Children With Special Needs

CHAPTER 10:
Children with
Special Needs:
Reported By:
Mr. Aries C. Figueroa

Ms. Aila Mae Yasis
Ms. Angelica Velasquez
Ms. Mary Joy Escalona
Ms. Antonnette Francisco
Introduction:
This Chapter Identifies the different Categories or types of special needs, as
well as the behavioral indicators of the presence of such needs among students.
Following are the specific aspect/areas of special needs: Cognitive/Academic;
Social/Behavioral; Cognitive and Social Functioning; Physical and Sensory;
and Advanced cognitive development. This Chapter also describes the behaviors
or characteristics of these children with special needs, and highlights the ways
by which they are different from the other children.
LEARNING POINT:
The Nature of Special Needs

In one or perhaps, even in many occasions, you may have noticed children who acted,
behaved or talked in a manner that is distinctly different from the way other children do.
These actions or behaviors that you have observed may be remarkable enough to make
you think that they are indeed different from the other children you usually encounter.
The special needs of these children fall along continuum such that some children can
stay in regular classrooms, but some require special care and intervention at home or
in school. This is explained by variations in the severity of their needs. Dealing with and
teaching children with special needs is a challenge for teachers.
This means that teachers have to be extra flexible
and creative in coming up with teaching techniques that
will enhance the academic, and personal development
of students who are quite different in many ways from
the majority of the student population.
It is important for teachers, school officials,
caregivers, and other school personnel to know the
characteristics of the special children. It is equally
important not to stereotype children with special needs.
Following are the general and specific categories of students with special
needs as found b y different researches and which have been summarized
(Ormod, 2003 and Nielsen 2002):
1. Those with specific cognitive or academic difficulties

2. Those with social or behavioral problems
3. Those with general delays in cognitive and social functioning
4. Those with physical or sensory challenges
5. Those with advanced cognitive development
LEARNING POINT:
Specific Cognitive or Academic Difficulties

and Indicative Behavior.
Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities are difficulties in the cognitive
processes (e.g. perception, language, memory) but are not
attributed or caused by the other disabilities like mental
retarded, emotional or behavioral disorders etc. and the
like.
Characteristics of Children with cognitive and
Academic Difficulties.
a) Perceptual Difficulty- Difficulty in understanding or

remembering information through any of the sense modalities
or sense organs. For example, there is a difficulty in
distinguishing differences between similar sounds in speech
or remembering the correct order of the letters in a word
(difficulty in memory for a visual sequence).
b) Memory Difficulty- Less capacity for remembering information
received either short term or long term.
c) Metacognitive difficulty - Difficulty in using effective
learning strategies, monitoring the progress of their
learning goals and other ways of directing their own
learning.
d) Difficulty in processing Oral Language- Difficulty in
understanding spoken language and remembering what
has been told or spoken.
e) Reading difficulty – Trouble in recognizing printed
words or comprehending what was read. An extreme
form of this difficulty is dyslexia.
f) Written language difficulty – Problems in handwriting,
spelling, or expressing oneself coherently in paper. An
extreme form of this difficulty is dysgraphia.
g) Mathematical difficulty- Trouble thinking about or
remembering information involving numbers. It is associated
with poor sense of time or direction as well as difficulty
learning basic number facts. An extreme form of this
difficulty is dyscalculia.
h) Difficulty with social perception – Difficulty interpreting

social cues and signals from other people. It is difficulty
perceiving or interpreting other people’s feelings or reactions
and may result to inappropriate responses in social
situations.
Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD)
With ADHD, there is difficulty in focusing
and maintaining attention, and in many cases
characterized by hyperactive and impulsive
behaviors. It is possible that this difficulty has
biological and genetic bases.
Common Characteristics of
Children with ADHD
a) Often Inattentive: Difficulty focusing and maintaining
attention and following directions: often make careless
mistakes: have a very short attention span and cannot focus;
easily fail in tasks requiring sustained mental effort and are
distracted by highly – appealing alternatives.
b) Hyperactive: Seem to have extra and high levels of energy,

and move around of the time; have difficulty working or
playing quietly.
c) Impulsive: often display inappropriate behaviors; blurt out
answers or interrupt others without being asked; begin doing
something without waiting for instructions; have trouble waiting
their turn; engage in risky destructive behaviors without thinking
of consequences.
d) Difficulty in cognitive processing.
e) Lagging behind in academic achievement.
f) Exceptional imagination and Creativity.
g) Classroom behavior problems (disruptiveness, noncompliance
with rules).
h) Difficulty interpreting and reasoning about social situations.
I ) Greater emotional reactivity(excitability, hostility) in
interacting with peers.
j) Few friendship; in some cases, rejected by peers.
k) Poor memory.
L) Disorganized.
m) Restlessness, incessant talking and activity.
Speech and Communication Disorders

These are impairments in spoken language or
communication (e.g. Stuttering, mispronunciation ) and
comprehension . The difficulties are articulation problems,
stuttering , abnormal syntactic patterns, and difficulty
understanding the speech of others, all of which are likely to
interfere with academic performance .
Characteristics of Children with Speech
and Communication Disorder.
a) Usually, these children have difficulties in
reading and writing
b) Are self-conscious
c) Are embarrassed when talking
d) Are reluctant to speak
S
LEARNING POINT: OCIAL AND BEHAVIORNAL
PROBLEMS AND BEHAVIORAL INDICATORS
Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
These are emotional states that are present and which persist for a long time and
which affect learning and academic performance and social behavior.
A symptom of this disorder can be seen in external behaviors that have direct
or indirect effect on other people, like defiance, aggression, lying, stealing,
disobedience, or lack of self control or impulsiveness. On the other hand,
internalized behaviors affect the person himself, and subsequently develops
anxiety, depression, eating disorders, social withdrawal, or Suicidal Tendencies.
The following behaviors may indicate a social
or behavioral disorder among students.
a) Difficulty in interacting with others in socially acceptable manner.
b) Difficulty in establishing satisfactory interpersonal relationships.
c) Poor self-concept
d) Frequently absent from school
e) Deteriorating academic performance with increasing age
f) Unable to learn but cannot be explained by IQ , sensory or health factors
g) Showing inappropriate types of behavior or feelings even under normal
circumstances
h) Developing physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
Autism:
According to experts, it is a condition that is caused by a brain
abnormality. This a disability marked by impairment in social interaction.
Individuals with autism prefer to be alone and form weak emotional
attachments, if at all. In some cases, they exhibit savant syndrome, where they
have extraordinary ability in one function (like exceptional musical ability)
which is in contrast to their other mental functions. Autism falls on a
continuum from the least severe to the most severe symptoms.
Characteristics of Children with Autism
a) They engage in obsessively repetitive movement activities like
rocking back and forth, wringing of the hands and other
stereotyped movements.
b) They can be self-abusive, as for example, banging their heads
slapping or biting themselves.
c) They have unusual responses to sensory inputs as for example
exaggerated response to sound
d) They are withdrawn and do not communicate at all.
e) They exhibit periodic emotional outburst.
f) May exhibit abnormal responses to objects.

Children With Special Needs

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Children With Special Needs

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CHAPTER 10:

Mr. Aries C. Figueroa

The Nature of Special Needs

1. Those with specific cognitive or academic difficulties

Specific Cognitive or Academic Difficulties

a) Perceptual Difficulty- Difficulty in understanding or

h) Difficulty with social perception – Difficulty interpreting

b) Hyperactive: Seem to have extra and high levels of energy,

Speech and Communication Disorders

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