SEN Education: Exclusion or Inclusion

Inclusion in education means that children with mild to moderate special education needs are taught alongside their peers without special education needs.

photo credit: crabtree junior school

Exclusion on the other hand is when children with special needs attend special schools. ( Exclusion is gradually fading in modern education societies). Though children with severe and multiple SEN are adviced to be in special schools where proper provision will be made for their needs.
 

 photo credit: SEN Dairy

Inclusion is well practiced in schools in Nigeria. I believein  inclusion beacause I know inclusion in our schools is the first step towards inclusion in the society. Also inclusion brings diversity into the classroom.









 photo credit: Griffe Primary School

To make SEN inclusion easy, below are seven principles of inclusion :

1. Teaching All Students
Educators should take several different approaches to teaching the same material so that information becomes more interesting and tangible to a greater number of students.

2. Exploring Multiple Identities
Students who are proud of themselves and excited by the world around them will be more compassionate and understanding people; the same is true for educators.

3. Preventing Prejudice
Educators should take a proactive approach to debunking preconceived stereotypes and preventing them from escalating into prejudices and negative biases.

4. Promoting Social Justice
Students are good judges of what is fair, especially when they are affirmatively challenged to consider issues of social justice. Educators should talk to them about issues of social justice and injustice in terms of fair versus unfair, respectful versus disrespectful.

5. Choosing Appropriate Materials
Inclusive classrooms use books and materials that reflect accurate images of diverse peoples and 

 challenge stereotypes.

 

photo credit: crabtree junior school

6. Teaching and Learning About Cultures and Religions
Educators should create curiosity and expand students’ horizons by teaching about others in a positive manner. Students should have the opportunity to learn from their peers as well as other cultures.

7. Adapting and Integrating Lessons Appropriately
Educators should be flexible when using and adapting lessons in our curricula, as well as in prescribed curricula in general. Many of the most teachable moments are unplanned and unscripted.

click on the link to read more 

Biblography:- 

https://tanenbaum.org

Dyslexia : A specific learning difficulty

Dyslexia at a Glance

• Dyslexia is the name for specific learning disabilities in reading.
• Dyslexia is often characterized by difficulties with accurate word recognition, decoding and spelling.
• Dyslexia may cause problems with reading comprehension and slow down vocabulary growth.
• Dyslexia may result in poor reading fluency and reading out loud.
• Dyslexia is neurological and often genetic.
• Dyslexia is not the result of poor instruction.
• With the proper support, almost all people with dyslexia can become good readers and writers.

 

 As with other learning disabilities, dyslexia is a lifelong challenge that people are born with. This language processing disorder can hinder reading, writing, spelling and sometimes even speaking. Dyslexia is not a sign of poor intelligence or laziness. It is also not the result of impaired vision. Children and adults with dyslexia simply have a neurological disorder that causes their brains to process and interpret information differently.
Dyslexia occurs among people of all economic and ethnic backgrounds. Often more than one member of a family has dyslexia. According to the National Institute of Child and Human Development, as many as 15 percent of Americans have major troubles with reading.
Much of what happens in a classroom is based on reading and writing. So it's important to identify dyslexia as early as possible. Using alternate learning methods,such as multi sensory learning and teaching styles

Dyslexia: Warning Signs By Age

Young Children Trouble With: Recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds and blending sounds into speech Pronouncing words, for example saying “mawn lower” instead of “lawn mower” Learning and correctly using new vocabulary words Learning the alphabet, numbers, and days of the week or similar common word sequences Rhyming

School-Age Children Trouble With: Mastering the rules of spelling Remembering facts and numbers Handwriting or with gripping a pencil Learning and understanding new skills; instead, relying heavily on memorization Reading and spelling, such as reversing letters (d, b) or moving letters around (left, felt) Following a sequence of directions Trouble with word problems in math

Teenagers and Adults Trouble With: Reading at the expected level Understanding non-literal language, such as idioms, jokes, or proverbs Reading aloud Organizing and managing time Trouble summarizing a story Learning a foreign language Memorizin

Assessment

Trained professionals can identify dyslexia using a formal evaluation This looks at a person's ability to understand and use spoken and written language. It looks at areas of strength and weakness in the skills that are needed for reading. It also takes into account many other factors. These include family history, intellect, educational background, and social environment

It helps to identify dyslexia as early in life as possible. Adults with unidentified dyslexia often work in jobs below their intellectual capacity. But with help from a tutor, teacher, or other trained professional, almost all people with dyslexia can become good readers and writers. Use the following strategies to help to make progress with dyslexia.
 

