Students with Physical or Other Health Impairments

Abstract

The basic instructional needs of handicapped students are usually associated with their class or type of handicap (e.g., mental retardation, learning disability). This, however, has not been the case with many students with physical disabilities (Reynolds and Birch, 1982). The difficulty in identifying a common instructional program may be due to a number of related factors. First, there is an extreme diversity in types of conditions that fall into the category of physical disabilities. For example, one type of physical disability can refer to a deficit in the actual operation of the physical apparatus of the body (arms, legs, etc.). Another type of physical disability can relate to the physical well-being of the individual (e.g., the operation of one’s heart or lungs). This wide diversity of conditions creates extreme ranges in the types of instructional needs for students falling within this category. Second, it is not difficult to identify the physical differences between non- handicapped students and those who have physical disabilities. This easy identification process often creates a double-edged sword, however. Many times the importance of identifying a specific disorder begins to take precedence over discovering the types of instruction that the student may need. In the worst possible scenario, the presence of a severe impairment is used as an excuse not to offer a certain type of education to a student or as a justification for the student’s not making any progress.