Severe and Multiple Disabilities 

By Jeanette, Jennifer, Lynn, and Shea

Children who have severe or profound disabilities fall under the category of pervasive developmental disorders. They function well below their age group and include multiple disabled children. These children are behind developmentally in two or more areas. There are countless mixtures of impairments, with some that are harder to manage than others. When dealing with multiple disabilities we cannot just focus our attention on one disability alone, we must look at the whole picture and how the child is affected by all disabilities.

Definitions

Multiple Exceptionalities are defined by the Ministry of Education as follows.

A combination of learning or other disorders, impairments, or physical disabilities that is of such a nature as to require, for educational achievement, the services of one or more teachers holding qualifications in special education and the provision of support services appropriate for such disorders impairments, or disabilities. (Ministry of Education, 2001, pg A20)

According to the definition from the American IDEA – students with severe handicaps are generically defined as those who may possess severe language and/or perceptual/cognitive deprivations, and evidence abnormal behavior, such as failure to respond to pronounce social stimuli; self-mutilation; self-stimulation; manifestation of intense and prolonged temper tantrums; and the absence of rudimentary forms of verbal contact. (U.S. Federal definition 20 USC 1401 (7))

Multiple disabilities refer to a combination of impairments (such as mental retardation-blindness, or mental retardation- physical disabilities) that causes such severe educational problems that the child cannot be accommodated in a special education program solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf –blindness.

Educators have their own list of terms for a severe and multiple disabilities including: multisensory impaired multiple dependent handicapped, and dual sensory impairment.

Multisensory impaired: a term that describes children with sight and hearing handicaps.

Multiple dependent handicapped: children who are severely mentally handicapped and who also have sensory and/or other physical handicaps.

Dual, sensory impairment: those whose disabilities are a complex of auditory, visual, communication and language factors, often accompanied by other conditions that interfere with their learning.

Prevalence

The prevalence of severe and multiple disabilities are difficult to determine because of interpretation of definitions, the fact the one child may be registered for several services with several different agencies, and when students are included in the numbers for their primary disability. Prevalence rates for children with severe and multiple disabilities form less than 2% of the population of any given chronological age.

Causes

·         40% by unknown causes;
·         20% by perinatal causes in which painful deliveries account for a significant part;
·         10% by postpartum causes (meningitis, encephalitis);
·         30% by prenatal causes (embryo and fetal conditions, deformities, genetic causes) (4).

 

Categories

Primary disability: is referred to as the major condition that causes a child to differ in learning or behaviour.

Secondary disabilities: is referred to as other conditions that arise or are present.

Etiology

There are extensive causes for multiple disabilities some of which include genetics, maternal rubella, birth traumas, meningitis, encephalitis, chromosomal disorders, and Usher’s syndrome.

 

References

Islas, S. (2012, November) Disabilities Notebook. Retrieved May 21, 2013, from

     http://islasdisabilitiesnotebook.wordpress.com/multiple-disabilities/

Ministry of Education. (2001). Special Education A Guide for Educators.

     Retrieved May 21, 2013, from

     http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/guide/specedhandbooke.pdf

Winzer, M. (2008) Children with Exceptionalities in Canadian Classrooms (Eighth Edition).

     Toronto, Canada: Pearson Prentice Hall, pp. 489-495.