Special Needs

Higher Diploma in Primary Education

Special Educational Needs

Assignment

Student Name: Julie Collins

Student Number: GDPE226

Tutor Group: Mayo A

Tutor: Dr. Brian Mac Giolla Phadraig

Date of Submission: 28th September 2004

SECTION A

What are the four separate categories of Special Educational Needs and constituent sub-categories, as detailed in the S.E.R.C. report?

1. Pupils with learning difficulties and disorders

* Pupils in need of Remedial Teaching (Learning Support)

* Pupils with Specific Learning Disabilities

* Pupils with Specific Speech and Language disorders

2. Pupils with Physical and Sensory Disabilities

* Pupils with Physical Handicap

* Pupils with Hearing Impairment

* Pupils with Visual Impairment

3. Pupils with Mental Handicap and with Emotional and Behavioural Disorders

* Pupils with Mild Mental Handicap

* Pupils with Moderate Mental Handicap

* Pupils with Severe / Profound Mental Handicap

* Pupils with Emotional and or Behavioural Disorders

* Pupils with Childhood Autism

4. Pupils with Other Special Needs

* Pupils who are Educationally and Socially Disadvantaged

* Children of the Travelling Community

* Pupils who are Exceptionally Able or Talented

What are the seven principles of Special Education as detailed in the S.E.R.C. Report?

* All children, including those with special educational needs have a right to an appropriate education.

* The needs of the individual child should be the paramount consideration when decisions are being made concerning the provision of special education for that child.

* The parents of a child with special education needs are entitled and should be enabled to play an active part in the decision-making process: their wishes should be taken into consideration when recommendations on special educational provision are being made.

* A continuum of services should be provided for children with special educational needs ranging from full-time education in ordinary classes, with additional support as necessary, to full-time education in special schools.

* Except where individual circumstances make this impracticable, appropriate education for all children with special educational needs should be provided in ordinary schools

* Only in the most exceptional circumstances should it be necessary for a child to live away from home in order to avail of an appropriate education.

* The state should provide adequate resources to ensure that children with special educational needs can have an education appropriate to those needs.

What are the stages in the continuum of services to meet the needs of children with Special Educational Needs?

* Full-time placement in mainstream class with additional support from the class teacher

* Full-time placement in mainstream class with additional support from learning-support teacher working within the class

* Full-time placement in mainstream class with withdrawal for short regular tutorial sessions in a small group format with the learning-support teacher

For mainstream schools that have a special class this continuum might extend as follows:

* Part-time placement in a special class, spending more time in the mainstream class

* Part-time placement in a special class, spending less time in the mainstream class

* Full-time placement in the special class.

Mainstream schools may then work in conjunction with special schools to develop the continuum even further as follows:

* Part-time placement in a special school, spending more time in the mainstream school

* Part-time placement in a special school, spending less time in the ordinary school

* Full-time placement in mainstream class with withdrawal for short regular tutorial sessions on a one-to-one basis with the learning-support teacher

What is Phonological Awareness?

Phonological awareness is the awareness that speech is made up of individual sounds that can be manipulated to provide us with different words. It comprises the ability to hear individual sounds in words and the ability to change sounds in words. Thus, it is both an aural and an oral skill, which is unrelated to intelligence as measured in IQ tests. Overall then, phonological awareness is sensitivity to the sounds of words and can be divided into the following levels:

* Syllabic awareness

* Onset-Rime awareness

* Phonemic awareness

How does the Task Force on Dyslexia define Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a delayed development in literacy, which is unexpected in terms of the child's overall development. It may manifest itself in a variety of different ways, such as deficits in short-term memory, auditory processing etc. However central to an understanding of Dyslexia is a deficit in the area of phonological awareness.

What are the three key-principles in providing an effective response to dyslexia?