IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 14 Categories

1. 1 Autism

1.1. STRATEGIES: 1. Use picture symbols - when communicating with nonverbal students with ASD. Pointing to a symbol that represents an object offers a nonverbal child a way to express a need or desire. 2. Provide visual schedules of the day’s events in a location easily seen by the student. 3 Make eye contact with the student and expect to acquire the student’s attention.

1.2. MODIFICATIONS: 1. the number of items that the student must complete can be helpful, such as requiring the student to complete only the even numbers on a math activity.  2. time allowed for completing assignments can also be adjusted, giving extra time if needed to accommodate fine-motor deficits.

1.3. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY: LOW TECH -- Visual support strategies which do not involve any type of electronic or battery operated device - typically low cost, and easy to use equipment. Example: dry erase boards, clipboards, 3-ring binders, manila file folders, photo albums, laminated PCS/photographs, highlight tape, etc.  MID TECH -- Battery operated devices or "simple" electronic devices requiring limited advancements in technology. Example: tape recorder, Language Master, overhead projector, timers, calculators, and simple voice output devices.  HIGH TECH -- Complex technological support strategies - typically "high" cost equipment. Example: video cameras, computers and adaptive hardware, complex voice output devices.  https://www.cesa7.org/sped/autism/assist/asst10.htm

2. 2 Deaf Blindness

2.1. STRATEGIES/ MODIFICATIONS: Individuals who are deaf blind will often need touch in order for them to be sure that their partner shares their focus of attention. Exploring objects should be done in a "nondirective" way, allowing the individual who is deafblind to have control The individual may have very slow response times. Therefore, the teacher should allow time for the student to respond. Symbolic communication can be utilized by individuals who are deafblind.

2.1.1. ADAPTIVE DEVICES: Braille notetakers: lightweight electronic note-taking device that can be connected to a printer or a Braille embosser to produce a printed copy Optical character reader: converts printed text into files that can be translated into audible speech or Braille Electronic braillewriter: produces Braille, translates Braille into text or synthetic speech

3. 3 Deafness

3.1. STRATEGIES: If the student lip reads: Have  the student sit closer to the teacher Look directly at the student when giving instructions Do not exaggerate your lip movements or shout. For group discussion have students sit in circle, be clear on who is speaking next

3.1.1. CAROLINES STORY: Caroline is six years old and she wears a hearing aid in each ear—and has done so since she was three, when she was diagnosed with a moderate hearing loss. For Caroline’s parents, there were many clues along the way. Caroline often didn’t respond to her name if her back was turned. She didn’t startle at noises that made other people jump. She liked the TV on loud. But it was the preschool she started attending when she was three that first put the clues together and suggested to Caroline’s parents that they have her hearing checked. The most significant clue to the preschool was Caroline’s unclear speech, especially the lack of consonants like “d” and “t” at the end of words. Caroline’s parents took her to an audiologist, who collected a full medical history, examined the little girl’s ears inside and out, ran a battery of hearing tests and other assessments, and eventually diagnosed that Caroline’s inner ear (the cochlea) was damaged. The audiologist said she had sensorineural hearing loss. Caroline was immediately fitted with hearing aids. She also began receiving special education and related services through the public school system. Now in the first grade, she regularly gets speech therapy and other services, and her speech has improved dramatically. So has her vocabulary and her attentiveness. She sits in the front row in class, an accommodation that helps her hear the teacher clearly. She’s back on track, soaking up new information like a sponge, and eager for more.  http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/hearingloss/

4. 4 Developmental Delays

4.1. STRATEGIES: Seating Arrangements - Individual seating / own space / buddy keeping them focused - Front of classroom - Minimise distractions – away from window near playground Routines - struggle to be independent – so be consistent with classroom routines - same thing (routine) each day can help establish independence

5. 5. Emotional Disturbance

5.1. STRATEGIES/ MODIFICATIONS:  Keep rules short Check for understanding Provide verbal cues to students to remind them to prepare for changing classes or going home Give written cues such as schedules or To Do Lists Remain patient!

6. 6. Hearing Impaired

6.1. STRATEGIES: Seating near to the teacher. Establish a clear routine with the student - which could include visual aids and a buddy. Student may need clear visual aids for the instruction.

