Cognitive

Overview

The term cognitive disability is becoming more commonplace within the learning support and disabilities communities. This is a broad term, that describes an extensive range of educational needs. As academic and cultural recognition improves - you may have already encountered a number of students with some of the cognitive disabilities explored in this section. Do not consider any of these disabilities to be a disadvantage as you may discover that many famous computing pioneers benefited from at least one of the categories being explored.

There is no one solution fits all. However, many solutions described in this site will support many of the students you may encounter.

Stop!

Before you rush ahead and read on - please stop and think. Before you have read the content and believe that you have all the answers, please do take the time to speak with the students, their supporters and anyone who may have taught them in the past. Often those with the different and diverse range of cognitive needs listed in this section are the experts, not necessarily you the teacher. This site aims to offer you the tools to start the conversation and have a little back information at your disposal.

It is also essential to note that this section is a grouping of different conditions. Each with its own unique needs. Some individuals will have more than one diagnosis and may also be linked to the vision, hearing or physical categories. Do NOT use this content to form your own diagnosis of a student. This is designed to be used in partnership with established or ongoing diagnoses.

Defining a Cognitive Need

Often individuals presenting with one specific need in this category may have aspects of other categories also described. You will know the learning profile of the student have a working idea of what best suits their own needs. We have categorised cognitive to broadly include (the following list is by no means comprehensive):

  • Autism Spectrum (or Autism Spectrum Disorder) - covers a range of similar conditions, including Asperger syndrome, having an effect on a person's social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour.

  • Dyslexia - is a common learning difficulty that can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling. It's diagnosed specific learning difficulty and has no direct relationship to mental or physical ability.

  • Dyspraxia - also known as developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), it is a common condition affecting physical co-ordination. Individuals may appear to be clumsy or have poor fine motor skills.

  • Dyscalculia - is usually perceived of as a specific learning difficulty for mathematics, or, more appropriately, arithmetic.

  • ADD/ADHD - Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - are two closely related conditions showing symptoms of distractibility, impulsivity and restlessness or hyperactivity. ADHD includes the symptom of physical hyperactivity or excessive restlessness. For ADD the symptom of hyperactivity is absent, people with ADD can be calm and serene, not in the least hyperactive or disruptive.

  • Mental Health - this is exceptionally broad and is better summarised by MIND. Dealing with mental health is about understanding the general welfare and responsiveness of the student. As well as their ability to cope at the time you are teaching or assessing them.

  • Genetic conditions - from Downs to Williams and many others. There are many genetic conditions that have an effect on the cognitive behaviour of individuals. As society has progressed - individuals with many genetic conditions have been shown to outperform their 'normal' peers.


Autism Spectrum

The domain of cognitive needs is incredibly broad - this is especially true for Autism. This resource will not attempt to cover every need. Individuals that are diagnosed with any given cognitive attribute will be complex and unlikely to fit any perceived model. For example, if they are diagnosed as autistic please do not assume they are all Dustin Hoffman aka Rain Man. Some are very communicative, ranging to others who are almost non-verbal.

Diagnosed conditions such as Aspergers fall within this domain. It is also essential to understand that females present differently than males. Current research is discovering that females with autism have been misidentified for some considerable time - due to the research focus being on male presentational characteristics. Not all autistic individuals are savant in nature (highly focussed and highly intelligent) - they are equally representative of humanity as a whole. Ranging from the incredibly gifted to those with learning difficulties and everything in between.

Many typically come with a range of other needs and associated diagnosis. They may have attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many of the other cognitive descriptions in this site may also affect someone with Autism and vice versa.

The social (or anti social) aspects of someone with Autism is within the pastoral care and teaching remit of your organisation. The semi isolated culture of network engineering (and computing in general) tends to attract many individuals with potential autistic tendencies. As they do not perceive the world in the same terms and many others - their general personal and presentation style can be difficult for some non-autistic individuals to manage.

Environment

As a rule of thumb, the calmer the better. This may seem obvious and something akin to explaining how to do what you have been doing for a long time with your own ‘able’ students’ However, individuals with autism can become easily agitated, they are often uncomfortable with overt noise, over excitement and a lack of structure. For example, most individuals with autism crave routine and cannot cope with unexpected situations.

You may assume that they could be easily distracted. All teaching sessions, reading of NetAcad curriculum as well as labs may need to be in shorter managed bursts. This may require you to manage breaks during practical assessments and final exams. So long as the environment is managed with the needs of the student in mind.

