Physical Disabilities
IDEA Definition(s):
Orthopedic impairment:
A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).
Other health impairment:
Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that--
(i) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and
(ii) Adversely affects a child's educational performance.
Traumatic brain injury:
An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Traumatic brain injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. Traumatic brain injury does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by a congenital anomaly, impairments caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy, amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).
Other health impairment:
Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that--
(i) Is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette syndrome; and
(ii) Adversely affects a child's educational performance.
Traumatic brain injury:
An acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Traumatic brain injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. Traumatic brain injury does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.
Characteristics:
Cerebral Palsy
Students with CP may:
Symptoms include:
Asthma
Symptoms include:
Muscular Dystrophy
Sickle-cell Disease
Treatments
Spina Bifida
There are 2 types of SB
Spina Bifida Occulta (milder of the two)
Diabetes
Symptoms of High blood sugar:
Traumatic Brains Injury
Symptoms of TBI:
Physical Changes
Cognitive (thinking) Changes
Behavioral Changes
Emotional Changes
Seizure Disorders (Epilepsy)
Symptoms:
Types of Seizures:
Tonic/Clonic (Grand Mal)
Absence (Petit Mal)
HIV/AIDS
Symtoms:
Many who contact the disease later in lie do not show symptoms at all. 1 in 5 people with HIV don't know they are infected.
Cerebral Palsy
Students with CP may:
- Have Learning disabilities, hearing or visual impairments, speech problems, drooling issues, and behavior problems
- Needs brace. crutches, or a wheelchair to get around
- Need help moving around the classroom or reaching things
- Need assistive devices for writing and speaking
- Have difficulty sitting and have uncontrolled movements
- Have difficulty with bladder and bowel control and may need to use the restroom frequently
- Have seizures
- Need Occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and speech therapy during the day
Symptoms include:
- Very Salty-tasting skin
- Presistant coughing, at all times
- Frequent lung infections including pneumonia or bronchitis
- Wheezing or shortness of breath
- Poor growth or wieght gain in spite of a good appetite
- Frequent greasy, bulky Stools or difficulty with bowel movements
- Male infertility
- Some student will have tell tale signs such as white patchy makes or goose bumps
- Sudden onset of headaches
- Sweating above the level of injury
- Nasal Stuffiness
- Elevated blood pressure
- Flushed (redness) face
- Nausea
- Slow pulse (<60 beats per minute)
- Cold, clammy skin below level of injury
Asthma
Symptoms include:
- Lingering cough after a cold
- Persistant coughing during the day
- Coughing during the night or early morning
- Coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, or shortness of breath after vigorous physical activity or activity in cold or windy weather
- Low level of stamina during physical activity even though child is taking medicane for asthma
- Increase use of asthma medicane to relieve coughting, wheezing, chest tightness, or shortness of breath
- Dust mites
- Mold
- Pollen
- Cigarette smoke
- Chemical fumes
Muscular Dystrophy
- May affect the muscles of the hips,legs, arms, and shoulders
- Causes those individuals t loose the ability to use their arms and legs functionally and effectively
- Can also attack the heart, resorting in heart failure
- Learning disabilities are more prevalent in some neuromuscular diseases, but most student with these diseases have the normal range of intelligence
Sickle-cell Disease
Treatments
- Medications
- Antibotics
- Pain Relievers
- Hydroxyurea
- Blood transfusions
- Supplemental Oxygen
- Stem cell transplants
Spina Bifida
There are 2 types of SB
Spina Bifida Occulta (milder of the two)
- Most people are unaware of its presence and has little if any impact
- Malformation of the spinal column in which a tumor like sac herniates through an opening or cleft on the infant's back
- Cystica comes in two prominent froms: SB Meningocele and SB Myelomeningocele
- The sac contains spinal fluid but no nerve tissue
- The sac contains spinal fluid
- The Sac contains nerve tissue
- Most serious type of NTD
- Resukts in paralysis of legs and lower body, inability to control bladder or bowel voluntary, and the presence of other orthopedic problems
Diabetes
Symptoms of High blood sugar:
- Extreme hunger
- Exessive thirst
- Fequent urination
- Fruity breath
- Lethargic
- Extreme weight loss
- Nausea
- Shakes
- Hunger
- sweating
- pale skin
- Trouble thinking
- Fatigue
Traumatic Brains Injury
Symptoms of TBI:
Physical Changes
