Murid PKBP

Kebanyakkan murid-murid yang saya mengajar adalah murid yang menhadapi masalah lembam aau lebih dikenali sebagai "slow learner". Mereka ini secara fizikalnya seperti murid normal,apa yang beza dengan murid lain adalah dari segi penerimaan ilmu pengetahuan dari guru. Murid-murid susah memahami maklumat yang ingin sampaikan oleh guru. Sebagai seorang guru PKBP harus bersabar memberitahu mereka berulang-ulang.

Sindrom Down

Ciri-ciri Khusus

• Mulut yang sentiasa terbuka dan tidak tertutup rapat.
• Lidah yang tebal, kasar dan pendek, serta cenderung terjelir.
• Mata sentiasa berair dan merah.
• Mata sepet iaitu bahagian luarnya naik ke atas dan terdapat lipatan pada kedua-dua sisi hidung yang menutupi bahagian dalam mata.
• Bentuk muka yang kecil.
• Bahagian kepala leper.
• Tangan yang lebar dan pendek serta garisan tapak tangan satu melintang.
• Majoriti berambut lurus dan lembut.
• Jari dan tangan lebar yang pendek dan berbonggol.
• Berbadan gembal dan rendak.
• Badan yang agak bongkok.
• Suka bermanja, bermain dan gembira.
• Dapat bergaul dengan baik.
• IQ di antara 30 hingga 80.
• Kecacatan dapat dikesan sebaik selepas lahir.

My students

My students send for swimming therapy. The coach are train them to learn the basic step of swimming

Autism Information

1. What is autism?
Autism is a life-long developmental disability that prevents individuals from properly understanding what they see, hear, and otherwise sense. This results in severe problems of social relationships, communication, and behavior. Individuals with autism have to painstakingly learn normal patterns of speech and communication, and appropriate ways to relate to people, objects, and events, in a similar manner to those who have had a stroke.

2. What are the characteristics of autism?
The degree of severity of characteristics differs from person to person, but usually includes the following:
Severe delays in language development. Language is slow to develop, if it develops at all. If it does develop, it usually includes peculiar speech patterns or the use of words without attachment to their normal meaning. Those who are able to use language effectively may still use unusual metaphors or speak in a formal and monotone voice. Severe delays in understanding social relationships. The autistic child often avoids eye contact, resists being picked up, and seems to "tune out" the world around him. This results in a lack of cooperative play with peers, an impaired ability to develop friendships, and an inability to understand other people's feelings.
Inconsistent Patterns of sensory responses.The child who has autism at times may appear to be deaf and fail to respond to words or other sounds. At other times, the same child may be extremely distressed by an everyday noise such as a vacuum cleaner or a dog's barking. The child also may show an apparent insensitivity to pain and a lack of responsiveness to cold or heat, or may over-react to any of these.
Uneven patterns of intellectual functioning.The individual may have peak skills - scattered things done quite well in relation to overall functioning - such as drawing, music, computations in math, or memorization of facts with no regard to importance or lack of it. On the other hand, the majority of autistic persons have varying degrees of mental retardation, with only 20 percent having average or above-average intelligence. This combination of intellectual variations makes autism especially perplexing.
Marked restriction of activity and interests.A person who has autism may perform repetitive body movements, such as hand flicking, twisting, spinning, or rocking. This individual may also display repetition by following the same route, the same order of dressing, or the same schedule everyday, etc. If changes occur in these routines, the preoccupied child or adult usually becomes very distressed.

3. What causes autism?
Autism is a brain disorder, present from birth, which affects the way the brain uses information. The cause of autism is still unknown. Some research suggests a physical problem affecting those parts of the brain that process language and information coming in from the senses. There may be some imbalance of certain chemicals in the brain. Genetic factors may sometimes be involved. Autism may indeed result from a combination of several "causes".
No factors in the psychological environment of the child cause autism.

4. How common is autism?
Autism is one of the four major developmental disabilities. It occurs in one to two of every 1000 births. There are approximately 10,000 people with autism in North Carolina.

