INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

1. ADDRESSING
NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
LEARNING NEEDS IN SOUTH
AFRICAN RURAL SCHOOLS
DO RURAL SCHOOLS HAVE ENOUGH AFFORDABLE SPECIAL
SCHOOLS?
DO THEY HAVE LEARNING SUPPORT EDUCATORS?

2. • DEFINING NEURODEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING NEEDS
• HOW DOES IT MANIFEST
• TYPES OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
• DEFINING THE TYPE OF DISORDERS
• PERSONAL VIEWS ON THE NEED FOR LSD IN SA SCHOOLS

3. WHAT ARE NEURODEVELOPMENTAL
LEARNING NEEDS?
• ACCORDING TO (VARGO, CITED IN BALOYI 2020) THESE ARE “COGNITIVE-RELATED DISORDERS” WHERE THE CENTRAL
NERVOUS SYSTEM HAS EFFECTS AND THUS LEADING TO BRAIN DEFICITS, CAUSES ARE GENETIC AND BRAIN INJURY.
• BALOYI (2020) HIGHLIGHTS THAT THESE ARE IMPAIRMENTS THAT SEVERELY AFFECT THE BRAIN AND NEVERVOUS
SYSTEM. THESE DISORDERS ARE DIVERSE AND HAVE DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS, THEY ARE CLASSIFIED AS SPECIAL
NEEDS.
• THESE LEARNING DIFFICULTIES CAN AFFECT A CHILD’S SOCIAL WELLBEING, ACADEMIC PERFOMANCE AND FORMING
FRIENDSHIPS AND ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS.
• KAUSHALYA() BROADENS THE DEFINITION TO “ HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF DISORDERS WHERE THE INDIVIDUAL
UNEXPECTEDLY FAILS TO COMPETENTLY ACQUIRE, RETRIEVE AND USE INFORMATION”.

4. https://dphhs.mt.gov/schoolhealth/chronichealth/n
eurologicaldisorders
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.additudemag.
com/famous-people-with-learning-
disabilities/amp/

5. MANIFESTATION
• NEURODEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING DISORDERS MANIFEST DURING EARLY
CHILDHOOD AND LAST THROUGHOUT ADULTHOOD, FOR A CHILD TO BE
DIAGNOSED THERE HAS TO BE AN OCCURRENCE OF THE SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS
“FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS”. CHILDREN MIGHT HAVE ONE LEARNING
DIFFICULTY OR MORE (KAUSHALYA,).
• IT IS IMPORTANT THAT LEARNING SUPPORT EDUCATORS ARE TRAINED AND
PLACED IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTRES BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE FIRST SIGNS
CAN BE SEEN.

6. TYPES OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING
DISORDERS
• THERE ARE A VARIETY OF THESE LEARNING DISORDERS

7. DEFINING THE TYPES OF DISORDERS
• INTELLECTUAL- THEY IMPACT ON THE ABILITY OF THE CHILD TO DEVELOP SOCIETAL AND PERSONAL
INDEPENDENCE RESPONSIBILITY.
• COMMUNICATION – THEY IMPACT ON SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION: THE CHILD’S ABILITY TO
COMPREHEND LANGUAGE IS AFFECTED WHERE SPEECH MAY BE DELAYED, STUTTERING.
• AUTISM SPECTRUM IMPACTS SEVERELY ON COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION AND THEY ARE SUSTAIN
THROUGHOUT AN INDIVIDUAL’S LIFE.
• ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER THIS IS THE SEVERE INABILITY TO BE ATTENTIVE, MORE
IMPULSIVITY AND HYPERACTIVITY.
• SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDERS- THESE ARE SPECIFIC READING, WRITING AND MATH, RECOGNITION OF
NUMBER FACTS, DIFFICULTIES IN COMPREHENSION AND LANGUAGE FLUENCY.

