CASE STUDY:AJ is a second-grade student who is deaf in his right ear (sensorineural
hearing loss) and due to a physical deformity (conductive hearing loss) is hard of
hearing in the left ear. However, he is scheduled for surgery on his left ear because
doctors are hopeful that once the physical problem is corrected, he may have partial
hearing in that ear. He uses sign language to communicate, but neither his mother nor
his siblings know or use sign language. He attended preschool, kindergarten, and first
grade at a residential school for the deaf, but he is being transferred to a public school
due to the closing of the residential school. Mr. Hanks is the second-grade teacher who
will have AJ in his class. This school has never had a student with hearing loss as
significant as AJ’s. Prior to AJ’s arrival, a team of professionals met in order to make his
transition as smooth as possible. The following questions were the topic of the meeting:
What are some of the social, emotional, behavioral, and academic characteristics of
students with hearing loss? How do these characteristics affect the interactions between
students with deafness and their peers?
What are positive outcomes of having a child with a disability, as reported from parent
interviews? Include at least four outcomes.
CASE STUDY: Macy is an energetic 5-year-old who is blind. Born prematurely, Macy
received an excessive amount of oxygen while in an incubator, resulting in the disease
known as retinopathy of prematurity. Macy’s parents, although very protective, want her
to be in their neighborhood school.
What is unique about the assessment process for identifying a student with a visual
impairment?
In spite of the reluctance to label young children with emotional and behavioral
disorders, professionals are concerned about the mental health of young children based
on what two factors?
What are some of the challenges that hearing parents must face when they learn their
child has a hearing loss?
The largest group of school-aged children with special needs receiving special
education services is students with learning disabilities.
What is acceleration?
What elements make a transdisciplinary team the most collaborative of the special
education teams?
CWPT stands for classwide peer tutoring.
What is content integration? What are the four Fs that are most commonly used in
content integration?
At what age is it appropriate for a transition plan to be provided for students with
disabilities? What services does the transition plan include?
How does a student’s hearing loss or deafness affect his or her cognitive abilities?
What are the causes of visual impairments? Provide two examples.
CASE STUDY: Bobby is a 12-year-old student who was diagnosed with severe mental
retardation and orthopedic impairments at the age of 4. Bobby was born as a normal,
healthy baby. While on vacation with his family at the age of 4, Bobby had his first
seizure. Although Bobby was rushed to a hospital by his parents, it took hours before
the seizure was stopped by medical professionals. The result of this seizure was severe
brain injury. Bobby does not have the ability to verbally communicate his wants and
needs. His parents have moved him from his neighborhood school where Bobby spent
his elementary school years misunderstood and frustrated. His parents now have turned
to a specialized school hopeful that their son will receive the care and education they
believe he deserves and needs.
Which of the two definitions, the federal definition or the TASH definition, best
describes Bobby’s condition? Why?
What factors have prompted professionals to focus on prevention within the population
of students with emotional and behavior disabilities?
Values and behavior patterns are two critical elements of culture. Explain these
concepts and provide and example of each.
How does culture affect the learning process? In what ways has culture influenced your
role as a professional in dealing with individuals of different cultures?
Describe the characteristics of students with multiple and severe disabilities within
the following categories: cognitive/academic and social/emotional. How do these
characteristics affect the educational experience of these students?
How are inclusive practices implemented for students with vision impairment? When
inclusion is not the best fit for a student, what are some of the alternative service
options?
Which do you feel is the least restrictive?
CASE STUDY: Alex has just begun attending a new elementary school. She is nervous
about meeting new friends and having new teachers. She finds that schoolwork at her
new school seems much harder than at her previous school. The difficulties she was
having at her old school seem even worse here. She is a very fluent reader but she
cannot seem to answer questions about what she has just read. She is very accurate in
math (computation,) but the word problems cause her a great deal of frustration. Alex is
very popular with her peers and makes friends easily. However, her teachers are always
telling her to “be still, stop talking out of turn, and stay in your seat.” Alex loves to tell
stories and is very creative. If her teachers would let her tell stories instead of write
them, she would get better grades. She has difficulty getting her thoughts down on
paper and her handwriting is very messy. Alex loves school and wants to do well, but
she sometimes feels that she does everything wrong.
If you were working with Alex, in any capacity, what type of informal assessments
could you do to assist in determining her strengths and weaknesses?