Learners with

Additional Needs
Objectives:
At the end of this chapter, you will able to:

1 Identify the various additional needs learners might have;

2 Differentiate the additional needs from one another;

3 Recognize the characteristics of learners with additional needs;

4 Discuss what marginalization means; and

5 Identify different marginalized groups.

Learners with Additional
Needs
Children learn everyday. This happens
in various settings and different ways.
Learning at times happens
intentionally and with great effort
while there are situations where it
happens almost effortlessly.
 LEARNERS WHO ARE
GIFTED AND TALENTED
 What is the
difference
between
TALENTED and
GIFTED?
 Gifted/giftedness
refers to students with
extraordinary abilities
in various academic
areas.
Talented focuses
on students with
extraordinary
abilities in a
specific area.
Learners who are gifted and talented are

students with higher abilities than average and

are often referred to as gifted students.

Exciting and energizing activities should be

provided to continuously keep them motivated.

This group includes students with exceptional

abilities from all socio-economic, ethnic ,and
cultural populations
• There is also another
way to look into
giftedness which
conceptualize by
Gardner in 1993.

• According to him,
intelligence is
multifaceted
 Learning Characteristics
These are the common manifestations of gifted and talented
learners. One might possess a combination of characteristics in
varying degrees and amounts

• Excited about learning new

• High level of intellectual
concepts
curiosity
• Independence in learning
• Reads actively
• Good comprehension of
• High degree of task
complex context
commitment
• Strong, well-deserved
• Keen power of observation
imagination
• High verbal
• Looks for new ways to do
• Gets bored easily
things
• Can retain and recall
• Often gives uncommon
information
responses to common question
 General Educational Adaptations

Learners who are gifted and talented usually get bored

since they have mastered the concepts taught in classes.
One thing that is common among gifted students is that
they are very inquisitive. Fulfilling their instructional
needs may be a challenging task.
 These are some suggested strategies for teaching
gifted students in a General Education Setting

Teachers may give enrichment exercises that will allow

learners to study the same topic at a more advanced level.

Open-ended activities with no right or wrong answers can be

provided, emphasizing on divergent thinking wherein there are
more possibilities than pre-determined answers.

Leadership roles can be given to gifted students since studies

have shown that gifted students are often socially immature.
 LEARNERS WITH
DIFFICULTY SEEING
 IDENTIFICATION

Learners with difficulty seeing often have

physical signs, such crossed eyes, squinting,
and eyes that turn outwards. They may also be
clumsy, usually bumping into objects which
causes them to fall down. The like to sit near
the instructional materials or at times would
stand up and near the Visual aids.
 CROSSED EYE
Crossed eyes, or strabismus,
is a condition in which both
eyes do not look at the same
place at the same time. It
usually occurs in people who
have poor eye muscle control
or are very farsighted. Six
muscles attach to each eye to
control how it moves.
SQUINTING

Squinting is a partial
closing of the eyelids.
Usually, a person
squints in an attempt
to see something
more clearly
 EYE THAT TURN OUTWARDS

