UNIT-I

Issues and challenges of inclusive education

1) Appreciating diversity

Diversity means a range of difference. Having a diverse group of students simply means
recognizing that all the people are unique in their own way. As a teacher it is important to accept
and respect the differences. The difference may be on their reading level, understanding level,
aesthetic ability, cultural background, social background, personality, etc. It is challenging for a
teacher to accept and appreciate diversity and to do that the teachers can try the following tips:

Take time to learn about the students background, interests and learning style.
This will create a conclusive learning environment.
Fill the minds of students with positive attitude that they are special with their
diversities.
Accept them as they are. Appreciation and encouragement must be given to
special children.

2) Understanding the children with special needs

Children with special and mental disabilities experience personal limitations in the social,
psychological and economic spheres, some of which can be alleviated with parental, community
and governmental support. The critical task is developing and maintaining a focus on abilities
rather than on disabilities, then training those abilities to provide the greatest degree of personal
autonomy. Depending on the severity of conditions, the range of autonomy can vary from
functional independence to assisted living to institutional care.

Issues faced by special children are:

Social issues
Psychological issues
Economic issues
Access to service
Safety and security

School related challenges are:

School infrastructural difficulties are unfriendly to meet their needs.

Negative attitude towards CWDS by teachers, colleagues and peers.
They are presumed to be incapable to low intelligence, without friends and no
value from them.
The current school curriculum is not sensitive to the education needs of CWDS.
Financial incapability to manage the school dues.
 Few trained sign language teachers.
Long distance schools are not within the reach of CWDS.
Inadequate funding for accommodation and teaching-learning material.

Understanding the issues of children with special needs helped us to support and care such
students in our classroom. This activity also encourages us to work for their right who are born
so not of their own fault.

3) Train in-service teacher in inclusive teaching methods

Teachers are required to upgrade their professional skills on an annual or regular

basis to enhance their teaching performance.
Training on inclusive education methods like participative and collaborative
techniques can be used in order to reduce prejudice and discrimination among
children.
Training on child centered methods, employing active and participative learning
techniques which improve teachers capacity to teach children both with and
without disabilities.
Teachers must be taught to scout specific objectives for each children according to
their needs and abilities.
The teachers should be trained to provide instruction to students with disabilities
on non-core academic subjects like life skills, study skills etc.

Training courses that can be offered t in service teachers are:

Training on identification and classification of disability types.

Training on sign languages.
Training on individual education plan, monitoring and counseling.
A thematic workshop can be organized for each type of disability. In which expert
trainers works with classroom teachers after observing a lesson delivered by the
classroom teacher in an inclusive class.

4) Prepare pre service teachers for inclusive setting

Pre service education of teacher means, education of teachers before they enter into service as
teacher.Inclusive education is largely based on an attitude towards educating students with
special needs. This type of education is reliant on student access to curriculum.

The pedagogical manuscript of the inclusive teaching practice had been created to support
participation in the school community, evalution of inclusive school culture, reflecting on
significant learning experiences and cooperative building of knowledge.

A theoretical study module that can depend on the practical knowledge can be put in practice. It
consists of seven steps. They are as follows:
 The orientation period:
o Learning concepts
o Current discussion in the media
o The vision of an inclusive school
Teaching practice plan
Peer discussions
Participating and observing in school community discussions and interviews
Reflection on teaching which reflects their on experiences
Seminar for sharing and analyzing experiences
Theoretical part

For this special need teacher has to work very comprehensively with the whole
personality in a way that the action has pedagogically hit a gal and by respecting and
meeting the qualities of each child/pupil.

In pre service training for inclusive schools, the teachers should be made aware of
implementation of CCE in curriculum such as,

Observation and recording

Discussion
Expression
Explanation
Classification
Questioning
Analysis
Experimentation
Concern and equality
Cooperation

5) Curriculum modification

Curriculum modification is any change made to accommodate a students particular need.

Modification includes altering the content taught, changing the standards for assessment and
evaluation based on students needs and limitations.

Make sure whether students required curriculum modifications and adaptations. Determine what
and how to teach based on needs. Continuously evaluate the standards achievement and
challenges and make adjustment as needed. Provide continuous feedback among the standards
educational team members.

Curriculum modification should accommodate adaptation of the student needs and overlapping
curriculum, as modification strategies would require that teachers have training in handling
learners of diverse abilities.
6) Enhancing the infrastructural facilities

To provide children with special needs with comfortable, safe and controlled leaning, it is
important to create continuity in the environment so that they would have equal access to
education like typical students.

Specific infrastructure needed for inclusive school

Barrier free facilities

Wheel chair access
Comfortable classroom
All kinds of safety aspects should be considered for effective teaching and
learning process.

The school for these children should have the facilities like hostels, laboratories and school
buildings with restrooms. Transportation is one of the major problems faced by students with
disability. Adequate and appropriate transport can be helpful to the students with special needs.

Steps may be taken to equip the class with Braille books, talking textbooks, reading machines
and computers with speech software. For hearing impaired children support services include sign
learning, interpreters, transcription services and loop induction system can be provided. Teachers
may also be sensitized to the requirements of children with special needs by organizing in service
training programmes at the elementary and secondary level.