• Expose your child to early oral reading, writing, drawing, and practice to encourage development of print knowledge, basic letter formation, recognition skills and linguistic awareness (the relationship between sound and meaning).
• Have your child practice reading different kinds of texts. This includes books, magazines, ads and comics.
• Include multi-sensory, structured language instruction. Practice using sight, sound and touch when introducing new ideas.
• Seek modification in the classroom. This might include extra time to complete assignments, help with note taking, oral testing and other means of assessment.
• Use books on tape and assistive technology. Examples are screen readers and voice recognition computer software.
• Get help with the emotional issues that arise from struggling to overcome academic difficulties.

 

Reading and writing are key skills for daily living. However, it is important to also emphasize other aspects of learning and expression. Like all people, those with dyslexia enjoy activities that tap into their strengths and interests. For example, people with dyslexia may be attracted to fields that do not emphasize language skills. Examples are design, art, architecture, engineering and surgery.

Read more about learning disabilities click on the link below

Reading Disabilities

SOURCE :- nlcg.org

Cerebral Palsy: Faith,Hope, Believe

Cerebral palsy is one of the most common congenital (existing before birth or at birth) disorders of childhood. About 500,000 children and adults of all ages in the United States have the condition. The three types of CP are:

1. spastic cerebral palsy — causes stiffness and movement difficulties
2. athetoid cerebral palsy — leads to involuntary and uncontrolled movements
3. ataxic cerebral palsy — causes a disturbed sense of balance and depth perception

Cerebral palsy affects muscle control and coordination, so even simple movements — like standing still — are difficult. Other vital functions that also involve motor skills and muscles — such as breathing, bladder and bowel control, eating, and learning — may also be affected when a child has CP. Cerebral palsy does not get worse over time.
 
Signs and Symtoms
  Signs and symptoms can vary greatly. Movement and coordination problems associated with cerebral palsy may include:

• Variations in muscle tone, such as being either too stiff or too floppy
• Stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity)
• Stiff muscles with normal reflexes (rigidity)
• Lack of muscle coordination (ataxia)
• Tremors or involuntary movements
• Slow, writhing movements (athetosis)
• Delays in reaching motor skills milestones, such as pushing up on arms, sitting up alone or crawling
• Favoring one side of the body, such as reaching with only one hand or dragging a leg while crawling
• Difficulty walking, such as walking on toes, a crouched gait, a scissors-like gait with knees crossing or a wide gait
• Excessive drooling or problems with swallowing
• Difficulty with sucking or eating
• Delays in speech development or difficulty speaking
• Difficulty with precise motions, such as picking up a crayon or spoon

Other neurological problems

Brain abnormalities associated with cerebral palsy also may contribute to other neurological problems. People with cerebral palsy may also have:

• Difficulty with vision and hearing
• Intellectual disabilities
• Seizures
• Abnormal touch or pain perceptions
• Oral diseases
• Mental health (psychiatric) conditions
• Urinary incontinence

 

Cerebral palsy is caused by an abnormality or disruption in brain development, usually before a child is born. In many cases, the exact trigger of this abnormality isn't known. Factors that may lead to problems with brain development include:

• Random mutations in genes that control brain development.
• Maternal infections that affect the developing fetus.
• Fetal stroke, a disruption of blood supply to the developing brain.
• Lack of oxygen to the brain (asphyxia) related to difficult labor or delivery. This is rarely acause.
• Infant infections
• Traumatic head injury 
•  

• Maternal health

  Certain infections or health problems during pregnancy can significantly in
  
• German measles (rubella).
• Chickenpox (varicella).
• Cytomegalovirus.
• Toxoplasmosis.
• Syphilis.
• Exposure to toxins.  

Infant illness

Illnesses in a newborn baby that can greatly increase the risk of cerebral palsy include:

• Bacterial meningitis.
• Viral encephalitis.
• Severe or untreated jaundice. 

Other factors of pregnancy and birth

Other factors of pregnancy or birth that are associated with an increased risk of cerebral palsy include:

• Premature birth.
• Low birth weight.
• Breech births.
• t

 Educational support
Cerebral palsy Support and Intervention
 click the links below to read more about cerebral palsy

CP Support 

CP Education 

And if you are here in Lagos and need any information about Cerebral Palsy 

contact

Children Development Centre

 

Source : Mayo Clinic

IM BACK ( I DONT EVEN KNOW WHERE I WENT)

I'm back and like the title rightly says I don't even know where Iwent. I have been quiet busy and mostly lazy. Yes then there was Ebola ( not the I caught it) I was busy looking for a cure. Seriously I was.(SMH)
 

I am not giving an apology this time because I realise it is the only consistent thing on this blog. I believe strongly that God is helping me with my consistency of posts. ( do I get an Amen).

Meanwhile I completed my diploma in Special Education Needs and my teaching practise. But I still have my portfolio to complete. Then.........." tadaa" I'm a certified Special Educational Needs Cordinator.


Please bear with me as I will be slightly inconsistent with posts but i won't be as bad as i was.

I thanks for dropping by.

Tope Akintunde.