Commonsense Methods for Children with Special Educational Needs Book

Introduction     xii
Special educational needs and learning difficulties     1
Inclusive schooling and special educational needs     2
Factors associated with successful inclusion     4
How many students have special educational needs?     5
Learning difficulties: confusing terminology     6
Students with general and specific learning difficulties     6
Possible causes of general learning difficulty     7
Students with specific learning disabilities (SpLD)     8
Identification of SpLD     9
Dyslexia and other learning disabilities     10
Possible causes of specific learning disability     11
Is the concept of 'learning disability' useful?     12
Correlates of learning difficulty: reduced motivation and learned helplessness     12
Impact of students' learning difficulties on teachers' motivation     13
Teaching approaches     14
Students with intellectual disability and autism     17
Guiding principles for the mainstream teacher     17
Students with intellectual disability     18
Approaches for individuals with severe and complex disabilities     24
Asperger Syndrome     31
Students with physical disabilitiesand sensory impairments     34
Students with physical disabilities     34
Augmentative and alternative communication     39
General points for the mainstream teacher     40
Students with impaired vision     40
Students with impaired hearing     45
Teaching children self-management and self-regulation     53
Definition of terms     53
Self management in children     54
Self-management can be taught     55
Locus of control     56
Attribution retraining     57
Teaching task-approach strategies     58
The development of self-regulation in learning     59
Cognitive behaviour modification (CBM)     61
The management of behaviour     63
Preventing behaviour problems     64
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)     64
Classroom behaviour     65
Identifying the problem     67
Behaviour modification     68
Strategies for reducing disruptive behaviour     69
Aggressive behaviour     73
Bullying     74
Cognitive approaches to self-control     75
Social stories     75
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)     77
Improving social skills and peer group acceptance     80
Opportunities for social interaction     80
Identification of children with peer relationship problems     81
Creating a supportive environment     83
Influencing attitudes     83
Circle of Friends     84
Facilitating social interaction     85
Organisation for group work     86
What are social skills?     87
Social skills training     88
Is social skills training effective?     90
Developing early literacy skills: principles and practices     93
Differing perspectives on reading methodology     94
A skills-based approach to reading     94
The meaning-emphasis approach     96
Shared-book experience     98
Language-experience approach     100
Guided reading     103
A traditional method revisited     104
A focus on comprehension     105
Difficulties in comprehension     106
Improving comprehension     107
Planning effective intervention for literacy problems     111
The needs of students with learning difficulties     111
Planning intervention from assessment data     112
General principles of assessment     114
Assessing a non-reader     116
Assessment for a student above beginner level     117
Assessing the student who has reached a reading plateau     119
Additional factors to consider when students are not successful     120
Intervention programmes     121
Literacy Hour     124
Tutoring     125
General principles for literacy intervention     125
Strategies for overcoming or preventing reading difficulties     129
Pre-reading and early reading experiences     129
Building sight vocabulary     130
Phonological awareness     131
Phonological training: general principles     133
Teaching letter-sound correspondences     134
Simple word-building experience     136
Games and apparatus     137
Multi-sensory approaches     138
Cloze procedure     139
Repeated Reading and the Impress Method     139
Pause, Prompt, Praise (PPP)     140
Sustained Silent Reading (SSR)     141
Computers, ICT and reading     141
Helping students improve their writing      144
Sequential development of writing     144
Difficulties in writing     145
Losing confidence and motivation     145
Teaching approaches     146
Intervention for individuals and groups     151
Paving the way to success     152
Paired writing     153
Suggestions for reluctant writers     153
Word processors     157
Developing spelling skills     160
Whole-language perspectives on spelling     161
Interventionist perspectives on spelling     161
Developmental stages in spelling acquisition     162
Do we spell by eye, by ear, by hand, or by brain?     163
Individual differences among spellers     166
Teaching spelling by the visual-emphasis approach     167
Applying phonic principles     168
Spelling from meaning     169
The morphemic approach     169
Spelling rules     170
Dictation     170
Should spelling lists be used?     171
Developing strategic spellers     171
Simultaneous Oral Spelling (SOS)     172
Repeated writing     173
Old Way/New Way method     173
Word Sorts     174
Programming for individual students     174
Developing numeracy and mathematical problem-solving skills     177
Contemporary perspectives on mathematics teaching     177
Whole-class teaching and group work     179
Learning difficulties in mathematics     179
What should be taught?     180
A diagnostic approach     181
Three levels of assessment     183
Teaching and learning at the concrete and semi-concrete levels     186
Computation and algorithms     188
Developing problem-solving skills and strategies     190
How do we solve problems?     191
Adapting curriculum and instruction     195
Differentiation     196
Keep it simple     196
Specific examples of differentiation     197
Starting points     198
Modifying curriculum content     200
Adapting resources     201
Adapting instruction     202
Differentiating student output     203
Differentiation of assessment and grading     204
Accommodations for students with disabilities     207
Differentiation is not easy     207
Teaching methods: an overview     209
Teacher-directed approaches     210
Student-centred approaches     214
Computer-based learning (CBL) and computer-assisted learning (CAL)     221
References     224
Index     249