(Misaligned eyes) in which one or both of the eyes turn

outward. The condition can begin as early as the first few
months of life or any time during childhood.
 LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS
• Good visual ability is critical in learning. Most school
lessons are done through blackboard writing,
presentations, or handouts, in most major subjects. Visual
impairments, whether mild, moderate, or severe, affect
the student’s ability to participate in normal classroom
activities.
 GENERAL EDUCATION ADAPTATION
• Difficulty seeing should be informed ahead of time so that
they can be ordered in braille or in an audio recorded format.
• Portions of textbooks and other printed materials may be
recorded so that visually impaired students can listen instead
of focusing on the visual presentation
• All words written on the board should be read clearly
• Students with difficulty seeing should be seated near the
board so that they can easily move close in the instructional
materials used during the lessons
• A buddy can assigned to a student with difficulty seeing
this as needed .can be crucial to assist in the mobility
of the student such as going to the other places in
school during the day.
• Students with difficulty seeing might need more time to
complete a task or homework. This might be on a case
to case basis.
• Teachers should be aware of terminology that would
require visual acuity (such as over there or like this one
which the impaired student may not possess
• Teachers should monitor the students closely to know
who needs extra time in completing task
LEARNERS
WITH
DIFFICULTY
HEARING
• This refers to students with an issue regarding
hearing that interferes with academics. The
definition from Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) defines it as “an
impairment in hearing, whether permanent or
fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s
educational performance but is not included
under the definition of ‘deafness.” Deafness is
considered when hearing loss in above 90
decibels. A hearing loss below 90 decibels is
called hearing impairment.
IDENTIFICATION
• Positioning ear toward the direction of the one
speaking
• Speaking loudly
• Asking for information to be repeated again and again
• Delayed development of speech
• Watching the face of the speaker intently
• Favoring one ear
• Not responding when called.
• Has difficulty following directions
• Does not mind loud noise
• Leaning close to the source of sounds
LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS
Since much of learning is acquired through
hearing, students with hearing problems have
deficiencies in language and in their experience
Since they may miss out on daily conversations,
they may miss crucial information that non-
hearing-impaired students learn incidentally.
Student may overcome these problems by
investing time listening to the one talking.
GENERAL EDUCATION ADAPTATION
• Teachers should help students with difficulty hearing in use the
residual hearing they may have
• Teachers should help students develop the ability for speech
reading or watching others’ lips, mouth, and expressions
• Teachers should be mindful to face the class at all times when
presenting information while ensuring that the students with
difficulty hearing sit near them.
• Exaggerating the pronunciation of words should not be done for it
just makes it difficult for the student with difficulty hearing
• Direction as well as important parts of the lesson, should
always be written on the board.
• Written or pictorial directions instead of verbal directions
may be given.
• Steps to an activity may be physically acted out instead
of verbally given.
• A variety of multi-sensory activities should be given to
allow the students to focus on their learning strengths.
• Teachers should be more patient when waiting to hear a
response from a hearing-impaired student which may
take longer than usual.
 LEARNERS WITH
DIFFICULTY
COMMUNICATING
 A. Definition: Types of Communication
Impairments and Disorders

Communication is the interactive exchange of

information, ideas, feelings, needs, and desires
between and among people (Heward, 2013)
Communication is used to serve several
functions, particularly to narrate, explain, inform,
request, and express feelings and opinions.
How is speech different
from language?
Speech is the expression of language with sounds,
or oral production. Speech is produced through
precise physiological and neuromuscular
coordination:
(1) respiration (act of breathing),
(2) phonation (production of sound by the larynx
and vocal folds), and
(3) articulation (use of lips, tongue, teeth, and
hard and soft palates to speak).
Language is used for communication, a formalized
code used by a group of people to communicate with
one another, that is primarily arbitrary (Heward,
2013). People decide on symbols, their corresponding
meaning, and rules that make up a language. There
are five dimensions of language that describe its
form (1.e., phonology, morphology, syntax, content,
and use (pragmatics). Table 6.1 provides a
description for each dimension.
TABLE 6.1. COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE
Knowing these terms is necessary to
understand the different disabilities
that are associated with
communication disorders, namely
Speech Impairments and Language
Disorders.
Speech Impairments
 Speech Impairments are communication
disorders such as stuttering, impaired
articulation, and language or voice impairment.
Such disorders are significant enough that they
can adversely affect a student's academic
performance. There are four basic types of
speech impairments: articulation, phonological,
fluency, and voice disorder (see Table 6.2).
TABLE 6.2. TYPES OF SPEECH IMPAIRMENTS
TABLE 6.2. TYPES OF SPEECH IMPAIRMENTS
TABLE 6.2. TYPES OF SPEECH IMPAIRMENTS
TABLE 6.2. TYPES OF SPEECH IMPAIRMENTS
Language Disorders
Language Disorders involve problems in one or
more of the five components of language and are often
classified as expressive or receptive.
- Language disorders are characterized by persistent
difficulties in acquiring use of language that result from
deficits in comprehension that include reduced vocabulary
limited sentence structure, and impairments in discourse,
that limit a child functioning (American Psychiatric
Association 2013).
- To receive a diagnosis of language disorder, the
difficulties must not be due to an accompanying medical
or neurological condition and other developmental
disability (i.e., intellectual disability or global
developmental delay).
 There are different types of language
disorder:

