Welcome to Week 7's posting on students with autism spectrum disorders/pervasive developmental disorders. An audio of the chapter has been provided. For the chapter audio, ignore references in the audio to week numbers, dates, chapter numbers, page numbers, assignments, the discussion board,names...thank you. The core of the audio speaks to the current chapter topic in your edition of the text book. https://edocs.uis.edu/jherr3/www/TEP224F2010/TEP224Ch7.mp3 .
Chapter 10 addresses the following questions concerning teaching students with developmental disabilities . What is the definition of a developmental disability? What are the characteristics of students who exhibit developmental disabilities? What are some strategies for teaching students with developmental disabilities?
Definition of "developmental disability" - the definition of developmental disabilities is as follows:
"...physical or mental disabilities that impair the person's functioning in language, learning, mobility, self-care, or other important areas of living, ranging from mild to severe."
Mental Retardation Mental retardation falls under the category of a developmental disability, with Down syndrome being the most recognized of this group mostly characterized by their slow rate of learning.
The following excerpt is from Professor Jerome Lejeune, Nobel Prize Winner, Discoverer of the gene for Down syndrome
Click here for a personal Saga of a child with Downs syndrome: A couples' story: http://www.squidoo.com/down-s-syndrome .
It used to be that the definition of mental retardation was restricted to below average IQ scores, however, according to the text, students who are diagnosed as mentally retarded have limited function in four areas:
intellectual - below average IQ in the range of 70-75 or below.
adaptive behavior - inability or delay in being able to function independently in society.
devleopmental period - limitations in intellectual and adaptive behavior relative to age appropriated behaviors before the age of 18 years.
systems of support - unless mentally retarded students are provided mega-support from teachers, parents, specialists, they are not as capable of operating as a sustainable functioning person in society. (Vaughn, et al, p. 163, 2007)
Mental retardation now is classified as mild (IQ 50-55 to 70-75); moderate (IQ 35-40 to 50-55); severe (IQ 20-25 to 35-40); and profound (IQ below 20-25) (Vaughn, et al, p. 163, 2007)
originate as a result of poverty stricken environments, neglect and abuse! 1 in 30 newborns will experience head injuries as a result of neglect! Students born in poverty stricken environments have an increased chance of being lead poisoned, underfed, polluted by harmful environs, abused, underinsured therefore not receiving appropriate medical attention. The majority of these cases are students who are mildly retarded, but require intervention strategies in order to be successful in the regular education classroom.
Characteristics of students with developmental disabilities: Students with developmental disabilities generally learn slower and learn less than other students. A report cited that "the characteristics of developmental disabilities are 'physical or mental impairments that begin before age 22, and alter or substantially inhibit a person's capacity to do at least three of the following: take care of themselves (dress, bathe, eat, and other daily tasks), speak and be understood clearly, learn, walk/move around, make decisions, live on their own, and/or earn and manage an income.'"
See http://www.bostoncares.org/news/issuebriefs/disabilities.pdf to read more.)
See http://www.bostoncares.org/news/issuebriefs/disabilities.pdf to read more.)
What Are the Signs of Mental Retardation?
What are some strategies for dealing with developmentally disabled students?: Below are tips for both parents and educators as offered by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY stands for the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities ????) website at http://www.nichcy.org/index.html .
Pragmatically Speaking - How to use this information in the classroom:
Learn about mental retardation. The more you know, the more you can help yourself and students.
Share skills students are learning at school with parents, so that they can extend those learning opportunities at home. For example, if such students are learning how to count money, have parents allow them to help count out the money at the grocery store.
Keep in touch with the parent(s).
Find out what student's strengths are and capitalize on those. Create success opportunities.
If you are not part of the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, ask for a copy of his or her IEP. The student's educational goals will be listed there, as well as the services and classroom accommodations he or she is to receive.
If you are not part of the student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, ask for a copy of his or her IEP. The student's educational goals will be listed there, as well as the services and classroom accommodations he or she is to receive.
