SEN conditions

Summer-born children more frequently identified as having SEN

scameron — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:07:52 +0100

Children with summer birthdays are more frequently identified as having a special educational need according to the findings of Month of Birth and Education, a new study by the Schools Analysis and Research Division of the DfE. Moderate learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, and speech, language and communication needs are particularly over-represented in summer-born pupils.

Supporting disabled children in sport

scameron — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:14:26 +0100

The BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2008, 13-year-old Eleanor Simmonds, had an amazing year. She was selected for the swimming team at the Beijing Paralympics and came home with two gold medals for her top performances in both the 100 metres and 400 metres freestyle.

Low incidence special educational needs

scameron — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:10:32 +0100

The majority of low incidence children will attend special schools where their needs can be met by specialist staff and resources. Increasingly, however, many of these pupils are included in mainstream schools, sometimes on a part-time basis, and SENCOs are tasked with ensuring that staff understand and cater for their learning needs.

Supporting pupils with sensory and physical difficulties

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:21:33 +0100

Most children will experience some level of physical or sensory difficulty at some time in their lives - whether it's a broken leg, 'glue ear' or discomfort brought on by a medical condition. Teachers have to be aware of these conditions and how to alleviate any adverse effects on pupils' learning. When difficulties are significant and long term, children are protected by the Disability Discrimination Act which makes it unlawful to treat them less favourably than others.

One in five children have some sort of hearing impairment + Help Sheet 4

sara — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:21:33 +0100

It's thought that one in five children have some kind of hearing impairment (HI) at some point in their school careers. For many, this will be mild and temporary, for others, it is a permanent condition which they − and their teachers − have to come to terms with. This week we provide information for you to share with colleagues to help them consider the needs of HI learners.

SEN Support

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Supporting children with visual impairments

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:21:31 +0100

Most children with visual impairments (VI) cope perfectly well in mainstream schools, with appropriate specs, but some have problems that go undetected, and others have significant difficulties that require specialist help.
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Provision for pupils with severe learning difficulties (SLD)

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:49 +0100
Pupils with SLD experience ‘significant intellectual cognitive impairments’ having ‘a major effect on their ability to participate in the school curriculum without support.’ They may have ‘difficulties with mobility and coordination, communication and perception and the acquisition of self-help skills’ and need ‘support in all areas of the curriculum’. Some may use signs and symbols but ‘most will be able to hold simple conversations’.
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Orthopaedic impairments and motor disorders

jlee — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:32 +0100
Orthopaedic impairments concern disorders of bones, joints, and associated muscles, tendons and ligaments and physical disability; and include spinal curvature, limb deficiencies, talipes (club foot) and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Some definitions of orthopaedic impairment include neuromotor impairments such as muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and neural tube defects, which, like general orthopaedic impairments, can limit movement and may require similar educational and therapeutic provision.

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Apraxia

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:04 +0100

No two children with apraxia are the same in the characteristics they display. Children with developmental verbal apraxia may coordinate other movements normally.
Key characteristics

Children with developmental verbal apraxia may:
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Moderate learning difficulties (MLD)

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:20:02 +0100

Children with MLD comprise the largest group of children with special educational needs in mainstream schools. Many of these children have a delay of about three years and consequently need a high level of support within the mainstream classroom.
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Life-long communication problems?

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:56 +0100

Linguistic competencies have a crucial impact on how successfully young people develop at school, how they fare in further education and how they cope in finding work. Here, we consider what can happen to young people if their speech and language problems persist into their teenage years.

The nature of communication impairments
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Improving epilepsy awareness

admin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:19:50 +0100

Children with epilepsy are failing to reach their full potential because of a lack of awareness among teachers of the impact the condition can have on their schoolwork, according to a new survey.* This survey indicates that many teachers lack awareness and confidence in dealing with pupils with this disability.

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