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Teaching Students with
Developmental Disabilities
(Chapter 7 of Text)
Professor Daniel J. Abbott
ED 242
Fall 2009
What are Developmental
Disabilities?
• Developmental disability is a term used to
describe life-long, disabilities attributable to
mental and/or physical impairments, usually
manifested prior to age 18 but can occur at
any age.
• People with developmental disabilities have
problems with major life activities such as
language, mobility, learning, self-help, and
independent living.
More about Development
Disabilities
Developmental disabilities affecting daily
functioning in three or more of the following:
• capacity for independent living
• economic self-sufficiency
• learning
• mobility
• receptive and expressive language
• self-care
Types of Developmental Disabilities
• Frequently, people with cerebral palsy, various
genetic and chromosomal disorders such as
Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome, and
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder are examples
of developmental disabilities.
• Developmental disabilities are usually
classified as severe, profound, moderate or
mild, as assessed by the individual's need for
supports.
Causes of Developmental
Disabilities
• Brain injury or infection before, during or after
birth
• Growth or nutrition problems
• Abnormalities of chromosomes and genes
• Babies born long before the expected birth
date - also called extreme prematurity
• Poor diet and health care
• Drug misuse during pregnancy, including
alcohol intake and smoking.
Characteristics of Distributions
• Student scores can be talked about in terms
of: mean, variance, skew, and kurtosis.
• Mean-For a population (N) or a sample (n),
the mean is the arithmetic average of all
values.
• Variance- describes the distance between
each score.
• Skew- refers to the symmetry of a distribution
of scores.
Characteristics….(continued)
• Skew is used in reference to Normal
Distribution (bell shaped curve) in this case we
are talking about the distribution of test
scores.
• Scores can positively (many students earn high
scores with few earning low scores and
negatively skewed (many students earn low
scores and few earn high scores).
Facts about Developmental
Disabilities
• Developmental disabilities affect between 1
and 2% of the population in most western
countries making it a low incidence disability.
• Developmental disabilities are twice as
common in males as in females.
• Note: None of the disabilities listed under lowincidence disabilities generally exceed 1% of
the school-aged population at any given time.
For your Information
Low-incidence disabilities include:
• Blindness & low vision
• Deafness & hard-of-hearing
• deaf-blindness
• Significant developmental delay
• Orthopedic impairment
• Multiple disability
• Emotional or behavioral disorders
Common Developmental
Disabilities
• Cerebral palsy (CP) is the term used for a
group of non-progressive disorders of
movement and posture caused by abnormal
development of, or damage to, motor control
centers of the brain.
• CP does not include conditions due to
progressive disease or degeneration of the
brain.
CP (continued)
• Also excluded from CP are any disorders of
muscle control that arise in the muscles
themselves and/or in the peripheral nervous
system (nerves outside the brain and spinal
cord).
• CP is not a specific diagnosis, but is more
accurately considered a description—a
description of a broad but defined group of
neurological and physical problems.
Closing Comments about CP
• Symptoms of CP include difficulty with fine
motor tasks such as writing and difficulty gross
motor skills like walking.
• Some people with CP are also affected by
other medical disorders such as seizures.
• In almost 70% of cases, CP is found with some
other disorder, the most common being
mental retardation.
Down Syndrome
• Down Syndrome is a genetic disorder that
causes lifelong mental retardation,
developmental delays and other problems.
• Down syndrome occurs when an individual is
born with three, rather than two, copies of the
21st chromosome.
• People with Down syndrome have an
increased risk for certain medical conditions
such as congenital heart defects, respiratory
and hearing problems.
Down Syndrome (continued)
• A few of the common physical traits of Down
syndrome are low muscle tone, small stature,
an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep
crease across the center of the palm.
• As a woman's age increases, the risk of having
a Down syndrome baby increases significantly.
– At younger ages (below age 35), the risk is about
one in 4,000; by age 45 the risk becomes one in
35.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition that
results in permanent birth defects caused by
maternal consumption of alcohol during
pregnancy.
• Fetal alcohol syndrome is a common cause of
mental retardation.
• Distinctive facial features, including small
eyes, an exceptionally thin upper lip, a short,
upturned nose.
Mental Retardation
• It is defined as an intellectual functioning level
(as measured by intelligence quotient) that is
well below average and significant limitations
in daily living skills (adaptive functioning).
• Mental retardation is defined as IQ score
below 70-75. Adaptive skills are the skills
needed for daily life. Such skills include the
ability to produce and understand language
(communication); home-living skills and use of
community resources.
Fragile X Syndrome
Fragile X happens when there is a change or
mutation in a single gene Fragile X Mental
Retardation 1 (FMR1) .
• This gene normally makes a protein the body
needs for the brain to develop.
• When there is a change in this gene, the body
makes only a little bit or none of the protein,
which can cause the symptoms of Fragile X.
Fragile X (continued)
• Parents can have children with Fragile X even
if the parents do not have Fragile X
themselves.
• Symptoms are often milder in girls than in
boys. Common signs of Fragile X:
• Intelligence and learning – Many people with
Fragile X have intellectual disabilities. These
problems can range from mild to severe.
Symptoms (continued)
• Physical – Teens and adults with Fragile X may
have long ears, faces, and jaws.
• Many people with Fragile X may also have
loose, flexible joints and able to extend joints
like the thumb, knee, and elbow further than
normal.
• Social and emotional problems, such as
aggression in boys or shyness in girls.
• Speech and language problems, boys stutter
or leave out parts of their words.
Interventions
• Speech and language, behavior, cognitive
development, sensory integration, gross
motor development, and daily living are areas
that often need to be addressed for someone
with fragile X syndrome.
• Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) will include
goals that may be written as speech-language
goals, sensory motor programming, behavioral
plans, or academic goals.
Vocabulary Words
• Adaptive behavior refers to the effectiveness
in which individuals meet the standards of
personal independence and social
responsibility expected for their age and
cultural group.
• Many students with mental retardation
display biased responding, which is saying
“yes” because they want to please the teacher
or hide their confusion.
Developmental Disabilities and the
General Education Classroom
• IDEA mandates access to the general
education curriculum. Therefore, as a
classroom teacher you will probably have
students with development disabilities in your
class.
• Planning Pyramids, COACH, and MAPS are
examples of planning systems that can
facilitate participating in the general
education classroom (see text for details).
Role of Gen. Ed. Teacher
• Take ownership of students with disabilities by
demonstrating that these students are
members of the class too.
– When this happen, students with disabilities
develop a sense of belonging and being accepted.
• Become familiar with the full range of goals
and objectives on the student’s IEP.
• Curriculum Adaptations