7) Flexible resourcing system

Flexible resources are resource which are made available in terms of the students need. The
resource may be text book material, well trained staff, infrastructure for special need and
providing proper environment.

Staff:

The teacher should be well trained with special B.ed course or any certificate
course regarding special education.
Care for the extra needs of the special students.
Well versed in childs psychology.
Update her knowledge about inclusive education through in-service programme.

Materials:

Study material should be available to all the students. Special books for visually
impaired students should be provided.
 For hearing impaired students more of pictorial representation and more black
board usage can be added.

Proper environment:

The teacher should check at regular intervals whether the materials are reached to
the needing students.
The teacher should also take care of special students needs like
o Providing motivation programmes to get rid of their inferiority complex
o Proper counseling should be given by a proper counselor.
o Infrastructure should be constructed in such a way that satisfy the
necessity of both the students.

8) Meeting the additional expense due to inclusion

Inclusion involves more expense than the normal setting. Those expenses include:

Equipment: Each and every student of the physically challenged should be provided with proper
equipment according to their disability. These equipments are expensive to buy.

Specially trained teachers/additional teacher: To give salary for these specially trained
teachers/additional teacher the school should have good financial condition.

Basic needs: Students with physically challenged should be provided with proper infrastructure
to meet their basic needs such as washrooms, canteen, etc..

Library: The library has to be reconstructed for those students with Braille books, audio-visual
aids.

Play ground-co-curricular activities: For the holistic development of the special children,
necessary equipments have to be provided for sports activity and for extracurricular activities.

The expenses can be met by:

Collecting fund from trust: The schools can request help from educational trusts such as NGOs,
educational clubs and organisations who are ready to give hands.

Handicraft exhibition: Children, capable of doing handicrafts can exhibit their items and collect
money by selling them.

Parents and teachers associations: Schools can conduct parents- teachers meeting where in the
management can express their needs to them and raise funds so as to fulfill them. Parents who
can afford to give can be motivated instead of asking everyone in general.

Contributions by NGOs for free teachers: Many organisations provide free teachers for schools
who cannot afford to pay them. In that case, the schools instead of spending too much amount for
the teachers, they can approach such organisations help, saving the money and meeting their
expenses.

Sponsors from various corporate society: Various corporate sectors and multi-national companies
can be approached by the schools. These corporate societies render all possible help to the
inclusive schools.

9) Monitoring the policies for establishing an accuracy system

Accountability of the Government of India and its implementing partners is imperative for
ensuring successful implementation of policy. It is important to disseminate information about
the rights that people with disabilities have under these laws through public awareness
campaigns that reach people across the country. The citizens of a country are the ones who will
hold the government accountable for its promises.

As exemplified above, it is difficult to know which information is true when looking at the
varying statistics from different agencies within the country. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan monitors
and reports the results of their program; however, as included above, their statistics are 40 often
different from other major institutions (DISE, NSS and the Government of India census).
However, a system of reliable monitoring is imperative for evaluating the success or failures of a
policy or scheme.

Less than 1% of all money allocated for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is used towards inclusion. In
addition, there have been numerous accounts of money being misused, and not benefiting
students with disabilities. The Government of India needs to create a system of accountability for
the money they allocate, to ensure it is being used for inclusion.

10) Goals for inclusion on realistic time line:

Following are the areas to be checked to reach the goals for inclusion on realistic timeline.

The percentage of schools those are accessible to children with disabilities.

The percentage of children with disabilities in need of accessible teaching and
learning resources who have regular access to such resources.
The percentage of teachers receiving in service training each year on inclusive
education.
The percentage of people with disabilities who have effective access to health
care, compared to the percentage of people without disabilities who have effective
access to health care.
Children with disabilities are 10 times less likely to attend school than those without.
Even if they attend school, they are more likely to drop out early while the level of
schooling they receive is frequently below that of their peers.

UNIT-II
 Government Schemes for differently-able children

Some of the prominent schemes introduced by the government are as follows:

Scheme of National Scholarship for Persons with Disabilities: This scheme provides
scholarships to differently abled people who want to pursue post matric/technical/professional
courses, the duration of which is more than one year. For children with problems like cerebral
palsy, autism, mental retardation or multiple disabilities, the scholarship is awarded from Class 9
onwards.

Comprehensive Education Scheme for Disabled Children: This scheme provides books,
uniforms, stationery, special learning equipment, accessible infrastructure, transport facilities, as
well as scholarships to the differently abled children. The visually impaired students also get
other additional benefits like as exemption from doing mathematical and pictorial questions.
Students with visual impairment, learning disabilities, orthopedic disabilities can also take the
help of readers or scribes during examination time. Extra time in examinations is provided for
students. These students are also exempted from third language and modification of curriculum
so that they do not face additional problems in completing their education.

Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship scheme: Students who want to pursue higher education such as
M.Phil / Ph.D can apply for Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship. The scheme covers all the universities and
institutions under the UGC and offers 200 fellowships every year. The fellowship is awarded for
a maximum of five years.

Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC)

In 1974 Government of India launched the scheme under the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, which was later shifted to Ministry of Human Resource Development. The
scheme intends to provide educational opportunities to students with disabilities in regular
schools and facilitate their retention through resource support in the schools. Children with
disabilities in the age group of 15-18 years are provided free education under different heads.
Assistance for all the items are covered in the scheme on 100% basis but assistance for the
programme would be conditional on prior creation of technically qualified staff as laid down in
the Scheme.