- Tiredness
- Lack of interest
- Headaches
- Awkward movements
- Slowed reactions
- Heightened sensitivity to light and noise
Cognitive (thinking) Changes
- Forgetfulness
- Difficulty learning new material
- Word-finding difficulties
- Problems with organizing materials; easily distracted
Behavioral Changes
- Irritability
- Inability to deal with unexpected events
Emotional Changes
- Unable to deal with minor changes in the environment or daily routine
- Little or no expressed emotion
- Depression
Seizure Disorders (Epilepsy)
Symptoms:
- Strange sensations
- Emotions
- behaviors and seizures
Types of Seizures:
Tonic/Clonic (Grand Mal)
- Affects the entire brain in two phases
- Tonic phase characterised by stiffening of body
- Clonic phase characterized by repeated muscle contractions and relaxations
- Preceded by an "Aura", in which the individual senses a unique scent/odor, sound, or physical sensation just prior to the seizure. Sometimes signaled by a cry or similar sound
- Tonic begins with loss of consciousness, where the individual falls to the ground, after which the individual's trunk and head becomes rigid. The clonic phase then follows:
- Involuntary muscle contrations
- Irregular breathing
- Blueness in face and lips
- Increased salivation
- Loss of bladder and bowel control
- Persiration
- Nature, scope, frequency and duration varies from person to person
- Can be 1 minute, can be 20 minutes
- Greatest danger to the person is injurying themselves from falling and hitting something during the seizure
- Person will generally feel tired and confused after a seizure
Absence (Petit Mal)
- Brief, suddnen lapes of consciousness
- More common in children than adults
- May look like they're staring into space for a few seconds
- Brain ceases normal function temporarily
- Young people with this type of disorder may experience these seizures often as 100 times a day
- May look like daydreaming
- Can greatly hamper education.
- Teatment and control generally achieved through prescription meds
HIV/AIDS
Symtoms:
Many who contact the disease later in lie do not show symptoms at all. 1 in 5 people with HIV don't know they are infected.
- Can percent normal growth in children
- Don't make appropriate weight gains
- Slow to achieve motor milestones (crawling, walking,etc.)
- Neurological damages (similar to symptoms of cerebral palsy, Seizure disorders, etc.)
- Children infected with HIV/AIDS are more susceptible to disease
- Opportunistic infections: bacteria that wouldn't ordinarily cause illness in humans unless the immune system is compromised.
Strategies and Resources:
Cerebral Palsy
Many students with CP can do the same kind of things that other students like to do, such as extracurricular activities, pays-ed, play or listen to music, hang out with friends, etc. Students with CP, however may need a little more time to travel between classes and complete activities and tasks
In the Classroom:
In the Classroom:
Asthma
In the Classroom:
Muscular Dystrophy
In the Classroom:
Sickle-cell Disease
In the Classroom
Possible triggers for pain crisis include:
Preventing pain crises
Important to Know
Spina Bifida
At School
Diabetes
In the Classroom:
Traumatic Brains Injury
In the Classroom:
Seizure Disorders (Epilepsy)
In the Classroom:
Discuss any concerns with them, their parents, and their IEP team. Get ideas from everyone about making the activity a safe and fun experience for them
HIV/AIDS
In the Classroom:
Information Provided by:
Daniel Chapman, Terry Blackburn, Dakota Halley "EDUC 2010" Fall 2015
Cerebral Palsy
Many students with CP can do the same kind of things that other students like to do, such as extracurricular activities, pays-ed, play or listen to music, hang out with friends, etc. Students with CP, however may need a little more time to travel between classes and complete activities and tasks
- Make sure classroom is easy to get around and free of obsticles
- Students with CP may need to miss class time for doctor visit or to see the school nurse to take medication.
- Make sure to give special consideration regarding missed instructions, assignments, and testing. In some cases, arrange for verbal responses in assignment and testing can be a good way to measure learning
- Educators, parents, doctors, therapist, and the students with CP should work together to develop and maintain the best treatment and education plans.
- Be prepared for possible medical emergencies by plannig ahead with parents in case your student with CP nees advance assistance.
In the Classroom:
- Give the student with CF frequent access to restroom
- Do not draw attention to the student
- Make it easy for the student to drink water at their desk or slip out of the classroom for water.
- Encourage your student to keep a box of tissues to cough into and teach can to dispose the tissue near their desk.
- Allowing the student to clean their hands woth alcohol-based hand gel at their desk.
- Include the studet in all games and activities in which he or she is interested.
