EDUC112 Module 5: Major Disabilities Affecting Psychomotor and/or Sensory Domain PDF

1 2  Physical, Visual, and Hearing Impairments Caveat: This module delves into the nature of physical, visual, and hearing impairments— three separate conditions primarily affecting the psychomotor and sensory domains. Still...

1 2  Physical, Visual, and Hearing Impairments Caveat: This module delves into the nature of physical, visual, and hearing impairments— three separate conditions primarily affecting the psychomotor and sensory domains. Still, it is important to know that children with these disabilities could also have problems in other domains of affectation, depending on their type and severity. Getting to Know Children with Physical, Visual, And Hearing Impairments Similar to Module 4, the impairments included in this module are presented in three different tables, which detail the definition, major problem, age of onset, etiology, categories, characteristics, and teaching strategies. Physical Impairment (PI) It is an umbrella term for conditions affecting severely the Definition physical performance of a person. This term may also refer to orthopedic impairments or psychomotor disorders. Motor functioning of children with PI is compromised due Major Problem to the physical restrictions attached to the condition. Typically occurs before birth, but it still depends on the Age of Onset cause and nature of a specific impairment. The most commonly diagnosed PI are listed below with their corresponding causes: a. prenatal (before birth; malformation): spinal curvature, cerebral palsy, b. perinatal (during birth; anoxia): cerebral palsy, Etiology (Causes) c. postnatal (after birth; traumatic brain injury): cerebral palsy, d. genetic: muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, and e. idiopathic: spinal curvature, limb deficiency, talipes (clubfoot), spina bifida (Farrell, 2011). Categories (Forms) of Physical Impairments: a. spinal curvature: curves of the spine that include Categories scoliosis (s curvature), kyphosis (convex curvature), and lordosis (concave curvature), 6  b. limb deficiencies: absence or missing part of a limb, which is different from limb length discrepancies and limb deformities, c. talipes: also known as clubfoot or twisted foot (Farrell, 2011); d. cerebral palsy: stiffness of the muscle tone and movements, e. muscular dystrophy: gradual weakening and softening of muscles, and a. spina bifida: or the split spine, open bones around the spinal cord (Taylor et al., 2015). PI is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Fifth Edition Text Edition (DSM-5-TR), since it is not a mental disorder. Thus, there are no diagnostic criteria given. The characteristics of children with PI also vary from one impairment to another. Yet, these are the general manifestations of PI among students: Characteristics a. difficulty moving around or doing extraneous physical activities; b. difficulty in daily living; c. improper posture; d. problems in muscle coordination; and e. poor limb control. These are, but are not limited to, the major teaching strategies that could be used in handling students with PI: a. life skills curriculum: teaching skills that could be applied in everyday life, such as consumer life, money management, and public transportation etiquette (Taylor et al., 2015); b. mobility aids: assistive technology that helps learners with PI to be mobile, which allows them to transfer Teaching Strategies from one place to another, such as wheelchair, prostheses, and orthoses (Deiner, 2010); c. guided practice: providing physical or verbal assistance or supervision when doing classroom-based activities; and d. psychomotor-based activities: a set of activities that intend to enhance the fine and gross motor skills of the students, such as a modified obstacle course and balancing games. 7  Visual Impairment (VI) It pertains to “vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance” (Individuals Definition with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] in Taylor et al., 2015, p. 275). Sense of sight, which can restrict other areas of Major Problem functioning. Typically occurs before birth, but it still depends on the Age of Onset time the eyes malfunction or are damaged. These are the causes of VI according to the visual problem involved: a. structural impairment: damage to any part of the eyes, b. refractive errors: inability of the eyes to focus clearly, and c. cortical visual impairment: problem with a part of the Etiology (Causes) brain responsible for visual processing (Holbrook, 2006). The causes, according to the time the impairment happens: a. prenatal (before birth): malformation, premature development, viruses (rubella and varicella); b. perinatal (during birth): viruses during theearly months or years (rubella and varicella); and c. postnatal (after birth): accidents, aging. Categories According to the Degree of Visual Loss: a. partially blind (low vision): has an uncorrectable visual acuity of 20/70 to 20/200, Categories b. totally blind: total loss of vision, and c. legally blind: has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less with correction (Holbrook, 2006). VI is also not included in the DSM-5-TR, so no diagnostic criteria are given. The following are the general characteristics of children with VI: a. swollen eyes, b. uncoordinated eyes, Characteristics c. blurred vision, d. sensitive to light, e. experiences headache and dizziness, and f. widening or squinting of eyes when looking at a certain distance (Deiner, 2010). 