Visual-Motor Coordination_Amanda Jacobs

Special need Visual Motor Coordination	Special Need: Visual Motor Planning and Execution or Dyspraxia
Characteristics	Student appears clumsy. Student has trouble tying shoes or manipulating other tasks with hands such as holding eating utensils. Student finds writing or copying from the board to be extremely difficult. There is large disparity in letter formation and size. Transitioning from print to cursive is difficult. These characteristics exist because the student has difficulty with transcribing motions from thoughts in the brain to fine and gross motor skills. Fine dyspraxia makes writing a labor-intensive activity which tires the students. Students hold the pencil very tightly and near the tip. Student may also have difficulty with speech. Student may find speaking to be a risky behavior and so may not speak willingly.
Misconceptions	Student is perceived as lazy. Student is perceived as slow or with lower cognition ability.
Resources	Center for Development and Learning: Graphomotor Skills: Why Kids Hate to Write by Glenda Thorne, Ph.D. http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/graphomotor.php Dyspraxia Foundation, USA (Harry Potter has dyspraxia!) http://www.dyspraxiausa.org/ NCLD: National Council for Learning Disabilities http://www.ldonline.org/article/14616?gclid=CN6r-MSl-q4CFUZN4Aod3ETWxA National Center for Learning Disabilities http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics/ld-aamp-language/writing/dyspraxia
Curricular Modification(s)	We can put an alphabet reference on the student’s desk for a close visual reference. Notes on the board may also be copied onto paper for the student to have a closer reference to. Our student needs extra time to write. Our student may provide oral answers to test questions instead of writing. Learning to type may help the student write faster and therefore get more ideas onto the paper instead of always struggling with printing.

ADD/ADHD- Molly Shelton

Special need	Special Need: Attention Deficit Disorder
Characteristics	These are the three characteristics found in Children with ADD/ADHD 1. Inattentive, but not hyperactive or impulsive. Doesn’t pay attention to details Makes careless mistakes Has trouble staying focused; is easily distracted Appears not to listen when spoken to Has difficulty remembering things and following instructions Has trouble staying organized, planning ahead, and finishing projects Gets bored with a task before it’s completed Frequently loses or misplaces homework, books, toys, or other items 2. Hyperactive and impulsive, but able to pay attention. Hyperactive o Constantly fidgets and squirms o Often leaves his or her seat in situations where sitting quietly is expected o Moves around constantly, often runs or climbs inappropriately o Talks excessively o Has difficulty playing quietly or relaxing o Is always “on the go,” as if driven by a motor o May have a quick temper or a “short fuse” Impulsive o Acts without thinking o Blurts out answers in class without waiting to be called on or hear the whole question o Can’t wait for his or her turn in line or in games o Says the wrong thing at the wrong time o Often interrupts others o Intrudes on other people’s conversations or games o Inability to keep powerful emotions in check, resulting in angry outbursts or temper tantrums o Guesses, rather than taking time to solve a problem 3. Inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive (the most common form of ADD/ADHD) (Helpguide.org)
Misconceptions	The misconceptions are that just cause a child is inattentive, hyperactive or impulsive he/she has ADD/ADHD. This is not the case. Students may have these symptoms due to stressful events going on in their life or medical/learning disabilities that trigger this type of behavior. This can affect a child’s learning because the right testing may not be done if the child is just assumed to have ADD/ADHD.
Resources	To find out more about this disorder there are many books and articles that can be found at the local library and on the internet. There is also the Attention Deficit Disorder Association that provides much information. Their site is add.org. Another organization is called CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit disorder). This information can be found at chadd.org.
Individual Accommodations/ Curricular Modification(s)	In my classroom we keep these students engaged and simulated so that they do not get bored and tune out the lesson. We do this through the use of manipulatives. I also do a lot of group work activities. This way the students are engaged, speaking with the other students to get the task done. If the student is working in a group it is less likely that the ADD student will zone out or become inattentive or hyperactive. Lastly, we make sure our students don’t have anything in their desk or on their bodies (such as bracelet or headbands) that can become a toy and keep them from focusing. I believe what we have done in my classroom are the most effective ways to keep students with ADD/ADHD involved as one with the full class. However, these teaching strategies keep these students engaged and make them less likely to become inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive.