5. Who is affected with autism?
Autism is distributed throughout the world among all races, nationalities, and social classes. Four of every five people with autism are male.

6. What is the most common problem in autism?
Individuals with autism have extreme difficulty in learning language and social skills and in relating to people.

7. How does autism affect behavior?
In addition to severe language and socialization problems, people with autism often experience extreme hyperactivity or unusual passivity in relating to parents, family members, and other people.

8. How severe are behavior problems in people with autism?
In autism, behavior problems range from very severe to mild. Severe behavior problems take the form of highly unusual, aggressive, and in some cases, even self-injurious behavior. These behaviors may persist and be difficult to change.
In its milder form., autism resembles a learning disability. Usually, however, even people who are only mildly affected are substantially handicapped due to deficits in the areas of communication and socialization.

9. Does autism occur in conjunction with other disabilities?
Autism can occur by itself or in association with other developmental disorders such as mental retardation, learning disabilities, epilepsy, etc.
Autism is best considered as a disability on a continuum from mild to severe. The number of handicaps and degree of mental retardation will determine the location on that continuum.

10. What is the difference between Autism and Mental Retardation?
Most people with mental retardation show relatively even skill development, while individuals with autism typically show uneven skill development with deficits in certain areas - most frequently in their ability to communicate and relate to others - and distinct skills in other areas.
It is important to distinguish autism from mental retardation or other disorders since diagnostic confusion may result in referral to inappropriate and ineffective treatment techniques.

11. Can people with autism be helped?
Yes, autism is treatable. Studies show that all people who have autism can improve significantly with proper instruction. Many individuals with autism eventually become more responsive to others as they learn to understand the world around them.

12. How can persons with autism learn best?
Through specially trained teachers, using specially structured programs that emphasize individual instruction, persons with autism can learn to function at home and in the community. Some can lead nearly normal lives.

13. What kinds of jobs can individuals with autism do?
In general, individuals with autism perform best at jobs which are structured and involve a degree of repetition.
Some people who have autism are working as artists, piano tuners, painters, farm workers, office workers, computer operators, dishwashers, assembly line workers, or competent employees of sheltered workshops or other sheltered work settings.

14. What leisure activities do persons with autism enjoy?
Individuals who have autism often enjoy the same recreational activities as their non- handicapped peers. They usually like music, swimming, hiking, camping, working puzzles, playing table games, etc.

15. What services are available for people with autism in North Carolina?
There are public school classrooms, a summer residential camp, group homes, social skills training, job training, and life planning services for persons with autism in North Carolina for persons with autism in North Carolina.

16. What additional services are needed for children with autism in North Carolina?
Children with autism need:- respite care- before and after-school care- summer programs- recreational programs- group homes- other residential living options- prevocational training- summer school programs

17. What do people with autism need when they become adults?
Adults with autism need:- vocational training- job opportunities- group homes- supervised apartments- other residential living options- recreational opportunities

18. How can people who have autism learn meaningful job skills?
With the help of specially trained job coaches, people with autism can learn skills that will enable them to successfully work in competitive employment, supported employment, or in sheltered workshop programs.

19. In what ways can persons with autism have relative independence in living?
They can learn skills to live as independently as possible through specifically designed programs in group homes and supervised apartments.

Special Educaion/ Pendidikan Khas

FACT SHEET ON ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD/ADD)
Important Disclaimer- Please Read This : The following information is not intended to provide any type of professional advice nor diagnostic service. If you have any concerns about AD/HD or other health issues, please consult a qualified health care professional in your community.

IS IT ADD? OR ADHD? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
The difference is mainly one of terminology, which can be confusing at times. The "official" clinical diagnosis is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or AD/HD. In turn, AD/HD is broken down into three different subtypes: Combined Type, Predominantly Inattentive Type, and Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type.

Many people use the term ADD as a generic term for all types of AD/HD. The term ADD has gained popularity among the general public, in the media, and is even commonly used among professionals. Whether we call it ADD or AD/HD, however, we are all basically referring to the same thing.

