Other Health Impairments

1
Other Health Impairments
Chapter 11

• Chapter 11
• Other Health Impairments
• Exceptional Lives Special Education in Todays
  Schools (4th ed.)

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How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Defining Other Health Impairments

• IDEA defines as chronic health problems that have
  an adverse impact on educational performance.
• Distinguished from severe and multiple
  disabilities, physical disabilities, and
  traumatic brain injuries
• May be
• Chronic develops slowly and has long-lasting
  symptoms
• Acute develops quickly with intense symptoms
  that last a relatively short period of time
• More than 200 specific health impairments exist.
• This chapter focuses on more typical conditions
  that limit strength, vitality, or alertness
  (including heightened alertness to environmental
  stimuli).

Describe characteristics of other health
impairments.
3
How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Describing the Characteristics of Sickle Cell
Disease

• Sickle cell disease
• The most common inherited blood condition,
  affecting about 80,000 Americans
• Symptoms include hand-foot syndrome, pain,
  nosebleeds, and anemia (causes fatigue,
  irritability, and jaundice).
• Affects the hemoglobin (red blood cells), causing
  them to be sickle-shaped rather than rounded, and
  they clog small blood vessels preventing organs
  and tissues from receiving adequate oxygen (can
  enlarge heart, liver, or spleen).
• Teachers can help students by
• Avoiding stressors (heat, cold, poor diet,
  inadequate liquids)
• Observing students for symptoms of pain and
  consider the emotional aspects of dealing with
  pain

Describe characteristics of other health
impairments.
4
How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Describing the Characteristics of Epilepsy

• Epilepsy
• Characterized by seizures (abnormal electrical
  discharges in the brain)
• Seizures temporary neurological abnormalities
  that result from unregulated electrical
  discharges in the brain (like an electrical
  storm)
• Generalized seizures the whole body is affected
  when electrical charges cross the entire brain
• Grand mal usually lose consciousness and have
  convulsions (sudden, involuntary contractions of
  muscles)
• Petit mal may lose consciousness from a few
  seconds to half a minute
• Partial seizures only one area of the brain is
  affected
• Temporal lobe seizure goes into a dreamlike
  state and has no memory of it
• Focal motor seizure sudden, jerky movements of
  one part of the body
• Myoclonic seizure affects infants and young
  children mostly and causes them to look startled
  or in pain during the seizure
• Teachers can help by
• Identifying and eliminating environmental factors
  that trigger seizures
• Extreme stress, fatigue, bright lights, certain
  sounds or odors
• Provide classmates with factual information on
  seizures
• Following seizure protocol

Describe characteristics of other health
impairments.
5
How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Describing the Characteristics of Asthma

• Asthma
• Most prevalent chronic illness of children and
  leading causes of school absences
• Student have no trouble inhaling but rather
  exhaling. When a student has an attack, less air
  passes out of the lungs than the student inhaled,
  resulting in trapped air and an excessive, thick
  mucus formation.
• Symptoms can vary widely from mild intermittent
  to severe persistent
• Basic prevention and treatment include meds,
  monitoring lung function, managing stress
  exercise, controlling triggers, managing
  episodes.
• Students may use anti-inflammatories (reduce
  airway swelling to prevent attacks) or
  bronchodilators (open constricted airways during
  attacks).
• Teachers can help by
• Being aware of how meds can affect school
  performance fatigue, depression, weepy,
  anxious, weight gain
• Following students leads about exercise regimens
• Knowing essential warning signs of asthma
  attacks wheezing, tightness or pain in chest,
  coughing throughout the day, difficulty
  breathing, and/or little energy for active play
• Following a students asthma attack protocol

Describe characteristics of other health
impairments.
6
How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Describing the Characteristics of Cancer

• Cancer
• Cancer is the primary cause of death in children
  under age 15.
• More than half have leukemia or brain tumors.
• Possible treatments include
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation
• Surgery
• A combination of the above
• Side effects from treatments may result in
  nonverbal learning disabilities that affect their
  writing and concentration skills
• Teachers can help by
• Including students in activities with their peers
  as much as possible.
• Creating a secure environment where the child can
  succeed, but does not feel as if he/she is being
  treated differently.

