Disabilities Flower

Variations Apparent in Physique or Movement

Low Vision

Intellectual Disability

Disabilities in Communication or Speech

Learning Disabilities

Emotional Disturbance and Behavior Disorders

d/Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

Autism and Autistic Behavior

• Disability that relates to movement, motor function, and appearance
• Only necessitates special education services when the disability interferes with learning.

Background

• Ensure equal access to rooms, facilities, and other physical aspects of the environment
• If students/adults have questions, encourage them to ask the person directly, and respect their right to decline answering.
• Ensure classrooms, field trips, and activities are physically accessible to students with physical disabilities.
• Treat and teach students to treat wheelchairs and other assistive equipment as personal items that shouldn't be touched without asking.

Common-Sense Approaches

• Disability or impairment in one's vision.
• Blindness does not require total lack of sight.
• Effects of blindness varies based on impairment's origin and severity.

Background

• Communicate verbally with students who are blind, avoid communicating solely using gestures.
• Support students with direction or guiding their hands only with permission from the student who is blind.
• Orient the student to the classroom and other high-traffic locations.
• Describe purely visual aspects of class to the student when necessary.
• Be familiar with adaptive technology and remember service animals are working.
• Encourage acceptance and dispell myths about blindness.

Common-Sense Approaches

• Speech impairments affect speech production and articulation.
• Verbal non-fluency, stutter, lisp
• Communication disorders affect understanding and expression of language.
• Aphasia

Background

• Pause after a student with a speech impairment speaks (including using alternative communication) to ensure they have finished their thought.
• Take turns when speaking so the student has an opportunity to contribute to a conversation.
• Don't stop, correct, or interrupt students with verbal non-fluency.

Supporting these Students

Background

• Alternative methods of communication include
• Make sure all class members can access a specialist (i.e., ASL interpreter) to communicate with students who are d/Deaf or HOH.
• Provide a wealth of opportunities for students to communicate with their classmates who are d/Deaf or HOH.
• Encourage students who have assistive technologies to use them.
• Slow pace of talk to support lip reading and ASL interpretation.

Supporting These Students

• Can affect social interaction, language, communication, identity.
• Technology can enhance someone's access to auditory information, but it is not the right choice for everyone.

• Disability or impairment in one's vision.
• Blindness does not require total lack of sight.
• Effects of blindness varies based on impairment's origin and severity.

Background

• Communicate verbally with students who are blind, avoid communicating solely using gestures.
• Support students with direction or guiding their hands only with permission from the student who is blind.
• Orient the student to the classroom and other high-traffic locations.
• Describe purely visual aspects of class to the student when necessary.
• Be familiar with adaptive technology and remember service animals are working.
• Encourage acceptance and dispell myths about blindness.

Common-Sense Approaches

• Disability or impairment in one's vision.
• Blindness does not require total lack of sight.
• Effects of blindness varies based on impairment's origin and severity.

Background

• Communicate verbally with students who are blind, avoid communicating solely using gestures.
• Support students with direction or guiding their hands only with permission from the student who is blind.
• Orient the student to the classroom and other high-traffic locations.
• Describe purely visual aspects of class to the student when necessary.
• Be familiar with adaptive technology and remember service animals are working.
• Encourage acceptance and dispell myths about blindness.

Common-Sense Approaches

Background

• Differentiate unusual and harmful behaviors in students, and consider the child's desires in setting behavioral goals.
• Choose approaches (i.e., ABA, collateral skills interventions, sensory integration therapy) based on individual's needs and characteristics.
• Directly teach students respectful communication and interaction to support students with autism in social and behavioral goals.
• Reduce unnecessary sounds and other sensory input in environment.
• Encourage positive group interactions through cooperative learning.
• Encourage empathy and acceptance in other students.

Supporting These Students

• Difficulty with verbal communication, social cues.
• May experience sensitivity to sensory stimuli.
• May prefer following strict routines.
• Can affect speech development and behavior.

Background

• Give students time and opportunities to learn procedures, rules, and expectations of a class.
• Ensure students have time and opportunity to respond to a direction.
• Handle individual oppositional behavior indiviudally to preserve student's dignity.
• Remember that behavior is a form of communication, and consider what a child is trying to communicate in the case of recurring undesirable behavior.
• Reward and reinforce positive behavior.

