Planning for the child with mentally challenged is very necessary. It is very important to plan for his /her educational needs and not ignore the special inputs required, at various levels of development.

Assessment Steps

	Initial Identification.
	Definition of evaluation of current performance level and educational needs.
	Decision about classification and program placement.
	Development of Individual Education/Training Program (IEP/ITP)
	Definition and Selection of Teaching Procedure and strategies.

Approach to Assessment.

	NPT Norm Performance Test is standardized measure that allows comparison of the subject performance to that of normal or average group.
	CRT Criterion Reference Test is concerned with whether a child performs skills and as per the criteria set or not.
	Observation.
	Interview

Assessment Tools

Popularly used tools in India

	Madras development programming system. MDPS
	Behavioral assessment scale for Indian Children with MR (Basic MR)
	Functional Assessment Check List for Programming (FACP)
	The portage guide to early education.
	Upanayan program for developmental training.
	Grade level assessment device (GLAD)

Interdisciplinary Team : Effective Special Education Programming of Services

	Clinical Psychologist
	Educational Psychologist Audiologist
	Speech Pathologist and Audiologist
	Physiotherapist
	Occupational Therapist
	Special Educator
	Social worker
	Psychiatrist
	Paediatrician
	Vocational Consultants etc.

Teaching Principles

	Simple to Complex
	Known to Unknown
	Concrete to Abstract
	Whole to Part

States of Learning

	Acquisition Maintenance
	Over learning
	Distributed practice
	Generalization

Instructional consideration.

	Alternate Activities		Nutrition
	Changing Activities		Pantomised Instruction
	Consistency		Past Experience
	Developmental Behavior		Peer tutoring
	Goal Planning		Promption (Assistance)
	Imitiation		Practice
	Individualized instruction		Reverse programming
	Instructional grouping		Role play
	Instructional Programming		Routine in learning
	Life long skill sequence		Seasonal festivities
	Model demonstration		Skill demonstration
	Music		Teaching Environment
	Theatre		Useful skills
	Dance		Understanding Objectives
	Sports		Visual self monitoring

Method 

	The Montessori Method or Auto Education/Self Education
	Project Method
	Playway Method
	VAKT Visual, Auditory, Kinestatic and Tackle approach
	Eclectic

Strategies of Teaching

	Task Analysis
	Shaping
	Changing of sub task
	Prompting assistance and Fading
	Reinforcements
	Modeling - Buddy systems
	Errorless discrimination in learning

Principles of Curriculum Development

	Goal oriented
	Age appropriate
	Need based
	Level appropriator
	Up to date
	Creative
	Integrated
	Comprehension

Type of Curriculum

	Developmental
	Ecological
	Functional
	Eclectic

Approaches to Curriculum Development

	CCC Child Centered Curriculum
	ACC Activity Centered Curriculum
	HC- Holistic Curriculum