a. expressive language disorder

- interferes with the production of language. A
child may have very limited vocabulary that
impact communications skills or misuses words
and phrases in sentences.
b. receptive language disorder
- interferes with the understanding of
language. A child may have difficulty
understanding spoken sentences or
following the directions a teacher gives.
c. Some children may be found to have a
combination of receptive and expressive
language disorder.
At this point, it is also essential to mention that students
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also display
speech and language difficulties. ASD is an umbrella
term for related disorders that affect social development
and communication (Kirk et al. 2015). Students with
ASD display a triad of impairments in social
relationships, social communication, and social
understanding. Other disorders that are subsumed under
ASD are Rett Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental
Disorder, and Asperger's Syndrome. Oftentimes,
students with ASD display deficits in the pragmatic use
of language that impact their social relationships.
Identification
To screen children with communication difficulties, early
childhood professionals use questionnaires and
developmental checklists to determine the severity of
the delay as compared with typical language
development. Upon screening, a child may receive
educational supports and accommodations to help
address the delay. If the difficulty is pronounced,
referrals can already be made to developmental
pediatrician and a speech and language pathologist. At
times, referrals are also made to an occupational
therapist if speech difficulty is resulting from motor
problems.
 How do specialists
determine a speech and/or
language problem? A
comprehensive speech and
language evaluation to
determine the presence of a
communication disorder
involves several
components (Heward 2013).
 1. Case history and physical
examination. Assessment always begins with the
case history that provides the specialist the necessary
background about the child's birth and developmental
history, health record, achievement test scores, and
adjustment in school. The specialist examines the
child's Oral-Peripheral Mechanism which includes the
mouth, noting irregularities in the tongue, lips, teeth,
palate, or other structures that may affect speech
production.
2. Hearing. Hearing is tested to determine
whether an organic hearing problem is the cause
of the suspected communication disorder, a
discussed in the previous section. Thus, hearing
impairment needs to be treated to develop
speech and language skills.
3. Articulation. A child's
articulation skills are assessed,
which include identifying speech
errors (see Table 6.2).
 4. Phonological awareness and
processing. Children with difficulties in
processing sounds in language as well as in
hearing, segmenting, and identifying phonemes in
words may experience problems with expressive
and receptive spoken language as well as in
learning how to read.
5. Overall language development
and vocabulary. Formal tests may be
used to measure a child's overall language
development and vocabulary as these affect
how well a child is able to understand and
use language in spontaneous speech and in
academic settings.
 6. Assessment of language
function. Language is used to serve
several functions such as to request, name,
imitate, ask, and converse among others.
B. F. Skinner (Sundberg 2007 cited in
Heward 2013), emphasized how language is
used rather than the structure and form of
language.
7. Language samples and observation in
natural settings. Observations in natural settings,
such as a child's home or school, allows the specialist
to sample the child language in daily activities and
observe parent and child interaction and communication
as part of holistic assessment. These are used to
supplement assessment information gathered in clinical
settings.
 Assessments in speech, language, and communication must
take into consideration the student's cultural and language
context, particularly for children growing up in bilingual
environments. At this point, it is essential to differentiate
English Language Learners (ELL) from children with diagnose
communication disorder. ELLs are proficient in their mother
tongue or first language in both expressive and receptive
language tasks; on the other hand, they display difficulties in
understanding and speaking the second language such as
English. In a multi-cultural setting, knowing the child's first and
second language aids teachers and language specialists to
determine the possible source of communication difficulties and
plan for needed supports and interventions.
 English language learner is put at a
disadvantage when his/her first
language (i.e.. mother tongue) is not
identified and assessed solely in the
second language.
Learning Characteristics
 Table 6.3. Language difficulties
EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE
DIFFICULTIES DIFFICULTIES

