#Special needs

“Special education or special needs education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to help learners with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and community than would be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.

Common special needs include challenges with learning, communication challenges, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders. Students with these kinds of special needs are likely to benefit from additional educational services such as different approaches to teaching, use of technology, a specifically adapted teaching area, or resource room.

Intellectual giftedness is a difference in learning and can also benefit from specialized teaching techniques or different educational programs, but the term "special education" is generally used to specifically indicate instruction of students whose special needs reduce their ability to learn independently or in an ordinary classroom, and gifted education is handled separately.

In most developed countries, educators are modifying teaching methods and environments so that the maximum numbers of students are served in general education environments. Special education in developed countries is often regarded less as a "place" and more as "a range of services, available in every school.  Integration can reduce social stigmas and improve academic achievement for many students.

The opposite of special education is general education. General education is the standard curriculum presented with standard teaching methods and without additional supports.”

http://www.minedu.govt.nz/

“Schools are required to provide services and resources to students with special educational needs so that they make progress and participate in school. If the local school is unable to provide appropriately for an individual student, then the student may be transferred to a special school.

Spanish non-governmental organizations like ONCE have traditionally provided significant services to students with disabilities.”

 

At the school Folch i Torres of Esplugues de Llobregat, it is a school where it is possible to find children with educational needs in almost every classroom.

Year 3:

“Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger disorder, is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development. Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical (peculiar, odd) use of language are frequently reported.”

McPartland J, Klin A (2006). "Asperger's syndrome". Adolesc Med Clin: 771–88

We find to B. he has the syndrome of Asperger. Is a very intelligent child, but in the moment that does not do to itself what he wants, all his aggressiveness transforms it into violence. He doesn’t have to do English, but normally it comes with us because now we are two and one more of teaching practice (Practicum I) in his class, at the time we are 3 adults in class. But during the classes he doesn’t do anything, has a special program, (Pla de treball) but since the teacher took the maternal leave he has not followed, we are waiting on the special education puts in touch with the substitute.

Year 4

“Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder[1] characterized by either significant difficulties of inattention or hyperactivity and impulsiveness or a combination of the two. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), symptoms emerge before seven years of age.There are three subtypes of the disorder which consist of it being predominantly inattentive (ADHD-PI or ADHD-I), predominantely hyperactive-impulsive (ADHD-HI or ADHD-H), or the two combined (ADHD-C). Oftentimes people refer to ADHD-PI as "attention deficit disorder" (ADD), however, the latter has not been officially accepted since the 1994 revision of the DSM. ADHD impacts school-aged children and results in restlessness, acting impulsively, and lack of focus which impairs their ability to learn properly.”

"Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder Information Page". National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. National Institute of Health. September 30, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.

 

We find L. she has ADHD. She can’t stay quiet, all the time in movement and talking. She wants but she can’t and for that she can’t follow the class. She hasn’t got a special program. But all the time we have to say her name.

Year 5

“Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. The diagnostic criteria require that symptoms become apparent before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood. It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met.”

Johnson CP, Myers SM, Council on Children with Disabilities. Identification and evaluation of children with autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics. 2007;120(5):1183–215. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-2361. PMID 17967920. Lay summary: AAP, 2007-10-29.

We find D. he has autism. He doesn’t have to do English, because he has a special program, but equal of B. nowadays we don’t have idea how to do this special program and D. stays with us at class and is really complicated because he all the time is doing noise and asking for something. The other day when they did the oral presentation, I stayed with D. because all the time was screaming, and I decided give some easy exercises like draw a tree, a house, a banana, but was really amazing when he drew his house, and he drew like a plane, amazing.

I can’t imagine when I will leave the school and the specialist alone with 24 pupils plus D. really difficult.

“Down syndrome (DS) or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. Down syndrome is the most common chromosome abnormality in humans. It is typically associated with a delay in cognitive ability (mental retardation, or MR) and physical growth, and a particular set of facial characteristics. The average IQ of young adults with Down syndrome is around 50, compared to children without the condition with an IQ of 100.[1][3] (MR has historically been defined as an IQ below 70.) A large proportion of individuals with Down syndrome have a severe degree of intellectual disability.”

Gordon Grant; Peter Goward; Paul Ramcharan; Malcolm Richardson (1 May 2010). Learning Disability: A Life Cycle Approach to Valuing People. McGraw-Hill International. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-335-21439-6.

 

We find R. she has Down syndrome. He doesn’t have to do English, she has a special program and she doesn’t stay at class. As B. and D. she has a special program that Ignasi, substitute of English has to plan.

You can read also: #the-child-centered-primary

“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” Malcolm S. Forbes

#Third week

This week Year 5 and Year 6 have to present their projects. The groups consist of 5 or 6 children.

Year 6

They have done very well; a group has tried the movie, "The Impossible", although they claimed the title in Spanish. The pronunciation generally been very well, considering that they said as parrots. Some had a touchdown and were reviewing, if only were blank, but others felt that if they did not say they could not speak in a run without error.

