SEN

Presenta,on
Denise Clarke
May 2015

Mary
ADHD
(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
PDD NOS
(Pervasive Developemnt Disorder Not Otherwise Stated) Aspergers
type
ODD
(Oppositional Defiance Disorder)
Dyspraxia (DCD)
Dyslexia
Specific Learning Difficulty (SLD)

Marys primary school worked hard on her organisa,on

skills and her books and ,metable are colour coded. Her
parents have developed a good homework rou,ne at home
where she has her own desk. Outside of school Mary is a
member of the girl guides and is training to be a leader. She
is a member of her local and school Camogie club.
During lunch ,me Mary spent the ,me on her own, un,l
recently when she has made a friend.
Challenges
Weakest area is auditory with
difficulty in remembering oral
information or instruction.
Reading level of a ten year old.
Struggles with writing but
enjoys typing.
Social interaction during
unstructured times.

Strengths
Hard working and creative, loves
routine, being outdoors and swimming.
She has a great ability to think outside
the box. Loves art and colour

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

is a syndrome that interferes with a students
ability to:

Focus (inattention) difficulty in staying focused

and paying attention, makes careless mistakes in
schoolwork, does not seem to listen.
Regulate activity levels (hyperactivity) Over
activity.
Inhibit behaviour (impulsivity) Blurts our answers
before questions are completed, difficulty in
waiting in turn.

PDD NOS

(Pervasive Developemnt Disorder Not Otherwise Stated) Aspergers type

Aspergers have difficulties in three main areas

Social communication: Students may speak at length about a
subject that interests them with out recognizing the reaction of
the listener. May speak in a monotone or exaggerated tone.
Social interaction: Difficulty in understanding the rules that
govern social behaviour and interpret social signals, uncomfortable
in less structured situations such as lunch break.
Social imagination: Difficulty in abstract thinking, are literal
thinkers and often have problems time management and
compartmentalized thinking. (SESS2)

ODD is a psychiatric disorder and a recurrent pattern of

negative, defiant, disobedient and hostile behaviour
towards authoritative figures, the more pressure applied
the greater the opposition. Often loses temper, annoys
people, blames others for mistakes and angry.
I had no experience of this type of behaviour from Mary.

Dyslexia affects the learning process in relation to
reading, writing and speaking. It may affect the students
ability to remember sequencing with things like
numbers and days of the week and interfere in a students
ability to identify sounds in words. Dyslexia may also
affect concentration, co-ordination, speed of reading
and understanding and letter and numeral formation skills

Students living with Dyspraxia may have difficulty:

Co-ordinating their movements, perceptions,
thoughts, organisational skills and may find it
difficult to remember what equipment is needed for
particular activities and typically will mislay their
belongings at school.
Often students may appear to have a lot of
information but are unable to record that
information in a logical and meaningful order. Their
written work does not match their apparent verbal
ability.

Following the completion of the Scheme Rational

I developed the following strategies.

Visual aids: Power points and handouts

Buddy system, worked well for all students.
Questionnaire
Developed routine at start and end of class.
Group work Lesson 12 Cleaning the printing press.
Tactile: Paper dictionary with all the papers used
in the creation of plate and print process.
Students didnt sit during the class giving them an
opportunity to move about.

Paper dictionary

Questionnaire used to
ascertain the learning
preferences of the selected
student.
She likes learning and doing in
small groups, by listening with
the aid of images.
This informed the strategies I
adapted during the scheme.

Power point presentation supported by handout for each student. Lesson 4

Handout for each student so

that they could check where in
the process of making the
plates.
Lesson 4

This power point was used during the demonstration

and was supported by a handout given to each
student. Lesson 13

How to make a print

handout, with name
of student and their
buddy. Lesson 13

Research and paLern design

Introduction of the Paper dictionaries to add additional aspect to learning

(Film)

weakest area is auditory with difficulty in

remembering oral information or instruction.

After working a group to prepare the printing press for the demonstration
Mary demonstrated her knowledge (Film)

Each student was requested to present

their support studies and final print in
the same format as required for the
Junior Cert,

Reflections
In the development of the various strategies I aLempted to address challenges facing
Mary.
I found that the visual aid strategies also helped other students understand the
process involved, cut down the amount of ques,ons. This enabled me to concentrate
on assis,ng students when they required assistance. The visual aids were great to
refer to when a student asked whats next.
The Buddy System also beneted students and me as a teacher. It was good to have
assistants and I could gain an insight into the students understanding of what was
happening by listening to their explana,ons.