Intellectual Disability Handout

Intellectual Disability

Amy Firestone & Brittany Machian

Intellectual Disability

Definition in IDEA: “…significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.” [34 CFR §300.8(c)(6)]

In 2010, President Obama signed Rosa’s Law, which replaced the stigmatizing label “Mental Retardation” with the more acceptable term “Intellectual Disability”

IDs are the most common form of developmental disability

1-3% of America’s general population and 10% of students requiring SPED have an ID

Causes: Genetic conditions (e.g. Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Williams syndrome), problems during pregnancy (e.g. mother who used alcohol during pregnancy, improper cell division), problems at birth (e.g. lack of oxygen), and health problems (e.g. malnutrition, lack of appropriate medical care, contact with poisons, and diseases like whooping cough, meningitis, or the measles)

Characteristics:

· Variety of physical markers depending on cause of the disability

· Below average intelligence ranging in incidence rate and severity

o For a mild diagnosis, students’ IQ scores will be between 70-75 or below

o For a moderate to severe diagnosis, students’ IQ scores will be approximately 55 or below

· Slower learning rate and greater difficulty retaining information

· May reach a point where learning levels off

· Difficulty generalizing skills learned in one context to another

· Trouble solving problems/thinking logically

· Difficulty with social and daily living skills

· Developmental delays

Suggested Teaching Strategies:

· Treat students appropriately according to their chronological age

· Carefully follow the strategies outlined in the student’s IEP

· Break large concepts down into smaller steps and include breaks

· Teach one subject or idea at a time

· Supply manipulatives to concretely represent concepts

· Provide opportunities for continued practice in a variety of settings

· Teach social and daily living skills

· Match expectations to instruction (i.e. accommodations and modifications)

· Use peer-tutoring, inclusive methods, and family involvement

Additional Resources:

The Arc

http://www.thearc.org/page.aspx?pid+2335

The Arc is a community-based organization that advocates and serves those with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The site includes various fact sheets on intellectual disabilities detailing everything from the causes of these disabilities to criminal justice issues regarding these disabilities.

The Utah Association for Intellectual Disabilities (UIAD)

http://www.uaidutah.org/home

The UIAD is a relatively new non-profit organization that formed in 2008 after The Arc of Utah closed due to financial reasons. UIAD took over some of the services the local Arc chapter provided, including the “Holiday Gift Box Program, Bridge to the Future, Connections to Computers, and socialization projects.” The Bridge to the Future is a particularly beneficial resource for parents and educators alike, outlining the services a person with an intellectual disability may require throughout stages of his or her life. People interested in supporting UIAD’s mission are welcome to volunteer.

Project Ideal

http://www.projectidealonline.org/index.php

Project Ideal is part of a teacher preparation program meant to prepare teachers to work with students with disabilities. It provides helpful resources such as tips for classroom management and managing student behavior along with descriptions of disability categories and disability law.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/intellectual_disabilities.htmlThe EEOC provides information on employment opportunities and the rights of workers with intellectual disabilities. EEOC is an important resource for educators to gain knowledge on how to prepare students with disabilities for future jobs and opportunities. This resource would be especially applicable for secondary teachers.

American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD)

http://www.aamr.org/index.cfm

The AAIDD offers links to national disability organizations focusing on specific disabilities.

ELL/ESL Resources

1. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/678/01/
This site is really helpful for both students and instructors involved in ELL/ESL programs.  It provides a number of handouts on different areas of the English language.  It is an easy resource for teachers and beneficial practice for students.

2. http://www.eslsite.com/
This site is a great resource for teachers because it provides a large number of resources for English Language Learners.  It incorporates games and also organizes material into level so that more advanced students would have more complicated work and beginning students would have simpler work.  This would be great for teachers because it covers so many areas.

3. http://www.tolerance.org/category/subject/ell-/-esl
This site is great for incorporating activities into the ELL classroom.  While some of the other sites have focused on worksheets and handouts, this one focuses on activities that get the students engaged and also categorizes them by grade level which would help teachers from all areas find the right activities for their classroom.

4. http://www.everythingesl.net/lessons/
This site had some cool links to activities and assignments that can help English Language Learners in the General Education classroom.  It focused on including these students in the activities that the rest of the class is doing even though they might not yet fully grasp the language.  It includes descriptions of a lot of games and activities as well as assignments that will help the English Language Learner succeed in the classroom.

5. http://www.esl-guide.com/dir/utah/index.html
This site would be really beneficial to teachers of English Language Learners in terms of reaching out to the parents of those students.  It provides information on English Language programs across the state that are offered to anyone.  As important as it is for the student to succeed in learning English, it is also important for parents so that they can have better communication with the school and also be able to help their children succeed and give them a positive role model in learning the English language.

6. http://www.ncte.org/ell
This site is sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English, which is a great resource for ELL/ESL instructors.  The site provides opportunities for professional development as well as classroom lesson plans and access to journals that will benefit the teachers of these programs.  I think any teacher would be able to find something helpful from this site whether it is for their specific classroom or if it is finding an opportunity for professional development or a way to connect with their peers who are involved in the same programs.