Talk to specialists in your school (e.g., special educators), as necessary. They can help you identify effective methods of teaching this student, ways to adapt the curriculum, and how to address the student's IEP goals in your classroom.
Be as concrete as possible. Demonstrate what you mean rather than just giving verbal directions. Rather than just relating new information verbally, show a picture. And rather than just showing a picture, provide the student with hands-on materials and experiences and the opportunity to try things out.
Break longer, new tasks into small steps. Demonstrate the steps. Have the student do the steps, one at a time. Provide assistance, as necessary.
Give the student immediate feedback.
Involve the student in group activities or clubs.
Be as concrete as possible. Demonstrate what you mean rather than just giving verbal directions. Rather than just relating new information verbally, show a picture. And rather than just showing a picture, provide the student with hands-on materials and experiences and the opportunity to try things out.
Break longer, new tasks into small steps. Demonstrate the steps. Have the student do the steps, one at a time. Provide assistance, as necessary.
Give the student immediate feedback.
Involve the student in group activities or clubs.
Optional: Post A Comment on the following quote [at least 200 words] - I look forward to the day when a mongolian idiot, treated biochemically, becomes a successful geneticist....quote from Professor Jerome Lejeune...
Sincerely,
Dr. Herring
Out of context, the statement ‘I look forward to the day when a mongolian idiot, treated biochemically, becomes a successful geneticist…’ is hard to comprehend, and seems sarcastic and cruel. Down Syndrome and other developmental disorders have been known by many names through the years, many of them with extremely negative connotations. The quote by French Professor Jerome Lejeune is instead, an optimistic statement about a disease he viewed as curable when many in the world held a more pessimistic view.
ReplyDeleteJerome Jean Louis Marie Lejeune (1926-1994) was best known for discovering that chromosome abnormalities were a cause of many diseases. He specialized in treating and studying children with Down Syndrome. While many parents of Down Syndrome children terminate their pregnancies or feel that their children who are diagnosed with Down Syndrome are destined to unproductive lives, Lejeune offered the hope of a cure. Lejeune once said, “it would take less effort to find a cure for the disease than to send a man to the moon.”
Thanks to inclusion, social programs, scientific progress, and changes in attitudes in society, students with Down Syndrome (and other developmental disorders) can lead productive, happy lives. Schools are learning to teach students with various developmental disorders by addressing their abnormalities while treating them as normal students.
Works cited:
Clara Lejeune-Gaymard: Life is A Blessing: A Bibliography of Jerome Lejeune-Geneticist, Doctor, Father. 2011
In 1959, Dr. Jerome Lejeune, a French geneticist, discovered that people with Down syndrome contain 47 chromosomes which is one more than the 46 chromosomes in normal humans. Dr. LeJeune helped start clinical cytogenetics and performed numerous clinical and biochemical studies of people with Down syndrome. His discovery helped lead to the development by other scientists of the procedures used to analyzing amniotic fluid testing for the prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome and other chromosome disorders.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Jerome Lejeune was quoted saying, “I looked forward to the day when a Mongolian idiot, treated biochemically, becomes a successful geneticist” which is really inspiring if you think about it from his medical perspective. Basically, Professor Lejeune was assuming modern medicine would one day be sophisticated enough one day to develop a treatment that would be able to make a Mongolian idiot smart. Maybe the day will come when a treatment will be available for genetic disorders.
Work Cited:
Pace, Eric. The New York Times, Dr. Jerome Lejeune Dies at 67; Found Cause of Down Syndrome. Web. 12 Apr. 1994.
The statement, ‘I look forward to the day when a mongolian idiot, treated biochemically, becomes a successful geneticist” is a hopeful statement by geneticist Jerome Lejeune. The term mongoloid was used in reference to individuals with Down syndrome and Lejeune was the individual who discovered the cause of Down syndrome as an extra chromosome21. Normal chromosomal makeup for a human is two sets of 23 chromosomes. They receive 23 from the mother and 23 from the father for a total of 46 chromosomes. Individuals with Down syndrome have the extra chromosome 21 so they have a total of 47 chromosomes. Lejeune narrowed down the cause of the chromosomal defect and with work can potentially find the genes that are effected and fix them.