Scheme of IEDSS (Integrated Education for Disabled Children at Senior Secondary

Stage)

Aim of IEDSS is to

Enable all students with disabilities completing eight years of elementary schooling an
opportunity to complete four years of secondary schooling (classes IX to XII) in an inclusive and
enabling environment.
 Provide educational opportunities and facilities to students with disabilities in the general
education system at the secondary level (classes IX to XII).

Support the training of general school teachers to meet the needs of children with disabilities
at the secondary level.

The Scheme will include assistance for two kinds of components:

1. Student-oriented components-

It is proposed to provide assistance to States/ Union Territories / Autonomous bodies @Rs.3000/-

per disabled child per annum for specified items. This amount of Rs.3000/- per disabled child per
annum may be spent on the following components:-

(i) Identification and assessment of children with disabilities.

(ii) Provision of aids and appliances to all students with disabilities needing them

(iii) Access to learning material ensuring that each disabled student will have access to learning
material as per his/her requirement like Braille textbooks, audiotapes, talking books etc

(iv) Provision of facilities like transport facilities, hostel facilities, scholarships, books, uniforms,
assistive devices, support staff (readers, amanuensis).

(v) Stipend for girl students with disabilities they be given a stipend @ Rs.200 per month at the
secondary level

(vi) The use of ICT

(vii) Development of teaching learning material

(viii) External support from an interdisciplinary team of experts such as educational

psychologists, speech and occupational therapists, physiotherapists, mobility instructors and
medical experts has to be coordinated at the local level.

2. Other components (e.g. those relating to infrastructure, teacher training, awareness

generation, etc.)-Costs of non-beneficiary-oriented components like teacher training,
construction and equipping of resource rooms, creating model schools, research and monitoring,
etc. will be covered separately. These components would be as follows:-

(i) Removal of architectural barriers to ensure that students with disabilities have access to each
classroom, laboratory, library and toilet in the school.

(ii) Training of special/ general school teachers.

(iii) Orientation of principals, educational administrators.

(iv)Strengthening of training institutions and assistance to existing organization/NGOs to
develop teacher's training programme in inclusive schooling and for educational interventions for
specific disabilities.

(v) Provision of resource rooms and equipment for the resource rooms.

(vi) Appointment of special educators.

(vii) Development of some existing schools as Model Inclusive Schools.

(viii) Administration, Research &Development, and Monitoring & Evaluation.

(ix) Environment Building Programmes upto Rs.10,000/- per programme at local level.

USE OF BaLA IN INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

In its efforts to provide quality education in Government Schools, the Department of Education,
Government of NCT of Delhi, has taken an innovative initiative in the name of Building as
Learning Aid (BaLA).

BaLA is about innovatively treating the space and the built elements to make the existing school
architecture more resourceful with higher educational value in a child friendly manner. BaLA is a
way to holistically Plan and use the school Infrastructure. It incorporates the ideas of activity
based learning, child friendliness and inclusive education for children with special needs
(CWSN). At the core, it assumes that the architecture of school can be a resource for the
teaching-learning processes.

Salient Features of using BaLA in inclusive setting:

Buildings are all barrier free with provision of ramps.

All classrooms have proper size with double door, window and verandah.

Child friendly elements are introduced for access to schools, toilets, drinking water
arrangement.

There is provision of toilet for CWSN.

BaLA ideas are introduced in class room, verandahs, open space, playground, compound.

There is even a provision for earthquake resistance and fire safety measures.

It is an innovative way to conceive and use the various building components like the floor, wall,
door, window or even spaces like corridor and open space in such a way that it also helps
children and teachers in the process of teachinglearning apart from serving their usual
function.
For e.g. All the colors of the rainbow will be found on the ceiling fans. However, students would
be surprised to find that when the fan rotates only white would be visible. This would help teach
students the concept of VIBGYOR and that white light comprises seven colors.

Multi-sensory approach of learning like this is very useful for CWSN.

FACILITIES, CONCESSIONS AND ALLOWANCES AVAILABLE TO PERSONS WITH

DISABILITIES

Special Education is provided to Differently Abled children through 23 Government run Special
Schools, 54 Government Aided Special Schools and 152 Unaided Special Schools ie. totally
229 Special Schools are functioning under this Commissionerate:-
Following facilities are provided free of cost to the Differently Abled children studying in
Government run Special Schools

Special education, boarding and lodging

Four sets of uniform

Textbooks
In addition to the above, the following different types of assistance also are provided.