• Limited vocabulary • Following oral directions

• Incorrect grammar or syntax • Understanding humor or
• Expressive repetition of figurative language
information • Comprehending compound
• Difficulty in formulating and complex sentences
questions • Responding to questions
• Difficulty constructing appropriately
sentences
 Children with communication disorders may also experience
behavioral difficulties. Because they struggle in expressing their
needs and ideas, some children resort to inappropriate behaviors out
of frustration or to get the attention of significant others. For
instance, a five-year old child with expressive language disorder may
resort to grabbing toys and hitting his peers who try to take the toy
he was playing with the day before. While typically developing
children will be able to say, "May I please borrow?" or "It's my turn
now," a child with communication difficulties may not be able to utter
these accurately and instead resort to using actions resulting to
physical aggression. Thus, it is essential that teachers and
professionals take this into consideration when working with children
with communication disorders and difficulties. Such feelings of
frustration may even become worse when peers or adults are unable
to understand them (Gregg 2016).
 Despite these language difficulties, children with communication
disorders are known to have their own strengths and abilities. This can
be best understood using the theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner
1983 cited in Armstrong 2012), as explained in Chapter 5, that shows
the different strengths and abilities children have. In Gardner's theory,
children may have abilities in different areas or domains, which makes it
necessary for parents and teachers to provide opportunities for such
strengths and abilities to be displayed. Children with communication
disorders may have limitations in the linguistic and interpersonal areas
but may possess good spatial, musical, and bodily-kinesthetic abilities.
In other words, a child may struggle with communication but can be very
good In playing musical instruments, be very creative and artistic,
and/or excel in sports. As parents, teachers, and practitioners, knowing
a student's strength an highlighting such abilities in an inclusive
classroom is as Important as knowin and understanding his/her
communication disorder.
D. General Educational
Adaptations
 Different strategies and accommodations
may be used to provide level playing field for
children with communication difficulties or
disorder. This section discusses the use of
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) a
practical tips to be used in the classroom.
 1. Universal Design for Learning

Use of UDL in the classroom allows children to learn

information demonstrate understanding, and stay
engaged in multiple way (i.e., multiple means of
presentation, expression, and engagement Because of
weaknesses resulting from communication difficultie or
disorders, teaching and learning practices as well as
assessment should be presented in different modalities,
such as visual, auditor and kinesthetic-motor or tactile.
 1. Universal Design for Learning

This means that lessons are presented through various means,

such as using pictures and/or videos and hands on experiential
learning, and not solely by passive approaches such a reading
from textbooks, lectures, and teacher-directed discussion
Presenting learning activities in this manner gives children wit
communication difficulties or disorders the opportunity to use
the strengths and stronger modalities to compensate for their
weakness? and a chance to be successful in an inclusive
classroom.
 2. Practical Tips for the Classroom

In addition to using UDL, there are practical

tips and techniques the teachers can use to
provide students with communication
difficulty the support they need in order to be
successful.
1. Allow the child to sit near the teacher and the
blackboard, away from auditory and visual
distractions such as the window and the door.

2. Get the child's attention before giving

directions. Call the child's name or use a pre-
arranged signal (e.g., tap on the table or hand on
the shoulder) to help the child focus and listen to
the directions.
3. the pictures, charts, and other visual aids when
explaining content to supplement auditory
information.

4 Speak slowly and clearly without exaggerating

speech.

5. Simplify directions into short steps. Break down

multi-step directions and give each one at a time
instead of just repeating each one
6. Provide a written copy of directions for a task
so the child can refer back to it at his/her own
pace.

7. Use gestures to clarify information.

8. Use peer-mediated Instruction so that peers

without difficulties can serve as language models
and learning buddies.
 9. Provide extra time to prepare for oral language
activities. Do not call children with communication
difficulties/disorders to recite first in class. Call other
typically developing children first to serve as language
models.

10. Model correct language forms and use appropriate

wait times (3-5 seconds or more) to give the child time to
think and respond.

11. Explicitly teach vocabulary that is needed in the

learning context to promote better comprehension.
 Universal Design for Learning, alongside
different accommodations (i.e., presentation,
response, setting, and timing) that are
appropriate to the child, and collaboration
between the general education teacher and
the special education professional, will all
help ensure that children with
communication difficulties/disorders have a
chance to be successful in an inclusive
classroom.