Special Education is the design and delivery of teaching and learning strategies for individuals with disabilities or learning difficulties who may or may not be enrolled in regular schools. Students who need special education may include students who have hearing impairment or are deaf, students who have vision impairment or are blind, students with physical disabilities, students with intellectual disability, students with learning difficulties, students with behaviour disorders or emotional disturbance, and students with speech or language difficulties. Some students have a number of disabilities and learning difficulties.

People with disabilities do not wish to be seen as the object of a punishment or blight, or as victims, either. Nor do they wish to be seen as continually suffering or in need of sympathy. They don’t like terms such as `suffers from’, `afflicted with’, `physical problem’, etc.

Special Education is the design and delivery of teaching and learning strategies for individuals with disabilities or learning difficulties who may or may not be enrolled in regular schools. Students who need special education may include students who have hearing impairment or are deaf, students who have vision impairment or are blind, students with physical disabilities, students with intellectual disability, students with learning difficulties, students with behaviour disorders or emotional disturbance, and students with speech or language difficulties. Some students have a number of disabilities and learning difficulties.

People with disabilities do not wish to be seen as the object of a punishment or blight, or as victims, either. Nor do they wish to be seen as continually suffering or in need of sympathy. They don’t like terms such as `suffers from’, `afflicted with’, `physical problem’, etc.

The World Health Organization (1980) determined the following definitions, which have been generally accepted throughout the world an abnormality in the way organs or systems function e.g., a medical condition, eye disease, a heart problem

Disability :the functional consequence of an impairment e.g., an intellectual disability due to brain impairment; low vision; deafness

Handicap : the social or environmental consequence of a disability e.g., a person with a wheelchair is not handicapped when paths and buildings are wheelchair accessible .

     In writing and speaking about, and with, people with disabilities, whether they are young or old, it is most important to use appropriate terminology. Firstly, it demonstrates to all that we value people with disabilities as members of our society. Secondly, it educates those who read and hear what we say, about appropriate terminology, and therefore gives them an opportunity too, to help develop and promote positive, inclusive and equitable values.

There are 6 major areas of special need that teachers are likely to come across in  Al Ibtisama

•         Learning difficulties
•         Intellectual disability
•         Physical disability
•         Speech impairment
•         Behavioural and emotional disorders
•         Multiple Disability

Learning Disability

The students with special educational needs that teachers are most likely to come across in their classes are students with learning difficulties. These are students who do not necessarily have any disability but, for some reason, have difficulty with learning. Usually, these students have difficulty in only some areas of their learning, such as literacy, mathematics, and receptive language (understanding instructions or directions, following stories, and so on). Put simply, students with learning difficulties are students who are experiencing significant difficulties with at least one area of their learning at school.

Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disability is a substantial limitation in cognitive functioning (i.e., thinking skills). People with intellectual disability usually have limited communication skills, limited self- care skills, poor social skills, and very limited academic skills. Most importantly, people with intellectual disabilities have great difficulty with learning and usually require special teaching methods to learn efficiently.

Children can have communication problems for a variety of reasons. In many cases, a communication problem is the result of another disability, such as intellectual disability, severe learning difficulties, physical disability (e.g., cerebral palsy, cleft lip or palate), deafness or moderate hearing loss, or an emotional or psychological disorder. In other cases, and for no obvious reason, children have difficulty learning, understanding or expressing language. There are three types of communication problems:

Expressive problems

Expressive  problems  are  the  most  obvious  communication  problems.  Children  may  be unable to sequence sentences properly so they use incorrect word order or grammar, or just speak in one-word sentences. Children may have articulation problems, where they cannot physically produce certain sounds or words, or where they stutter. Some children speak too softly or too loudly and others speak in a monotone, without using expression.

Problems with interacting

Some children lack good social and conversational skills. They don’t know how to take turns when talking, they don’t know how to begin or end a conversation, or they might not make eye-contact or use appropriate body language. Some children also cannot pick up the subtle expressions and emphases in language.

Receptive problems Difficulties

Receptive problems Difficulties   with the comprehension and understanding of spoken language – `receptive’ problems, are less obvious than other speech problems and more difficult to identify than other problems. Nevertheless, they can have serious consequences for children’s learning and development (Wright & Kersner, 1998). Children with receptive problems struggle with the meanings of words and the meanings of sentences. They often have difficulty with the subtleties of language and with abstract concepts. They can have problems making predictions and inferences in language. Sometimes they appear to have appropriate expressive skills but this is often just meaningless chatter.

Behavioural and Emotional Disorders

Behaviour disorders are regarded as those behaviours that students sometimes exhibit that are inappropriate and unacceptable in the classroom or school. Sometimes, students exhibit inappropriate  behaviour  because  of  emotional  disorders  but  it  is  often  impossible  to determine whether or not a student’s behaviour is actually caused by an emotional disorder. For practical reasons, behavioural and emotional disorders can be grouped as one area of special need.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD),  also known    as Pervasive  Developmental  Disorders (PDDs), cause   severe and pervasive impairment in thinking, feeling,   language, and the ability to relate to others. These  disorders are usually first diagnosed in early childhood  and range from a severe form, called Autistic Disorder,  through Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise  Specified (PDD NOS), to a much milder form,  Asperger’s Disorder. They also include two rare  disorders, Rett’s Disorder and Childhood Disintegrative  Disorder.

Multiple disabilities

Multiple disabilities” means concomitant  impairments (such as mental retardation blindness, mental retardation orthopedic impairment, etc.), the   combination of which causes such severe educational  needs that they  cannot be accommodated in special  education programs solely for one of the impairments.  The term does not include deaf blindness.

Physical Disabilities

Physical disabilities place some limitation on a person’s ability to move about, use their limbs or  hands  or  control  their  own  movement.  Physical  disabilities  are  the  most  obvious disabilities, as a rule, although there are some conditions that limit movement and mobility in less obvious or inconsistent ways (e.g., epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, diabetes). Students with more severe physical disabilities often have related health problems and, of course, physical disabilities are often a symptom of health problems.