Scholarship

Readers Allowance for Blind

Scribe Assistance for Blind

Bus pass

Braille books and text CDs and CD players for 10th Std and +2 Std Visually Impaired
students
Study tours

Aids and Appliances such as Tricycles, Retrofitted Scooters, folding Wheel Chairs,
Calipers, Artificial Limbs, Modular Artificial Limbs, Crutches, Hearing Aids(Body level
and Behind the Ear), Solar Rechargeable Batteries, Folding Sticks, Magnifiers,
Goggles, Braille/ Talking Watches and C.P Chairs, etc.
Supply of Laptops with software for Blind and Hearing Impaired students

Assistance to Law Graduates at Rs.3000/- to purchase law books and registration in Bar
Council
Further, to encourage the Differently Abled to continue their studies and prevent dropouts
cash incentives are given.
 The top three State and District level Rank holders of 10th and 12th Std public
examinations are given cash prizes and incentives to pursue higher education, purchase
books/CD and Hostel fees.
Human Resource Development

To develop Human Resources in the area of Special Education Junior and Senior Diploma
Courses for Visually Impaired, Hearing Impaired and Mentally Retarded are being conducted by
the Institutions with the financial assistance from the Government of Tamil Nadu as indicated
below:

Professional Training Diploma in Teacher Education (DTE):

o Secondary Grade Teacher Training (DTE) is given to Orthopaedically differently

abled persons at the Government Higher Secondary School for the Blind,
Poonamallee.
o Diploma in Teacher Education to teach the Visually Impaired (DTE) is given at
the Government Higher Secondary School for the Blind, Poonamallee.
o Diploma in Teacher Education to teach the Hearing Impaired (DTE) is given at
the Little Flower Convent, Chennai.
o Diploma in Teacher Education to teach the Mentally Retarded is given at
Balavihar, Chennai-10.
Other training programmes conducted for provided to the various categories of Differently
Abled persons are as follows:
(1) Computer Training for Visually Impaired:Every year computer training (six months
duration) is given for Visually Impaired persons through Regional Centre of National Institute
for Visually Handicapped (NIVH) at Poonamallee.
(2) Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology: This training (two years duration) is given to
Ortho and Hearing Impaired persons by the Directorate of Medical Education in 12 Medical
Colleges i.e. Chennai, Chengalpattu, Thanjavur, Trichirapalli, Vellore, Salem, Coimbatore,
Madurai, Theni, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Nagercoil.
(3) Cell Phone Service Training: Three months Cell Phone training to Orthopaedically
Differently abled candidates is given through Directorate of Technical Education in all Districts
in Tamil Nadu (Polytechnic Colleges) and the trainees are paid Rs.300/- as stipend every month.
(4) Multimedia Training: One month training on Multimedia is given to the Locomotor
Differently Abled and Hearing Impaired persons at National Film Development Corporation Ltd.

(5) Modular Employable Skill Training: Short term Modular Employable Skill training
(Vocational Training) is provided to the Differently Abled Persons with hostel facility in all
Districts.
(6) Fitter Course for Hearing Impaired (I.T.I.): Government ITI, Guindy conducts a (two
years duration) special training for the Hearing Impaired persons in the trade of Fitter.

(7) Book Binding Training: This training (One year duration) is given for Visually Impaired, at
the Government Higher Secondary School for the Blind, Poonamallee.
(8) Weaving and Chalk- piece making etc.: This training is given for orphan and destitute
persons with visual impairment at the Government Sheltered Workshop for Visually Impaired
Women, Poonamallee, Chennai -56.

Economic and Employment Assistance

In Government jobs

Students are provided 3% reservation in seats in government and government-aided schools

and educational institutes.

There is reservation of 3% posts in positions in Groups A, B, C and D in Government services.

The Government has also given age relaxation of up to 10 years in the upper age limit for
employment to government posts for the differently abled people.

The differently abled people are also exempted from payment of application fees and
examination fees.

Persons with disabilities are not denied promotion on account of their disability.

Also there are certain positions or posts reserved for them in various departments in a
government office. These positions are reserved based on their ability to do the job as required in
that position.

Also for transferable jobs, the government has provisions to offer jobs to the differently abled
people nearest to their native places. Requests from recruits for transfers to offices as per their
choice are also given priority.

There are special employment cells and special employment exchanges in all district
headquarters of different state capitals for employing persons with disabilities.

The government has also set up various vocational rehabilitation centres for persons with
disabilities.

As per the decision of the Government of India, persons with disabilities should be posted as
near as possible to their native place.

In private sector
 The government provides for employment of differently abled people in the private sector
through incentives to employers.

The government pays the employers contribution of the provident fund and insurance up to
three years for employment of differently abled people with a minimum salary of Rs. 25,000 per
month.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has reserved 7.5% for persons with physical
disabilities who are involved in dealership agencies of public sector oil companies.

Self Employment

Differently abled persons are assisted financially for their self-employment.

A maximum subsidy of Rs.10,000/- is given for starting self- employment ventures.

The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation provides loans for self-
employment.

Motorised Sewing Machines are provided free of cost to Differently Abled persons for their self-
employment.

Unemployment Allowance is being given to the unemployed Differently abled Persons,

who have registered in Employment Exchanges and are on the live registers for more
than a year.

General benefits

People with disabilities are eligible for income tax deduction. Deduction of Rs. 50,000 is
provided in the range of 40 to 80% disability. Deduction of Rs. 1,00,000 is provided to those
with disability more than 80%.

Differently abled people are exempted from payment of professional tax.

Legal guardians/parents of dependent people with disabilities are also eligible for income tax
deduction, on expenditures incurred on medical care, training and rehabilitation etc.

Travel Concessions

Travel concessions for journey by train are up to 75 per cent available to the persons with visual,
locomotor, hearing and mental retardation. Similarly, by air, concessions up to 50per cent are
admissible to persons with visual and locomotor impairment.

