Exceptional Students

1
Exceptional Students

• Students with special needs have disabilities of
  an intellectual, physical, sensory, emotional or
  behavioural nature or have a learning disability
  or have exceptional gifts or talents.

2
Historical foundations of special needs education

• From executions to institutions

3
Institutions
Iowa State Hospital for Insane, Clarinda, IA.
1908
4
Historical foundations of special needs education

• From executions to institutions
• Legal issues
• Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Linda Brown vs Board of Education (1954)
• US supreme court ruling separate educational
  facilities are inherently unequal.

5
Brown Vs. Board of Education (1954)
In the Midwest town of Topeka, Kansas, a little
girl named Linda Brown had to ride the bus five
miles to school each day although a public school
was located only four blocks from her house.
Instead, Linda attended The Jim Crow School
6
Brown Vs. Board of Education (1954)
September 8, 1954. The above picture was taken at
a school in Fort Myer, Va., shortly after the
school was desegregated under the mandate of
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
7
Brown Vs. Board of Education (1954)
Once the Brown decision was handed down, the
African-American community, along with
forward-thinking white Americans, placed
sufficient pressure on the legal and political
system to bring an end to state-supported
segregation in all public facilities within
twenty years through the Civil Rights Movement,
led by Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
8
Historical foundations of special needs education

• From executions to institutions
• Legal issues
• Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Linda Brown vs Board of Education (1954)
• US supreme court ruling separate educational
  facilities are inherently unequal.
• From here there have been many legal and Charter
  rulings about individuals with disabilities
  (Friend et al, pg 10)

9
PL 94-142 (1975) Free, appropriate education
10
The current state in Canada

• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section
  15(1)
• Providing students with exceptionalities with the
  same rights and benefits as provided to other
  students
• This entails many issues, stresses, and
  affordances to students, teachers,
  administrators, parents, etc.

11
Provincial legislation

• Each province has its own education acts,
  regulations, and policies.
• Provinces have seen a great deal of change and
  revision over the past decade
• All provinces support inclusion
• Saskatchewan
• Directions for Diversity
• Review of Special Education Committee
• students with special needs should experience
  education in settings that allow them to achieve
  their individual goals in inclusive settings.

12
Inclusion

• Inclusion is a philosophy
• A philosophy that holds all students are accepted
  as equal members, recognized for what they can
  contribute to the school, and provided an
  appropriate education with any necessary supports.

13
Foundations of Inclusive Education

• Inclusive education within an inclusive society
• Least restrictive environment (LRE)
• Mainstreaming

14
Controversy over inclusion

• Does inclusion work?
• What are some advantages to a full inclusion
  model?
• What are some disadvantages to a full inclusion
  model?

15
Important questions concerning inclusion

• Does research support inclusion?
• Is inclusion fair to students without IEPs?
• How many students with disabilities should be in
  one classroom?
• What is the role of the special education teacher
  or resource teacher in inclusive schools?
• Is it okay to pull a student out of the general
  class for specialized instruction?
• Who is accountable for the learning of a student
  on an IEP in an inclusive school?
• How should behaviour problems be addressed in
  inclusive schools?

16
Identification Referral

• Students with exceptionalities have the right to
  appropriate identification and referral
• This becomes the responsibility of the classroom
  teacher

17
Steps in the identification and referral process

• Step 1
• Teacher, parent, or student notices difficulty in
  performance
• How?
• Use the INCLUDE strategy

18
The INCLUDE Strategy

• Step 1 Identify classroom demands
• Step 2 Note learning strengths and needs
• Step 3 Check for student success
• Step 4 Look for problem areas
• Step 5 Use information to brainstorm
• Step 6 Decide on adaptations
• Step 7 Evaluate student progress

19
General questions to ask

• What are the students unmet needs?
• Is the problem chronic?
• Is the pattern of performance or functioning
  significantly different from the rest of the
  class?
• Are the needs of the students becoming more
  serious as time passes?