Adolescents with Exceptionalities Course Assignment

1. Intellectual Disabilitiesin the Classroom 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A Model for Inclusion: Matthew Cameron Michael Strachan

3. Even into this decade, the condition was classified as ‘Mental Retardation’.

5. Various forms of this mode of identification focused on questions such as:How disabled is a person relative to other disabled individuals ? (this was then subdivided into four categories of ‘retardation’: mild, moderate, severe and profound) How do these individuals fit into society, or what is their maximum output capacity? (from this, individuals were deemed to be either educable, or trainable mentally retarded) How can we categorize individuals based on their IQ scores? (mild = 50/55 – 70, moderate = 35/40 – 50/55, severe = 20/25 – 35/40, profound = below 20)

6. Definition Over the last decade, the philosophy behind classifying this condition has evolved from a problem, and deficiency –centered approach, to an environment, and support-centered approach. We now look at the needs of the afflicted individual, and ask the question: What level of support is required for this individual? From this, four tiers of evaluation have been established: (1.) Intermittent: Supports are used only when required, often for special circumstances (ie. Finding jobs, helping with medical issues, etc…) (2.) Limited: Consistent supports are required; necessary mainly for transitions (ie. Leaving school, establishing living conditions, arranging travel, etc…) (3.) Extensive: Daily supports are required, and support is usually life-long (ie. Educational assistants in the classroom, case workers beyond school) (4.) Pervasive: Constant, high-intensity support required (ie. Requires assistance with even the most basic adaptive functions)

8. Environmental disadvantages

9. Fetal alcohol syndrome

10. Fragile X syndrome

11. Hydrocephalus

12. Phenylketonuria

13. Prader-Willi syndrome

15. Relate academic content to job skills

16. Intensify focus at secondary level

18. Establishing and monitoring goals

19. Encouraging the voicing of concerns

20. Teach the value of self-evaluation

22. School skills

23. Interaction

24. ResponsesCommunity Involvement These students will have to be active community members, and as such, they require experience in inclusive environments, and should be included in all activities as often as possible.

26. Minimize distractions (noises and movements)

27. Provide extra time for student to complete work

28. Connect all new material to prior knowledge

29. Use direct instruction to teach social skills and etiquette

30. Model appropriate behavior for the student, and reinforce appropriate actions

31. When working in groups, try to keep the groups smaller in size

32. Teach content that is meaningful to the student

33. Familiarize yourself with the intellectual disability

34. Create a “circle of friends”

35. No one strategy is perfect; you must constantly try new things for each individual in order to find success.Act.1

36. Circle of Friends “Circle of friends is an approach to enhancing the inclusion, in a mainstream setting, of any young person (known as ‘the focus child’), who is experiencing difficulties in school because of a disability, personal crisis or because of their challenging behaviour towards others. The ‘circle of friends’ approach works by mobilising the young person’s peers to provide support and engage in problem solving with the person in difficulty. ‘Circle of friends’ is not the same as ‘circle time’ but many of the skills and techniques used by teachers in ‘circle time’ can be used to support the ‘circle of friends’ process.” --Inclusive Solutions Act.2

38. Providing less wait time to answer questions

39. Providing answers, or quickly calling on other students

40. Using criticism for failure or offering insincere praise

41. Differential treatment (less friendly, less responsive, limited eye contact, less smiles)

42. Giving briefer and less useful feedback

44. Teach ways to learn content, while working through content itself

45. Focus on meaningful content (relative to the student)

46. Provide training that crosses multiple contexts

47. Offer opportunities for active involvement in the learning processStrategy Training: Learning problems experienced by low-achieving students are due more to a lack of knowledge regarding the process involved in independent learning than to any underlying deficits. Use self-evaluation to improve the cognitive process.

48. Curriculum Modifications

50. Participate in and contribute more fully to activities in their home, school, and work environments, and their communities.

51. Interact to a greater extent with typical achieving individuals