Communication

(a) Postage
Blind Literature is exempted from the payment of postage.

(b) Telecommunication

For the blind persons there is a provision for 50 per cent rental rebate on telephone connection.

(c) Preference in allotment of STD/PCO

Educated unemployed persons with disabilities are given preference in allotment of STD/PCO
booths.

Customs concessions

Aids, appliances, devices such as Braillers, canes, calipers, wheel chairs etc. are exempted from
custom duty for individuals as well as institutions.

Conveyance allowance

Special conveyance allowance is admissible to persons with visual impairment and locomotor
impairment working in Govt. organizations.

Children's educational allowance

Provision has been made for the reimbursement of tuition fee of children with disabilities to the
parents working in Govt. organizations.

Award of Dealerships/Agencies by Oil Companies

Reservation has been made for the award of dealership of Kerosene, LPG etc. for persons with
disabilities.

Social Security Schemes:

Maintenance Allowance @ Rs.1000/- p.m. is given to 1,11,829 persons with Severe

disability, Muscular dystrophy, Mental retardation, Leprosy Cured Persons.
Marriage Assistance of Rs.25,000/- is given to the normal persons marrying Visually
Impaired / Orthopaedically Differently Abled / Hearing Impaired along with 4 grams
Gold for making Thirumangalyam. If the marrying person is Diploma Holder or
Graduate, he/she is given Rs.50,000/- with 4 grams Gold Coin for making
Thirumangalyam as Marriage Assistance.

Bus passes are provided to enable the differently abled to go to

Schools/Colleges/Hospitals/Training Centres / Work spots-Self-employed places. Travel
concession is given to escorts of children attending Early Intervention Centres of Deaf/
Mentally Retarded
 State and National Awards are given to best Differently abled persons, Institutions,
Teachers, Employers and Individuals to encourage for better rehabilitation of the
Differently abled persons in future.
Disability Identity Card is given to all Differently abled persons in the State, who are
having disability to the extent of 40% and above.
Other social security schemes like assistance for accident death, natural death, funeral
assistance, scholarships to sons/daughters of differently abled persons and spectacle
assistance etc., are implemented by the Tamil Nadu Welfare Board for the Differently
Abled.

Aids & Appliances:

Following Aids and Appliances are given to Differently abled persons free of cost:-

Tricycles

Retrofitted Petrol Scooters

Folding Wheel Chairs

Folding Sticks

Goggles

Behind the Ear Hearing Aids & Body level hearing Aid with Solar Rechargeable Batteries

Calipers

Crutches

Artificial Limbs and Modular Artificial Limbs

Braille Watches.

C.P Chairs

Reflecting folding sticks

Magnifiers
International Day of the Differently Abled Persons

International Day of the Differently Abled is observed on 3rd December every year by
the State Government in accordance with the Declaration of the United Nations
Organisation. The main aim of observing this day is to encourage the differently abled persons
to showcase their skills and abilities in various fields of Arts and Sports. In connection with the
International Day of the Differently Abled, State Level Sports Meet is conducted.
 UNIT-III

Concept and meaning of Diverse needs

In order to be successful with the entire student body, a teacher needs to create a
classroom in which students feel accepted and respected and where diversity is
celebrated.

In the classroom, "diversity applies to learning styles, background,

educational backgrounds, language, and support at home. Due to the vast diversity among
learners, teachers must work diligently to use different methods of instruction and
constantly monitor the comprehension taking place in the classroom to enable all students
in the classroom to succeed. A teacher will need to push the high achievers a little
farther, scaffold the students who require extra support, and allow students to use
technology when it can assist or help eliminate things such as language barriers.

Teachers must recognize the differences in the learning styles and abilities of the students
as each student comes to class with a different background that affects his or her ability to
succeed and that may cause learning difficulties. It is the job of a professional educator
to take the time to understand cultural differences and beliefs and to recognize them and
listen to the students when they bring forth a difference.

Recognizing differences allows for another avenue of communication and opens another
channel to explore deeper into a students ability to learn and comprehend. Fostering a
classroom where differences are recognized and respected leads to a quality learning
environment for all. This communication goes beyond the classroom as well. Teachers
need to communicate with families, counselors, and other professionals within the
school, coaches, and other teachers with whom the student has had success. Good
communication with the other people who impact a student allows the teacher to gain a
more thorough understanding of the student.

As a general education teacher the need to remain current on teaching strategies is also
important. The vast knowledge that can be gained by staying current in the profession is
needed. General education teachers need to learn to teach academic language and to
continually learn more about learning disabilities. This involves taking time to
collaborate with other teaching professionals and spending time daily reflecting on what
is working successfully and what is not. Having a willingness to admit that a teacher is
not reaching a certain sector of the population is an avenue for growth for a professional
teacher and definitely a benefit for the student population when the teacher improves.
 Visual Impairment
A visual impairment is any visual condition that impacts an individuals ability to
successfully complete the activities of everyday life. Students with non-correctable vision
problems have visual impairments. Depending on the severity of the condition, the
following terms may be used in the special education or regular education school
environment. To qualify as a visually impaired student, certain criteria must be met, like
low visual acuity, visual field limitation, progressive eye disease, or cortical visual
impairment.

Partially Sighted: it is a visual impairment that adversely affects a student's educational

performance even when corrected to the extent possible.

