Characteristics Of Students With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

- Developmental Disability.

●     Typically detected when parents or health care professionals recognize that a child is not meeting developmental milestones.

●     It refers to a wide spectrum of  intellectual disabilities and severe disabilities, including dual sensory disabilities,

- Intellectual Disability

●     Characterized by significant intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical skills.

●     This disability originates from the developmental periods that range before the age of 22.

●     Students with this have limited cognitive function, which affects their learning.

- Intellectual 

• Slow learners

• Failing to notice relevant features of what is being taught

• memory, remembering incorrectly

• attention, focusing on tasks

• communication, challenges expressing themselves

• expressive, speaking and writing

• receptive, listening, and reading

• do not demonstrate learned skills

• learning complex skills and abstract concepts

• Difficulty making generalizations

- Social & Behavioral

• difficulties developing friendships

• Limited social skills, can't' practice.

• naive and gullible, prone to inappropriate behavior 

• engagement, tough to master tasks and skills 

• Struggle with maintaining motivation. 

• establishing personal responsibility and accomplishment 

• Think they have no control over their success or failure

• personal effort and task completion

Instructional Strategies/Accommodations For Students With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

- Increase students' sense of belonging: Develop and implement routines like taking turns, providing opportunities to be a class leader, and taking time to communicate daily.

- Become familiar with the student's goals and objectives: Develop appropriate planning for the student, have careful analysis of the student and the tasks

- Increase student engagement in the classroom: Use activity learning to help get each student invested, create fun and creative assignments for them.

- Increase the student's motivation and participation level: Teach the students in small steps to keep them on task or teach in different segments at different times.

- Increase students' attention level: Give concrete examples in instruction, separate some material, and check frequently on the student

- Help the students generalize: Provide many different examples for the student, reinforce generalization

- Help the students with receptive listening and understanding: Limit the number of concepts presented at one time, and keep things simple for the student

- Teach writing to students who struggle: Use specific enabling devices to help the students with specific needs and aspects like any sort of computer or pen accommodation.

- Increase performance learning in the classroom: Use specific tasks and directions for the class, and have functional tools available for the students

- Help increase student social skills: Make connections among student interests with tasks and assignments in the classroom. Group work specific to have students get to know each other and socialize

- Help slow learners keep up with the class: Engage in activity learning, teach in small segments, and have them repeat the strategy and perform it by themselves

- Help students master their tasks and skills: Create a functional environment for the students to learn inside the classroom. Use concepts that give the students an opportunity to succeed, for example, giving constructive feedback to amplify and promote the learning experience.

Resources For Students With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

- ID&DD Resources page - This page contains resources for students who struggle with this - https://www.baddour.org/intellectual-disabilities-resources 

- ID Resources _ This webpage holds a collection of links that take you to various resources - https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/idds/more_information/resources 

- ARC - This page protects and promotes people with ID & DD - https://thearc.org/ 

- Teaching Video - This video gives tips on teaching ID students how to read - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY-DoVIrhkg 

- Video ID & DD Kids - This video shows how you can help support kids with ID & DD in the classroom - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjHAUkxxDHo