Special Education Flashcards
Reading Levels
95%-100% - Independent Level
90%-95% - Instructional Level
Less than 90% - Frustration Level
Dyscalculia
-Defines a range of difficulties in math
-Inability to understand numbers’ meaning, measurements, patterns, mathematical terms and the application of mathematical principles
What are the early cues of dyscalculia?
A young child’s inability to group items by size or color, recognize patterns or understand the meaning of order of numbers
Dysgraphia
-Cannot manage the physical account of writing
-Highly intelligent and able to express themselves cogently, but they have extreme difficulty holding a writing implement and shaping letters
Dyslexic readers use ___ side of the brain
Non-dyslexics use the ___ side of the brain
Both sides
Left side
Increased, persistent thirst from dry cottony mouth (lasts for a few weeks)
Side effect of antidepressant
Diabetic hypoglycemia
-Also known as insulin reaction
-Occurs when blood sugar falls to a very low level
-It is important to treat it quickly or the person could faint
What are the symptoms of diabetic hypoglycemia?
Irritable, pale, trembling, covered in fine sweat, acts confused
Autism Spectrum Disorder is also known as:
Pervasive Spectrum Disorder (PSD)
What is language load?
-The number of unrecognizable words an ELL encounters when reading or listening
-One of the barriers ELLs face
What are some strategies that can help lighten language load?
Rephrasing, dividing complex sentences into smaller units and teaching essential vocabulary before the student begins reading
When working with ELLs, teachers should…
-Avoid idioms and slang
-Involve students in hands-on activities like group reading and language play to make experiences more meaningful and more immediate
-Reference students’ prior knowledge
-Speak slowly
Word recognition
-Process of identifying a word’s meaning and pronunciation
-Especially important for ELLs and students with reading disabilities
Assessing silent reading fluency can be accomplished best by…
Giving a 3 minute test of contextual reading fluency four times a year
Explicit instruction includes:
-Clarifying the goal
-Modeling strategies and offering explanations geared to a student’s level of understanding
-Well-organized teaching that offers simple steps and frequent references to previously learned material
What is an ORF?
-Oral Reading Fluency Assessment
-Also called a curriculum based measurement
-1-minute assessment in which the student reads a grade level text aloud and errors are noted
What are the 4 types of Bilingual Special Education Instructional Delivery Models?
- Bilingual Support Model
- Coordinated Services Model
- Integrated Bilingual Special Ed
- Bilingual Special Ed Model
What is the Bilingual Support Model?
Teams bilingual para with English speaking special educators to assist with IEP implementation
What is the Coordinated Services Model?
Consists of English speaking special ed teacher and bilingual educator
What is Integrated Bilingual Special Ed?
Bilingual special education teachers give instruction in native language and ESL training and transition assistance as proficiency gained
What is the Bilingual Special Ed Model?
Integrates all school personnel who focus on bilingual special education instruction
A Cloze Test evaluates a student’s:
-Understanding of context and vocabulary
-Presents a reader with a text in which certain words are blocked out
-The reader must determine missing words based on context clues
-In order to supply the words, the reader must already know them
What is the best way for 1st/2nd graders to learn sight words?
-Memorize lists by using techniques like songs, mnemonic devices, and other fun activities
-Sight words cannot be decoded
Phonological awareness activities are:
Oral
What is phonological awareness?
The understanding of the sound within a spoken word
The ability to use tactics to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words, know words have multiple meanings, and use prior knowledge to figure out word meaning are elements of this:
-Word-recognition
-Include strategies to decode unfamiliar words
-Consider alternate word meanings to decode a text and the ability to apply prior knowledge to determine a word’s meaning
Emergent Writers pass through the following stages:
- Scripting the end-sound to a word
- Leaving space between words
- Writing from top left to top right and from top to bottom of the page
Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) depends upon which two practices?
Cooperative learning and reading comprehension
What is a Maze test (type of cloze test)?
Offers a number of possible answers and the student must read very carefully in order to make the correct selection
The 4 required activities described by the Assistive Technology Act are:
- Public awareness program
- Coordinating activities among state agencies
- Technical assistance and training
- Outreach to underrepresented and rural populations
What disability is degenerative and often leads to death in adolescence or early adulthood?
Muscular dystrophy
Compared with children without hearing loss, children born with hearing loss are more likely to experience significant delays in what developmental domains?
Language
What fine-motor skills do children typically develop last?
Cutting shapes with scissors
Compared with students with mild intellectual disabilities, students with learning disabilities are more likely to have:
One or more specific cognitive difficulties rather than global delays
Students with mild intellectual disabilities tend to exhibit what cognitive characteristics?