ReplyDeleteThe statement is a hopeful look at the possibility of a future where Down syndrome can be treated through the use of genetics. If this can be accomplished then Individuals with Down syndrome will not have limited intellectual functioning, adaptive behavior, developmental periods, or need the large support systems that are provided by those around them. The “mongolian idiot” will no longer be an idiot and will have the opportunities to potentially be a geneticist or anything else.
Did anyone else find irony in Lejeune’s excerpt above about the two babies his father’s colleague delivered? I thought it had great meaning. The child, born with Down syndrome, became a well-functioning, respected member of society; while the healthy child born was Adolf Hitler.
ReplyDeleteConsidering this example, I found it ironic that the child born with Down syndrome displayed greater moral intelligence than the baby born without a developmental disability.
In reference to the quote, I believe Lejeune was hopeful that one day a cure would be discovered that would allow children afflicted with Down syndrome to be able to function similarly to individuals not afflicted the disorder. The only factor that separates an individual’s ability with Down syndrome and an individual without it is one extra chromosome.
I have had the opportunity to work with two Down syndrome students in a community based education program, and I am inspired by their determination to succeed. While performing daily tasks, in the speed that you and I take for granted, is a challenge for Down syndrome students, I must say that they give 110% of their effort into doing what they can. What they do makes a difference and I think it’s important, as future educators, that we recognize their efforts and create opportunities for them to experience success.
As I reflected on this quote made by Professor Jerome Lejeune: “I look forward to the day when a mongolian idiot, treated biochemically, becomes a successful geneticist . . . .” I too look forward to such a day, when a person with Down syndrome can be biochemically treated for this condition. How ironic it would be, that such a person would become the geneticists that finds the cure for this condition.
ReplyDeleteI found this week’s readings fascinating, I found the arguments that Professors Lejeune made at the “Man, Religion, and Culture” conference to be profound. I have struggled with balancing my ideology of individual freedom, with my knowledge of science, and my religious beliefs. The way the professor defines what human life is, how he uses science to verify his argument, and then how he ends his argument with the words of Jesus Christ, helps me to clarify my own beliefs.
I believe that the first step to achieving Professor Lejeune’s quote is changing how people think. Too often people see a person with a disability and not the person. I have been guilty of doing this very thing. I have avoided making contact with someone, just because their appeared to have Down syndrome. I am not sure why I have behaved in this manner. Perhaps it is because I have felt uncomfortable, unsure of what to say, unsure of what I should not say in any case the flaw is mine. I realize the reason for my behavior has stemmed from my ignorance about Down syndrome.
The one reoccurring theme which I find to be true in all my education courses has been: That in order to become an effective teacher, one has to develop relationships with their students. Regardless, of whom it is setting in my classroom they are a person and should be treated with dignity.
This quote from Professor Jerome Lejeune, the man who discovered the gene for Down syndrome, speaks of his hope for the eventual discovery of a cure for Down syndrome. He had made the first great discovery, finding the gene that causes it, which puts us one step closer to a cure. He is looking forward to the day when another scientist like himself makes another great discovery, finding the right combination of treatments to cure Down syndrome. He believes that it will be a biochemist who figures out this cure. He is awaiting the day when a child diagnosed with Down syndrome will be able to be treated and healed fully. He wants these children to have the chance to be great thinkers, to soar high enough to even succeed at being a geneticist. To achieve this goal the child would have to be completely cured, not just treated with today’s methods, which though beneficial, are not completely effective. To find this treatment would be a great discovery. It would allow parents to be able to see their children, born with Downs, to learn at the same level as those children around them, to see them interact and play, grow up and live successful lives. Whoever finds this treatment would go down as a great person in our history.