Siedah Knox SPED Fact Sheet - Dyscalculia

Special need	Special Need: Dyscalculia
Characteristics	There are many characteristics that are associated with dyscalculia.  They are presented in three different stages for young children, school aged children and lastly the teenager and adults. Young Children Students learn the basic foundations for mathematics when they are young.  If students have learning disabilities their memory for numbers is very poor and they find trouble learning to count.  Young children with dyscalculia also have difficulty sorting things logically, such as sorting triangles from squares, and making relationships with numbers and objects (e.g, the number 3, 3 houses, 3 cars.)    School Aged Children The characteristics of school age children differ from young children.  At these ages students struggle extensively with learning math facts.  Those facts include addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  Since math concepts build on one another this is a huge factor if it is not recognized quickly.  In school these students long term memory for math operations and functions are not as good as they should be.  These students are usually not familiar with math vocabulary and they struggle when they have to measure things.  Teenagers/Adults The characteristics that are common in teenagers and adults are sometime hard to recognize.  In this stage you will see teens and adults have difficulty completing common day-to-day or weekly tasks.  Teens and adults will struggle with learning math beyond the basic math facts and discovering multiple ways of solving problems. Specifically adults with have problems with estimating cost for bills, mental math, balancing their checkbooks and time (keep track of, staying on schedule, etc.,).
Misconceptions	There are many misconceptions about Dyscalculia.  People believe that students who struggle in math have this disability and this is not true.  If the characteristics of the young children, school-aged children and adults are present have the problems persist and are continuous then they should be tested.  Every individual learns are different paces and because of this someone cannot assume that if an individual is struggling in a certain area then they have Dyscalculia.  The individuals must struggle continuously with the signs listed above to be considered for testing.
Resources	To read about this disability there are various books and websites where people can find out more information.  The National Center for Learning Disabilities provides information about Dyscalculia.  In addition to the NCLD (http://www.ncld.org/ld-basics/ld-aamp-language/ld-aamp-math/what-is-dyscalculia) more information can be found at: LD Online: http://www.ldonline.org/article/13709/ Learning Disabilities Association:  http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/parents/ld_basics/dyscalculia.asp Dyscalculia Forum: http://www.dyscalculiaforum.com/viewpage.php?page_id=18 In addition to these sites, there are books available: ·  Dyscalculia – Action Plans for Successful Learning in Mathematics by Glynis Hannell ·  The Dyscalculia Toolkit: Supporting Learning Difficulties in Maths  and Overcoming Difficulties With Number: Supporting Dyscalculia and Students Who Struggle With Maths by Ronit Bird ·  Dealing With Dyscalculia by Steve Chinn
Curricular Modification(s)	There are many ways my teacher and I modify the curriculum to assist students with this disability.  I differentiate instruction to accommodate all students in my classroom and if they have this particular disability they have a chance to learn and practice what we are learning in many different ways and styles.  For example, I draw and use many pictures and diagrams.  This is typically how I start each lesson, with some type of activity.  I may sometimes use manipulatives and/ or draw pictures especially when completing word problems.  This helps the students think through problems so they will not be totally confused.  Recently I have been using computer games and music to help teach times table facts.  In teaching math, it is important to teach students’ good habits, but students who are struggling with this disability it is more important to help them learn the concepts.  Because of this it is encouraged to let students use their fingers and scratch paper. The modifications used are common in relation to what the students are learning.  I believe that when more modifications and strategies are used the better.  This way if the student forgets one way of completing a problem they can use another.  This strategy for example, would not work for a student who has difficulty organizing their ideas on paper.  For this student I would let them use graph paper to help them organize their thoughts.  I try to connect most of the math content to show students that it builds from one concept to the next.  The most important thing is to know how the students that have this disability learning styles.  If they learn best with pictures, then providing pictures for them and allowing them to use pictures to solve the problems would fit them best.  This is why I use many modifications so that I will accommodate each individual learning style.