Difficulty applying newly learned skills to a different context
What gross-motor skills do children typically develop last?
Jumping forward and taking off and landing with two feet
What student is demonstrating characteristics most often associated with an emotional impairment?
A second-grade student who frequently complains of a stomach ache in the morning before going to school
What student is demonstrating characteristics most often associated with autism spectrum disorder?
A kindergarten student who does not engage in pretend play, exclusively talks about astronomy, and misinterprets social cues
What is generally the most advanced linguistic skill a typical eight-year-old can be expected to demonstrate?
Telling a story that includes cause-and-effect relationships
What social/emotional abilities typically appear for the first time during adolescence?
Understanding that the perspective of the other may be influenced by their background or circumstances
What student is demonstrating characteristics most often associated with a pragmatic language disorder?
A fourth-grader who has difficulty understanding conversational turn taking
What symptoms are most characterized by an absence seizure?
Staring blankly for a brief time
A student has a disability that impairs both his understanding of spatial relationships and his perceptual-motor skills. What math tasks would likely pose the greatest difficulty to this student?
Constructing congruent geometric shapes on graph papers
A middle school student with learning disabilities in reading and writing and ADHD recently began taking a prescribed stimulant medication. What behavioral changes should the student’s special education teacher expect to observe?
Increased ability to focus on academic tasks
A student with a mild intellectual disability and an emotional impairment frequently becomes physically aggressive when frustrated. The most effective way for the student’s family to support her social/emotional development would be to:
Implement a behavior management strategy at home that compliments her school behavioral plan
A student with short-term memory deficits would likely have the most difficulty with what task?
Following multi-step oral directions
A special educator is meeting with the parents and siblings of a student who will begin receiving special education services because of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), orthopedic impairment, and specific learning disabilities. To help support this student’s ongoing learning and development, it would be most appropriate for the special educator to encourage the family to:
Communicate openly among themselves about the student’s strengths and needs
A sixth-grade student with a learning disability in reading has difficulty understanding the meaning of words. This student is likely to experience the most difficulty with what activity?
Summarizing a passage from a chapter book
A special educator should be aware that anticonvulsant medications used to control seizure disorder most often have what side effect?
Drowsiness
A student who has spina bifida and wears orthoses must be monitored closely for what?
Pressure sores
Parents/guardians who consistently provide encouragement and feedback to their developing child are most likely to have an influence on the child’s ability to:
Engage enthusiastically in learning tasks
A special education teacher in a resource room has several students with specific learning disabilities in math who are frequently overheard complaining, “Why should we try to learn this stuff when we’ll never use it?” The SPED teacher decides to develop a community-based activity with a local store owner in which students practice buying and selling merchandise. What best describes the role this type of activity plays in student development?
Facilitating learning through an authentic experience
A kindergartner with type 1 diabetes will be attending a general education class. The student’s teacher should be aware of what common indicators of hyperglycemia?
Increased thirst and frequent urination
As part of a three-year-reevaluation, the IEP team would like to determine a student’s progress in reading, writing, and math. What would be the most appropriate assessment tool for this purpose?
An individually administered standardized achievement test
A SPED teacher is preparing to conduct an initial evaluation of an English language learner. TO minimize bias effectively, the teacher should administer:
Assorted formal and informal tests in the student’s primary language
A SPED teacher is preparing to conduct an evaluation of a kindergarten student who has fragile X syndrome. An adaptive behavior assessment would provide the teacher with information about:
The student’s self-help and social skills
A SPED teacher would like to identify where a student needs instructional help in learning to solve math word problems. The most effective strategy for the teacher to use would be:
Conduct a math task analysis
A SPED teacher will be participating in a functional behavior assessment (FBA) of a student who has recently become physically disruptive in class. What is the first step in conducting an FBA?
Describe the student’s behavior in concise, observation-based terms
A portfolio assessment primarily provides an IEP team with documentation of:
A student’s strengths and evidence of progress that has occurred over time
An IEP team is preparing to conduct a three-year reevaluation of a high school student with learning disabilities and ADHD. What strategy would likely be the most effective when administering a standardized achievement test to this student?
Repeating oral directions as needed and providing frequent breaks during testing sessions
What describes a limitation of using a standardized test with a student who has a learning disability?
It is difficult to use the test results to develop effective instructional strategies
A SPED teacher is administering an initial individual achievement test to a second-grade student. What best explains why the teacher should discontinue a subtest after a student makes four consecutive errors?
A ceiling level as been reached
A SPED teacher is preparing to assess the academic abilities and skills of an eighth-grade student who has spastic cerebral palsy and learning disabilities. What would likely be the most appropriate testing accommodation for this student?
Incorporating the student’s current assistive technologies for oral and written communication