Term Paper on "Helping Students With Special Needs"

Term Paper 9 pages (3014 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Special Needs

Helping Students with Special Needs

This research proposal provides an overview of the learning disorder "dysgraphia" which describes a learning disabled person that has difficulty interpreting their own written language or handwriting. The paper begins with a synopsis or review of learning disabilities, a detailed description of the learning disability reviewed and an overview of best practices, curriculum adaptations and other changes a teacher and student may make to enhance the learning experience of a learning disabled child. First, the paper begins with an outline of the learning disorder and the problems associated with it.

Student Learning Disability - Developmental Writing Disorder (Dysgraphia)

Handicapping Condition - Student unable to write, or has difficulty with handwriting that is severe enough that others cannot make sense of, or student writes in a way that prevents the student from correctly making sense of the writing (meaning the student can't interpret their own writing, even though it makes sense in their heads) (Jaffe-Gillis & Benedictis, 2007).

Related Services - Services similar to those offered students with other "academic skills disorders" including dyslexia, where the child has difficulty reading or making sense of reading, and dyscalculia, where the student has trouble calculating mathematical concepts (Jaffe-Gillis & Benedictis, 2007).

Methods of Instruction Goals - Instructional goals will include providing the student with oral lectures and recording of lectures so the student does not have to rely on written notes or notes provided by the teacher because the student has problems with writing and interpreting writing.

Objectives and Testing Modifications - Goals will include streamlining the learning process so the student can read and make sense of his or her own writing, and can present his or her writing to others in an intelligible manner.

Executive Summary

Studies suggest one in seven children will be diagnosed with a learning disability during the school years, with most resulting from "faulty wiring" in the brain, meaning the student may have trouble processing numbers or language, or may not interpret sensory input precisely, which can cause frustration for the child and the teacher (Jaffe-Gillis & Benedictis, 2007). This paper will help develop a curriculum addressing a specific learning disability, dysgraphia, so that teachers and students can learn how to manage this learning disability in the classroom. Dysgraphia is an "academic skills disorder" similar to dyslexia, but instead of having trouble reading, the child has difficulty interpreting their own handwriting, or writing in a way that others can understand. Other forms of learning disabilities include speech and language disorders, visual processing disorders and nonverbal learning disorders to name a few (Jaffe-Gillis & Beneditics, 2007).

Plan of Differentiated Instruction to Meet the Special Needs of this Student

The goal of differentiated instruction is to meet the needs of the student with dysgraphia, so they are able to comprehend their own written word and transcribe their thoughts in a way they can understand, and in a way that their teachers and other peers can understand. In this instance the student has difficulty writing in their own "handwriting" and then making sense out of the writing produced. The goal is to help the student by developing a modified approach to learning so that he can participate in a normal, general education classroom. This will help the student feel less like an "outcast" and will thus help the student bolster his self-esteem, which may then improve his outlook on life and commitment to learning.

Jaffe-Gillis & Benedictis (2007) note that students with learning disabilities can be as smart as or smarter than their peers, but have difficulty "taking in, organizing, and/or acting on information the brain receives through the senses" so they may appear to be less intelligent as their brain fights to comprehend information (p. 1). In this case the student has difficulty acting on the information his brain receives, because while he can take in information and organize the information in his head, he cannot transcribe this information into notes, so the student can understand them. This problem is one of many reasons why many students with special needs like learning disabilities are placed in special education rather than in traditional classrooms.

However, of late, more and more educators are recognizing the potential benefits of including special education students into the traditional classroom. Because of this more and more are working to integrate special needs students within the generalized classroom setting, and working to help them achieve their best by modifying certain curriculum or methods in which the child would normally learn, so the special needs student has just as much potential to succeed as his or her "normal" peers would.

In this case, to modify the classroom in a way that will assist the student, the school would make accommodations that would allow the student to record classroom lectures. The school will also need to appoint a teacher's assistant, whose role would be to take down any notes the teacher would expect an ordinary student to take down in class. An alternative to this would be for the teacher to type out classroom notes, much in the same way a high school or college professor might, to provide the learner with a learning tool he can use after class, one that is not written in the learner's handwriting, so the learner can understand and comprehend the information received. Using the tape-recorded lecture, the student can then utilize special software that will "type" the learner's thoughts and spoken words into a computer. While this student has difficulty with his own handwriting, he does not have trouble speaking or interpreting the written word. For this reason, it is plausible to suggest purchasing a special dictation tool for the student, one that would record the student's voice out loud, and then transcribe his spoken word into text that is readable and easily understood.

An example of software that could do this is "DragonSpeak 9" which is an application one can upload into Windows XP or Vista, and one that works with the Word document function. The application records the voice of the user, and then types the user's spoken words into the computer. While the information collected by the student and orally provided by the student may not by typed 100% accurately by the application, the software application does with time, adjust to the student's voice so it is less likely to make mistakes in the future. In this case, since the learning disabled child has difficulty interpreting their own writing, they will utilize the help of the teacher's aide in deciphering the written word provided by the software, to ensure the student's thoughts, purpose and outline or paper are correctly transcribed and then provided to the teacher for grading. The information generated would be notes, notes the student could easily read and understand as they are not written in the student's handwriting.

Best Practices

Best practices of instruction for such student include helping the special needs student improve their self-esteem, enabling special needs students to manage the "difficulties" they perceive in the classroom daily, and assisting the special needs student so they can correctly identify their learning disability and maximize his or her learning potential by providing accommodating tools or one-on-one assistance (Jaffe-Gills & Benedictis, 2007). Many researchers and educators feel the sooner a disability or need is addressed, the more likely a student is to achieve and the less likely they are to become depressed or engage in mischievous, aggressive or violent behaviors (which often arise from frustration in the child, or frustration from other peers or family members) (Jaffe-Gills & Benedictis, 2007; Danielson & Hallahan, 2002).

Best practices also include diagnosing the learning disability as early on as possible, because the sooner assistance is provided, the better able a student is to adapt and modify the learning structure to meet or exceed his or her needs (Danielson & Hallahan, 2002). Danielson & Hallahan (2002) note young children are most "at risk for reading and writing difficulties" and it is critical best practices include delineation of skills including "phonological awareness, graphophonemic knowledge, decoding or alphabetic reading and language comprehension" as soon as children are capable of reading or writing (p. 151).

Research suggests information-processing approaches to "accommodate alternative theoretical perspectives" including constructivist teaching are most likely to result in successful correction or accommodation for dysgraphia allowing students the best possible chance for integration early in life (p. 151). Early emphasis on writing should be according to Danielson & Hallahan (2002) "common ground for both information-processing and constructivist approaches because skillful reading entails mastery of one's writing system" (p. 151). Other researchers that support this concept include Wong & Donahue (2002).

Wong & Donahue (2002) note that learning disabilities produce profound effects on children's social development, which is one reason it is so critical to identify and classify them early in life, so students are accommodated as needed from the very beginning of their academic careers. Typically students with learning disabilities fall into three categories, including difficulty absorbing or gathering information from… READ MORE

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