Dyslexia Fact Sheet

DYSLEXIA FACT SHEET

Characteristics	Dyslexia is a learning disability caused by an impairment in the brain that makes it difficult to process what it receives from the persons eyes and ears. Common characteristics of dyslexia are difficulty reading at a normal pace, difficulty spelling words correctly, mixing up sounds in words, confusion of right and left and difficulty following directions in order. Some of these symptoms are also minimal in some people and dyslexia may go undiagnosed for many years causing frustration and lack of confidence in an individual. Most symptoms are noticed in students in elementary school beginning to learn to read and write. The biggest sign is an inability to read. This disease cannot be cured with medicine it is a learning disability that needs attention in school and at home to help use a child’s strengths and build from there.
Misconceptions	One large misconception is that all dyslexic students have the same symptoms. The effects of dyslexia are different in every person diagnosed so no one student can be treated the same. Another misconception is that pulling students out for reading help is necessary and although it is helpful students need to be in the general education classroom as much as possible so they aren’t set back from missing material. A very common misconception is that students with dyslexia are slow learners. Dyslexia does not affect how smart a student is it just affects how they need to learn the information. There are very many brilliant students that are diagnosed with dyslexia. All of these things need to be understood by the teacher so as to not treat a student differently than they need to be.
Accommodations	One big accommodation that can be made is providing a lot of small group work throughout the day and/or partner work. Allowing the student to work in small groups or in partners allows the student to receive more assistance peer-to-peer rather than be pulled out individually for teacher or resource teacher assistance. Another accommodation can be made to the homework the student is assigned. There are many different forms of assignments that can be accommodated so the student is doing something similar to the regular assignments but is doable for the students’ readiness and abilities. I think small groups are a very beneficial accommodation because it can help aide all struggling students rather than just the one dyslexic student.
Resources	The American Dyslexia Association is an association dedicated to helping families and persons with dyslexia. The association provides books, articles, blogs to follow, and many links to websites with helpful tips and information. The National Center for Learning Disabilities is also a really helpful resource that provides information about many learning disabilities and dyslexia in particular. This center along with providing information also provides assistance for students that need aide. There are also many websites that are extremely helpful for teachers, parents, families, and students. This website (http://www.dyslexia.com/library/schoolproblems) is an example of helpful websites for parents with dyslexic children that need more information about how the disability will affect their child in school.
Curricular Modification	I don’t actually have any students in my classroom that are diagnosed with dyslexia. If I did have any students with dyslexia I would make a plan with them at the beginning of the year. I would find out exactly how severe it is and how much assistance they need. I would make it clear to the student that I want them to feel just as much a part of the class as everyone else just with provided assistance when need be. I would let the student know that I will provide multiple forms of learning including read alouds, partner work so a partner can help explain, and numerous manipulatives and hands on activities so things aren’t always in the form of reading. When things are done in reading forms where the student would struggle I would give them extra help myself or again, pair them up with a strong partner that can help them when the time is appropriate.

Stuttering Factsheet

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BWX4yOU-o_UulMsyzDvkjNt27fT8WJl3yx435r2w_T8/edit

Gifted Students

Gabrielle Giles’ Fact sheet on Gifted Students

Gifted Students	Special Need: Higher level students
Characteristics	·      Asks many questions, very curious ·      Possesses a large amount of information ·      Has a great memory ·      Learns knew information quickly and retains it easily ·      Finishes classwork easily ·      Interested in many things ·      Motivated to try new things ·      Enjoys a challenge ·      Self-motivated ·      Thinks independently ·      Has original opinions ·      Uses higher level thinking ·      Makes connections other students don’t see ·      Likes to debate ·      Has sophisticated sense of humor ·      Strong expressive skills ·      Sensitive to others’ feelings But: ·      Easily gets off task and off topic ·      Is impatient when not called on in class ·      Is easily bored ·      Can become disruptive ·      Completes work quickly but sloppily ·      Leaves projects unfinished ·      Takes on too much and becomes overwhelmed ·      Challenges authority ·      Does not handle criticism well ·      Does not work well in groups ·      Forgets homework assignments ·      Can be critical of self and others ·      Likes to argue ·      Perfectionist, expecting others to be as well ·      Can get carried away with joke (class clown) ·      Can be bossy
Misconceptions	·      So smart, they do fine with or without special programs ·      Can’t have learning disabilities (Children can have hidden learning disabilities that go undiscovered because they can compensate for them in early years. As time goes on though, it’s harder for them to excel and causes behavior problems and depression.) ·      Gifted and talented means the same thing (each need differentiated curriculum and possibly even a different environment) ·      They need to go to school with their own age peers (children do need to play and interact socially with other children at their age, but they don’t need to learn with them. This can be extremely boring and frustrating to gifted student stuck in lower levels with their peers) ·      Being gifted is something to be jealous of (gifted students can feel isolated and misunderstood. They have more adult tastes. These differences to other children can cause them to be shunned)
Resources	·      http://www.ri.net/gifted_talented/character.html ·      http://www1.teachersfirst.com/gifted/spot.html
Curricular Modification(s)	·      More challenging assignments ·      Differentiated spelling words for weekly tests ·      Question box ·      Higher level or open ended questions ·      Assign tasks where they have to design problems or games for the objective for other students to try. ·      LPs need to be more intellectually demanding