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Understanding Students with
Physical Disabilities and Other
Health Impairments
Defining Physical Disabilities
• IDEA uses the term orthopedic impairments, but
educators typically use the term physical disabilities.
• Typically refers to a large group of students who
experience conditions that are very different from each
other
• The term may also be used to include with:
– Severe and multiple disabilities
– Traumatic brain injury
• Focus on two types of physical disabilities:
– Cerebral palsy
– Spina bifida
Characteristics of Cerebral Palsy
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A disorder of movement or posture due to damage in the brain
Multiple Types
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Spastic
Dyskinetic
Athetoid
Ataxic
Mixed
Causes
– Prenatal
– Perinatal
– Postnatal
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Other associated conditions
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Possible intellectual disability
Speech/language problems
Vision impairments
Seizures
Characteristics of Spina Bifida
• Malformation of the spinal cord
• Three common forms
– Spina bifida occulta
– Meningocele
– Myelomeningocele
• Causes
– Occurs in early pregnancy due to environmental and genetic
factors
– Mothers using regular supplements containing folic acid reduce
their risk
– Other associated conditions
• Usually does not affect intelligence
• Depending on location of the defect, may cause incontinence or other
urinary and bowel problems
Defining Other Health Impairments
• IDEA defines as chronic health problems those
that have an adverse impact on educational
performance
• Distinguished from severe and multiple
disabilities, physical disabilities, and traumatic
brain injuries
• May be:
– Chronic: develops slowly and has long-lasting
symptoms
– Acute: develops quickly with intense symptoms that
last a relatively short period of time.
Prevalence of Other Health
Impairments
• In 2006, 595, 073 students (0.99%) of the ages
6 to 21 served under IDEA
• Of all students, 10 to 30% will experience a
childhood chronic illness lasting three months
or longer
• More than 200 specific health impairments
exist
Characteristics of Epilepsy
• Characterized by seizures (abnormal electrical
discharges in the brain)
– Generalized seizures
• Tonic-clonic
• Absence
– Partial seizures
• Simple partial
• Complex partial
Characteristics of Epilepsy
• Conditions associated with epilepsy
– Most children have lower IQ and academic achievement
– They are at risk for being diagnosed with AD/HD
– Adolescents with epilepsy are reported to have higher
levels of depression
• Causes
– Approximately 40% of individuals with epilepsy have a
genetic contribution
– Environmental factors include: prenatal brain infections,
birth trauma, and poisoning, stress, fatigue sleep
deprivation
– In three-fourths of individuals with epilepsy, the cause is
unknown
Characteristics of Asthma
• Most prevalent chronic illness of children and
leading cause of school absences
• Symptoms can vary widely
– Mild intermittent
– Mild persistent
– Moderate persistent
– Severe persistent
Characteristics of Asthma
• Conditions associated with asthma
– Fatigue from waking during the night because of
breathing difficulties
– Absences from school due to symptoms
– Fatigue and school absenteeism are associated with
lower academic performance
• Causes
– Asthma symptoms are triggered by food, exercise,
cold air, respiratory infections, and environmental
allergens, including cigarette smoke, dust, mold, gases
and chemicals
– Something asthma is an inherited condition
Determining the Nature of Specially
Designed Instruction and Services
• School Function Assessment
– Participation
– Task supports
– Activity performance
Partnering for Special Education and
Related Services
• Health condition must adversely impact
educational performance for an IEP
• Otherwise develop a 504 plan
• Components of the health care plan (Figure
12.7)
Determining Supplementary Aids and
Services
• Adaptive Switches
– Pressure
– Timed
– Pneumatic or puffing
switches
– Movements
– Sound
• Electronic Wheelchairs
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Transporting the chair
Adjusting the size
Recharging the batteries
Selecting the navigation
tools
– Assure safety
Planning for Universal Design for
Learning
• Electronic Text
– Use word processing programs
– Use presentation software
– Embedded links
– Access existing electronic text
– Download digital talking book player
Planning for Other Educational Needs
• Adaptive PE
• Allows for students with disabilities to
participate in a typical sport or physical
activity
• Modified equipment
– Beeping ball for student with visual impairment
Elementary and Middle School
Students
• Self-awareness
– Middle school is difficult for most children, and a
disability or illness only adds to the stress
– The term self-awareness refers to one’s
understanding of oneself as a unique individual
and is often used in conjunction with the notions
of self-understanding and self-knowledge
• This includes the process referred to as disability
awareness, which involves the capacity of an individual
to appraise his or her own abilities as a function of a
specific disabling condition
Secondary and Transition Students
• Driver’s Ed
– A driver’s license is the key to freedom and
independence
– Having a driver’s license impacts a student’s
social activity
– Schools need modified vehicles for student with
disabilities
Measure Students’ Progress
• Using Computers for Curriculum-Based
Measurements
• Measurement in Adaptive Physical Education
– Cardiovascular function
– Body composition
– Muscle strength and endurance
– Muscle and joint flexibility
– Mobility