6.1.1. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY: hearing aids are used by people who have some residual hearing, rather than those who are deaf. induction loops - an induction loop is a wire attached to the walls of a room that sets up an electromagnetic field within the enclosed loop. when a sound is made within that loop, the signal is received by the student's hearing aid and converted back to sounds.

7. 7. Intellectual Disability

7.1. STRATEGIES:  visual aids help best (charts, pictures, graphs) - visual aids are also good for helping with expected behaviours.  Break down learning tasks into small steps. Each learning task is introduced, one step at a time. Once the student has mastered one step, the next step is introduced. This is a progressive, step-wise, learning approach.

7.2. MATTHEWS STORY: Matt is 15. He has an intellectual disability and has been receiving special education since he was in elementary. The services have helped him tremendously as they are tailored to his learning needs. Last year he started HS and his family (& Matt) assessed his long term Goals - Does he want more education? A job? Does he have the skills he needs to live on his own? This enabled him and the school to plan fro the future. Mat has always loved the outdoors and trees. So this year he’s learning about jobs like forestry, landscaping, and grounds maintenance. Next year he hopes to get a part-time job. He’s learning to use public transportation, so he’ll be able to get to and from the job. Having an intellectual disability makes it harder for Matt to learn new things. He needs things to be very concrete. But he’s determined. He wants to work outside, maybe in the park service or in a greenhouse, and he’s getting ready! http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/intellectual/

7.3. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY: Audio books and eText supports for reading and listening comprehension. •  Smart Boards in combination with computer-assisted software (e.g., digital flash cards to improve sight words). •  Personal digital assistants. •  Graphic organizers. •  Screen magnifiers

8. 8. Multiple Disabilities

8.1. STRATEGIES: Provide physical support in daily activities: dressing, feeding, toileting Learn positioning techniques Use safe lifting techniques Ask for training in specialized areas (tube feeding, seizures)!

9. 9. Orthopedic Impairment

9.1. STRATEGIES: Learn to accommodate the classroom environment (means looking at the arrangement of the room and anticipating what will cause a problem for the student ) Use assistive devices for writing skills and communication (computers, adapted switches, knobs and buttons) Consider logistics and plan for inclusion

9.2. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY: Depends on the impairment - if mobility is an issue then wheelchairs, walkers, canes, special adapted desks and chairs, certain equipment may differ for PE. If communication is an issue then Screen reading software Speech recognition software Augmentative and alternative communication devices Academic software packages for students with disabilities  http://study.com/academy/lesson/assistive-technology-for-orthopedic-impairments.html

10. 10. Other health Impairment

10.1. NOTE: need to know whether a student has epilepsy, or diabetes, or allergies, or asthma or whatever. Knowing that, you need to know what to do to help that specific student. For asthma an preventative inhaler would help during PE.

10.2. JEREMYS STORY: Jeremy had his first seizure at 4 months old. His mother Caroline knew at once that something was wrong. She’d never seen him so stiff and pale, with his eyes rolling back. The seizure passed quickly.Then Jeremy took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and looked at her. Soon afterward, the baby fell into a deep sleep. Jeremy’s is 15 now, and you wouldn’t guess from his alert eyes, quick smile, or quirky sense of humour that his brain sometimes has brief, strong surges of electrical activity that dramatically affect his cognition and physical functioning. It’s taken a lot of doctor visits, different medications, and one brain surgery to get his epilepsy under control. He still has seizures, but they don’t happen very often now, much to everyone’s relief, especially his mom and dad.  http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/epilepsy/

10.3. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY:  Some examples deending on the impairment: People with physical disabilities that affect movement can use mobility aids, such as wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, canes, crutches, prosthetic devices, and orthotic devices, to enhance their mobility. Hearing aids can improve hearing ability in persons with hearing problems. Cognitive assistance, including computer or electrical assistive devices, can help people function following brain injury. Computer software and hardware, such as voice recognition programs, screen readers, and screen enlargement applications, help people with mobility and sensory impairments use computer technology. In the classroom and elsewhere, assistive devices, such as automatic page-turners, book holders, and adapted pencil grips, allow learners with disabilities to participate in educational activities. Closed captioning allows people with hearing impairments to enjoy movies and television programs.://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/rehabtech/conditioninfo/Pages/device.aspx

11. 11. Specific Learning Disability

11.1. STRATEGIES: Use advance organizers (outlines, study guides, focus questions) to structure classroom Allow more time for assignments, projects

11.2. ICS STUDENT X: Student has been diagnosied with Dyslexia and ADHD. Very articulate, can verbally convey higher order thinking skills, intelligent in general, creative, engaged verbally in class, enjoys social studies and some science topics. Attention; easily distracted, difficulty maintain focus, difficulty organizing tasks, reading (decoding and fluency) and writing fluency. Learning style result - Auditory (as opposed to reading), and visual. STRATEGIES: Chunk materials into smaller units. Allow student X to express his understanding orally when possible. Use dictation software (when possible). Stay consistent and ask questions to maintain focus.