There is no 'legal' time limit for NetAcad course chapter or final exams - you have full discretion regarding proctoring, support and time offered. If you want to offer extra time, this can be done without seeking permission from anyone.

Optional Microcourse

The Open University, a partner in creating this content also hosts a free Badged Open Course - Understanding Autism. If you are interested - please follow this link. However, you must be aware that this is hosted on a separate site and involves at least 24 hours additional study.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a neurological educational condition which affects an estimated 10% of the population. Research has shown that It is likely to be present at birth and will be life-long. Dyslexia is not affected or caused by intelligence (anyone at any educational level can be dyslexic). There is no cure, however individuals can overcome it.

Students with dyslexia will be affected differently, they tend to have difficulties in some of the following areas:

  • Reading - where the text will often 'move around' on a page

  • Writing - poor handwriting, when typing an inability to spell (or misspell)

  • Sequencing of tasks

  • Working and short term memory - requiring cues

  • Expressing thoughts - seeming as if they did not understand

  • Differentiating left from right

  • Orientation - easily getting confused in a new environment

  • Time management

  • Organisation

It is important to remember that many children and adults with dyslexia have strengths and talents that can be used to compensate for these difficulties. All of which are the kind we like to see in a Cisco Academy student - according to the British Dyslexia Association these include:

  • Innovative and creative thinkers

  • Excellent trouble shooters

  • Intuitive problem solving skills

Support

Many adjustments for dyslexic students are based on font, font colour, font size and background colour. As well as using screen reading or speech to text software. There are many technological similarities been the needs of a Dyslexic student and those with a vision impairment. We are not saying that they are blind, simply that the same tools can be used for both groups.

The optimal solution is to show students how to either:

  • Copy paste content from site into suitable software to automatically adjust text

  • Use a screen reader (audio) - in the same form as students with vision impairment.

Time is everything and reading fatigue is often commonplace. Giving students breaks, extra time for activities and assessment is essential. Dyslexic students can produce written work (there are some great authors with this condition), however there is more personal effort involved for them. Two hundred words for you may seem no great a challenge - however this will become a considerable feat for your students.

Dyspraxia

Fine and gross motor skills are affected for individuals with dyspraxia. Tasks such as cabling and precision work can be accomplished. They may simply take longer and frustrate the student as they develop experience and practice. Where you may expect an 'able' student to thread eight cables into a RJ45 after a couple of attempts. This could become a tour de force. You must not deny a dyspraxic student the experience, but you must take the time to be patient and give them repeated opportunities.

The same applies to keyboard skills - especially on Packet Tracer or a terminal connected to a router/switch when configuring the Cisco IoS. There will be typos and missing commands - again, this has to be developed via persistence and patience.

Dyscalculia

More often associated with arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) - this condition is a cognitive disassociation with numbers. Individuals with dyscalculia can do mathematics - however this is time consuming and challenging.

While it may seem as if we are stating the obvious, it is essential that we note the following disciplines within NetAcad courses are likely to cause issues:

  • Any routing protocol value or hello timer

  • Any priority value

  • Binary, Octal and Hexadecimal

  • MAC addresses

  • IPv4 and IPv6 addressing

  • Subnetting

  • Wildcard Masks

  • Aggregate (summary) addresses

  • Linux File Permissions

  • Coding based courses such as Python Essentials

The solution is a combination of time and alternate teaching methods. Giving them systematic mechanisms (paths, flowcharts or algorithms) to follow is essential. Expecting them to quickly recognise an address type is unlikely - however giving them a route to follow to come to the same conclusion is feasible.

Suggested Support Methods

The following is a summary of excellent content from SESS (special education support service) in Eire:

  • Build on student’s existing knowledge.

  • Start from practical activities.

  • Avoid creating anxiety for the student.

  • Use more than one teaching method to solve mathematical operations.

  • Try to understand the student’s errors, do not just settle for wrong.

  • Concentrate on one concept at a time.

  • Technical and mathematical language should be kept to a minimum and specific cues given for various mathematical operations in word problems.

  • Encourage students to visualise mathematical problems. Allow students to draw a picture to help them understand the problem and ensure they take time to look at any visual information such as charts and graphs.

  • Encourage the student to vocalise (read aloud) each mathematical problem.

  • In the early stages of teaching new mathematical skills ensure that the mathematical problems are free of large numbers and unnecessary calculations.

  • Relate all 'problems' to real-life situations.

  • Provide students with graph paper/squared paper and encourage them to use this to keep the numbers in line.

