 on IQ tests. These people will have more difficulty in school, at home, and in the community. A person with more severe intellectual disability will need more intensive support his or her entire life. Every child with intellectual disability is able to learn, develop, and grow. With help, all children with intellectual disability can live a satisfying life. Many children with an intellectual disability need help with adaptive skills, which are skills needed to live, work, and play in the community. Teachers and parents can help a child work on these skills at both school and home. Some of these skills include: ·communicating with others; ·taking care of personal needs (dressing, bathing, going to the bathroom); ·health and safety; ·home living (helping to set the table, cleaning the house, or cooking dinner); ·social skills (manners, knowing the rules of conversation, getting along in a group, playing a game); ·reading, writing, and basic math; and ·as they get older, skills that will help them in the workplace.
Common Communication and/or Behavior Issues & Needs
The educational programs for children with an emotional disturbance need to include attention to providing emotional and behavioral support as well as helping them to master academics, develop social skills, and increase self-awareness, self-control, and self-esteem.
This is a catch-all phrase that can include a multitude of health issues with impacts that range from the ability to attend school to behavior in school itself. The best way to assess behavior and communication needs is to look at the definition and how the child qualified for services. The deficits specified should reflect behavior and comminication issues related to the disability.
Referral characteristics for the student with an other health impairment (OHI) do not fall into specific intellectual, academic, behavioral, language or physical categories. Indicators of an other health impairment may or may not be observable. The following conditions may indicate the presence of an OHI: (1) a long period of absence due to a chronic or acute health problem; (2) an inability to attend to task for the same length of time as peers due to a chronic or acute health problem; (3) an inability to attend to task as a result of medication being taken for a chronic or acute health problem; and/or (4) an inability to attend school for more than a few hours per day due to limited strength or vitality. In addition, the primary features of students with ADD include developmentally inappropriate degrees of inattention, impulsivity and overactivity.
*OSEP – Office of Special Education Programs (Federal)
*NCDPI – North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (State)
Blind/Vision
(mild/moderate)
Linguistically Diverse (CLD)
1. Definition (1) “Speech-Language Impairment” means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation/phonology, a language impairment, or voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
Speech-Language Impaired. A pupil who has a speech-language impairment has a disorder in articulation, language, voice, and/or fluency. A speech-language impairment may range in severity from mild to severe. It may be developmental or acquired, and pupils may demonstrate one or any combination of the four parameters listed above
Incidence
More than 1.4 million students served in the public schools’ special education programs in the 2002-2003 school year were categorized as having a speech or language impairment (//Twenty-sixth Annual Report to Congress//, U.S. Department of Education, 2006). This estimate does not include children who have speech/language problems secondary to other conditions such as deafness. Language disorders may be related to other disabilities such as intellectual disability, learning disability, autism, or cerebral palsy. It is estimated that communication disorders (including speech, language, and hearing disorders) affect one of every 10 people in the United States.
Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.
Incidence
Information from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that between 2 to 6 per 1,000 children (from 1 in 500 to 1 in 150) have some form of autism/PDD. These disorders are four times more common in boys than in girls, although Rett’s Disorder has only been reported and diagnosed in girls.
Etiology
The causes of autism or PDD are unknown. Currently, researchers are investigating areas such as brain development, structure, genetic factors and biochemical imbalance in the brain as possible causes. These disorders are not caused by psychological factors.
Health Issues
The effect of visual problems on a child's development depends on the severity, type of loss, age at which the condition appears, and overall functioning level of the child. Many children who have multiple disabilities may also have visual impairments resulting in motor, cognitive, and/or social developmental delays.
A young child with visual impairments has little reason to explore interesting objects in the environment and, thus, may miss opportunities to have experiences and to learn. This lack of exploration may continue until learning becomes motivating or until intervention begins.
Because the child cannot see parents or peers, he or she may be unable to imitate social behavior or understand nonverbal cues. Visual handicaps can create obstacles to a growing child's independence.
Deafness
It is useful to know that sound is measured by its loudness or intensity (measured in units called decibels, dB) and its frequency or pitch (measured in units called hertz, Hz). Impairments in hearing can occur in either or both areas, and may exist in only one ear or in both ears. Hearing loss is generally described as slight, mild, moderate, severe, or profound, depending upon how well a person can hear the intensities or frequencies most greatly associated with speech. Generally, only children whose hearing loss is greater than 90 decibels (dB) are considered deaf for the purposes of educational placement.
There are four types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing losses are caused by diseases or obstructions in the outer or middle ear (the conduction pathways for sound to reach the inner ear). Conductive hearing losses usually affect all frequencies of hearing evenly and do not result in severe losses. A person with a conductive hearing loss usually is able to use a hearing aid well or can be helped medically or surgically.
