What is a Developmental Handicap?
Students in the program for the Developmentally Handicapped , or Cognitively Impaired, have intellectual functioning that is significantly below average. Students also must have deficits in adaptive behavior, which include a child's ability to take care of himself independently and communicate with others. These traits must have been present at birth or when the child was young and must currently affect his educational functioning. In the past, children with developmental handicaps were referred to as "mentally retarded."
In the Indian Hill Schools, children with developmental handicaps receive services and educational assistance according to their specific needs. Students may work with an academic specialists, a classroom aide, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physical therapists, if needed. The classroom teacher is in charge of the child's educational programming and works with the specialists to provide appropriate accommodations and modifications in the classroom.
What is Down syndrome?
Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal condition resulting in mental retardation. For some unknown reason, people with Down syndrome have 47 instead of 46 chromosomes, resulting in changes in the development of the body and the brain. The level of retardation may range from mild to severe. Because of the individual differences, it is impossible to predict future academic and developmental achievements of children with Down syndrome.
Children with Down syndrome have physical characteristics that may include slanting eyes, a flat bridge of the nose, a short neck, a small head, and small stature. These children may also have health related problems, such as a lowered resistance to respiratory infection, visual and hearing difficulties, as well as speech difficulties. Some people with Down syndrome have atlantoaxial instability, a misalignment of the top two vertebrae of the neck. For the child's safety, parents must inform the school if this condition is present so sports and other activities can be modified.
For more information and resources for parents, please contact the web site for the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati at http://www.dsag.com
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