- Keep a 6 foot distance(2 meters) from others with a cold, flu or and infection in all settings, especially indoors
- Encourage everyone to wash their hands by making soap and water and or alcohol-based hand gel readily available in the classroom
- Encourage students to cover their cough or sneez with a tissue
In the Classroom:
- Schedule rest breaks though the day
- Allow student to leave class early to travel to next class to avaod high traffic halls
- Provide time in their schedule for catherterization
- Extend time to complete written assignments
- Use a laptop
- Assisstance with getting materials form bags
- Allowed to have a list of keyboard shortcuts on Student's desk
- Preferential seating near door as well as electrical outlets
- Allow student to carry fluids
- A presentation to the student's classroom should be considered. Ask for the Student if they want to be involved and what type of information are thye comfortable having shared with the class
Asthma
In the Classroom:
- Be aware of students with asthma in your class. Understand their triggers and symptoms
- Consult with school nurse or principal for updated policy and procedures for managing students with asthma
- Know your role and how to easily access a student's asthma action plan or have a copy of it in the classroom, maintained in a confidential manner
- Don't delay getting medical help for a student with severe or persistant breathing difficulty
- Report in a sudent's astham is interfering with the learning or activities with peers
- Possible side effects of medicine that warrent referral are nervousness, nausea, jitters, hyperactivity, and drowsiness
- Alert school administrators, school nurse, and parent(s) or guardian(s) of changes in a students perfomance or behavior that might reflect trouble with asthma
- Encourage the studetn with asthma to participate fully in physical activities.
- Plan field trips and other activities in a way that ensures students with asthma can fully participate
- Advise the school nurse wath you suspect poorly controlled asthma
- Be alert for sighns of uncontrolled asthma attack
Muscular Dystrophy
In the Classroom:
- Needs an IEP or 504 Educational Plan (Pending on severity)
- Need adaptive or assistive technology devices in the classroom (such as a keyboard for writing)
- Use a wheelchair or wear joint braces
- Use of a ventilator for breathing
- Need additional time to take test and quizzes
- Require additional time to get to other clkasses
- Need special considerationsl about latenesses, absences, shortened school days, and missed calss work and homework due to physical therapy sessions
- Require tutoring or additioal time to make up assignmets
- Need frequent access to restroom breaks or vista to the school nurse for medication(s) be at rest of bullying
Sickle-cell Disease
In the Classroom
- Anemia, may appear pale and have yellow eyes
- Vaso-occlusive episodes. These are blockages of blood vessels. The most common symptoms are called pain crises, which are unpredictable and typically happen in the bones.
Possible triggers for pain crisis include:
- Infection
- stress/fatigue
- dehydration
- exposure to cold and very hot temperatures
Preventing pain crises
- Giving children loges of fluids to drink so they are not thirsty
- dressing them in a few layers of warm clothes in the winterwhen they are leaving home
- Sending an extra sweater and socks to school in case student becomes wet during recess of at anytime
- Recognizeing fever as a sign of infection and having the child seen immediately by a doctor
- Avoid vigorous exercise with our the ability to take breaks and drink fluids, especially durinfg hot days.
Important to Know
- Learn about SCD and how it has affected your student.
- Provide makeup work for students who have missed days from school.
- Have fress and open communication with student's parents so you can work as a team to optimize performance.
- Dispel any myths or rumours about your student that may be in the classropom, such as reasons for the student's yes being yellow, or the the disorder being contagious.
Spina Bifida
At School
- Many children with SB do well in school. But some can experience difficulties at school, especially childrend with shunts that are used to treat hydrocephalus (often called water on the brain).
- These children often have problems with learning.
- They might have difficulty paying attention or work slowly, be restless, or lose things
- They also might have trouble making decisions.
- An IEP is important because it will help the child to develop skills at school.
- If a child does not quailify fo and IEP, parents can request a 504 Plan for their child at school
Diabetes
In the Classroom:
- Blood sugar testers
- Different forms of medicine
- Pumps
- Insulin pen
- Syringe and a vial of insulin
- Snacks of glucose tablets to help raise and lower blood sugar
- If a child goes into a diabetic shock or coma, know what steps are needs to be taken
Traumatic Brains Injury
In the Classroom:
- Find out as much as you can about the child's injury and their present needs.
- Give the student more time to finish homework and test.
- Give directions one step at a time. For Multi step tasks give them written directions
- Show the student how to perform new tasks and give example to go with new ideas and concepts
- Have consistent routines. If the routine is going to change, let the student know ahead of time.
- Check to make sure that the student has actually learned the new skill, and ive the student lots of opportunities to practice the new skill
- Show the student ho to us and assignment book and daily schedule
- Let the student reset as needed
- Reduce distractions
- Keep in touch with the student's partents to share infromation about how the student is doing at home and school
- Be flexible anout expectatons, and be patient to maximize the students chances for success.