WHO HAS AD/HD:
According to epidemiological data, approximately 4% to 6% of the U.S. population has ADHD. ADHD usually persists throughout a person's lifetime. It is NOT limited to children. Approximately one-half to two-thirds of children with ADHD will continue to have significant problems with ADHD symptoms and behaviors as adults, which impacts their lives on the job, within the family, and in social relationships. DEFINITION OF AD/HD: AD/HD is a diagnosis applied to children and adults who consistently display certain characteristic behaviors over a period of time.

The most common core features include:
distractibility (poor sustained attention to tasks)
impulsivity (impaired impulse control and delay of gratification)
hyperactivity (excessive activity and physical restlessness)

In order to meet diagnostic criteria, these behaviors must be excessive, long-term, and pervasive. The behaviors must appear before age 7, and continue for at least 6 months. A crucial consideration is that the behaviors must create a real handicap in at least two areas of a person's life, such as school, home, work, or social settings. These criteria set ADHD apart from the "normal" distractibility and impulsive behavior of childhood, or the effects of the hectic and overstressed lifestyle prevalent in our society. According to the DSM-IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) some common symptoms of ADHD include: often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes; often has difficulty sustaining attention to tasks; often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly; often fails to follow instructions carefully and completely; losing or forgetting important things; feeling restless, often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming; running or climbing excessively; often talks excessively; often blurts out answers before hearing the whole question; often has difficulty awaiting turn.

Please keep in mind that the exact nature and severity of AD/HD symptoms varies from person to person. Approximately one-third of people with AD/HD do not have the hyperactive or overactive behavior component, for example. WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS ABOUT AD/HD: ADHD is NOT caused by poor parenting, family problems, poor teachers or schools, too much TV, food allergies, or excess sugar. One early theory was that attention disorders were caused by minor head injuries or damage to the brain, and thus for many years ADHD was called "minimal brain damage" or "minimal brain dysfunction." The vast majority of people with ADHD have no history of head injury or evidence of brain damage, however. Another theory, which is still heard in the media, is that refined sugar and food additives make children hyperactive and inattentive.

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that this may apply to only about 5 percent of children with ADHD, mostly either very young children or children with food allergies. ADHD IS very likely caused by biological factors which influence neurotransmitter activity in certain parts of the brain, and which have a strong genetic basis. Studies at NIMH using a PET (positron emission tomography) scanner to observe the brain at work have shown a link between a person's ability to pay continued attention and the level of activity in the brain. Specifically researchers measured the level of glucose used by the areas of the brain that inhibit impulses and control attention. In people with AD/HD, the brain areas that control attention used less glucose, indicating that they were less active. It appears from this research that a lower level of activity in some parts of the brain may cause inattention and other AD/HD symptoms.

There is a great deal of evidence that AD/HD runs in families, which is suggestive of genetic factors. If one person in a family is diagnosed with AD/HD, there is a 25% to 35% probability that any other family member also has AD/HD, compared to a 4% to 6% probability for someone in the general population. TREATMENT OF AD/HD: Clinical experience has shown that the most effective treatment for ADHD is a combination of medication (when necessary), therapy or counseling to learn coping skills and adaptive behaviors, and ADD coaching for adults. Medication is often used to help normalize brain activity, as prescribed by a physician. Stimulant medications (Ritalin, Dexedrine, Adderall) are commonly used because they have been shown to be most effective for most people with ADHD. However, many other medications may also be used at the discretion of the physician. Behavior therapy and cognitive therapy are often helpful to modify certain behaviors and to deal with the emotional effects of AD/HD. Many adults also benefit from working with an AD/HD coach to help manage problem behaviors and develop coping skills, such as improving organizational skills and improving productivity.

ADHD is recognized as a disability under federal legislation (the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Americans With Disabilities Act; and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act). Appropriate and reasonable accommodations are sometimes made at school for children with ADHD, and in the workplace for adults with ADHD, which help the individual to work more efficiently and productively.