Para eLink: Where Minnesota's Paraprofessionals Learn Online

competencies | tutorial | glossary | help | site index

K5: Understanding of general medical terminology and the effects of medical treatments and medications as they relate to students with Other Health Disabilities (OHD) in the education setting.

K6: Understanding of how OHD (including terminal illness and emergencies or life-threatening situations) impact learning, including behavioral, cognitive, social, and emotional development.

K8: Understanding specific information related to students with OHD and using this information to take steps to respond to emergency situations within the education setting that involve students with OHD.


	1	1R	2	2R	2a	2aR	2b	2bR	3	3R

Summary

In this unit you have reviewed how health situations, medications, and medical treatments and therapies can significantly impact the lives of students in general and students with OHD specifically.

In Lesson 1 you learned that, in addition to the rise in students who have a range of physical and health impairments, Minnesota schools are also serving students with an range of chronic or acute health conditions. Medications, medical treatments, and therapies can impact a student’s ability to learn and function at school. A student with a health condition may be considered for special education instruction and services under the Other Health Disabilities (OHD) category.

In Lesson 2, you reviewed some of your earlier learning that before a team can set goals with a student, information about that student must be gathered and analyzed. The process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information related to the student is called assessment. To help the educational team assess students with acute or chronic health conditions, you learned about the process of linking the adverse affects of a student’s health condition with completing educational tasks within given timelines. You were able to observe how the team, including the paraprofessional, needs to demonstrate very specific and concrete examples of how a student’s health condition directly affects the student’s ability to complete tasks in an orderly and timely manner, that frequent appointments and hospitalizations cause excessive absenteeism, or that a student’s medications or medical treatments leads to a lack of stamina to complete assignments on time or accurately.

In Lesson 3, you had the opportunity to focus on preparing for, preventing, and responding to emergency situations in which students with known health conditions are involved. You learned four important steps focusing on preparing for and preventing medical and other emergencies involving students with OHD. Finally, you explored five critical ways to respond effectively to an emergency medical emergency for a student with a known health condition.

References

Information in this unit was used with permission from:

Minnesota Department of Education. (2007). Other Health Disabilities Web page. Retrieved March 27, 2007, from http://education.state.mn.us/mde/Learning_Support/Special_Education/Categorical_Disability_Information/Other_Health_Disabilities/

Minnesota Department of Education. (2007). Other Health Disabilities Companion Manual (Draft). St. Paul: Author. Retrieved March 27, 2007, from http://education.state.mn.us/mdeprod/groups/SpecialEd/documents/Publication/001683.pdf