11.3. ICS STUDENT Y has a DIAGNOSIS: Specific Learning Disability in the area of Memory and Verbal Language.  As it takes STUDENT Y a little longer to process some things, the REDUCED WORK accommodation can be very helpful in keeping STUDENT Y from getting bogged down. This is something we have been working on him asking for, but please encourage him to take advantage of this when possible (i.e. instead of reading 5 articles he reads 3).  Graphic organizers can help support his visual learning affinity. Comprehension, gets stressed at times, general processing speed (in some areas). Learning style: Visual learner. Strengths: Math, inquirer, hard worker, asks for help when needed.

12. 12. Speech or Language Impairment

12.1. STRATEGIES/ MODIFICATIONS: Adapt the physical environment Provide many opportunities for student to interact verbally or through alternate means (pictures, symbols, etc.) With student who stutters, use nonverbal listening skills

12.2. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY: Augmentative communication (AAC for short) is an alternative way to help students and adults with language disorders use expressive language or receptive language. Augmentative communication can be accomplished through assistive technology devices such as computers or hand held devices. Many apps that are available to be used (at an expense) see link

13. 14. Visual Impairment including blindness

13.1. STRATEGIES/ MODIFICATIONS: Use concrete materials and tactile aids like relief maps, math manipulatives, and raised-line paper for writing Encourage hands-on learning Help students “see”, e.g. incidental learning Produce modified materials on a Expect and support active participation and engagement in learning

13.2. JULIANS STORY: Julian was fortunate that his parents early detection of a cute habit led them to finding out he had a visual impairment—amblyopia, often called “lazy eye.” The eye and the brain are not working together properly. The eye doctor gave him a brand-new pair of durable glasses suited to his active two-year-old self. The eye doctor also put an eyepatch over Julian’s better eye, so that he would have to use the weaker eye and strengthen its communication with the brain. Otherwise, the eye doctor said, the brain would begin to ignore the images sent by the weaker eye, resulting in permanent vision problems in that eye. However, even with the early detection he didn’t take well to the patch, unfortunately. He ripped it off every time his parents put it on…and back on… and back on again. So today his eye still turns inward if he doesn’t wear his glasses.  http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/visualimpairment/

13.3. ASSISTIVE TECHNOGLOY: Assistive technology programs that run on off-the-shelf computers can speak the text on the screen or magnify the text in a word processor, web browser, e-mail program or other application. Stand-alone products designed specifically for people who are blind or visually impaired, including personal digital assistants (PDAs) and electronic book players provide portable access to books, phone numbers, appointment calendars, and more. Optical character recognition systems scan printed material and speak the text. Braille embossers turn text files into hard-copy braille. http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/using-technology/assistive-technology/123

14. 13. Traumatic Brain Injury

14.1. STRATEGIES/ MODIFICATIONS: Allow student to keep extra set of books at home Be clear on classroom rules & expectations …repeat them often… check for understanding Provide a structured environment Shorten homework assignments Use lots of drill and practice Break instruction into smaller amounts of time

14.2. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY: A checklist may be used to help remind a person to complete certain tasks. Small voice recorders on keychains or message recorders can be pre-recorded with reminder messages including appointments, telephone numbers, grocery lists, or prescription refills. “Home-made” aids are simple solutions for many types of cognitive problems. A large print calendar is an important tool to note daily routines, appointments, special occasions, and future events. For some individuals, reading a clock with hands may be difficult. An alternative choice may be a digital clock displayed in clear view. A Talking Clock and Talking Calendar will announce the time of day and date aloud with the push of a button, and can be accessed as many times as the individual needs the information. For those needing reminders across environments, talking watches with date and time features are also available. Handheld microcomputers, such as the Palm Pilot, use touch screen capability and allow an individual to easily input, save, and retrieve notes, telephone numbers, dates and daily reminders, and to-do lists.