Disabilities in the Classroom
Info on barriers your child's classmates may experience.
To whom it may concern (parents/guardians):
My students, your children, come in contact with many peers every day in the classroom. a few of these children, however, have special needs or disabilities (barriers holding them back) that prevent them from learning in a normal environment. If your child has questions about these students, here are some answers you can give them. Please encourage your children that our students in the special education program are not very different and deserve to be accepted as everyone else.
Autism
Autism is a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts. This is common in our school. Here are a few sites about autism that describes the condition more:
- https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism
- http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/brain/autism.html
- https://www.teachervision.com/autism/teaching-methods/8203.html
- https://www.care.com/a/teaching-your-child-about-peers-with-special-needs-0812040913
- http://insideschools.org/special-education/about-special-education
Down Syndrome
Down Syndrome is a congenital disorder arising from a chromosome defect, causing intellectual impairment and physical abnormalities including short stature and a broad facial profile. It arises from a defect involving chromosome 21, usually an extra copy (trisomy-21). This isn't as common in our school but seems to be common in the world. Sites about Down Syndrome:
- http://www.ndss.org/Down-Syndrome/What-Is-Down-Syndrome/
- http://www.ndss.org/Resources/Education/Education--Down-Syndrome/
- http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/birth_defect/down_syndrome.html
- http://www.yourparenting.co.za/health/special-needs/downs-syndrome/help-your-child-understand-downs-syndrome
- http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/down-syndrome