ED204Typology of Learners With Special Needs

Typology of Learners
with Special Needs

“ Know the Types and Know Your Rights ”
Reporters:
Objectives:
• Distinguish the different types,

identifications, etiologies, causes,
characteristics of learners who have
special needs.
What is typology of learners with special
needs?
• It is a study of or analysis or
classification based on types or
categories of a learners with special
needs.
There are four major types of special needs
children:
• Physical – muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, chronic asthma,
epilepsy, etc.
• Developmental – down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, processing disorders
• Behavioural/Emotional – ADD, bi-polar, oppositional defiance disorder,
etc.
• Sensory Impaired – Blind, visually impaired, deaf, limited hearing
A. Learners with intellectual disability
• The term 'intellectual disability' refers to a group of conditions caused by
various genetic disorders and infections. Intellectual disability is usually
identified during childhood, and has an ongoing impact on an individual’s
development. Intellectual disability can be defined as a significantly
reduced ability to understand new or complex information, learn new
skills and to cope independently including social functioning.
Impact of intellectual disability
The characteristics and impact of a person’s intellectual disability will vary depending on the cause. There are a
number of common characteristics that may have a significant impact on an individual’s learning, including:
• difficulty understanding new information

• difficulties with communication and social skills
• slow cognitive processing time
• difficulty in the sequential processing of information
• difficulties comprehending abstract concepts.
Cerebral Palsy
• Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect

a person's ability to move and maintain balance and
posture. CP is the most common motor disability in
childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain.
Palsy means weakness or problems with using the
muscles.
What is the main cause of cerebral palsy?
• Cerebral palsy is caused by a brain injury or

problem that occurs during pregnancy or birth or within
the first 2 to 3 years of a child's life. It can be caused
by: Problems from being born too early (premature
birth). Not getting enough blood, oxygen, or other
nutrients before or during birth.
3 early signs of cerebral palsy:
• Developmental delays. The child is slow to reach milestones
such as rolling over, sitting, crawling, and walking.
Developmental delays are the main clues that a child might
have cerebral palsy.
• Abnormal muscle tone. Body parts are floppy or too stiff.
• Abnormal posture. The child might also use one side of the
body more than the other when reaching, crawling, or moving.
Trisomy 21
• A medical term for having an extra copy of a

chromosome is ‘trisomy.’ Down syndrome is also
referred to as Trisomy 21. This extra copy
changes how the baby’s body and brain develop,
which can cause both mental and physical
challenges for the baby.
How is trisomy 21 caused?
• This is caused by abnormal cell division during the development of the
sperm cell or the egg cell.
Intellectual disabilities
• Most children with Down syndrome have mild to moderate cognitive
impairment. Language is delayed, and both short and long-term memory
is affected.
B. Learners with Learning Disability
• "The term means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or
written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think,
speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including
conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain
dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia."
Impact of learning disability
• Children with learning disabilities experience almost

everyday situations such as shame, anxiety, frustration,
social isolation, melancholy and lack of self-confidence
[9,10]. Such situations have serious psychological
effects on a primary child and contribute to creating a
negative self-image and low self-esteem.
Dyslexia
• Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves

difficulty reading due to problems identifying
speech sounds and learning how they relate to
letters and words (decoding). Also called reading
disability, dyslexia affects areas of the brain that
process language.
What are the main causes of Dyslexia?
• Dyslexia tends to run in families. It appears to be linked to certain genes that affect how
the brain processes reading and language, as well as risk factors in the environment.
Dyslexia risk factors include:
• A family history of dyslexia or other learning disabilities
• Premature birth or low birth weight
• Exposure during pregnancy to nicotine, drugs, alcohol or infection that may alter brain
development in the fetus
• Individual differences in the parts of the brain that enable reading
Dysgraphia
• Dysgraphia is a learning disability which involves impaired
ability to produce legible and automatic letter writing and
often numeral writing, the latter of which may interfere with
math. Dysgraphia is rooted in difficulty with storing and
automatically retrieving letters and numerals. Individuals
with dysgraphia often have difficulties in Executive
Functions (e.g., planning and organizing).
What is the cause of Dysgraphia?
• The cause of the disorder is unknown, but in

adults, it is usually associated with damage to the
parietal lobe of the brain. Dysgraphia is a
neurological disorder characterized by writing
disabilities. Specifically, the disorder causes a
person's writing to be distorted or incorrect.
Dyscalculia
• Dyscalculia is a term referring to a wide range of

difficulties with math, including weaknesses in
understanding the meaning of numbers, and
difficulty applying mathematical principles to
solve problems. Dyscalculia is rarely identified
early.
What causes dyscalculia?
The exact causes for dyscalculia cannot be pointed and differ from person to person. However, following is a list of
potential causes.
• Genetic: Researchers have found that a child with dyscalculia often has a parent or sibling with similar math
issues. Turner's syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Velocardiofacial syndrome, Williams syndrome are some of
the genetic disorders that have been observed in people with dyscalculia. Certain genes in the population
people put members at high-risk of dyscalculia.
• Brain development: Researchers are using modern brain imaging tools to study for a comparative analysis
of people with and without dyscalculia. Such researches have observed a difference in the gray matter,
surface area, thickness, volume of parts of the brain that are associated with learning, memory and cognitive
capacities. Research in ‘special populations’ such as babies with Turner’s syndrome shows the presence of
less brain cells or gray matter in those parts of the brain that are known to process mathematics.
• Environment: Dyscalculia has been linked to exposure to alcohol in the
womb. Prematurity and low birth weight may also play a role in
dyscalculia. All of these may cause delayed brain development.
• Brain injury: Studies show that injury to certain parts of the brain can
result in what researchers call ‘acquired dyscalculia’.

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Typology of Learners

with Special Needs

• Distinguish the different types,

• difficulty understanding new information

• Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect

• Cerebral palsy is caused by a brain injury or

• A medical term for having an extra copy of a

• Children with learning disabilities experience almost

• Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves

• The cause of the disorder is unknown, but in

• Dyscalculia is a term referring to a wide range of

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