Supporting These Students

• Difficulty interacting with social environment to the degree it interferes with learning.
• Benefit from assistance and guidance on coping with environments and establishing positive interpersonal relationships.

Background

• Convey information through multiple formats when instructing.
• Allow for flexibility in work environment.
• Understand the student indiviudally to personalize support.
• Offer technological assistance or extra time if students need it.
• Offer supplemental information and graphic organizers to support information reception and retention.
• Support the student in developing a positive self-concept.
• To prevent stigma, do not shy away from questions from other students about the student with a learning disability.

Supporting These Students

• Disorders affecting reception, retention, and expression of information.
• Individuals are of average or above-average intelligence.
• Can affect reading comprehension, writing, math computation, coordination, memory, and/or oral language.

Background

• Assume students can, rather than can't, be successful.
• Offer opportunities to reteach concepts and support students in their understanding.
• Offer supplemental materials, such as graphic organizers, to students.
• Be precise and detailed when giving instructions.
• Orient the student to school and schedule.
• Ensure your expectations are not too high or too low for the student.
• Facilitate relationships with other students to prevent social isolation.

Supporting These Students

• Disorders diagnosed based on students' IQ
• Adaptive behavior includes social behavior, intellectual/academic performance, and speech/language development.

• Disability that relates to movement, motor function, and appearance
• Only necessitates special education services when the disability interferes with learning.

Background

• Ensure equal access to rooms, facilities, and other physical aspects of the environment
• If students/adults have questions, encourage them to ask the person directly, and respect their right to decline answering.
• Ensure classrooms, field trips, and activities are physically accessible to students with physical disabilities.
• Treat and teach students to treat wheelchairs and other assistive equipment as personal items that shouldn't be touched without asking.

Common-Sense Approaches

• Disability that relates to movement, motor function, and appearance
• Only necessitates special education services when the disability interferes with learning.

Background

• Ensure equal access to rooms, facilities, and other physical aspects of the environment
• If students/adults have questions, encourage them to ask the person directly, and respect their right to decline answering.
• Ensure classrooms, field trips, and activities are physically accessible to students with physical disabilities.
• Treat and teach students to treat wheelchairs and other assistive equipment as personal items that shouldn't be touched without asking.

Common-Sense Approaches

• Speech impairments affect speech production and articulation.
• Verbal non-fluency, stutter, lisp
• Communication disorders affect understanding and expression of language.
• Aphasia

Background

• Pause after a student with a speech impairment speaks (including using alternative communication) to ensure they have finished their thought.
• Take turns when speaking so the student has an opportunity to contribute to a conversation.
• Don't stop, correct, or interrupt students with verbal non-fluency.

Supporting these Students

• Speech impairments affect speech production and articulation.
• Verbal non-fluency, stutter, lisp
• Communication disorders affect understanding and expression of language.
• Aphasia

Background

• Pause after a student with a speech impairment speaks (including using alternative communication) to ensure they have finished their thought.
• Take turns when speaking so the student has an opportunity to contribute to a conversation.
• Don't stop, correct, or interrupt students with verbal non-fluency.

Supporting these Students

Background

• Alternative methods of communication include
• Make sure all class members can access a specialist (i.e., ASL interpreter) to communicate with students who are d/Deaf or HOH.
• Provide a wealth of opportunities for students to communicate with their classmates who are d/Deaf or HOH.
• Encourage students who have assistive technologies to use them.
• Slow pace of talk to support lip reading and ASL interpretation.

Supporting These Students

• Can affect social interaction, language, communication, identity.
• Technology can enhance someone's access to auditory information, but it is not the right choice for everyone.

Background

• Alternative methods of communication include
• Make sure all class members can access a specialist (i.e., ASL interpreter) to communicate with students who are d/Deaf or HOH.
• Provide a wealth of opportunities for students to communicate with their classmates who are d/Deaf or HOH.
• Encourage students who have assistive technologies to use them.
• Slow pace of talk to support lip reading and ASL interpretation.

Supporting These Students

• Can affect social interaction, language, communication, identity.
• Technology can enhance someone's access to auditory information, but it is not the right choice for everyone.

