Education of Students with Physical Disabilities

   I. In the field of special education, physical disabilities refer to a wide variety of
   conditions that may interfere with a child’s ability to perform everyday activities. Such
   conditions include problems with muscles, such as muscular dystrophy; problems involving the
   central nervous system, such as cerebral palsy; problems with the structure of the skeleton,
   such as spina bifida or missing limbs; and health problems, such as cystic fibrosis and heart
   disorders. These conditions are diagnosed by medical specialists, often working with teams of
   experts in education and physical therapy. For some children, physical disabilities are simply
   structural or health problems that do not require special educational facilities or services.
   For other children, however, the physical disabilities may interfere with their ability to
   walk, write, speak, or take care of their personal needs. Still others may be able to do all
   of these things but may not be able to accomplish one or more of them easily, or they may need
   more time or special assistance for certain school activities.

   II. Some special residential schools for students with physical disabilities were developed in
   Europe and the United States in the 19th century, but most of these schools had closed by the
   1970s. At that time, many children with physical disabilities in the United States attended
   classes at special education centers in their community school system. These schools were
   specially designed to eliminate stairs, narrow doorways, and other barriers to students in
   wheelchairs, and to provide a concentration of specialists in one building. Today, however, a
   higher number of conventional school buildings are designed to be "barrier-free." Many
   students with physical disabilities attend their regular neighborhood schools where they
   receive the same social and academic benefits as students without disabilities. Specialists
   travel to those schools to provide whatever special services and equipment the students may
   need.

   III. Most adaptive aids for students with physical disabilities are custom-designed to fit
   their physical size, abilities, and needs. The aids many children use are not very noticeable
   or unusual, such as pencils with specially designed handles for children with impaired motor
   skills. Other children, however, may need elaborate aids to perform any activity. These
   include aids to allow for greater mobility, such as electric or manually operated wheelchairs,
   braces, or crutches; seats specially designed to facilitate movement and posture; adaptive
   aids for turning pages, reaching, and eating; and communication aids. Aids to assist in
   communication include materials and equipment ranging from simple books of pictures to
   sophisticated computer-based devices. The children use this equipment to interact with others
   in ways that take advantage of their individual abilities. For example, a child might use
   switches that are controlled by breaths of air, eye blinks, or small muscle movements to
   manipulate a computer display.

   IV. While many students with physical disabilities have the same ability to learn as other
   students, some of them also have learning disorders, mental retardation, or other conditions
   that require special services. In these cases, specialists work together with the child’s
   family to design a program for the child’s unique situation. Often, education for children
   with such multiple disabilities emphasizes the development of language and communication, and
   personal, social, and vocational skills, rather than academic learning.

   

   Task 1: Scan the text and invent a title for each paragraph.

   Task 2: Guess the meanings of the words in bold from the context.

   

   

   Task 2:

   COLLOCATIONS

   Match the beginning of each sentence on the left with its ending on the right.

   1 Health problems can seriously interfere                                             academic
   benefit.

   2. A rather difficult task has been                                              of their
   individual abilities.

   3. Schools facilities were designed to meet                                    with a
   student´s work.

   4. School programs for disabled students range        for providing service and equipment.

   5. The students with disabilities receive the same              special requirements of
   children.     

   6. Children use special aids to take full advantage                 successfully accomplished.

   7. Specialists are responsible                                          from a modified
   program in regular                                                                       

                                                                                             
   classes to placement in a special school.