Common Pediatric Disabilities: Medical Aspects and Educational Implications

Abstract

The recent movement to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms poses a variety of challenges to school personnel. Many classrooms are now accommodating a wider variety of diversity, including a significant group of students with complex medical disorders (Smith & Luckasson, 1992;Stainback & Stainback, 1989). Successful inclusion of these students will depend on educators having a more comprehensive understanding of these disabilities and learning to collaborate with medical personnel.Advances in medical technology have changed the course for students in several ways. For example, it has dramatically increased the survival rate of at-risk neonates, as well as reduced the risk of life-threatening complications commonly associated with many disabilities (Brown, 1993;Goldson, 1993;Warshaw, 1992). In addition, major progress has been made in the ability to determine the etiology of many disorders, and associated research has provided insights into multidisciplinary treatments and interventions. As these medical advances continue, more and more children with disabilities will be entering the general education classroom. It is imperative, therefore, that educators possess current information and the skills necessary to collaborate effectively with medical and ancillary personnel.This article provides a brief overview of common pediatric disabilities and their implications for educators. An increased understanding of these disabilities will enable educators to explain the child's disability to parents and general education teachers, to make appropriate referrals for students who have not been identified, and to facilitate the assessment process and thereby achieve more appropriate programming.In this article each disability is defined, and current information about incidence and causes is summarized. Diagnosis is also discussed, including common characteristics. The complications section covers information about associated deficits in the cognitive, language, motor, behavioral, and academic areas. Finally, multidisciplinary intervention approaches are described and a list of resources for obtaining additional information is provided.