Low Vision: If someone's vision is between 20/70-20/160 and cannot be corrected, the
student has moderate to low vision.

Legally Blind: From 20/200-20/400 is legally blind with severe low vision. From
20/400-20/1000 is profound visual impairment, and is very close to total blindness.

Totally Blind: The lack of light perception is known as total blindness or total visual
impairment.

Visual Acuity

20/20 vision is a term used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of
vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. If you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at
20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. If you have 20/100 vision, it means
that you must be as close as 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at
100 feet.

Having 20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision. 20/20 vision only
indicates the sharpness or clarity of vision at a distance. Other important vision skills,
including peripheral awareness or side vision, eye coordination, depth perception,
focusing ability and color vision, contribute to your overall visual ability.

Identification of infants and toddlers

Medical professionals may diagnose based on a childs lack of visual fixation on parents
faces or interesting objects, abnormal eye movement, family history and visual acuity.

Identification in school-aged students

 Snelling charts are used for screening.
Teacher reports of frequent mannerisms that indicate problems seeing.
Comprehensive assessment follows confirmation of a vision loss adversely
affecting educational performance, includes the assessment of functional vision,
learning media, cognitive ability, academic achievement, orientation and mobility
skills, social skills and independent living skills.

Indicators to identify visual problems

A few indicators are given below to identify children with visual impairment:

Rubs eyes excessively

Watery eyes
Eyelids are often red
Holds objects and book too close to the eyes
Head very close to the book or reading material
Squints
Blinks more frequently
Take help from peers to copy from the blackboard
Regular headaches
Bumps into objects or people
Poor eye-hand coordination
Loses place while reading
Pressing through fingers on the eyeball to see
Pain and irritation in the eye
Not able to see in night
Depending too much on oral information
Not able to read in poor lighting condition
Poor performance in the class
Poor handwriting

One cannot be prescribed as visually impaired by finding one or two symptoms unless
there is thorough medical checkup and functional assessment.

The characteristics of blindness are understood by studying the objective effects of

blindness:

Reduction in range and variety of experiences

Reduction in the ability to move about
Reduction in control of environment and of self in relation to it
Reduction in range and variety of experiences: the concept development is very much
decided by the extent of experiences gained by the children in home and school
environment. The child with visual impairment should be given maximum exposure to
his/her nearest and distant environments.

Reduction in the ability to move about: a mere look brings lot of information to the
sighted child. But for getting the information, the child with visual impairment takes
longer time to know what is going around him/her. The loss of sight limits his/her power
to understand the environment and so she/he is reluctant to move about. To get rid of this
disability, it is important for the child to develop his/her sensory skills, sometime more
than the sighted child.

Reduction in control of environment and of self in relation to it: due to the lack of sight,
children with visual impairment are very much deprived of this power and so they have
difficulties in understanding their own environment and therefore, it leads to the poor
adjustment to the unseen environment, in which they move and live. They are not able to
establish the relationship with the world around him/her as good as the sighted child.

Specific characters of low vision

Low vision is not the same as blindness. Unlike a person who is blind, a person with low
vision has some useful sight. However, low vision usually interferes with performance of
daily activities, such as reading or driving. A person with low vision may not recognize
images at a distance or be able to differentiate colors.

The following points express the effects of low vision:

A person may have low vision from birth. Some conditions which result in low
vision begin during childhood or later.
Children with low vision from birth or a very early age are sometimes not aware
that their vision is limited and different from other peoples vision
During early childhood most learning occurs through the use of vision. When
vision is impaired, learning and communication may be affected.
Over time the level of low vision may stay the same. Sometimes the condition
may get worse, but it does not always end in total blindness.
Reactions to losing vision vary. Some people try to make no changes to how and
what they do. Other people withdraw from all activities completely.
People with low vision often need more time to do activities than people with
normal vision.
 When using vision for long periods, the person with low vision may become tired
more quickly than other people.
Some people with low vision see larger objects better and find it useful to use
large print for reading.
The eyes cannot be damaged by using vision or holding things close to the eyes.
The more vision is used; the better is the chance of improving visual functioning.

The following are some possible characteristics of students with blindness and low
vision:

Intellectual characteristics: the ability to see may have little or no effect on ones
general intelligent.
Play and social interaction skills: these may be delayed.
Language and concept development: language does not appear to be significantly
affected for many students. Association of words with concepts and understanding
concepts may be difficult without hands on experiences.
Academic achievement: when considering achievement, assessment methods
should be taken care of. Students with blindness or low vision can succeed in
academics at the same rate as their peers.
Perceptual abilities: visual perception may be significantly affected and include
orientation, mobility and way finding.
Psychological and social adjustment: these areas may be affected including social
isolation and negative reactions from peers.

