The Sunday Mail
Dr Christine Peta
In Zimbabwe, some mainstream teachers may be irritated by their lack of understanding of some kinds of disabilities, resulting in them expressing frustration through unnecessary outbursts that may push students with disabilities out of school.
Whilst special education teachers are generally supportive of the education of children with disabilities (Mutepfa, Mpofu and Chataika, 2007), it is common for some mainstream teachers to erroneously regard students with less obvious types of disabilities as “troublesome” students who should be severely punished or be expelled from mainstream school for exhibiting non-standard patterns of behaviour.
Disability which presents itself in schools is not just visual impairment, lack of hearing, physical impairment or albinism. I highlight and discuss two examples of less obvious disabilities that may present themselves among students and that may result in challenges being experienced both at home and within school settings.
Asperger Syndrome
Asperger syndrome is one of the main types of developmental disabilities which is a sub-type of Autism (NSCC, 2007).
Pupils who have the Asperger Syndrome may find it difficult to cope with change hence they usually perform well in situations of routine. They may struggle to move from one class to another during the day or they may prefer to eat the same kind of food on a daily basis.
Such children may also find it hard to work as part of a group or team because of their limited capacity to develop peer relationships.
Pupils with Asperger Syndrome may face challenges when it comes to controlling their emotions, hence they may cry or laugh very easily and often at inappropriate times (Autism Speaks, 2017).
Asperger syndrome may cause a student to have an intense interest in one area and not the others, hence the student may do very well in only one part of their studies whilst performing very poorly in all the other areas.
The pupil usually engages in one-sided conversations in which he or she talks too much about his or her favourite subject, topics may include unusual issues such as dinosaurs, snakes or names of stars (NSCC, 2007).
Due to Asperger syndrome, a learner may resist temptations by others to talk about their own areas of interest, may not notice when others are not interested in his or her topic or when others have stopped listening, seeing things from another person’s point of view is a challenge (Autism Speaks, 2017).
A child with Asperger syndrome may also be unable to determine the right or wrong way to behave in a particular situation, hence he or she may speak very loudly whilst entering an ongoing church service or exam room.
Some students with Asperger syndrome may also not be able to vary the tone of their voice, hence their speech tone may not rise or fall, regardless of the circumstances.
However, it does not mean that a student who has only one or two of the above symptoms has Asperger syndrome, but if a student presents a combination of more of the symptoms mentioned above, and if the student struggles intensely with social situations, then the pupil may have Asperger syndrome (Healthwise, 2015).
Nevertheless, to have Asperger syndrome does not mean that a student is a sick person who should be hospitalised or is a good-for-nothing being who should not acquire education.
Persons with the syndrome are usually not interested in following social trends and mainstream thinking hence they do their own thing and in instances where they get adequate support, they may achieve great success.
Whilst social interaction and inter-personal relationships may be a challenge, many persons with Asperger syndrome have average and above average intelligence, and they may also be highly gifted in specific areas of their lives hence they may make great contributions to society.
Considering that they are often fascinated with technology, some persons with Asperger syndrome land themselves in engineering careers (Healthwise, 2015).
Examples of historically famous people who have shown signs of Asperger syndrome include Marie Curie, a pioneer in the study of radiation who won the Nobel Prize twice in the fields of Physics and Chemistry; and Albert Einsten, the most influential physicist of the 20th century who developed the theory of relativity (Healthwise, 2015).
Attention disabilities
Some students may have attention disabilities, hence they may find it difficult to focus, maintain or redirect their attention from one thing to the other.
Some people may argue that everyone daydreams at one point or another but the reality is that a lack of attention may turn out to be an impairment when a person constantly finds it difficult to focus, as they can be distracted very easily with unrelated sights and sounds.
Persons with such disabilities often struggle to get themselves to pay attention to detail and they usually make too many errors, they find it difficult to follow instructions and they can easily lose or forget things that may be needed for them to complete a task such as books or pencils.
Students with attention disabilities may also be very disorderly; hence they may struggle to organise their time, organise their work or they may even be unable to put their own belongings in order (NSCC, 2007).
As compared to carefully thinking about issues before acting, students with attention disabilities act much more on impulse; they may easily become angry or frustrated and they may be excessively enthusiastic or too energetic. Signs of such hyperactivity include fidgeting with hands or feet, struggling to sit up straight or general restlessness.
Way forward
Unplanned or de factor inclusion ranks among the key types of inclusive education that are prevalent in Zimbabwe (Mutepfa, Mpofu and Chataika 2007).
A large number of students with disabilities are, therefore, enrolled in mainstream schools by parents or guardians, without any accompanying documentation of the nature of their disabilities.
Some parents and in particular poor parents may not have sought a diagnosis of their child’s actions, hence they may not perceive his or her behaviour as a form of disorder or impairment but they may have informally “diagnosed” it at home as naughtiness or mischief.
Confronted with a student with disability, who may have Asperger disorder or attention disability, and in the absence of proper disability documentation, what can a teacher do?
The idea is not to immediately draw conclusions, label such students, severely punish or ignore them, students with disabilities need understanding and support to enable them to accomplish their goals in life.
For a proper diagnosis parents/guardians may need to consult one or a combination of professionals, a psychologist who attends to problems with behaviour and emotions, a paediatric neurologist who deals with brain conditions, a developmental paediatrician who is a specialist in speech and language issues or developmental difficulties or a psychiatrist who is a specialist in mental health conditions (Autism Speaks, 2017).
For persons with attention disability the teacher may, among other things, try to help the student to develop a checklist of his or her work or try to lessen pressure particularly during those times when signs of stress or tension emerge.
For a student with Asperger syndrome, a few social therapies may help, such as demonstrating appropriate ways of interacting with others, and maintaining a two way conversation (Healthwise, 2015; Autism Speaks, 2017).
Both teachers and parents may need a counsellor who can help them to understand the challenges of teaching or living with a student with Asperger syndrome or attention disability (NSCC, 2007 Autism Speak, 2017). Whichever way, effective collaboration between teachers and families is required to enhance understanding of the nature of the student’s disability and to device effective ways of supporting such a student.
Dr Christine Peta is a public halthcare practitioner who, among other qualifications, holds a PhD in Disability Studies. Be part of the international debate on how best to nurture a society which is more accessible, supportive and inclusive of disabled people. Partner with Disability Centre for Africa (DCFA) on www.dcfafrica.com or e-mail [email protected].