Background

• Differentiate unusual and harmful behaviors in students, and consider the child's desires in setting behavioral goals.
• Choose approaches (i.e., ABA, collateral skills interventions, sensory integration therapy) based on individual's needs and characteristics.
• Directly teach students respectful communication and interaction to support students with autism in social and behavioral goals.
• Reduce unnecessary sounds and other sensory input in environment.
• Encourage positive group interactions through cooperative learning.
• Encourage empathy and acceptance in other students.

Supporting These Students

• Difficulty with verbal communication, social cues.
• May experience sensitivity to sensory stimuli.
• May prefer following strict routines.
• Can affect speech development and behavior.

Background

• Differentiate unusual and harmful behaviors in students, and consider the child's desires in setting behavioral goals.
• Choose approaches (i.e., ABA, collateral skills interventions, sensory integration therapy) based on individual's needs and characteristics.
• Directly teach students respectful communication and interaction to support students with autism in social and behavioral goals.
• Reduce unnecessary sounds and other sensory input in environment.
• Encourage positive group interactions through cooperative learning.
• Encourage empathy and acceptance in other students.

Supporting These Students

• Difficulty with verbal communication, social cues.
• May experience sensitivity to sensory stimuli.
• May prefer following strict routines.
• Can affect speech development and behavior.

Background

• Give students time and opportunities to learn procedures, rules, and expectations of a class.
• Ensure students have time and opportunity to respond to a direction.
• Handle individual oppositional behavior indiviudally to preserve student's dignity.
• Remember that behavior is a form of communication, and consider what a child is trying to communicate in the case of recurring undesirable behavior.
• Reward and reinforce positive behavior.

Supporting These Students

• Difficulty interacting with social environment to the degree it interferes with learning.
• Benefit from assistance and guidance on coping with environments and establishing positive interpersonal relationships.

Background

• Give students time and opportunities to learn procedures, rules, and expectations of a class.
• Ensure students have time and opportunity to respond to a direction.
• Handle individual oppositional behavior indiviudally to preserve student's dignity.
• Remember that behavior is a form of communication, and consider what a child is trying to communicate in the case of recurring undesirable behavior.
• Reward and reinforce positive behavior.

Supporting These Students

• Difficulty interacting with social environment to the degree it interferes with learning.
• Benefit from assistance and guidance on coping with environments and establishing positive interpersonal relationships.

Background

• Convey information through multiple formats when instructing.
• Allow for flexibility in work environment.
• Understand the student indiviudally to personalize support.
• Offer technological assistance or extra time if students need it.
• Offer supplemental information and graphic organizers to support information reception and retention.
• Support the student in developing a positive self-concept.
• To prevent stigma, do not shy away from questions from other students about the student with a learning disability.

Supporting These Students

• Disorders affecting reception, retention, and expression of information.
• Individuals are of average or above-average intelligence.
• Can affect reading comprehension, writing, math computation, coordination, memory, and/or oral language.

Background

• Convey information through multiple formats when instructing.
• Allow for flexibility in work environment.
• Understand the student indiviudally to personalize support.
• Offer technological assistance or extra time if students need it.
• Offer supplemental information and graphic organizers to support information reception and retention.
• Support the student in developing a positive self-concept.
• To prevent stigma, do not shy away from questions from other students about the student with a learning disability.

Supporting These Students

• Disorders affecting reception, retention, and expression of information.
• Individuals are of average or above-average intelligence.
• Can affect reading comprehension, writing, math computation, coordination, memory, and/or oral language.

Background

• Assume students can, rather than can't, be successful.
• Offer opportunities to reteach concepts and support students in their understanding.
• Offer supplemental materials, such as graphic organizers, to students.
• Be precise and detailed when giving instructions.
• Orient the student to school and schedule.
• Ensure your expectations are not too high or too low for the student.
• Facilitate relationships with other students to prevent social isolation.

Supporting These Students

• Disorders diagnosed based on students' IQ
• Adaptive behavior includes social behavior, intellectual/academic performance, and speech/language development.

Background

• Assume students can, rather than can't, be successful.
• Offer opportunities to reteach concepts and support students in their understanding.
• Offer supplemental materials, such as graphic organizers, to students.
• Be precise and detailed when giving instructions.
• Orient the student to school and schedule.
• Ensure your expectations are not too high or too low for the student.
• Facilitate relationships with other students to prevent social isolation.

Supporting These Students

• Disorders diagnosed based on students' IQ
• Adaptive behavior includes social behavior, intellectual/academic performance, and speech/language development.