Sensorineural hearing losses result from damage to the delicate sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the nerves which supply it. These hearing losses can range from mild to profound. They often affect the person's ability to hear certain frequencies more than others. Thus, even with amplification to increase the sound level, a person with a sensorineural hearing loss may perceive distorted sounds, sometimes making the successful use of a hearing aid impossible.
A mixed hearing loss refers to a combination of conductive and sensorineural loss and means that a problem occurs in both the outer or middle and the inner ear. A central hearing loss results from damage or impairment to the nerves or nuclei of the central nervous system, either in the pathways to the brain or in the brain itself.
Learning disabilities tend to be diagnosed when children reach school age. This is because school focuses on the very things that may be difficult for the child — reading, writing, math, listening, speaking, reasoning. Teachers and parents notice that the child is not learning as expected. problem.
There is no one sign that shows a person has a learning disability. Experts look for a noticeable difference between how well a child does in school and how well he or she could do, given his or her intelligence or ability. There are also certain clues that may mean a child has a learning disability. We've listed a few below. Most relate to elementary school tasks, because learning disabilities tend to be identified in elementary school. A child probably won't show all of these signs, or even most of them. However, if a child shows a number of these problems, then parents and the teacher should consider the possibility that the child has a learning disability.
When a child has a learning disability, he or she:
· may have trouble learning the alphabet, rhyming words, or connecting letters to their sounds;
· may make many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeat and pause often;
· may not understand what he or she reads;
· may have real trouble with spelling;
· may have very messy handwriting or hold a pencil awkwardly;
· may struggle to express ideas in writing;
· may learn language late and have a limited vocabulary;
· may have trouble remembering the sounds that letters make or hearing slight differences between words;
· may have trouble understanding jokes, comic strips, and sarcasm;
· may have trouble following directions;
· may mispronounce words or use a wrong word that sounds similar;
· may have trouble organizing what he or she wants to say or not be able to think of the word he or she needs for writing or conversation;
· may not follow the social rules of conversation, such as taking turns, and may stand too close to the listener;
· may confuse math symbols and misread numbers;
· may not be able to retell a story in order (what happened first, second, third); or
· may not know where to begin a task or how to go on from there.
About 87% of people with intellectual disability will only be a little slower than average in learning new information and skills. When they are children, their limitations may not be obvious. They may not even be diagnosed as having intellectual disability until they get to school. As they become adults, many people with intellectual disability can live independently. Other people may not even consider them as having an intellectual disability.
The remaining 13% of people with intellectual disability score below 50 on IQ tests. These people will have more difficulty in school, at home, and in the community. A person with more severe intellectual disability will need more intensive support his or her entire life. Every child with intellectual disability is able to learn, develop, and grow. With help, all children with intellectual disability can live a satisfying life.
Many children with an intellectual disability need help with adaptive skills, which are skills needed to live, work, and play in the community. Teachers and parents can help a child work on these skills at both school and home. Some of these skills include:
· communicating with others;
· taking care of personal needs (dressing, bathing, going to the bathroom);
· health and safety;
· home living (helping to set the table, cleaning the house, or cooking dinner);
· social skills (manners, knowing the rules of conversation, getting along in a group, playing a game);
· reading, writing, and basic math; and
· as they get older, skills that will help them in the workplace.
The educational programs for children with an emotional disturbance need to include attention to providing emotional and behavioral support as well as helping them to master academics, develop social skills, and increase self-awareness, self-control, and self-esteem.
This is a catch-all phrase that can include a multitude of health issues with impacts that range from the ability to attend school to behavior in school itself. The best way to assess behavior and communication needs is to look at the definition and how the child qualified for services. The deficits specified should reflect behavior and comminication issues related to the disability.
Referral characteristics for the student with an other health impairment (OHI) do not fall
into specific intellectual, academic, behavioral, language or physical categories.
Indicators of an other health impairment may or may not be observable. The following
conditions may indicate the presence of an OHI: (1) a long period of absence due to a
chronic or acute health problem; (2) an inability to attend to task for the same length of
time as peers due to a chronic or acute health problem; (3) an inability to attend to task
as a result of medication being taken for a chronic or acute health problem; and/or (4)
an inability to attend school for more than a few hours per day due to limited strength or
vitality. In addition, the primary features of students with ADD include developmentally
inappropriate degrees of inattention, impulsivity and overactivity.
*OSEP – Office of Special Education Programs (Federal)
*NCDPI – North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (State)