The society has to accept that not all children are perfect (John, 2004) It is not necessary that

all children with special needs belong to the MR (mentally retarded)category These children have the right to study and coexist in the society without any discrimination At times even the behavior of parents with these challenging souls is not encouraging

Identification remains the first step before assessment Parents and teachers play a vital role at this stage Careful observations are to be made so as to identify the problematic areas It is observed that parents do not consider much the observations made by the teachers Teachers have to monitor each student closely at the early stages so such children can be identified

Special needs is a category under which many disorders fall Children with special needs more attention and care than the normal ones "Special needs" are commonly defined as what a kid can't do Some parents always express grief on their kid's gone potential so this makes conditions become even more disturbing with time (Richard & Jennifer, 2004)

Kids with special needs may have mild learning issues or deep mental retardation Food allergies or incurable illness, growth delays are also found in special children Occasional terror attacks and severe psychiatric problems have also been associated with the special children Parents need to be flexible and creative in order to help these souls out

In a broad manner all the special needs can be divided into five basic categories:

Medical
These children face serious conditions including cancer

and heart issues, obesity, cerebral palsy, dwarfism, food allergies etc.

Behavior
Dysfunction of Sensory Integration, and Tourette

Syndrome fall under this category

Developmental
Autism, down syndrome and mental retardation fall

under this category

Mental Health

Anxiety or depression are two major issues faced by such children. This can lead to hospitalization

Learning
These children fight with learning regardless of their

logical abilities

In addition to this there are some common issues too which are faced by almost all the special children which include social adjusting problems (Richard & Jennifer, 2004)

A cognitive assessment (also known as IQ assessment) includes a sequence of diverse methods to help discover a childs particular learning style, strengths and areas of need (Alec & Joo, 1998). This information helps to make suitable recommendations for teachers, parents and other people around special kids These assessments have information about a kid, both educationally and behaviorally

IQ scores are also generated in the first part of most of the assessment techniques (Sandra,2005) Observations are also made to understand how a kid approaches tasks, reacts to letdowns and honor General attitude of children towards learning is also measured in these tests These assessments help in gaining a detailed and complete perceptive of the childs strengths and future needs

It is an individually administered scientific tool used to evaluate the cognitive capability of children aged between six years and sixteen years The test is comprised of ten basic subtests and five supplemental subtests Each subtest belongs to one of four domains of cognitive performance A childs performance can be reviewed by the Full Scale IQ score and four Index scores

Four Index Scores used in this test are:

Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)

It is composed of subtests measuring oral abilities that

utilize reasoning, conceptualization and comprehension. These reflect a childs learning experience

Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)

It is composed of subtests measuring perceptual

reasoning and organization

Working Memory Index (WMI)

It is composed of subtests which measure

concentration, knowledge and working memory

Processing Speed Index (PSI)

It is composed of subtests measuring the speed of

mental and graph motor processing

In this method responses obtained from the child are documented in a response booklet The scores are then summed up to produce a raw score The raw scores are converted to scaled scores, according to specific mathematical values, which are statistically calculated in accordance with the children of the similar age group as the kid being assessed

This is helpful because the results can be used to comprehend how a child is performing in comparison to children of the same age bracket This tool cannot gauge enthusiasm, interests, and opportunities for learning A percentile rank method is mostly used when reporting results; which is another relative way to assess the child Results are reported in a tabular form with details of the various subtests

The results from the assessment are at first presented in arithmetic forms scores, ranges, percentiles etc These scores are all significant for gaining a better perceptive as to where the child is standing in relationship to most children of his chronological age group This tells us if the kid is average, below average, above average etc.

The profile formulated by the cognitive assessment as well as observations can separate areas of difficulty It can also point out whether a further recommendation should be made to any specialist who can then provide the essential treatment, as in Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy etc. The assessment reports hold detailed and comprehensive information about the results

Speech-language therapy is the cure for most the children with speech or language disorders A speech disorder refers to a difficulty with the actual production of sounds A language disorder refers to a trouble with accepting or putting words together to communicate ideas SLPs work with a kid one-to-one, in a tiny group, or straightforwardly to overcome difficulties involved with a definite disorder

Strategies used by SLPs include:

Language intervention activities

SLPs interact with the subject by playing and talking

Oral motor therapy

A variety of oral exercises are used including facial

massage and various exercises, to fortify muscles of the mouth

Articulation therapy
SLP produces accurate sounds and syllables for a kid,

often during play activities The level of play is age-appropriate

It is designed to gauge logical abilities and academic achievement Scoring:

It demands scoring during evaluation to determine basal and ceiling levels Raw scores are summed up and improved into age and grade equivalents, percentile ranks, and discrepancy scores with use of the Scoring Tables Two indices of general cognitive functioning

General Intellectual Ability (GIA) score Brief Intellectual Ability (BIA) score

Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test

Evaluates visual-perceptual and visual-motor functioning, obtaining potential signs of mind dysfunction, developmental maturity and emotional problems. This tool assesses the ability to recognize pictures of objects through natural responses and need for different types of cueing This method is used to evaluate selective attention and mental concentration

Boston Naming Test

d2 Test of Attention

Digit Vigilance Test

It is a generally used test of concentration, attentiveness, and mental processing capability using a swift visual tracking task
This set of subtests provides extensive appraisal of a wide range of language disorders This is a brief test which evaluates concentration, mental speed and control

Multilingual Aphasia Examination

Stroop Test

California Verbal Learning Test

It is widely used neuropsychological test of verbal remembrance Usually used for children in between the age group of six months to eight years Composed of 96 structured items Three to five years old kids are observed for about 20 to 30 minutes Children younger than the above mentioned age group are only observed for 15 minutes

BDI Screening Test

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Janet, A. B.-H. (2000). The child's world: assessing children in need. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Jerome, M. S. (2001). Assessment of children: cognitive applications (4th Edition ed.). J.M. Sattler. John, V. (2004). Assessing students with special needs (3rd Edition ed.). Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall. Kate, W. (2006). Special needs and early years: a practitioner's guide (2nd Edition ed.). Paul Chapman Publishing.

Louise, P. (2002). Educating young children with special needs. Paul Chapman. Mary, E. M., Mark, W., & Donald, B. B. (2004). Assessing infants and preschoolers with special needs (3 Edition ed.). Merrill. Nancy, B. W. (2003). Social work practice with children (2nd Edition ed.). Guilford Press. Richard, M. G., & Jennifer, L. K. (2004). Young Children with Special Needs (2nd Edition ed.). Cengage Learning.

Ruth, A. W. (1998). Special educational needs in the early years. Routledge. Sandra, S. (2005). Observing, assessing and planning for children in the early years. Routledge. Terry, O. (2005). Assessing learners with special needs: an applied approach (5th Edition ed.). Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Thank you Any Questions?