Seizure Disorders (Epilepsy)
In the Classroom:
- Computers and lights
- 5% of Epilepsy cases are photosensitive
- Computers and TV's with flat screens don't flicker, so they're less likely to cause a photosensitive seizure
- Can also be caused by patterns, flickering lights in the classroom, and patterns made by sunlight shinning through the windo blinds
- Testing
- Depends on what triggers epileptic episodes
- stress can cause seizures in some
- Time of day
- Practical activities and lessons
- Teachers need to know what ti do if a seizure happens
- DON'T Exclude the child just because of epilepsy
- Do a risk assessment
- What are the safety risks to all children involved in the activity?
- What happens to the Specific child during seizures?
- Do they have a warning? If so, what is it?
- What would make this activity safer for them?
Discuss any concerns with them, their parents, and their IEP team. Get ideas from everyone about making the activity a safe and fun experience for them
HIV/AIDS
In the Classroom:
- Your biggest enemy will be prejudice, from classmates and partents afraid their child will be infected
- Classroom adjustments for children with developmental disabilities and neurological disabilities will work for children how have those symptoms
- May people with HIV/AIDS don't even know it.
Information Provided by:
Daniel Chapman, Terry Blackburn, Dakota Halley "EDUC 2010" Fall 2015
Work Cited
"Cerebral Palsy Special Needs Factsheet." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Mary L. Gavin. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Aug. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. http://kidshealth.org/parent/classroom/factsheet/cp-factsheet.html
"NINDS Cerebral Palsy Information Page." Cerebral Palsy Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/cerebral_palsy.htm
"About Cystic Fibrosis." About Cystic Fibrosis. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.https://www.cff.org/What-is-CF/About-Cystic-Fibrosis/https://www.cff.org/Living-with-CF/CF-and-School/For-Teachers/
"Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis." Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.http://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/diagnoses-disorders/spinal-cord-injury-and-paralysishttps://www.kennedykrieger.org/sites/kki2.com/files/guide_for_school_personnel_working_with _students_with_spinal_cord_injuries_1.pdf
"What Is Asthma?" - NHLBI, NIH. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/resources/lung/asth_sch.pdfhttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/asthma
Interview. Muscular Dystrophy. Nemours, n.d. Web. http://kidshealth.org/parent/classroom/factsheet/MD-factsheet.html>.
"Sickle Cell Disease: A Practical Guide for Teachers." Sickle Cell Disease: A Teacher's Guide - AboutKidsHealth. About Kids Healt, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
"Diabetes Care." Care of Children With Diabetes in the School and Day Care Setting. American Diabetes Associaton, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
“Do Provide Emotional Support and Reassurance for Grand Mal Seizures” seizures.dolyan.com http://seizures.dolyan.com/emotional-support-and-reassurance-for-grand-mal-seizures/
“Teaching Children with Epilepsy” Epilepsy Society http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/teaching-children-epilepsy#.VmBcQPmrSUl
"Cerebral Palsy Special Needs Factsheet." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Mary L. Gavin. The Nemours Foundation, 01 Aug. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. http://kidshealth.org/parent/classroom/factsheet/cp-factsheet.html
"NINDS Cerebral Palsy Information Page." Cerebral Palsy Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/cerebral_palsy.htm
"About Cystic Fibrosis." About Cystic Fibrosis. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.https://www.cff.org/What-is-CF/About-Cystic-Fibrosis/https://www.cff.org/Living-with-CF/CF-and-School/For-Teachers/
"Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis." Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.http://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/diagnoses-disorders/spinal-cord-injury-and-paralysishttps://www.kennedykrieger.org/sites/kki2.com/files/guide_for_school_personnel_working_with _students_with_spinal_cord_injuries_1.pdf
"What Is Asthma?" - NHLBI, NIH. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/files/docs/resources/lung/asth_sch.pdfhttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/asthma
Interview. Muscular Dystrophy. Nemours, n.d. Web. http://kidshealth.org/parent/classroom/factsheet/MD-factsheet.html>.
"Sickle Cell Disease: A Practical Guide for Teachers." Sickle Cell Disease: A Teacher's Guide - AboutKidsHealth. About Kids Healt, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
"Diabetes Care." Care of Children With Diabetes in the School and Day Care Setting. American Diabetes Associaton, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
“Do Provide Emotional Support and Reassurance for Grand Mal Seizures” seizures.dolyan.com http://seizures.dolyan.com/emotional-support-and-reassurance-for-grand-mal-seizures/
“Teaching Children with Epilepsy” Epilepsy Society http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/teaching-children-epilepsy#.VmBcQPmrSUl