Overview

The orthopedic impairment category is not a very prevalent type of disability found among school-aged children. For students to be designated this disability type, the orthopedic impairment must adversely affect the student’s ability to perform in an educational environment. It is important to note that

This disability may interfere with a student’s ability to walk, write, or perform other physical tasks in the classroom and laboratory setting. It might also affect the student’s ability to communicate with others, hindering their ability to respond to questions orally. Furthermore, they might also have additional disabilities that can affect their educational performance, including . . . learning disabilities, perceptual problems, distractibility, disorganization, visual-motor deficits, restlessness, and visual abnormalities. These various conditions all serve to affect the student’s coordination and mobility as well as their ability to communicate, learn, and adjust. Orthopedic impairments may also affect the student’s endurance in performing various tasks, and they might tire more easily. Due to the hands-on nature of agricultural education, instructors should plan ahead to meet the needs of learners in their classes with orthopedic impairments. (LaRose et al., 2019, pg. 1).

Strengths

Like the strengths of students with multiple disabilities, those with orthopedic impairments are wide and varied. It all depends on the specific mitigating factors of the disability that determine the strengths a student will demonstrate. Students with orthopedic impairments may be unable to move about freely, but they could have very strong academic skills. Others may have a strong sense of humor, be very loving and social, or even have strong sports skills when provided with appropriate mobility items such as wheelchairs or artificial limbs.

Needs

Students with orthopedic impairments have varying needs depending on their degree of disability. Some students may struggle with their motor skills or ability to perform daily tasks, whereas others may struggle with their communication ability (Kansas State Department of Education).

Supporting Students with Orthopedic Impairment

Common Teaching Strategies

According to Project IDEAL, here are some ways to help promote learning among students with orthopedic impairment:

• Special seating arrangements to develop useful posture and movements
• Instruction focused on development of gross and fine motor skills
• Securing suitable augmentative communication and other assistive devices
• Awareness of medical condition and its affect on the student (such as getting tired quickly) (Orthopedic Impairments)

Orthopedic Impairment

References

Heller, K. W., Swinehart-Jones, D. (2003). Supporting the Educational Needs of Students with Orthopedic Impairments. Georgia State University. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ678650.pdf

LaRose, S.E., Thoron, A.C., Colclasure, B.C. (2019). Teaching students with disabilities: Orthopedic impairment. IFAS Extension University of Florida. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/WC262

National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Students With Disabilities. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.

U.S. Department of Education. (2018). Sec. 300.8 Child with a disability. Retrieved from https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8.ufl.edu/publication/WC262