· 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 | 
Cognitive Impairment by Kayla Vallosia
ReplyDeleteBy definition, a student with a cognitive impairment (CI) is any student who has a lower than average IQ. When considering cognitive impairment, it is important to note that there are 3 different levels. These levels are characterized by the IQ score of the student in question. Mild CI students have an IQ between 55 and 70. Moderate CI students have an IQ between 40 and 55. Severely CI students have an IQ lower than 40.
Students with CI can often be characterized by the way that this disability affects their behaviors and mannerisms. While the following are possible characteristics of students with CI, it is important to note that every child is different. This is not a complete list, and students may have anywhere from one to all of the common characteristics. Students with CI may have difficulty with their ability in the classroom to think or concentrate, formulate their own ideas, reason with other people, and remember information that is presented to them. Students with CI are often very slow to process information that is given to them, whether it be academic information or directions. In order to retain material, they need repeated exposure, more so than students without the disorder. They also usually have many deficits in their fine motor skills. These deficits often cause them to have to go through either occupational, physical, or speech therapy.
Other common characteristics include having a very limited vocabulary as well as having severe deficits in their speech and language abilities. Their expressive language is especially underdeveloped. This can lead to many social difficulties for students with CI, which is yet another common characteristic.
Some younger students who are placed in CI classrooms may also be labeled ECDD. This means that they have an Early Childhood Developmental Delay. While symptoms similar to CI are present, these students will be reevaluated by the time they are 8 years old to confirm or disprove that the disability exists. Because CI and learning disabled (LD) students have similar characteristics, one of these diagnoses is usually found to be true.
As with all special education students, one of the greatest misconceptions of CI students is that they cannot learn. Teachers often fall into the same thinking that because of their deficits, these students are not able to do anything and should not be placed in general education classes. The thing to remember is that the range in abilities of these students is huge, and all students have the capability to learn even if it is not learning the same content as the rest of the class. In some cases, the learning goals for students with CI can be as simple as learning appropriate social and daily living skills. Teachers need to accommodate for students to help them meet their own goals and needs.
Accommodations should always be present to help in supporting the students’ general education class. Accommodations can take many forms. Students can be accommodated in adjusting the amount of time that they have to complete an assignment or the number of questions or amount of the assignment that has to be completed by the deadline. Often times, directions should be given one step at a time. Some students with CI cannot focus on more than one direction given. Worksheet based activities can be changed in order to allow students to successfully complete it on time. Manipulatives and any other resources that are available should be used as often as possible in order to reinforce the ideas and allow students to complete the tasks. Students can also be tested orally instead of requiring them to complete every assignment in writing. This can help especially in the lower grades when reading and writing skills are not intact.
DeleteFor students with CI, regardless of the degree to which the impairment exists, the least restrictive environment for the student should always be considered. If possible, the student should be placed in a general education class as much as possible. If additional support is needed, they can attempt to add on spending time in a resource room. The last resort is to put students in a CI program. Even if this is needed, students should not be in the room all day unless it is absolutely necessary. In my case, students with CI spend about half their day in a CI classroom and half of their day in my classroom. The nice thing about my setup is that our classrooms are connected to one another. The door between the rooms often stays open and students can move back and forth as needed.
In my experience, it is best to match each student with CI with a buddy in the classroom (usually one of the higher functioning students). This student can assist in keeping the student with CI on task (even if that task is slightly different than their own), and can also help to read directions if I am not available to go step through step. It will take time to teach each of the buddies how to guide their student, but the end result is a much more efficient classroom.
In times where a lot of writing is required, especially in the lower grades, it is often advisable to have the student first draw a picture of what they are going to write about. After the picture has been drawn, they can dictate to someone what to write. As an additional step, students can copy on another page the written work. For students in my first grade classroom, they are still learning how to simply write letters, so this becomes an accommodation that allows them to complete the entire activity with the help that they need.
Curricular Modifications The curriculum in our classroom is only modified for students with CI when it is in the subjects of language arts and math. For these subjects, students are not held to the accountability of GLCEs alone but also the Extended GLCEs (which can be found on the MDE’s website). This is often laid out in a student’s IEP. In social studies and science, however, students should be meeting grade level expectations.
DeleteBefore resorting to modifying the curriculum, it is important to note that special education students are general education students first. While they may have different expectations laid out in their IEPs, they are still to be exposed to the grade level content expectations for the grade in which they are placed.
In our classroom, we have modified the curriculum when it is apparent that the students with CI have deficits that prevent them from completing the task at a first grade level. For instance, one of the activities in math that we completed required students to be able to read numbers and determine which was higher. They then had to cut and paste a < or > sign into the space. For one of my students with CI who is unable to read numbers or count at this time, we modified the task in order to help him practice his fine motor skills which are still not intact. His goal was simply to cut out the pieces of paper with the signs on them and accurately glue them into the box (meaning not having them glued haphazardly around the page).
Depending on where the student is functioning, modifications can also be found in state wide testing. All students in 3rd grade and up must take the MEAP in Michigan. For students with CI, other options exist. From the MEAP, students can be recommended to take either the MEAP Access or the MI Access. Even then, the MI Access test has two levels of modification. Students can take the supported test or they can take the functional test which tests their daily living skills. Students with CI may take these tests with the support of a resource room teacher or support staff.
Resources Many resources exist to aid in finding out more about CI.
The CEC (Council for Exceptional Children) has a website that has a wealth of information about students with all types of disabilities and exceptionalities, CI included. Their website is: http://www.cec.sped.org/am/template.cfm?section=Home.
To find out more about CI and the resources available (including the extended GLCEs), you can go to the Michigan Department of Education Website: http://mi.gov/mde/.
In addition to this, most ISDs provide information and resources for teachers to look into that will assist in providing support for students with CI.
Another valuable website and organization is the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center Inc. (MORC). Their website is: http://morcinc.org/. This organization provides a lot of information for people living with a disability.
Other organizations that can be contacted include the following: Michigan Association for Children with Emotional Disorders, Michigan Association for Dear, Hearing & Speech Services, Detroit Institute for Children, Epilepsy Center of Michigan, and the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan.