PhD 503 Special Education & Inclusive EducationSHAMIELYN C. ARZOLA – studentDR. FELY COLANSI - ProfessorNew Era University

IN

CANADA

History of Special Education

Historically (1700s–1800s), handicapped people were

excluded from general society and largely ignored.

The Eugenics movement (early 20th century)

influenced the field of intellectual disabilities, which

was associated with high levels of institutionalization,

and early history was much influenced by the use of

required intelligence testing which resulted in the

prevention of many students with disabilities from

moving into the regular education system.

1. CONCEPTUALIZATION

In Canada, a variety of terms have been used interchangeably across the

provinces and territories when referring to exceptional students.

For example, Ontario and New Brunswick use the term “students with

exceptionalities,” while other provinces use the phrase “students with special

needs.”

From the 1950s to 1990s there was a progressive inclusion movement in

Canadian education (from segregation to categorization of students to

integration, mainstreaming, and inclusion of students).

Special Education

During the integration-mainstreaming period. Special

education usually followed a five step process,

beginning with the identification of students with

exceptional needs, and ending with individual

programming in special education classes or with

part-time individualized assistance and /or

accommodations in or outside of the regular

classroom (i.e. referral for testing, labeling,

placement, programming).

Many educators across Canada recognized the fundamental flaws inherent

in the special education approach (e.g., large and static organizational

structures and complicated professional deployment procedures, long

delays in application, conflicts between parents and educators regarding

identification of educational problems and placement decisions, overly

costly and labor intensive services, and problems associated with

eligibility for service requirements).

Due to these challenges school districts within the provinces and territories

across Canada have generally adopted inclusive education (the merger of

special education and regular education into a unified educational system)

as a framework for addressing all students learning needs including

students with exceptionalities.

2. CONTEXTUALIZATION

By law, all state schools in Canada must have a special education

programme. However, this is not possible in all schools and parents may

have to enrol their children in private special needs schools. This can be

difficult for some parents due to the cost, although some

provinces/territories provide 100% funding in order for children to attend

these schools.

Special needs schools are available for children with physical, mental,

behavioural and communication disorders, as well as for gifted children.

Schooling for Children with Special

Needs

3. CATEGORIZATION

A. High Incidence Exceptional Students

The majority of exceptional students (e.g., approximately 80 to 90 %) and

are those students who have been identified as having exceptional gifts and

talents, as well as those with mild and moderate intellectual/developmental

disabilities, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,

behaviour disorders, emotional problems, and communication problems.

These students can usually benefit from differentiated instruction, and

collaborative learning experiences within well organized and structured

classroom environments.

B. Low Incidence Exceptional Students

Low incidence exceptional students represent a minority of exceptional

students (e.g., approximately 10 to 20%) and are typically those students who

have visual and hearing impairments, physical and health impairments,

pervasive developmental disorders (e.g., autism), traumatic brain injury, and/or

severe disabilities (e.g., moderate to severe intellectual/developmental

disabilities) who often require specialized assistance (e.g., specialists and

teaching assistants) as well as particular teaching accommodations and

modified interventions.

Yet it should also be recognized that the prevalence of some of these conditions

appear to be increasing (e.g., Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and Autism

Spectrum Disorder) which frequently are associated with major behavioral

challenges.

4. CONNECTIONRegistering a Child as Having Special Needs in

school

The exact process of registering a child as having special needs depends

on the provincial regulations and policies. Most provinces and territories

have an Education Act which details their special needs educational policy.

School boards usually provide a programme that integrates children with

special needs into mainstream schools, along with a tailored individual

educational programme. It is therefore necessary to inform the school

board about the child's special needs requirements upon registration.

Staff are also trained to identify any special educational requirements

which will then be dealt with appropriately. Schools often apply directly to

the relevant educational authority for funding for a child with special

educational needs.

5. COLLABORATION

Collaboration and consultation allow people involved in

the education of exceptional students (e.g., teachers,

parents, teaching assistants, counselors, psychologists,

occupational therapists, and speech therapists) to work

together, learn from one another, and support each other

in addressing the students’ needs.

Provincial/territorial Programmes and

Benefits

The majority of support and services available for children with

special needs or a disability is managed by provincial or

territorial governments. Although the responsibility for the

provision of special needs education is managed locally, there are

many similarities in approach between provinces.

Some examples of provincial support and assistance for children

with special needs are outlined below.

Support and Assistance for

children

ONTARIO

1. In Ontario there is a large

amount of support available. For

example, the "Assistance for

Children with Severe Disabilities

Programme" awards parents up to

C$440 a month for help with

medical costs, clothes, drugs,

necessary equipment for the child

and so on. The amount depends on

parental income and the type of

disability.

ONTARIO

2. There are also programmes

in place to provide

rehabilitation assistance, and

special assistance at home; as

well as some dealing with

specific disabilities such as

autism.

Support and Assistance for

children

ONTARIO

3. The majority of children

with special needs attend

mainstream school where

possible. These children are

offered different classes or a

modified programme which

is specially designed by

school boards.

BRITISH COLUMBIA 1. In British Columbia the Ministry

of Children and Family

Development (MCFD) is

responsible for programmes and

services for children with special

needs. Family support includes

respite services, parental support,

child and youth worker assistance,

behavioural support programmes,

rehabilitation services and early

childhood intervention schemes.

Support and Assistance for

children

BRITISH COLUMBIA

2. There are nearly 59,000

children with special needs

enrolled in B.C public

schools. They are assisted by

classroom assistants,

modified programmes and

Individual Education Plans

(IEPs) designed to cater to

their needs.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

2. There are nearly 59,000

children with special needs

enrolled in B.C public schools.

They are assisted by classroom

assistants, modified programmes

and Individual Education Plans

(IEPs) designed to cater to their

needs.

Support and Assistance for

children

BRITISH COLUMBIA

3. There is also 100 %

funding available for

children with special needs

to attend special independent

schools.

ALBERTA

1. Most students with special

needs are placed in mainstream

schools where they are given

extra assistance with a special

education programme.

2. Funding is available directly

to schools to assist with children

with special education needs.

Support and Assistance for

children

NOVA SCOTIA

1. Nova Scotia has a Supported Child

Care for Children with Special Needs

programme. This provides funding to

full and part-time childcare centres

which offer care and specific

programmes tailored to meet the

requirements of the children.

ALBERTA

3. Alberta offers a Family

Support for Children with

Disabilities (FSCD) programme,

where funding for services such

as, rehabilitation, counselling,

home support and medical

support is offered.

Support and Assistance for

children

NOVA SCOTIA

2. The Early Intervention

Programme (EIP) also offers

support and services to those

children who are identified as

having special needs.

QUEBEC

Individualised Education Plans (IEP) are established for children with special needs, who are very often integrated into mainstream schools. To enrol in an IEP, parents and students meet with the teachers, the principal and a guidance counsellor before registering with a school. Students with disabilities are entitled to attend school up to the age of 21 years. In Quebec a special needs education allowance is available for parents of children with major disabilities.

Special Needs Associations in Canada

Many of the associations listed below provide contact

details for local support groups.

• Learning Disabilities Association of Canada

• Canadian Dyslexia Association

• Children and Adults with Attention Deficit

Disorders

• Geneva Centre for Autism

6. CONTENTS

PLANNING & DELIVERING INSTRUCTION

Exceptional students with major challenges (emotional, cognitive or physical)

require educational procedures that are responsive to their learning needs,

which may require specialized supports and services. Currently, the processes

and procedures most utilized in today’s schools are

(1) Universal Design for Learning,

(2) Differentiated Instruction,

(3) Participant Model,

(4) Collaboration and Consultation, and

(5) Response to Intervention.

Universal Design for Learning involves a set of principles for ensuring that

students are provided equal opportunities to learn by creating

environments, materials and systems that allow options — such as multi-

modal (e.g., visual, verbal, tactile) and multifaceted learning environments

— to maximize students’ learning.

Differentiated instruction acknowledges that students vary according to

learning styles and abilities, strengths, weaknesses, interests, and

modalities. Moreover, differentiated instruction adapts and accommodates

to student learning and developmental variance by providing direct and

mediated instruction (e.g., modeling, guided practice, feedback, student

control,) or cognitive instruction (e.g., activation of prior learning,

organizing content, development of conceptual awareness (e.g., imaging

the outcome and forward planning), facilitation of memory, problem

solving, and collaborative learning).