ReplyDeleteI do, however, disagree with his term “mongolian idiot” referring to a person with Down syndrome.
I have known children with Down syndrome and loved working with them. Even his own about the two babies describes how the child with Down syndrome was the one who lived the better, more moral, life. I find the term offensive, though I do acknowledge that it was possibly not so offensive when he was completing his research.
- I look forward to the day when a mongolian idiot, treated biochemically, becomes a successful geneticist....quote from Professor Jerome Lejeune...
ReplyDeleteIt would only be fitting that a person with a genetic disability tries to cure it, but base on what or who “Mongolian idiots” are could this happen. I would like to think that it could especially if the person is being treated. There are people out there that have mental disabilities that are able to function in the world while on medications. I know this first hand, I have an aunt that is bi-polar, a schizophrenic and manic depressive, but as long as she takes her medication she is fine and okay to be around.
I don’t believe that this quote will be too farfetched given all the medical advancements we have, it is only time that could bring this to truth. Look at the life span now people are living into their 90s or 100s, but in 1960 the average life span was in the 60s. I think that this will eventually happen, but it will take time.
Some might read the quote and realize that he is talking about a child or person with Downs Syndrome and this is possible. But if we don’t hold high expectations for children, all children, who will??? Just because a child has a disability doesn’t mean that they won’t be capable of success, no matter how great or small.
I think there are so many things that can be inferred from that quote. If you refer back to the two children that he followed for fifty years, one of whom is a person with down's syndrome and the other a healthy person responsible for the death of millions. It is heart warming to hear about the child with a disability being a loving and caring person through the course of their life, a true testment to the kindness and inocence that comes with her condition. Then on the other hand, we here person who supposedly has all of their faculties and developes into a ruthless dictator and murderer, which is an example of the nature of a human with high intelligence and determination. It's kind of discouraging to think about! I think the whole point of what he is saying is that these people, the ones with disabilities, are truly good people and thus we should be giving them just as much, if not more, effort because it is a worth while investment. Going further, the author has hopes that there will be a cuure to the down syndrome condition because he believes in who they are as human beings and what they are capable of.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the day when a mongolian idiot, treated biochemically, becomes a successful geneticist....quote from Professor Jerome Lejeune...
ReplyDeleteI believe Lejeune was annotating that people with this type of disability are a suppressor to society and will never make something out of themselves. When in fact people who have down syndrome make a difference in peoples lives, whether or not they are "helping" society economically. I have had personal experience with down syndrome. A family friend has down syndrome and she may look mongolian but she is far from an idiot. Will she ever become a geneticist, no. I do feel that with help from geneticist, disorders such as down syndrome can be altered and maybe the severity of the disorder can be managed, but altering them to become a geneticist maybe stretching beyond our limits in this day and age. So with what we have to work with is what we need to focus on to help strive for "mongolian idiots" to become geneticists!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
ReplyDeleteWeek 7/Comment on quote
My first impression on the quote was that the author "should get over it." I took the comment about biochemcal treatment as the author hoping to "fix" the world's abnormalities and make us all "look" alike. After further thought I believe that the author is commenting on society's obsession with physical image. The "look" of the mongolian idiot would be distasteful to many and a cause for ridicule to the rest. The person trapped within the outside frame would never receive "credit" for the person inside. While physical attributes would further handicap; looks may also prevent the person from receiving the help they need. Our society has shown a pendant for locking away that which is not visually appealing. Handicaps are "acceptable" when they are not distasteful. A few years ago I helped my mom when she did some work for an organization called South Star Services. The organization services adults with mental deficits. I felt like this was a lost segment of society. 40 and 50 year old men and women;some with the mind of a 4 year old. I feel that fundraising for this cause was difficult for the group because these people were no longer "cute." They found it difficult to solicit donations for a group of people that society wanted to believe didn't exist. The quote reminds me of this situation; while it would be nice to give those with developmental disabilities the opportunity to show the world "what they are made of", the fact remains that unless we have a personal connection we all choose to ignore.