 I think 11 or 12 years old is a good age to make presentations. But the fact is that to learn it by rote, has been achieved is that they don’t know what they say; well that was my perception in some cases.

One thing I didn’t understand, are six members of the group, but asked to pass the power point to a person outside the group, who supposedly knows nothing about. Sure, they have to be making signals to move from slide, and that makes the audience lose the focus.

Once ended every presentation, the public has to do questions, we give them ideas of questions that they can do, since for example:

- Do you like the presentation?

 I surprise a child who says:  "some of they was speak bad"

Well, he does not also say it perfectly, because it would be, "some of them were speaking badly". But how you say this of your companions? We have asked for questions, not critiques. Then yes that the companions of class, said that it was very nice, but we had difficulties to start this part.

Another thing I have not commented is that we recorded the presentations, then, we have to pass to the school blog. I find it very interesting, is a way for families to see the work their children are doing in school and of course hear mostly English at home.

When they have just exposed the projects, in this case two groups, we realize that we should have done an example of presentation to them. So we improvise with a project that was in the computer of since a presentation must be done. Ignasi, insists and wants that the pupils, touch the screen selecting what they are saying, for example if they speak about a player and on the screen there are several players so that indicate the player to whom they refer. Overcoat, to speak with clear and high voice, since some of them speak very mop and they nothing is understood and if they remain in blank, do not hesitate to read a bit of the power point, it is better than to paralyze the presentation.

To finish, we ask them to write in a paper five things that are important in a presentation and later to deliver it to us.

Year 5

Since last week we went to the theatre, now we have to do the activities relating to this exit. The theatre sends to the school a notebook with activities and a CD to do the listening. Ignasi and I, we were speaking days before on that activities we might do and we decided do more dynamic and some to make concentrate.

One of the activities was on the parts of the body, since in the play this topic was treating itself, it can turn in annexes. It was consisting in: to listen to the CD that was saying the words and a number, and the pupils had to write the number, this way an order was created. But there was a problem, the CD that we had was new and the activity that we had was of the ancient notebook, so there was a word, in this case, HAND, which was not, they had SOCKS. Obviously we do not make clear to them that it was a mistake rather that was a trap.

 

Another activity was the song of the play, the title of the song is THOSE BONES, and the pace that continues is more or less like that: the hand bone is connected to the....

What a pity I wanted to look for the song in YouTube to share it here, but I don’t find it.

We had to put 4 times the audio. The pupils were saying that it was going very quickly, I also was doing the exercise and it is true that was going quickly, but after 3 times the great majority already tape-worm done.

Always, before beginning the audio, we revise the words, to do well the pronunciation. 

This group during this week also has done project presentation. The truth is that is a shame to say, those of fifth course could have more level than them of sixth. With them we follow the same dynamics that with them of sixth. To present and time for questions.

Year 4

The other day we spoke a bit about the Earth rotation and the motive as which we have seasons. Though we made it a bit visual, we think that we have to insist more on this topic. For this, we did a game. Before beginning it, Ignasi did a few questions:  is the Sun warm or cold?  Does the Sun move or is quite?

We took two volunteers; she was doing the Sun and other the Earth. Then we did a few examples of: if the Sun and the Earth see the faces it wants to say that it is at day. Being our face (Spain), but in the moment that the faces don’t see it happens to be the night. The pupils understood it very rapidly. Then we did examples of the seasons, depending in that position 

the Earth, if it is more nearby or beyond of the Sun, will want to say that it is a season or other one.

Then we put them in pairs and did a game. They had to choose, that one was the Sun and other one the land.

 Indications if we said: 

·         Rotation: the Earth has to turn in the same axis.

·         Orbit: the Earth has to be rotating on the same axis around the Sun.

·         Day: to be face-to-face with the Sun.

·         Night: to give him the back to the Sun.

·         Spring: a bit near the Sun.

·         Summer: closely together of the Sun.

·         Autumn: more far that in spring

·         Winter: very far from the Sun.

Was like a game if you made a mistake you lose.

Year 3 

The previous class we were speaking on the tastes, they did the exercise of the image that you can see. The teacher, Ignasi, sent them homework, they had to do a list of food, but they didn’t have to copy those of the book, had to extend vocabulary.

Then, I put on the board:  Do you have ....?

I asked them to copy it and asked if they knew that it wanted to say. Then I asked them how it should answer to this question. They answered: Yes I have or not I haven’t. But I won’t this answer. I prefer: Yes I do, No I don’t. And then they copy the answer.

I put them in pairs, one opposite other one. They had to ask one by one. Do you have in Salty, lemons? And other one had to answer Not, I don't or yes, I do. And this way they were practicing the speaking. 

When I saw that some words had mistakes I thought that we would have to do some correction. One by one were going out to the board to write a word. Then together we were correcting it.

During the week I have seen many presentations and the truth that there are pupils who have very much level, but on the other hand others don´t have level or simply they are not interested in anything, since his academic level is low not only in English but also in other subjects. I would like to be able to help them, but sincerely the schedule of the specialist of English does not give to do reinforcements, has everything busy. This is a shame.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Albert Einstein