Educational provision:

Use of remaining sight: the visually impaired children will have to rely on
sensory modalities other than vision to acquire information. But they are to be
encouraged to use their remaining vision as much as possible. This is particularly
advisable for partially sighted children.
Close circuit television: a closed circuit television reader has been developed to
aid partially sighted students in western countries. A camera with a zoom lens
photographs parts of a page of print and projects as magnified image in to the
television screen. The student moved the book while reading so that the
appropriate portion of the page is magnified. The size of the magnified print can
be controlled.
Magnifying glasses and hand magnifiers: the partially sighted children should
be encouraged to read the print through magnifying glasses or hand magnifiers
which present enlarged images of print.
 Large print materials: the partially sighted children should be provided with
large print materials. Large print books are simply volumes that contain print that
is considerably large than usual. The most common type recommended for such
children is 18 points type or letter approximately one-eighth inch high. Such print
reduces reading speed. However large print may be useful in case of reference
books, dictionaries, mathematics and maps.
Braille: braille is a basic system of reading and writing for the blind. It consists of
a six dot cell that provides for 63 different characters. 26 combinations of dots are
used for 26 letters of the alphabet. The remaining 37 combinations represent
punctuation signs and contractions that allow for shortening or abbreviating
words. In some ways braille is a system of shorthand since each word is not
spelled out letter for letter. As a result blind children have difficulty with spelling
because of the frequent abbreviations uses in the braille system. In addition to
braille code for reading and writing there are codes for music, mathematics,
computer science and chemistry.
Talking calculator: both the partially sighted and the blind may profit from a
talking calculator. In the talking calculator, numerical entries are read aloud to the
student through a car plug. Blind children may profit more from the talking
calculator in learning mathematics.
The plus curriculum: the plus curriculum is always recommended for blind
children. The plus curriculum is not something extra as the name may appear to
indicate. It is compensatory. It contains skills and competencies. The special areas
of the plus curriculum are as follows:
o Braille system
o Orientation and mobility
o Daily living skills
o Sensory training
o Social skills and
o Use of equipment like braillers and abacus
Co-curricular activities: visually impaired children should be given the
opportunity for participation in co-curricular activities in the school. Keeping in
view their visual impairments and their possibilities in performing co-curricular
activities the following activities are recommended for them. Singing, playing
instruments, debating composing poems. The visually impaired children
demonstrate slow pace of performance in co-curricular activities, in no case should
they be compared with slighted children. The approach in this case should be
purely on an individual basis.
 Hearing impairment
Hearing impaired children:

Hearing is the main sensory pathway through which speech and verbal communication
develop. If a child hears imperfectly, he is likely to speak incorrectly. Again, hearing also
influences learning and other aspects of maturation. Early detection of hearing
impairment is very important for the childs overall development. A defection hearing
mechanism will result in perceptual problems. Hearing impairment adversely affects our
knowledge of the world around us. Further, it also hampers the childs performance in
learning. Hearing impairment children are most disadvantaged than visually impaired
children. Hearing impairment is a greater barrier to the normal development of language.

Hearing is measured in decibels (dB). Decibels are a measurement of sound. This is

recorded on an audiogram. A person with normal earing can detect sounds as quiet as 10
or 15 dB. Hearing impairment also called deafness or hearing loss occurs when there is a
problem with or damage to one or more parts of the ear.

HEARING IMPAIREMENT is a generic term indicating a hearing disability, which may

range in severity from mild to profound; it includes the subsets of deaf and hard of
hearing.

Deaf means hearing impairment which is so severe that the student is impaired in
processing linguistic information through hearing, without amplification, which adversely
affects educational performance.

Hard of hearing means a hearing impairment, whether permanent or fluctuating, which

unfavorably affects a students education.

Rehabilitation council of india considers hearing impairment as a loss 70 dB and above in

the better ear or total loss of hearing in both ears.

A DEAF PERSON is one whose hearing disability precludes successful processing of

linguistic information through audition, with or without a hearing aid.

HARD OF HEARING PERSON is one who, generally with the use of hearing aid, has
residual hearing sufficient to enable successful processing of linguistic information
through audition.

Identification of hearing impairment

Significant hearing loss is one of the most common major abnormalities present at birth
and if undetected, will impede speech, language, and cognitive development. The early
identification of hearing loss permits the initiation of treatment and rehabilitation of the
hearing impaired child at very young age.

Parents are often the first people to sense that their child has a hearing problem. It is
important to recognize the signs of hearing loss in infants and toddlers as early as
possible. If a problem is suspected, the childs hearing should be tested without delay.

Based on the types of hearing loss, the following categorization on the degree of hearing
loss is made.

Normal hearing 10-15 dB HL

Slight hearing loss 16-25 dB HL
Mild hearing loss 26-40 dB HL
Moderate hearing loss 41-55 dB HL
Moderate-severe hearing loss 56-70 dB HL
Severe hearing loss 71-90 dB HL
Profound hearing loss 91+ dB HL
In the population of hearing impaired, a very few people have total deafness. People with
hearing impairment fall into two main categories, namely partial hearing impaired (mild,
moderate, and severe loss) and profoundly deaf (deaf).

