Is Being Mute A Physical Disability

Specializing In Treating Mutism

There is no one governing body that certifies practitioners in treating mutism, but there are a handful of options you can pursue if you want to improve your ability to treat those with various forms of mutism.

Specializing in Neurogenic Mutism

Because neurogenic mutism is a neurological disorder you may want to consider pursuing board certification from the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences .

In order to be eligible for this certification, youll need to fulfill the following requirements:

• Be a fully certified CCC-SLP
• Have five years of clinical experience with neurologic communication disorders
• Submit your CV or resume with three letters of recommendation from health care professionals familiar with your skills
• Complete the Board Certification Candidacy Application and pay applicable fees

The certification process involves submitting two case studies, giving an oral presentation, and taking part in a discussion following your presentation. The reviewers will then give you a Pass or notify you that your work Does not meet standards.

Specializing in Treating Selective Mutism

There is no industry standard certification for treating selective mutism, but there are a handful of organizations that offer information, webinars, and educational opportunities to grow in this area.

People Who Have Mental Health Disabilities

Mental health issues can affect a persons ability to think clearly, concentrate or remember things. Mental health disability is a broad term for many disorders that can range in severity. For example, some customers may experience anxiety due to hallucinations, mood swings, phobias or panic disorder.

• If you sense or know that a customer has a mental health disability be sure to treat them with the same respect and consideration you have for everyone else.
• Be confident, calm and reassuring.
• If a customer appears to be in crisis, ask them to tell you the best way to help.

Recognize The Person First Then The Disability Or Difference

What is the proper way to speak to or about someone who has a disability? The answer is to speak in the same way you would anyone else. In speaking or writing, remember that children or adults with disabilities are like everyone elseexcept they happen to have a disability.

When referring to an individual with a disability, always begin with achild, student, adult, youth, person, or individual.

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Developmental And Neurological Causes

Absence of speech in children may involve communication disorders or language delays. Communication disorders or developmental language delays may occur for several different reasons.

Language delays may be associated with other developmental delays. For example, children with Down syndrome often have impaired language and speech.

Children with autism, categorized as a neurodevelopmental disorder in the DSM-V, often demonstrate language delays. Recent studies have found that autistic children with language delays are often more able to benefit from treatment services to help build language than was previously believed.

How Can Mutism Be Categorized

Mutism can be broadly categorized in terms of the type of factors that incite it in patients namely Neurologically based and psychologically based.

Neurologically based mutism: The type of mutism which is caused by physical impairment of brain or speech motor system due to a multitude of reasons including birth defects, accidents, head or neck injuries, strokes or Parkinsons Disease. A bilateral damage to the frontal lobe of the brain which renders the patient unable to move the Akinesia causes the Akinetic Mutism. Here, along with speech, other abilities such as motor control, arousal etc is also similarly impaired.

Another related type of mutism is prevalent in autistic children, where the child faces immense difficulty in developing normal speech patterns due to delayed development of social skills. There also exists Dyslalialic Mutism or muteness caused by deafness where damage to the larynx damages the vocal chords or in general, since the patient is not able to hear words he/she is unable to produce matching sounds to communicate. For communicating with such patients, sign language is necessary.

In older patients it is mostly caused by a traumatic event that has resulted in severe mental alterations within the patients.

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The Resources Students With Disabilities Have Resources That Are Specifically Designed For Their Situation

Individualized Education Program

Students with disabilities who are eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act will have an Individualized Education Program .

The IEP can be a helpful tool as part of a bullying prevention plan. Remember, every child receiving special education is entitled to a free appropriate public education and bullying can become an obstacle to that education.

For more information, read PACERs Individualized Education Program and Bullying.

Dear Colleague Letters

A 2014 Dear Colleague letter from the Office for Civil Rights states that bullying of any kind, not just on the basis of a students disability, may result in a violation of FAPE, and reiterates schools responsibility to address behavior that may result in disability-based harassment or violations of FAPE.

For more information, visit Rights and Policies.

Template Letters

Parents may use one of these template letters as a guide for writing a letter to their childs school. These letters contain standard language and fill-in-the-blank spaces so that the letter can be customized for a childs specific situation.

• Version for a Student with a 504 Plan, download the
• Version for a Student with an IEP Plan, download the

The letters can serve two purposes:

Why Am I Losing Strength In My Legs

This article focuses on conditions that cause a true loss of strength in the leg muscles. Among the most common causes for leg weakness is sciatica, problems with the spinal cord that lead to pinching or compression of the nerves as they exit the spinal cord through the holes between the vertebrae of the backbone.

