Speech and language impairment is one of many learning disabilities hindering children attendance and achievement in class at primary school level. Primary education is the first stage of education and covers seven years of school life in Zimbabwe. This level of education lays the ground work for future learning and future academic success. The United Nations (2000) identified universal primary education by 2015 as one of its Millennium Development Goals. To achieve this goal there is need to improve school attendance and academic achievement by pupils at primary school level by enhancing the skills of teachers to treat school children with learning disabilities differently. Thus, there is need for children with speech and language impairment to receive special education due to the impairment (Freiberg and Wicklund, 2003). However, most public schools are not well equipped with relevant resources to cater for the needs of primary school children with speech and language impairment disability.
1.0 Background to the study
The values that primary education instills in children serves as the basis for their future. Primary education is a basic right for every child in Zimbabwe but because of speech and language impairment many children are failing to access primary education. This situation may be as a result of lack of support from the relevant government ministry and parents. Even though the ministry acknowledge that there are children with speech and language impairment who require special attention, it appears not much is being done to create an enabling environment for learning for children with speech and language impairment. Thus, recognition by the government comes in the form of recruitment and training of teachers of chil...
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... will study multiple schools and families because such comparisons are valuable as they allow more depth of understanding regarding the topic on which the study will focus. The study will also focus on the effects of children with speech and language impairment not having access to primary education as well as the strategies that are in place to deal with the challenges they are facing.
1.10 Limitations of the study
Most government schools as well as the families are scattered all over the High Glen district of Harare and as such the researcher might not be able to get a 100% response rate. Most government schools are bound by codes of conduct which might prevent them to openly discuss critical issues and being an outsider may also limit what is revealed to me. The members may be guarded in their conversations around me especially in my initial contacts with them.
Deaf Culture is often misunderstood because the hearing world thinks of deafness as a handicap. The Deaf are not given enough credit for their disabilities even though they are unable to hear. Being misunderstood is the biggest reason why they are not accepted in the world of hearing. The learning process for them may be slower and more difficult to learn, but they are still very bright individuals. The problem at hand is the controversy of trying to “fix” the Deaf when they may or may not want to be “fixed”. The hearing world should give Deaf people a chance to show their true talents and abilities of intelligence before rushing to assumptions, such as hearing aids will fix all Deaf people, because Deaf are dumb, have social problems, and
She is able to receive assistance from a speech- pathologist for her language twice a week because of free appropriate public education (FAPE). A recommended practice that is trending now is to place students in their least restricted environment, where they can learn the most. In order for her to still receive her assistance and be in her least restricted environment, she is placed in a growing trend of inclusion classrooms. This trend is influencing special education and education in general because it is the view that everyone needs to be able to accept the student with a disability equally as anyone else. Although, the book discuss different views of inclusion in the classroom, inclusion classes are considered to be possible and necessary for twenty-first- century education that we are facing now. This is why Elizabeth spends the majority of her school day in a general education classroom instead of spending all her time in a special education classroom. It is also important to note that Elizabeth’s teachers have to collaborate together to support her because educators are now being expected to use evidence- based practices that work in the classroom. The practices that are used for Elizabeth are recommended practices in the special education and schools. It was shown that the practices being used for Elizabeth are effective because the teacher stated that she saw improvements in both her social and academic growth. The different aspects of Elizabeth’s program provides examples of the different aspects of special education including the programs or services that are available, what trends are happening
I had never looked further into the requirements of being an educational interpreter. Before now, I had never realized the importance of the primary school years. Since so many deaf children are born to hearing parents, it would be vital for me, as the interpreter, to introduce the child to ASL until they are exposed to the deaf community. It is also important that I understand the tactics of the teachers so I can impact the deaf student, and allow them to be as successful as their hearing counterparts. I now realize that being an interpreter in the primary years will really influence the child’s success in later
The disparity between the Deaf and hearing is based around ableism, or a newer notion, Audism. Audism is the notion that those that can hear are superior. (Oberholtzer, 2009) Like most that are viewed as inferior, the Deaf are often looked at as lesser compared to those of the hearing community and labeled as disabled, even if they themselves do not view their deafness as a disability. Many of Deaf community members are able to hear and speak well enough to communicate with hearing people but still chose to identify with the Deaf community rather than in the hearing world. (Harlan, 1996) One’s involvement does not center around their hearing
In the video presentation of How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop, Richard Lavoie is able to simulate several of the difficulties that a student with a learning disability has to face at school. Some of the difficulties experienced by the students are intrinsic to the disability itself, but many other difficulties are directly related with the emotions that the student experiences when attending a class, and as a result of his or her interactions with teachers and classmates. Both the United States law and the education system, have the opportunity to make a huge difference in the learning experience of every student with disability. Students with disabilities need to be guided to a path to education that is both feasible and accessible for them; with achievable goals, and by being provided what they need in order to succeed, and to be able to overcome any obstacles.