  • Ask to explain verbally how he/she arrived at particular solutions.

  • Explain new concepts in a logical and sequential manner. In a way that can be replicated.

  • Encourage students to teach a concept back in order to check understanding.

  • Ensure worksheets are uncluttered and clearly laid out and provide ample room for uncluttered computation. Ensure that the page does not look intimidating.

  • Limit copying from the whiteboard.

  • Allow students to use computers and calculators, especially to self-correct.

  • Provide students with extra time to complete tasks and encourage the use of rough work for calculations.

  • Directly teach the language of Mathematics - but only what is required for each problem.

  • Make use of mnemonics and visual prompting cards to assist students in memorising rules, formulae and tables. Repetition is also very important.

ADD/ADHD

ADD (attention deficit disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) unmanaged can disrupt an individuals ability to learn. All young students have their hyper moments - we all do (or did). Everyone also has those times when their attention span is not as it should be. For someone with ADD or ADHD, this is entirely different and does not endure comparison. They live a life where their mind is racing, jumping from different things and their body may be 'on the move' all of the time. Often supported by medication, these individuals need to learn how to focus on a given topic and maintain that focus.

The depth and breadth of NetAcad content is challenging as there is a wealth of distractions on offer. They can easily branch off into a linked page or supported activities and lose the thread of their learning.

Suggested Considerations

While not all of the following apply, it is essential that you consider:

  • Many with ADD tend to be independent thinkers - unconfined to what you may consider to be the convention or the norm. Do not be surprised by their questions, lively behaviour and outgoing nature.

  • They are persistent (to the point of stubbornness) - on a topic of their own choosing. Leveraging this can be an asset.

  • They have difficulty self-organising, forgetful and unable to follow-through on an agreed plan

As previously stated - environment is everything. Keep them as calm as is feasibly possible. Allow them to listen to suitable music on their headphones if required. Everyone has cues, learn what excites them and what agitates as well. Sometimes knowing these triggers can be used to the benefit of their learning.ocus and direction is everything. Giving them short - direct and achievable learning goals for each chapter is helpful. Do not ask them to complete a chapter ... instead, set sub-goals (a page number target) within each chapter and monitor this.

Mental Health

Mental health sits across all disability domains as well presenting challenges for many able individuals. It is an essential need that must always be considered. Please be aware that often individuals with various physical and cognitive challenges also experience times when their confidence and mental health isn’t its best. Most individuals with diverse abilities seldom come with a single diagnosis. Consider this when considering the support you offer.

Many nations are now supporting mental health as if it is a disability. You will know the student, what she or he requires and how to best support them.

Time, compassion and consideration means everything - it may not be the solution, regarding the mental health needs of a student. It does offer one less stress factor. All assessments have multiple attempts and multiple activations. You may have to negotiate with the help desk for additional activations in special cases. However, there are many long standing precedents. You may offer additional time and reasonable support.

If the individual is unable to cope in a classroom setting - there are many remote tools on offer. Packet Tracer offers an extensive portfolio of tools. The curriculum is designed to be delivered either as a supported resource in class or solo in situ. If someone needs more time 'at home' with managed support, this is not an issue and you do not need to seek permission from Cisco to offer this.


Genetic 'Learning' Conditions

We agree - genetic is not cognitive and nor should it be. When four domains were created. This is one that wasn't a ideal fit. We encounter many individuals with genetic conditions as part of everyday life. For example, Downs Syndrome is comparatively commonplace, known by many of us and equally misunderstood. These charming people are a joy to be with and are often under estimated, having considerable creative, cognitive and technical talents.

While they may present as having diagnosed 'learning disabilities' - it is worth exploring the range of skills they may have. Giving them the chance to explore your Cisco lab and facilities. While they may seem to be socially immature (when compared to their same aged peers) - this does not mean that they lack the capacity to learn many of the complex disciplines within NetAcad.

It is important that genetic learning conditions are not confused with conditions that lead to physical disability. These are entirely separate and must be treated as such

Never Neurotypical

Many Cyber Security organisations such as GCHQ in the UK are very interested in 'Neurodiverse' individuals. They want the different thinkers, they desire the unique perspective that many people with diverse cognitive attributes can offer. Do not think of it as a cognitive disability - it is a diverse ability. As you have read through this page - we hope that you have discovered that many individuals with cognitive needs are naturals within Network Engineering and Computing in general. Many instructors have found that Netacad has been the saving of these diverse and interesting individuals.