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Interview On Peer Advocacy A Look Back

In this interview, Anna, a college sophomore in the fall of 2016, reflects back on her involvement during middle school in the innovative Peer Advocacy project. The project was designed to connect students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers in meaningful ways to help them navigate bullying situations.

How Does A Mute Person Communicate

Many communication channels are available, through which Deaf-mute people can deliver their messages, e.g., notes, helper pages, sign language, books with letters, lip reading, and gestures. Despite these channels, there are many problems which are encountered by Deaf-mutes and normal people during communication.

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Is Mentally Challenged Offensive

Loony, loony bin, lunatic: All are considered offensive and should not be used except in direct quotes. See mental health entry . Mentally retarded: Always try to specify the type of disability being referenced. Otherwise, the terms mental disability, intellectual disability and developmental disability are acceptable.

Dissociative Identity Disorder/multiple Personality Disorder

Background: Dissociative identity disorder is characterized by the emergence of two or more distinct personality states or identities in a persons behavior or consciousness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. These personalities, medically known as alters, can exhibit different speech patterns, mannerisms, attitudes, thoughts, gender identities and even physical characteristics. Other symptoms include memory loss, emotional issues, disorientation and the development of other mental disorders.

NCDJ Recommendation: Refer to someone as having dissociative identity disorder only if the information is relevant to the story and if youre confident there is a medical diagnosis. Use the term dissociative identity disorder, not multiple personality disorder, and avoid the acronym DID. Consider using people-first language, such as a person with dissociative identity disorder.

AP style: Not addressed

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Advocating For Yourself And Others Has A Significant Impact

Parents, educators, community members, and students all have an important advocacy role to play in preventing and addressing bullying.

AdvocacyProviding support for students who are being bullied, are vulnerable to being hurt or harmed, or are isolated from other students.

Self-AdvocacySpeaking up for yourself, communicating what you need, and taking action.

Talk with youth about bullying

It is important that adults understand how to communicate with youth about a bullying situation. Some children have an easier time talking to adults about personal matters and may be willing to discuss bullying. Others may be reluctant to share information about the situation. There could be a number of reasons for this: the student bullying them may have told them not to tell or they might fear that telling someone will make matters worse.

When preparing to talk to children about bullying, adults should consider how they will handle the childs questions and emotions and what their own responses will be. Adults should be prepared to listen without judgment, providing the child with a safe place to work out their feelings and determine next steps.

For more information read, Help Your Child Recognize the Signs of Bullying.

Adult intervention is important

It is never the responsibility of the child to fix a bullying situation. If children could do that, they wouldnt be seeking the help of an adult in the first place.

Peer to peer advocacySupporting and educating youth as advocates

There Are Legal Protections And Provisions For Students With Disabilities Who Are Being Harassed

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal law. It requires that each child who has a disability and qualifies for special education and related services must receive a free and appropriate public education . The State Department of Education in each state enforces IDEA. Students with an Individualized Education Program would qualify for these protections.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 are the federal laws that apply if the harassment denies a student with a disability an equal opportunity to education. The Office for Civil Rights enforces Section 504 and Title II of the ADA. Students with a 504 plan or an IEP would qualify for these protections.

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Who Decides Which Aid Or Service Is Needed

When choosing an aid or service, title II entitiesare required to give primary consideration to the choice of aid or service requested by the person who has a communication disability. The state or local government must honor the persons choice, unless it can demonstrate that another equally effective means of communication is available, or that the use of the means chosen would result in a fundamental alteration or in an undue burden . If the choice expressed by the person with a disability would result in an undue burden or a fundamental alteration, the public entity still has an obligation to provide an alternative aid or service that provides effective communication if one is available.

Title III entities are encouraged to consult with the person with a disability to discuss what aid or service is appropriate. The goal is to provide an aid or service that will be effective, given the nature of what is being communicated and the persons method of communicating.

Covered entities may require reasonable advance notice from people requesting aids or services, based on the length of time needed to acquire the aid or service, but may not impose excessive advance notice requirements. Walk-in requests for aids and services must also be honored to the extent possible.

A Unique Bullying Prevention Model For Students With Disabilities

Peer advocacy is a program centered around inclusion and designed to educate students on speaking out on behalf of students with intellectual, developmental, or other disabilities. It is is a unique approach that empowers students to protect those targeted by bullying and to provide social inclusion opportunities.

