Exceptional Learners : An Introduction to Special Education

#xA0; Exceptional Learnersis an outstanding introduction to the characteristics of exceptional learners and their education, emphasizing classroom practices as well as the psychological, sociological, and medical aspects of disabilities and giftedness.#xA0; In keeping with this era of accountability, all discussions and examples of educational practices are grounded in a sound research base. #xA0; With hundreds of new references added to the 12thedition, the authors are committed to bringing the#xA0;most current and credible#xA0;perspectives to bear on the ever-increasing complexity of educating students with special needs in today#x19;s schools.#xA0; The authors have written a text that reaches the heart as well as the mind, promoting a conviction that professionals working with exceptional learners need to develop not only a solid base of knowledge, but also a healthy attitude toward their work and the people whom they serve, and constantly challenge themselves to acquire a solid understanding of current theory, research, and practice in special education and to develop an ever more sensitive understanding of exceptional learners and their families.

Daniel P. Hallahan is the the Charles S. Robb Professor of Education and Director of Doctoral Studies for the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. He was the inaugural occupant of the Virgil S. Ward Professor of Education Endowed Chair from 1996 to 1998 and was appointed to the university’s Cavaliers’ Distinguished Teaching Professorship from 2002 to 2004. He received the University of Virginia Outstanding Teaching Award in 1998. In 2003, he was one of ten recipients of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award.

He has served on numerous editorial boards and was the inaugural editor of Exceptionality. He is a past president of the Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and in 2000 he received the CEC Career Research Award. He has contributed over 100 journal articles and co-authored or co-edited 17 books. In addition to Exceptional Learners, his most recent Allyn & Bacon books are Hallahan, Lloyd, Kauffman, Weiss, & Martinez (2005), Learning disabilities: Foundations, characteristics, and effective teaching (3^rd ed.) and Kauffman, J. M., & Hallahan, D. P. (2005). Special education: What it is and why we need it.

 

James M. Kauffman is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Virginia, where he held both the William Clay Parrish chair (1992-1994) and the Charles S. Robb chair (1999 until retirement in 2003) in education.  In 2007, his former students edited a book in his honor, Crockette, J.B., Gerber, M.M., & Landrum, T.J. (Eds.), Achieving the Radical Reform of Special Education:  Essays in Honor of James M.Kauffman.  Among his other honors and awards are the 2006 Award for Effective Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media from the Society for Applied Behavior Analysis, the 2002 Outstanding Leadership Award from the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders, the 1997 OUtstanding Faculty Award from the Curry School of Education Foundation, and the 1994 Research Award from the Countil for Exceptional Children.  He is a past president of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) and a former teacher in both general elementary and special education for students with emotional or behavioral disorders.  He is author or co-author of more than 100 journal publications in special education and author or co-author of numerous books, including the following:  Kauffman, J.M., & Landrum, T.J., Characteristics of Emotinal and Behavioral Disorders of Children and Youth (9th ed.); Kauffman, J.M., & Brigham, F.J., Working with Troubled Children; and Kauffman, J.M. The Tragicomedy of Public Education:  Laughing and Crying, Thinking and Fixing. 

 

Paige C. Pullen is an associate professor of special education at the University of Virginia. Dr. Pullen teaches courses in reading methods for students with reading disabilities and reading diagnosis and remediation. She has served as an investigator on several large-scale projects funded by the NICHD and OSEP. Her primary area of interest and research is early literacy development and the prevention of reading disabilities. Pullen has also worked extensively with schools and serves as a consultant for the Eastern Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center (ERRFTAC). She is the co-author of Phonological Awareness Assessment and Instruction with Dr. Holly Lane, and Students with Learning Disabilities, with Dr. Cecil Mercer.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Exceptionality and Special Education.

Educational Definition of Exceptional Learners

Prevalence of Exceptional Learners

Definition of Special Education

History and Origins of Special Education

Comment on The Progress of Special Education.

2. Integration, Inclusion, and Support of Positive Outcomes.

Evaluation and Identification of Exceptional Learners

The Intent of Special Education Law:  Individualized Education for Students with Disabilities

Providing Special Education:  Placement Issues for Exceptional Learners

Teachers’ Roles in Providing Special Education

Special Education in the Context of Standards Based Reform

3. Multicultural and Bilingual Aspects of Special Education.

America and Multiculturalism

Education and Cultural Diversity

Multicultural and Bilingual Special Education

Identification and Classification of Disabilities

Assessment Issues in Multicultural and Bilingual Education

Instruction in Multicultural and Bilingual Special Education

4. Parents and Families.

Professionals’ Changing Views of Parents and Families

The Effects of a Child with a Disability on the Family

Family Involvement in Treatment and Education

5. Learners with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

What’s in a Name?  Mental Retardation versus Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Definition

Prevalence

Causes

Identification

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

Educational Considerations

Assessment of Progress

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

6. Learners with Learning Disabilities.

Definition

Identification

Prevalence

Causes

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

Educational Consideration

Assessment of Progress

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

7. Learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Brief History

Definition

Prevalence

Identification

Causes

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

Educational Considerations

Medication Considerations

Assessment of Progress

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

8. Learners with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders.

Definition

Classification

Prevalence

Causes

Identification

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

Educational Considerations

Assessment of Progress

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

9. Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Historical Context: Kanner’s and Asperger’s Papers.

Definition of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Prevalence

Causes

Identification

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

Educational Considerations

Service Delivery Models

Assessment of Progress

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

10. Learners with Communication Disorders.

Definitions

Prevalence

Communication Variations

Language Disorders

Speech Disorders

Educational Considerations

Assessment of Progress

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

11. Learners Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

Definition and Classification

Prevalence

Anatomy and Physiology of the Ear

Identification of Hearing Impairment

Causes.

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

Educational Considerations

Assessment of Progress

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

12. Learners with Blindness or Low Vision.

Definition and Classification

Prevalence

Anatomy and Physiology of the Eye

Identification of Visual Impairment

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

Educational Considerations

Service Delivery Models

Assessment of Progress

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

13. Learners with Low-Incidence, Multiple, and Severe Disabilities.

Definition and Prevalence

Traumatic Brain Injury

Deaf-Blindness

Considerations for Many Students with Low-Incidence, Multiple, and Severe Disabilities

14. Learners with Physical Disabilities and Other Health Impairment.

Definition and Classification

Prevalence and Need

Neuromotor Impairments

Orthopedic and Musculoskeletal Disorders

Other Conditions Affecting Health or Physical Ability

Prevention of Physical Disabilities

Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Adaptive Devices for Daily Living

Educational Considerations

Early Intervention

Transition to Adulthood

15. Learners with Special Gifts and Talents.

Definition

Prevalence

Origins of Giftedness

Identification of Giftedness

Cultural Values Regarding Student with Special Gifts and Talents and Their Education

Neglected Groups of Students with Special Gifts and Talents

Educational Considerations