Cerebral Palsy Learning Processes
Students with Cerebral Palsy may use this method to bypass diffiulties communicating whilst learning
What is Augmentative and alternative communication?
Students with Cerebral Palsy may struggle with this in classrooms, this may result in outbursts
What is Communication?
(Students with Cerebral Palsy have many struggles communicating with teachers and their peers due to their condition, they are different strategies to get around this however, like communicating with the student or their parents directly about what is best for them, and updating your strategy after communication when you learn more about working with the student)
At what level of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) does it become difficult for children to independently walk (Ranges from 1-5)
What is GMFCS Level 3?
Students with Cerebral Palsy may struggle with communication, whether it be vocally or even with their handwriting. This reasonable adjustment may help them communicate better.
What is, assistive communication devices?
According to Brunton, L. K et al., (2021), adolescence with Cerebral Palsy suffer from physical and mental fatigue. What might this effect
What is mental health or cognitive overload?
(This study shown that fatigue in adolescence with Cerebral Palsy reported that their fatigue was due to the demands of every day life, helping the students manage their fatigue by creating a classroom environemnt where they can come and work at their own pace, relaxed, will help with them manage their fatigue)
Peers of students with Cerebral Palsy may bully them because of their disability, causing anxiety and social isolation. This may be combated with
What is teacher intervention?
(Teachers intervening in bullying is not always a success, teachers must be competent with managing bullying between students at school. A simple 'stop doing that to them' is not enough. Teachers being able manage bullies is important for all students as it will almsot certainly cause social isolation and anxiety, as well as many other mental health problems)
At any level, this therapy helps Cerebral Palsy students improve their motor skills as well as feel a sense of achievement.
What is, motor-training-based interventions?
(Cerebral Palsy alliance claim that children with any form of cerebral palsy's therapies should be goal-based and have tasks that the child wants to actually learn. These therapies will help improve the quality of life for any form of cerebral palsy)
Providing students with Cerebral Palsy extra time in classrooms allows them to complete the work properly and help them gain a better understanding of the work. How might the time be decided?
What is, communicating with the student to decide the appropriate time?
(highlighting the importance of communication between one another, once again.)
This Learning Process has been proven through research to help boost a student with Cerebral Palsy's engagement with a subject. This study (Bourke-Taylor, H., Cotter, C., Johnson, L., & Lalor, A. (2018).) shows that students engaged better when this process was used.
What is Collaborative Learning?
(The study referenced went into how students with Cerebral Palsy better engaged in their work and the classroom when the classroom was better suited to wha they needed, making them feel more included)
Children with Cerebral Palsy may have sudden bursts of aner due to the disomfort and pain they feel on a day to day basis. What can a teacher do for them to allow a better experience in the classroom?
What is take into consideration their discomfort when planning classroom activities/classroom layout?
Although it is only the lightest form of Cerebral Palsy, level 1-2 GMFCS students can still struggle from this.
What is, fatigue due to extra effort in physical tasks?
(Cerebral Palsy Alliance, an organisation used to research and promote awareness about cerebral palsy, says that level 1-2 GMFCS cerebral palsy students still struggle massively with fatigue because of the extra effort needed to complete simple tasks)
This reasonable adjustment helps reduce mental and physical fatigue for students with Cerebral Palsy.
What is, rest periods?
Students with Cerebral Palsy have impairments in visual-spatial and mathematics abilities. In this study (Critten, V., Campbell, E., Farran, E., & Messer, D. (2018).), they tested multiple typically developing students as well as students with Cerebral Palsy, the best predictor for mathematical ability for typicaly developing students was age, what might it be for students with Cerebral Palsy?
What is receptive vocabulary and visual perception?
(This study found that students with Cerebral Palsy could do the work if they had the support that allowed them to understand the work. This suggests that teachers could help students with Cerebral Palsy could 'keep up' in the classroom when given extra support)
In this study, Horwood et al., 2019, found that their 1/4 of there participants had behavioural problems, these problems were linked with sleep problems and night time pain. What might a teacher do to help their students with behavioural problems that have Cerebral Palsy
What is, have good communication and with students parents?
(Being able to discuss your students troubles in the classroom with parents may help their behaviour both in and out of the classroom, teachers of course do not know the sleeping patterns of their students, so being able to discuss things like this with the parents to hopeully find a solution is key)
People that are classed level I-II Gross Motor Function Classification Systen (GMFCS) can typically walk, climb stairs without rails, jump and run but their coordination and speed are limited. These interventions help improve motor skills.
For students with cerebral palsy, at any level, it is hard to remain comfortable for lessons in ordinary seating. This may help a student with any level of cerebral palsy remain more comfortable in a classroom, helping them stay immersed in a lesson.
What is, functional seating?
Cerebral Palsy is considered to be 'non-progressive', this means students with Cerebral Palsy may struggle with their movement. However, this cellular-level adaptation will allow the nervous system bypass damaged areas, proving that students cognitive output can be improved overtime with targeted intervention
What is Neuroplasticity?
To reduce anxiety throughout the day for a student with Cerebral Palsy, a teacher might use this
What is, a visual schedules?
Severe spastic quadriplegia is geerally considered to be the most severe form of cerebral palsy a person can be born with. In this study Maher, C. A et al., (2011) they found teachers stuggled with this when managing severe spastic quadriplegia in the classroom
What is, found the equipment unavailable or difficult to use?
(The study found that teachers could not manage the posture equipment severe spastic quadriplegia students needed for their comfort. They found this was because of the lack of knowledge the staff had about the equipment, highlighting the importance of communication between teachers and parents/carers)
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) can be useful to students with Cerebral Palsy, personalizing their education, making it more comfortable and more consumable to them. However, this is only useful when what?
What is, when teacher properly communicate with students and carers to personalize it properly to them?
(This study found that IEP's only really work when teachers were better trained and actually applied them to the classroom. Teachers need to be more competent with utilising IEP's for better results for these students who need them)