8. THE NEED FOR LEARNING SUPPORT
TEACHERS(PERSONAL VIEWS)
• I HAVE NOTED THAT SOUTH AFRICAN RURAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT
“AWARE"OR HAVE MUCH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS.
• I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE GOTTEN A CHANCE TO DO THIS MODULE AS A PRESRVICE
TEACHER IN THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG, WHERE ARE TAUGHT ABOUT
THESE DISORDERS AND ARE TAUGHT HOW TO BETTER SUPPORT LEARNERS TO
IMPLEMENT INCLUSIVE EDUCATION.
• I BELIEVE THIS MODULE SHOULD BE COMPULSORY FOR ALL TEACHERS, SO THAT
LEARNERS ARE NOT CALLED “WEIRD” “DOM” AND ALL THE KIND OF HARSH
WORDS BUT TEACHERS SHOULD HAVE AN INSIGHT ON WHAT THE CHILD IS
EXPERIENCING AND HOW TO SUPPORT THEM.

9. CONTINUED...
• THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD INVEST MORE ON TRAINING TEACHERS TO BE
LEARNING SUPPORT EDUCATORS NOT ONLY FOR SPECIAL SCHOOL BUT FOR
ORDINARY AND MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS TOO.
• BECAUSE IN MOST RURAL PUBLIC SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS BOTH TEACHERS
AND PARENTS ARE UNAWARR OF SUCH AND CHILDREN ARE NOT BEING
ASSISTED UNTIL THEY DEOP FROM SCHOOL OR GET BULLIED OVER THEIR
DISABILITY.
• BUT ENSURING THAT TEACHERS ARE WELL TRAINED, IT MEANS LEARNERS AND
PARENTS WILL BE INFORMED TOO

10. CONTINUED....
• I HAVE STRUGGLED SO MUCH IN MY HOME TOWN A RURAL AREA IN MPUMALANGA,
DURING MY WIL I HAVE TO DO MY SUPPORT SUBJECT (ADDRESSING
NEURODEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING NEEDS).
• THE SCHOOLS ARE ALWAYS UNAWARE OF WHAT IT IS AND THAT IT EVEN EXISTED,
THEY JUST KNOW THAT A CHILD THAT IS INATTENTIVE OR HYPERACTIVE IS JUST
BEING ILL DISCIPLINE.
• WHICH WOULD BE CORRECT IN SOME INSTANCES BUT MAY BE INCORRECT IN OTHER
INSTANCES IT MAY BE THAT A CHILD HAS ADHD.
• RURAL AREAS IN SOUTH AFRICA DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH SPECIAL SCHOOLS WHICH
LEAVES THE DISADVANTAGED FAMILIES HELPLESS AND THEIR CHILDREN ARE
DEPRIVED OF THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION.

11. CONCLUSION
AS THE SLIDES HAVE DISCUSSED, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS HAS A GREATER
IMPACT IN A CHILD’S LIFE AND ACADEMICS. I HAVE PROVIDED DEFINITIONS OF
THE DISORDER, THEIR TYPES AND HAVE GIVEN BRIEF EXPLANATIONS OF WHAT
THEY ARE AND HOW THEY MANIFEST. THUS IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE
TRAINING OF TEACHERS TO BE INFORMED OF THESE DISORDERS IS PRIORITISED IS
SOUTH AFRICA PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

12. REFERENCE LIST
• HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.COM/AMP/S/WWW.ADDITUDEMAG.COM/FAMOUS-PEOPLE-WITH-LEARNING-DISABILITIES/AMP/
• HTTPS://DPHHS.MT.GOV/SCHOOLHEALTH/CHRONICHEALTH/NEUROLOGICALDISORDERS
• BALOYI. B, J. 2020. UNDERSTANDING NEURODEVELOPMENTAL LEARNING NEEDS. ACCESSED AT:
HTTP://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/BOLANEJEANETABALOYI?UTM_SOURCE=PROFILE&UTM_MEDIUM=SSEMAIL&UTM_CAMPAIGN=DOW
NLOAD_NOTIFICATION 25 AUGUST 2021
• HEPBURN, J. 2016. NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS. ACCESSED AT:
HTTPS://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/JAMESHEPBURN/NEURODEVELOPMENTAL-DISORDERS-66569861?QID=2FB94FCE-3845-42C4-BBAC-
690FF52525F5&V=&B=&FROM_SEARCH=1 25 AUGUST 2021.
• KAUSHALYA, M. 2017. LEARNING DISABILITIES. ACCESSED AT: HTTPS://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/KAUSHALYAMKRISHNA/LEARNING-
DISABILITIES-81378172
• HTTPS://WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/ELLAABYOU/ABNORMAL-PSYCHOLOGY-NEURODEVELOPMENTAL-DISODERS