1. What are the alternative actions that could be taken?
The best way to cater to the needs of Jerome is by placing him in a classroom with other students with learning disabilities, where their development is constantly assessed. After a while, Jerome can be moved to the general classroom since his performance seems to be improving.
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Which alternative should the school pursue? Why would this alternative be in the best interest of Jerome?
The school should assess Jerome using the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) definition of children with disabilities to notice if he needs to be in the ID class or the general class (Howe et al., 2018). Also, the school should consider creating a classroom of people with learning disabilities since they are very different from those with intellectual disabilities. Jerome has difficulty interacting with those with intellectual disabilities who have low social skills, which might build his anxiety and lower his performance furthur.
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What missing information could change your response?
My response would be different if Jerome suffered from both intellectual and learning disabilities since, in these cases, both teachers and parents would need to agree on the best solution for Jerome, which would encompass a lot of guided instruction both at home and at school.
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In what three important ways does the instruction of students with intellectual disabilities differ from students with a learning disability label?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), interprets intellectual disability as a disorder that encompasses deficits in adaptive functioning in social, practical, and conceptual contexts (Howe et al., 2018). Learning disability is difficulties in everyday activities in socializing, managing finances, and performing household chores. In an educational setup, teachers define learning disabilities as weaknesses in reading, writing, and math. Intellectual disability is interpreted as below average or having low IQ and lacking in skills of daily living.
Students with intellectual disabilities require the employment of practical strategies. These include using small steps of breaking down each learning task into small, easy-to-digest steps (Howe et al., 2018). Teachers can introduce each learning task as small individual actions. For those with learning disabilities, the teacher begins with heavily mediated instruction before breaking it slowly to let the learner gain the skill.
Students with intellectual disabilities are well taught using the visual world, where visual aid is provided, to learn specific subjects and map their completed progress. For those with learning disabilities, visual aid is not necessarily needed since they can be in a general classroom or particular class setting where their curriculum is assessed and monitored.
Teaching a person with intellectual disabilities requires activities that address more than just learning goals (Howe et al., 2018). While a learner with a learning disability can pick up and catch up with others in the general classroom, a student with a learning disability requires constant assistance outside the school to cater to challenges of social and self-care skills.
References
Howe, K. R., Boelé, A. L., & Miramontes, O. B. (2018). The ethics of special education. Teachers College Press.