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What Does It Mean To Advocate For Yourself

Being your own advocate means that you ask for what you need while respecting the needs of others. For example, if you are at a store and a clerk ignores you, you are able to ask in a polite way to be served. Self-advocacy is asking for what you need in a direct, respectful manner.

Why is this skill important? Self-advocacy helps you:

• Obtain what is helpful for you
• Be involved in the decision-making process
• Learn to say no and be OK with it
• Respectfully express disagreement or differing opinion
• Help express your ideas to prevent any bullying youre experiencing

Learn more about how to Be Your Own Best Advocate

Someone Being Accompanied By A Support Person

Some people with disabilities may be accompanied by a support person, such as an intervenor. A support person can be a personal support worker, a volunteer, a family member or a friend. A support person might help your customer with a variety of things from communicating, to helping with mobility, personal care or medical needs.

Welcome support people to your workplace or business. They are permitted in any part of your premises that is open to the public. If your organization is one that charges admission, such as a movie theatre or bowling alley, provide notice, in advance, about what admission fee will be charged for a support person.

• If youre not sure which person is the customer, take your lead from the person using or requesting your goods or services, or simply ask.
• Speak directly to your customer, not to their support person.

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People With Physical Disabilities

Only some people with physical disabilities use a wheelchair. Someone with a spinal cord injury may use crutches while someone with severe arthritis or a heart condition may have difficulty walking longer distances.

• If you need to have a lengthy conversation with someone who uses a wheelchair or scooter, consider sitting so you can make eye contact at the same level.
• Dont touch items or equipment, such as canes or wheelchairs, without permission.
• If you have permission to move a persons wheelchair, dont leave them in an awkward, dangerous or undignified position, such as facing a wall or in the path of opening doors.

National Center On Disability And Journalism

You can also

As language, perceptions and social mores change rapidly, it is becoming increasingly difficult for journalists and other communicators to figure out how to refer to people with disabilities. Even the term disability is not universally accepted. This style guide, which covers dozens of words and terms commonly used when referring to disability, can help. The guide was developed by the National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State Universitys Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and was last updated in the summer of 2021.

First, we would like to offer some basic guidelines:

Of course, our sources dont always speak the way we write. Thats OK. You may end up using a derogatory term in a direct quote, but be certain that its fundamental to the story. Otherwise, paraphrase and use a more acceptable term.

In this guide, we urge reporters and other communications professionals to refer to a disability only when its relevant to the story being told. But what is relevant is not always clear. Should a story about residents complaining about noisy airplanes flying over their houses note that one of the residents who is complaining uses a wheelchair? Should someone who is blind be identified as such in a story about people who have been stranded while hiking and had to be rescued?

Amy Silverman, NCDJ advisory board member

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Biblical And Theological Interpretation Of Disability And The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities In Kenya

The foregoing traditional and contemporary Biblical and theological views on disability have a bearing on the way in which society responds to the presence of PWD in Kenya, and in particular how they impinge on their rights. Society continues to use antiquated religious beliefs to explain the presence of PWD in Kenya. The consequences of the interpretation of disability to denote sin, disobedience, ignorance, and unbelief have contributed to some Christians adopting a discriminatory attitude toward PWD. As we have seen, the origin of disability in Biblical interpretation is still found in the thinking of Christians today . Disability continues to be seen as a misfortune and expressions such as “Who did wrong that this happened?” or “Everyone gets what he/she deserves” can still be heard from some people . The linking of disability to the “perfect body image” that is found in the Bible has caused PWD to be viewed and treated negatively. Society evaluates the depth of religious belief based on bodily perfection. It is assumed that if one is “right” with the Lord, there is no excuse for having physical flaws . The result is that people make a direct connection between physical perfection and spiritual righteousness.The pervasiveness of this attitude is evident in most of the views voiced by PWD in Kenya. When asked about the reaction of people without disability towards them, one PWD narrated his experience:

Calendar Of Activities For Students Of All Ages

Activities for the school year designed to creatively educate peer advocates on topics including preventing and responding to bullying, disability awareness, and social inclusion. Each month features student education and interaction for:

• Elementary school students
• Middle and high school students

Monthly activities

Order from: Random HouseSuggested Audiences: 5th 7th grade

August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. Wonder by R.J. Palacio begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance. In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope. R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you cant blend in when you were born to stand out.

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