ULA - About SENs

Physical Disability (PD)

PD refers to the disability caused by diseases of central and peripheral neurological systems, traumas or other congenital diseases of the musculoskeletal systems, which lead to hindrance or limitations in one or more aspects in daily living. In Hong Kong, physical disabilities mainly include the following categories: cerebral palsy, spina bifida, spinal muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophy, amputation, osteogenesis imperfecta and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Source: SENSE - Types of Special Educational Needs

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Visual Impairment (VI)

VI refers to the vision of the better eye which, even with eyeglasses or corrective surgery, cannot be corrected to the normal level. Ophthalmologists will classify an individual as having mild low vision, moderate low vision, severe low vision or total blindness according to his/her visual acuity, visual field and other contributing factors.

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Hearing Impairment (HI)

A disorder in any part of the auditory system will affect the hearing ability, thus affecting the speech and communication abilities. A student with hearing thresholds higher than 25dB can be regarded as having HI. The severity of HI is categorized into five different degrees of hearing threshold (measured in dB):

• Mild HI (Hearing thresholds: 26 to 40 dB)
• Moderate HI (Hearing thresholds: 41 to 55 dB)
• Moderately-severe HI (Hearing thresholds: 56 to 70 dB)
• Severe HI (Hearing thresholds: 71 to 90 dB)
• Profound HI (Hearing thresholds: 91 dB or above)

Source: SENSE - Types of Special Educational Needs

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Speech and Language Impairment (SLI)

Language is the building block of knowledge and an important tool for thinking and communication. School-aged students with SLI cannot communicate with others effectively. Their academic performance, emotions and social development will also be affected. The common types of SLI amongst school-aged students are subdivided into four major categories:

1. Articulation Problem

   Articulation problem refers to mispronunciation of words due to various causes to the extent that other people cannot understand what is being said, such as mispronouncing “say” as “day”.

2. Language Problem

   Children may fail to understand fully the information conveyed in a message, which leads to misunderstanding or even communication breakdown. Children with weak organization skills or limited vocabulary would have difficulties in conveying their messages.

3. Fluency Problem

   Fluency problem, also known as stammering, refers to the condition in which the flow of speech is interrupted by repetition of syllables or words, or prolongation of sounds, or the speech rate is too fast or too slow, or blocks.

4. Voice Problem

   Voice problem refers to hoarseness, loss of voice, excessively high/low pitch, difficulties in controlling the loudness of voice, hyper- or hypo-nasality, etc. due to various causes.

Source: SENSE - Types of Special Educational Needs

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Specific Learning Difficulties (SLD)

SpLD in reading and writing, also known as dyslexia, is the most common type of SpLD. Children with SpLD in reading and writing, despite having normal intelligence and formal learning experiences, are unable to read, spell and dictate words accurately and fluently. Such conditions are severe and persistent. Generally speaking, they have poorer literacy skills and weaker cognitive abilities in relation to reading and writing.

Source: SENSE - Types of Special Educational Needs

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

ASD is a congenital developmental disorder caused by abnormalities in the functioning of the brain. Although the symptoms may vary from person to person, all individuals with autism mainly have difficulties in the following three aspects:

1. Social Interaction

   • Lack initiative to interact;
   • Difficult to establish rapport with friends and peers;
   • Weak in using body language to communicate; and
   • Difficult to understand others’ thoughts and feelings, not good at reading meaning behind speech or facial expressions.

2. Verbal Communication

   • Delayed speech development;
   • Use repetitive and monotonous speech; or speak with unusual speed and pitch;
   • Difficult to start and maintain a conversation; and
   • Weak in imaginative play.

3. Behaviours and Interests

   • Rigidly stick to certain practices and resistant to change, such as insisting on using the same route;
   • Repetitive body movements, such as rocking back and forth;
   • Restricted patterns of interests, such as only interested in drawing maps; and
   • Preoccupation with certain parts of objects.

Source: SENSE - Types of Special Educational Needs

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Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

AD/HD refers to a disorder affecting students’ attention span and impulse control, causing hyperactivity and impulsivity, which make these students behave significantly different from those of their age without AD/HD. Such disorders hinder their learning progress and affect their social and family lives. Common symptoms include the followings:

• Having difficulty sustaining attention and with short attention span;
• Being easily distracted by extraneous stimuli;
• Having difficulty organizing tasks and activities;
• Often making careless mistakes;
• Not being able to stay seated in class;
• Often fidgeting with hands or feet;
• Being impulsive and often act without thinking about the consequences;
• Often blurting out or interrupting in class;
• Being forgetful in daily tasks.

Source: SENSE - Types of Special Educational Needs

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Mental Illness

Common mental illnesses include Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, Panic Disorder and so on.

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Other

Students with Chronic medical illness, Acquired brain injury and those with more than one type of disabilities are likely to seek help for support services.

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