Embracing Diversity - Queensland Catholic Education Commission

Embracing Diversity [pic]
Introduction Teachers have a professional obligation to respond to a range of
educational needs on a daily basis. Students present with a diversity of
personal characteristics and experiences attributable to physical, personal
health or wellbeing, intellectual, psychological, religious, cultural,
socio-economic or life experiences that may impact on their access to and
participation in learning. A thorough background knowledge and
understanding of the conditions that impact on learning is fundamental to
managing the diversity within classrooms. The information resource package; 'Embracing Diversity: Responding to
learning difference' is intended to empower educators with the knowledge
and understanding required to cater for the diverse learning needs of all
students. It aims to promote inclusive practices. The concept of
electronic access to the resource through the school intranet recognises
the centrality of the classroom teacher and the emphasis of a whole school
approach to the provision of inclusive educational practices. Reference to definitions and features of conditions is not intended to
label or classify students but rather provide relevant background
information to support teachers address the unique characteristics and
specific individual needs of students in their classes. The suggested adjustments to classroom management and teaching strategies
may represent effective practice for all students; however they are
essential for those students experiencing learning differences. Without
specialised instruction and implementation of specific strategies, students
with disabilities and learning differences will not effectively move
forward and attain their full learning potential. The notion of teachers
and classroom aides empowering students to become increasingly independent
through the acquisition of a repertoire of strategies and metacognitive
processes specific to their own learning profile is another aim of the
resource package. The occurrence of overlap of information and strategies across areas is
addressed through the inclusion of links within the document as well as to
additional reading and resources. Referencing to sources of information is
provided at the end of each area. The concept of an electronic knowledge base such as this represents an
evolving, ongoing project. Schools can tailor the resource to suit their
specific context. Conditions and learning differences specific to
individual students in the school cohort can be added through using the
template provided. Invitations for feedback, suggestions and contributions for inclusion will
be valued and most welcome. If you are interested in receiving emails of
future updates to this resource, please submit your details to the
following contact: dianne.mcroberts@stjamescollege.qld.edu.au Dianne McRoberts January 2010 Click on page number Acquired Brain Injury 4
Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 9
Anxiety Disorder 20
Aphasia 25
Asperger Syndrome 27
Attention Difficulties 32
Auditory Learning Differences 35
Auditory Closure 40
Auditory Discrimination 43
Auditory Memory 46
Auditory Sequential Memory 49
Central Auditory Processing Disorder 52
Autism Spectrum Disorder 58
Bipolar Disorder 71
Cerebral Palsy 74
Chiari Malformation 77
Communication Difficulties 79
Convergence Insufficiency 82
Depression 85
Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia 88
Diabetes 90
Down Syndrome 93
Duane Syndrome 98
Dyscalculia 100
Dyslexia 105
Dyspraxia 109
Epilepsy 112
Executive Functioning 117
Expressive Language Disorder 120
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome 123
Fragile X Syndrome 126
Hearing Impairment 128
Intellectual Disability 139
Learning Differences 144
Marfan Syndrome 153
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 155
Non-Verbal Learning Disorder 159
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 162
Oppositional Defiant Disorder 165
Pervasive Developmental Disorder 168
Phonemic Awareness 173
Phonological Awareness 175
Physical Impairment 177
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 182
Pragmatic Language Disorder 188
Psychosis 192
Receptive Language Disorder 198
Schizophrenia 201
Scoptic Sensitivity Syndrome (Irlen Syndrome) 205
Sensory Integration 207
Social Emotional Disorder 210
Speech Language Impairment 214
Spina Bifida 218
Tourette Syndrome 221
Visual Processing Learning Differences 226
Visual Discrimination 233
Visual Memory 237
Visual Motor Integration 239
Visual Sequencing 242
Visual Spatial 244
Vision Impairment 249
Williams' Syndrome 254
Word Finding Difficulties 258
XYY Syndrome 262
Acquired Brain Injury [pic]
Definition Acquired brain injury is a complex and individual disability resulting from
trauma to the brain as the result of an open or closed head injury, brain
tumors or infections or deterioration of the brain tissue for unknown
reasons.
Features
Physical . Reduced physical co-ordination . Slowing of motor function and response time . Lowered endurance and fatigue . Speech, vision, hearing and other sensory impairments . Headaches . Muscle spasticity . Paralysis . Seizure disorders . Problems with sleep . Dysphagia (disorder of swallowing) . Dysarthria (disorder of articulation and the muscular/motor control of
speech) Cognitive Changes . Short and long term memory deficits - ability to retain or process new
information. Students will lose books and equipment, forget
appointments and arrangements, ask the same questions again and again,
or forget which classroom they are supposed to be in. . Slowness of thinking - slow to answer questions or to perform tasks
and they may have difficulty keeping up in conversation. Their
capacity to respond quickly in an emergency may also be lost. . Difficulty maintaining attention and concentration - tendency to lose
concentration or be distracted easily from what they are doing; may
have a short concentration span, which means they might jump from one
thing to the next. . Communication -a broad range of social skills may be affected by an
acquired brain injury including the ability to start or take turns in
conversation, interpret and respond to social cues, show interest in
others, use humour appropriately, shift between topics of conversation
and regulate the volume and tone of voice. A person with brain injury
often loses their listening skills, and may talk excessively.
Accompanying memory problems may mean that they often repeat topics as
well. . Poor planning and problem-solving - difficulty solving problems and
planning and organising things they have to do. They may encounter
trouble with open-ended decision-making. . Lack of motivation or inability to initiate activities - due to the
lack of initiative, in spite of all good intentions, someone with a
brain injury may sit around at home all day long and watch TV. If the
problem is severe they may need prompting to do basic grooming and
hygiene routines. . Lack of insight - great difficulty seeing and accepting changes to
their thinking and behaviour. . Inflexibility - can be very inflexible in their thinking. They can't
always change their train of thought, so they may tend to repeat
themselves or have trouble seeing other peoples' points of view. They
may not cope very well with sudden changes in routine. . Problems with reading and writing skills . Impairments of perception, sequencing, reasoning, and judgement
Behavioural Changes . Depression and /or anxiety - a very common emotional consequence that
usually comes some time after the injury. Signs of depression include
lack of motivation, loss of sexual drive, sleep disturbance and
tearfulness. . Impulsivity - can often do things on impulse because they may have
lost the filtering system or control that makes them stop and think
before jumping in. This can lead to a wide range of behavioural issues
and problems with relationships and finances. . Emotional liability - Just as people with a brain injury have
difficulty controlling their behaviour, they may also have difficulty
in controlling their emotions. They may cry too much or too often or
laugh at inappropriate times, or they may suffer rapid mood changes,
crying one minute and laughing the next. . Stress, frustration and anger - a common trigger to personal stress is
the feeling of helplessness or being trapped in a situation over which
we have no control. . Confusion / inability to cope / difficulty accepting change -
normally, people use their planning and organising skills to work
their way through confusion and change. However, because acquired
brain injury often results in some loss of these skills, it may be
difficult for a student with an acquired brain injury to deal with
change and confusion. Confusion usually comes about through: o Unrealistic self-expectations e.g. The student may have a memory of
achievement that is inconsistent
o Others having too high an expectation of the student
o The student attempting to achieve too much at once
o Interruptions, noise, cl