Planning and Delivering Instruction

Planning and Delivering Instruction

The participation model focuses on increasing both the academic and social

participation of students and their levels of independence by evaluating their

augmentative and alternative communication abilities and developing

interventions to better meet their needs.

Collaboration and consultation allow people involved in the education of

exceptional students (e.g., teachers, parents, teaching assistants, counselors,

psychologists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists) to work together,

learn from one another, and support each other in addressing the students’

needs.

The monitoring of students’ learning progress is required to determine whether

or not they may require more specialized and intensive teaching approaches or

more individualized therapeutic treatment.

Assessment of Exceptional Children

Assessment of exceptional students involves the process of collecting and

interpreting information from various sources to inform students and

parents/guardians about the progress the students are making relative to their

attainment of knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and behaviors, and to inform

those who make educational decisions (e.g., instructional, diagnostic,

placement, promotion, curriculum planning, program development, policy).

Intelligence tests are still used, although on a much more limited basis, for

identifying specific areas of difficulty.

Assessment of Exceptional Children

Assessment of exceptional students typically includes formal assessment, such

as standardized testing, and informal assessment, such as classroom assessment

techniques that gauge students’ learning progress, which can indicate the need

for instructional modifications, and suggest directions for further assessment

with respect to their educational setting.

Informal assessments include skilled and structured observations of students’

behavior and work; interviews with students to determine approaches they are

using to solve problems; classroom quizzes; criterion-referenced tests (to

compare students’ performance relative to the curriculum); checklists and rating

scales; portfolio assessment (assessment of students work overtime relative to

the instructional goals for the students); curriculum based assessment

(assessment of students’ specific skills taught in the classroom); dynamic

assessment (assessment of students’ thinking processes); and authentic

assessment (performance-based assessment to determine how students are

interpreting and applying their knowledge to real life activities).

Universal Benefits

Child Disability Benefit (CDB) is a tax free benefit available to

parents looking after a severely disabled child under the age of 18.

It is calculated according to income and can total as much as

$2,395 a year.

Applications for benefit can be made online at the Canada

Revenue Agency website or in person at a local Ministry or

Department of Social Services.

Benefits are also available to severely disabled people over 18

years old.

CHARTING NEW DIRECTIONS

Over time, those considered falling within the domain of special education has

widened significantly. Initially, special education pertained to a relatively small

number of individuals within society (i.e. those with the most obvious and

encompassing disabilities); now there are more children identified as

exceptional within schools and regular classroom settings (e.g., students with

more mild to moderate disabilities such as children and youth with learning

disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)

than at any time within our history.

CHARTING NEW DIRECTIONS

As a result of the increasing numbers of exceptional children as well as the

growing number of children across Canada with English as a second language,

and the increasing variance of children and youth in todays’ schools with

respect to gender, religion, social class, race, culture and ethnicity, teachers are

faced with providing appropriate instruction that addresses all of their students’

individual and collective needs. Within this structure the use of the internet and

web plus a variety of other assistive devices are proving to be of considerable

value. From this perspective, the evolution of special education has gone from

exclusion to inclusion to diversity education (i.e. teaching and learning that

addresses all student diversity).

CHARTING NEW DIRECTION

Educational system in Canada has gone through major pedagogical paradigm

shifts and school reorganization and restructuring with respect to our view and

educational treatment of diverse students wherein student diversity is no longer

thought of as exceptional and a burden to schools and teachers but as a

normality within the Canadian educational scene and as an enrichment to

schools and the broader society.

Special Education in Canada moved from excluding, separating, and

accommodating particular groups of children to the view and practice of

recognizing the need and value of better understanding, appreciating,

respecting, and addressing student diversity within Canadian schools and

classrooms.

Summary & Conclusion

Challenges remain, however. Many teachers recognize the need for more

support in often large classes.

The role of teacher aides and their professional education is critically important.

The importance of diverse education involving the fine arts (e.g., music, drama)

become increasingly important as effective special education requires making

use of children’s particular talents despite their disabilities.

As these children grow and develop further education and support is required to

enter an inclusive adult world.

Finally, special education can learn much from holistic quality of life

approaches within the context of lifespan education, which is developing in

many areas of disability in a variety of contexts internationally.