One of the major tasks of special education is to assess both individual students and the effectiveness of the special programs. The task of determining how an individual child is different, along a variety of dimensions has become a major step in identifying and educating children with exceptionalities. In the case of Hanna who suffers from cerebral palsy a condition in which brain damage has disrupted normal muscle functioning making her immobile. In this case the assessment criteria will mostly be based on her academic aptitude, this been the ability for the child to understand and comprehend what they are taught. A child diagnosed with this type of cerebral palsy requires an environment in which they feel comfortable. The staff in the school will be given files with information on the complex condition of Hanna. This will include information on care and understanding of the child’s capabilities and the attention required for the child in their learning capabilities.
A child of such complex exceptionalities will require a person with quality experience to deal with them. Hanna will require special treatment and patience as they are immobile in this case the criteria of choosing a multidisciplinary team will be subject to experience with such complex cases. With such rare cases much will be needed to improve the learning environment by creating appropriate setting in which to learn. The lesson plans will need to be revised to fit the specifics of the students while adapting newer learning strategies that will appeal to the student. Certain technologies will need to be introduced to meet the needs of the exceptionalities from the bathrooms by installing handicap friendly ones. A child as Hanna will require room for movement and thus enforcing of the slope instead of stairs will ease movement. Cerebral palsy students require more attention than other exceptionalities and in this case the school will need to hire a special education teacher to be placed in Hanna’s case. This will be essential to ensure that the child academic needs are well met.
References
Samuel Kirk, J. J. (2011). Educating Exceptional Children. Cengage Learning.