Describe characteristics of other health
impairments.
7
How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Describing the Characteristics of Diabetes

• Diabetes
• Occurs when the pancreas stops producing or
  produces too little insulin
• Symptoms include
• Increased thirst and urination
• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Two serious conditions can result
• Hyperglycemia (too much sugar) resulting in
  ketoacidosis. If insulin is not administered,
  students can go into a diabetic coma. The
  student may appear to be drunk.
• Hypoglycemia (too little sugar) resulting in
  students having too much insulin. Common
  symptoms include feeling dizzy, sweaty, shaky,
  or nervous (headaches or blurred vision). A
  change in behavior almost always occurs.
• Teachers can help by
• Monitoring for symptoms of hyper- or hypoglycemia
• Knowing the necessary first aid processes
• Allowing students to find methods of monitoring
  blood sugar that are as unobtrusive as possible

Describe characteristics of other health
impairments.
8
How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Describing the Characteristics of HIV

• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• HIV gradually infects and destroys T4 and other
  immune cells. Three stages 1) asymptomatic, 2)
  minor symptoms such as fever and fatigue
  increase, and 3) AIDS.
• Causes a person with HIV to be more susceptible
  to opportunistic infections
• HIV is spread through certain body fluids
• In the final stages, HIV progresses to acquired
  immunodeficiency disease (AIDS)
• African Americans have the highest risk of HIV
  transmission 64 of adolescent AIDS cases in
  2000 were African American
• Teachers face three issues
• Confidentiality. Families do not have to
  disclose that a student has HIV or any other
  condition.
• Preventing transmission (universal precautions on
  page 325)
• Understanding how the condition affects learning
  and behavior. Students may have delayed motor
  and mental development because they may not grow
  and gain weight normally. As the condition
  progresses, students may have neurological
  difficulties.

Describe characteristics of other health
impairments.
9
How Do You Recognize Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Identifying the Causes and Prevalence

• Causes
• Infection caused conditions HIV, TB, and some
  cancers. Epilepsy can result from encephalitis
  and meningitis.
• Genetic factors cystic fibrosis, hemophilia,
  and sickle cell disease
• Environmental factors HIV, heart disease,
  diabetes, and cancer (smoking, inadequate
  exercise, poor eating habits)
• Prenatal and perinatal influences fetal alcohol
  syndrome, seizures, HIV, SIDS, asthma,
  hyperactivity, heart defects, or hearing/vision
  impairments.
• Postnatal influences lead poisoning and some
  types of cancers
• Prevalence
• In 1999-2000, school served 197,761 students as
  other health impaired (about 0.54 of the
  school-age population)
• There has been a 351 increase since 1990-91,
  primarily due to the inclusion of students with
  AD/HD in this category

Understand the causes of other health impairments.
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How Do You Evaluate Students with Other Health
Impairments?
Determining the Nature and Extent of Services

• Generally, a physician identifies students as
  having health impairments. Students whose health
  condition adversely impacts their educational
  performance are entitled to an IEP. If there is
  no adverse impact, they may still be entitled to
  a 504 plan for health services and any needed
  accommodations.
• The school nurse is an important member in the
  planning of either document.
• Students should also have health care plans,
  specifying procedures for medications or
  treatments, making up work missed during
  absences, and plans for medical emergencies.
• Related services may also include school health
  care services.
• These must be able to be administered by the
  nurse or other trained school personnel

Describe evaluation processes for students with
other health impairments.
11
How Do You Assure Progress in the General
Curriculum?
Planning Universally Designed Learning

• Adapting instruction
• Teachers should ask three questions
• What are the most important academic standards
  the student needs to meet?
• How can I ensure the student attains those
  standards efficiently?
• How can I motivate the student to attain those
  standards?
• Adapting evaluation
• Frequent student absences require teachers to
  determine an efficient way of determining if the
  student has mastered the essential standards.
• Reducing the work needed on assignments or tests
• Alternative assessments, such as portfolios or
  journaling, which may also leave a legacy for the
  student

Understand the curricular and instructional needs.
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How Do You Assure Progress in The General
Curriculum?
Collaborating to Meet Students Needs

• Students may need ongoing support from educators
  and others in order to cope.
• Teachers need preparation in the event of a
  students death.
• Teachers face their own grief, and must also help
  families and other students
• Teachers need to be able to seek additional
  support from others
• Students may also lose friends they have made in
  the course of their illnesses

Understand the curricular and instructional needs.