Transcript Mentally Disabled Students

Christine Le Claire
Julie Amoroso
Until Rosa’s Law was
signed by President Obama
in October 2010, IDEA
(Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act)
used the term “mental
retardation” instead of
“intellectual disability.”
Intellectual disability is defined as “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.”
Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by
significant limitations both in intellectual functioning
(reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive
behavior, which covers a range of everyday social and
practical skills. This disability originates before the age of
18.
The IQ Test is a
major tool in
measuring
intellectual
functioning, which is
the mental capacity
for learning,
reasoning, and
problem solving. A
test score of about
70- to a high of 75indicates a limitation
in intellectual
functioning.





Use simple, short,
uncomplicated sentences
to ensure maximum
understanding
Repeat instructions and
directions frequently
Keep distractions and
transitions to a minimum
Reinforce positive
behavior
Help the student to
develop appropriate
social skills to support
friend and peer
relationships




Provide encouraging,
supportive learning
environments that will
capitalize on student
success and self esteem
Use appropriate program
interventions in all areas
where necessary to
maximize success
Use alternative
instructional strategies
and alternative
assessment methods
Teach one concept or
activity component at a
time
Assist with coping strategies
Ensure that your routines and
rules are consistent. Keep
conversations as normal as possible
to maximize inclusion with peers
Teach one step at a time to help
support memorization and
sequencing
Teach students in small groups, or
one-on-one if possible
Always provide multiple
opportunities to practice skills in a
number of different settings
Use physical and verbal prompting
to guide correct responses, and
provide specific verbal praise to
reinforce these responses
Teaching students with intellectual disabilities to read
is extremely challenging. These students face severe
deficits in memory and language that make it very
difficult for them to learn to read. Most students with
an intellectual disability learn very few, if any, basic
reading skills. However, the outlook is improving
because we now know much more about teaching
reading to students with an intellectual disability.
Functional sight-word instruction
using time delay:

•
Sight word instruction is defined as a whole word approach
through which students learn to automatically recognize
important, high frequency words without decoding.

Also referred to as functional reading, we teach certain sight
words with the intent that the student will be able to use the
skills to function as independently as possible in their
environment and in the community.
Sight word instruction does not give the students strategies to
identify words that are not in their sight word vocabulary
therefore they are limited to only the words that they have been
taught.
Time delay is a method of systematic instruction used for discrete
skills such as learning sight words, stamping a name, pointing to a
picture to answer a comprehension question or number recognition.
Comprehension
Fluency







Alhor, Jill. "Research-Based Techniques for Teaching Early Reading Skills to Students with Intellectual Disabilities."
Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities 44.3 (2009): 356-366. WilsonWeb. Web. 21 Nov 2011.
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.cwplib.proxy.liu.edu/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/re
sults_common.jhtml.35>.
Alhor, Dr. Jill. "Maximizing Literacy Outcomes for." Institute for Evidence Based Education. Department of
Teaching and Learning, 07/12/2010. Web. 21 Nov 2011.
<http://smu.edu/education/evidencebasededucation/Library/Maximizing Literacy Outcomes.pdf>.
Cooper-Duffy, Karena. "Teaching Literacy to Students With Significant Cognitive Disabilities." Teaching
Exceptional Children. 42.3 (2010): 30-39. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.ksde.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=yJbYyLUAq6k=&tabid=2384&mid=9027>.
Schreiner, Erin. "Intervention Strategies for Mentally Handicapped Students." EHow Family. EHow Family, n.d.
Web. 21 Nov 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/way_5848027_intervention-strategies-mentally-handicappedstudents.html
Scruggs, April. "Effective Reading Strategies for Students with Significant Cog_scruggs.htmnitive
Disabilities."2008. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
http://www.cehs.wright.edu/~prenick/Winter_Spring_08_Edition/webpages/april
"FAQ on Intellectual Disability." American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. American
Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2011. Web. 21 Nov 2011.
<http://www.aamr.org/content_104.cfm>.
"Intellectual Disability." NICHCY. National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, n.d. Web. 23 Nov
2011. <http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/intellectual "Intervention Strategies for Mentally Handicapped
Students." eHow Family. eHow, n.d. Web. 23 Nov 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/way_5848027_interventionstrategies-mentally-handicapped-students.html

“Mild Intellectual Disability.” About.com.". New York Times Company, 2011. Web. 21 Nov 2011.
<http://specialed.about.com/od/handlingallbehaviortypes/a/MID.htm>.

"Mental Retardation." Project IDEAL Informing & Designing Education For All Learners. Project
Ideal, n.d. Web. 21 Nov 2011. http://www.projectidealonline.org/mentalRetardation.php.

"Mental Retardation." Project IDEAL - Informing and Designing Education For All Learners. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 23 Nov 2011. <http://www.projectidealonline.org/mentalRetardation.php>.




"Mild Intellectual Disability, MID/ Mild Mental Retardation." About.Com/Special Education.
About.Com, n.d. Web. 23 Nov 2011.
<http://specialed.about.com/od/handlingallbehaviortypes/a/MID.htm>.
"NICHCY Disability Fact Sheet 8." National Dissmenation Center for Children with Disabilities , .
Intellectual Disability. N.p., 2009. Web. 21 Nov 2011.
<http://nichcy.org/disability/specific/intellectual
"Reading and Students with Mental Retardation." PARA. Partnership for Accesible Reading
Assessments, n.d. Web. 23 Nov 2011.
http://www.readingassessment.info/resources/publications/mentalretardation.htm.
“The Arc”. The Arc - For People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, n.d. Web. 23
Nov 2011. http://www.thearc.org/>.