8  These are, but are not limited to, the major teaching strategies for students with VI: a. large print books: materials with bigger font sizes allow students with VI to understand lessons better, b. magnifiers: can help students zoom in on photos and Teaching Strategies texts when reading, c. manipulatives: tactile materials utilized by teachers to deliver effective instruction, and d. Braille: a system of touch that uses raised dots for students with VI to read (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2017). Hearing Impairment (HI) and Deafness According to IDEA: a. Hearing impairment “means impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance” (IDEA in Deiner, 2010, p. 436). This is different from how deafness is defined in IDEA, as the term suggests severe hearing impairment that affects the child’s linguistic information processing (Deiner, 2010). Definition According to the World Health Organization: a. Hearing impairment (or hearing loss) is a condition of “a person who is not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing – hearing thresholds of 25 dB or better in both ears” (WHO, 2020, para. 4). Hard of hearing refers to people with mild to severe hearing loss, while deafness pertains to people with profound hearing loss (WHO, 2020). Sense of hearing, which could possibly limit other areas of Major Problem functioning. Age of Onset Before or after birth, depending on the category. Here are the main causes of HI: a. genetic: chromosomal issues (Farrell, 2011); b. prenatal (before birth): malformation, premature development, viruses (rubella and varicella); Etiology (Causes) c. perinatal (during birth): viruses during ethe arly months or years (rubella and varicella); d. postnatal (after birth): carelessness, aging; and e. damaged part of the ear: inner, middle, or outer part. Categories According to the Level of Severity: Categories a. mild hearing loss: 25–40 dB, b. moderate hearing loss: 40–65 dB, 9  c. severe hearing loss: 65–95 dB, and d. profound hearing loss: above 95 dB (Farrell, 2011). Categories According to the Affected Part of the Ears: a. sensorineural hearing loss: the inner ear is affected, b. conductive hearing loss: affected parts are from the outer to the middle ear, and c. mixed hearing loss: combined sensorineural and conductive hearing losses (Taylor et al., 2015). Categories According to the Age of Occurrence (Onset): a. congenital hearing loss: hearing loss transpires at birth, and b. adventitious hearing loss: hearing loss transpires after birth (Taylor et al., 2015). Categories According to the Age of Language Development: a. prelingual hearing loss: hearing loss transpires before language development, and b. postlingual hearing loss: hearing loss transpires after language development (Taylor et al., 2015). Similar to VI and PI, HI is also not included in the DSM- 5-TR. Thus, no diagnostic criteria are given. The following are the general characteristics of children with HI: a. problems in terms of speech, Characteristics b. unresponsive to sounds, c. experiences earaches, d. frequently asks to repeat what has been heard, and e. turns up volume most of the time (Gargiulo & Metcalf, 2017). These are, but are not limited to, the major teaching strategies for students with HI: a. speechreading: or lip reading, is a technique that focuses on reading lip movement, facial expressions, and other contextual cues, b. fingerspelling: literally spell letters of the alphabet to Teaching Strategies form words, and c. cued speech: a visual communication system that involves mouth and hand movements (Taylor et al., 2015); and d. sign language: uses hand gestures to reveal meaning or thoughts. 10 Deiner, P. L. (2010). Inclusive early childhood education: Development, resources and practice. Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Farrell, M. (2011). The effective teacher's guide to sensory and physical impairments. Routledge Holbrook, M. C. (2006). Children with visual impairments: A parents’ guide second edition. Woodbine House. Gargiulo, R. & Metcalf, D. (2017). Teaching in today’s inclusive classrooms: A universal design for learning approach third edition. Cengage Learning. Taylor, R., Smiley, L., & Richards, S. (2015). Exceptional students: Preparing teachers for the 21st century second edition. McGraw-Hill Education. World Health Organization. (2020). Deafness and hearing loss. https://www.who.int/health- topics/hearing-loss#tab=tab_1 18