Do you feel like there is a disconnect between both Deaf world and hearing world? (Briefly Explain)
My essay topic is the language development of deaf infants and children. In my opinion, this is an important topic to discuss, due to the lack of public knowledge concerning the deaf population. Through this essay, I wish to present how a child is diagnosed as having a hearing loss (including early warning signs), options that parents have for their children once diagnosed (specifically in relation to education of language), common speech teaching methods used today, typical language development for these children, and some emotional, social, and mental difficulties faced by the deaf child and the child’s family that have an immense effect on the child’s education.
The purpose of this assignment is to explain the impact of English language learners in the classroom. As a foreign student, English language learner in the United States faces multiple challenges for achieving academic success. To successfully complete a task, they need to master both English as a language and how it is used in core content classes especially when they are an adult. When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation,
Some of the implications that must be taken into account in regards to a Deaf person’s education are: That individuals who are Deaf only, do not have their intellectual capabilities affected, however they will require special plan to address the communication areas. In order to facilitate the communication aspects early intervention is essential, providing oral/ aural training, learning Learning Sign Language, and fingerspelling. It’s important to be aware of the age of the student when he/she became Deaf or the level of hearing loss. This is important because as the Deaf student progresses through the school years he or she is likely to fall behind in other subjects when compared to typical
The ‘functional model’ of literacy is a model that describes the literacy skills gained that lead us to function within society. The skills that can lead to us achieving goals such as higher education study, entering the world of work and becoming a contributor to the community. These are aspects of our lives that could be effected by having poor functioning language and literacy skills, leading to poor opportunities, limited socially mobility and an ethos of disengagement within certain communities. Considering these issues the great importance of understanding the effects of not gaining these skills can be
The true purpose of school is to prepare children for their future in becoming lifelong learners and global citizens. For children with special needs, special education services prepare and provide support for them in dealing with the challenges they face daily. Laws such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has enforced schools to provide education to all children and reinforces the purpose of the school, which is to provide children the Least Restrictive Environment to help them develop to their optimal potential. There are myriad of concerns regarding inclusion’s effect on typical developing students, yet a research done by Bui, Quirk, Almazan, and Valenti shows that “[p]resence of students with disabilities results in greater number of typical students making reading and math progress compared to non-inclusive general education classes” (p. 3). Therefore, inclusion not only benefits children with disabilities, but it also benefits typical developing student’s academic skills and allows them to learn acceptance and respect for students with disabilities.
Now, children with intellectual disabilities are respected, and cared for just like anyone else. This was not true prior to the mid 19th century. People and doctors feared them and they were often ignored. As time continued throughout history things changed for the better. Some people may have believed that someone either had an intellectual disability or not, but this is not true. There are different levels to it. Children with an intellectual disability can and do attend regular schools with a little extra help, but they do experience emotional and behavior problem along the way. Not all causes for intellectual disabilities can be found, but there are a few known ones. With all of this said, there are ways to prevent intellectual dishabilles and ways to treat it as well.
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Kuder, S.J. (2008). Teaching Students with Language and Communication Disabilities (3rd edition). Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
A child with a mental or physical disability may not be able to think, work, play, and function like other children of the same age. Someone working in the special needs career will be able to assist these children to function in their everyday lives and to meet goals to encourage them to thrive. In order for someone to work with special needs children, they need to understand the factors involved in a child’s improvement, have a heart for helping others, and be properly educated and trained.