Characteristics of hearing impairment

The following are the characteristics of hearing impairment:

Soft sounds cant be heard, such as some speech sounds like:s and p and ch.
Key parts of particular speech sounds may not be audible, meaning sounds are
misled and words misunderstood.
Sounds are difficult to separate, so voices can become jumbled up with
background noise.
There is a reduced range of hearing in the impaired ear.
Hearing loss provides diminished opportunities for conversation and the
embarrassment of misunderstandings.
Hearing impaired child misses the tone of voice which conveys so much.
Hearing impaired child suffers the humiliation of being thought stupid.
Participation in discussion, groups, meetings, conferences and lectures becomes
impossible or difficult for hearing-impaired child.
Hearing impaired child is not able to appreciate verbal art or repartee.
 Fatigue is caused by constant alertness-concentrating needed is very demanding
for hearing impaired child to maintain communication.
The reduction of social information from which to select, evaluate and formulate
opinions and assess the social mood.
Hearing impaired child is unable to do two things at the same time.
Hearing impaired child does not understand the reason for decisions clearly and
why they are excluded from decision-making.
Child lacks stimulation of discussion and debate and the sharpness of mind.
When people act unexpectedly without explanations hearing impaired child feels
awkward.
Hearing impaired child runs the risk of paranoia feelings and the reality of being
out cause depression.

Causes of hearing impairment

Causes of acquired hearing loss may be classified into two groups such as the causes
related to conductive loss, and the causes related to sensorineural loss. These causes are
listed below category wise:

Conductive loss
Obstructions in the outer ear, due to excessive wax or foreign bodies cause
conductive hearing loss as the sound waves cannot cause the eardrum to
vibrate properly and adequately.
Conductive hearing loss may result from accidents. A blow of explosion
causes sudden excessive pressure in the outer ear which may result in
rupture of eardrum. The eardrum may also get perforated by careless
syringing or probing.
Infections this can develop from a number of causes. Bacterial infections
cause otitis externa. It is also called swimmers ear as it frequently occurs
in swimmers. Swimmers often have water trapped in their ears. As a result,
this infection occurs. Otitis media is closely related to Eustachian tube and
can develop from the infections of the nose and throat such as cold, measles
and tonsillitis.
Otosclerosis also causes conductive hearing loss. It occurs due to
immobilization of the shapes by a growth of spongy bone.
Sensorineural loss
Accidents: there are possibilities to sustain head injuries when some
accidents occur. Due to head injury cochlea may be affected resulting in
 sensorineural loss. Middle ear surgery is also not without risk. When there
occurs failure, or post-surgery complication, it results in sensorineural loss.
Infection: viral or bacterial infections such as mumps and measles may
cause unilateral or bilateral loss. Bacterial meningitis, either meningococcal
or tubercular, damages the cochlea or the auditory nerve. As a result, severe
or total loss of hearing occurs. Sometime, it may occur several months after
the onset of the meningitis.
Environmental hazards: individuals exposed to constant noise due to
residential location or professions are likely to sustain sensorineural loss.
Sudden or prolonged exposure to high intensity of sound also affects our
hearing system. Ultimately it causes sensorineural loss.
Medication: excessive or prolonged use of some drugs affects human
hearing system. Ear poisoning drugs like quinine and antibiotics like
streptomycin, neomycin and leanamycin cause ototoxic loss.
Old age: as the old age sets in, there is a decline in the functioning of
organs and nerves. As a result, pre byacusis or hearing loss associated with
old age occurs.
Disease: Meniere disease cause sensorineural loss. It is a triad of
symptoms-vergio, tinnitus and learning loss.
Miscellaneous causes: miscellaneous causes include interruption of the
blood supply of the inner ear, and some virus infections of unknown origin
of tumors.

Communication approaches

The following are some of the main communication approaches used in the
education of children with hearing impairment. Early identification of hearing
loss, early intervention, parent-based program and access to appropriate hearing
aid and backup services are needed for developing communication of hearing
impaired person.

Oral/aural methods include

Auditory-verbal approach: the child is taught to listen first and is not required to
look at the speakers mouth for information. This approach emphasizes that
children can be educated to use even minimal amounts of residual or remaining
hearing. The use of amplified residual hearing permits the children to learn to
listen, process verbal language, and to speak.
 Auditory-oral approach: this approach combines speech, use of residual hearing
and speech-reading. Children use hearing with lip reading and speech to
communicate orally.

Manual methods include

Cued speech: cued speech is a sound based hand supplement to speech reading.
Combined with the natural lip movements of speech, the cues make spoken
language visible. So, cued speech follows the oral method with cues provided with
hand shapes and positions. These are linked inseperately with speech to assist lip
reading. Many words in the English language look the same eg: man, pan, ban,
mat, pat, mad, pad, and bad. The cues cannot stand alone and are intended to assist
early language and speech development.
Sign-language: for most deaf people, sign language is the preferred method of
communication. There are many reasons or this:
Lip reading is tiring and confusing, many words look the same and people
have different lip patterns.
Very few pre lingual profoundly deaf people learn to speak clearly;
Signs provide a visual reinforcement to the spoken word;
The emphasis is not only on the sign, but the location, classifier, hand
shape, movement, orientation and facial expression.
Signs are the language of the eye.
Finger spelling: there is one handed and two handed finger spelling. Using hand
combinations to represent the alphabet words can be spelled out. Some words can
be simply by abbreviation, or an initial letter. The signed news televised in India
every Sunday uses a great deal of the British finger spelling.
Total communication (TC): total communication is using any means of
communication like sign language, voice, finger spelling, lip reading,
amplification, writing, gesture, visual imagery etc. TC is a way of teaching
children with hearing loss. It encourages children with hearing loss to
communicate with hearing people and each other. Total communication includes:
Oral approaches
Aural
Finger spelling
Standardized sign language
Writing and reading
Mime and gesture
Facial expression and body language.