STUDENTS WITH

SPECIAL NEEDS

SPECIAL NEEDS
The Team IMPORTANCE
The team of consists of:
Case manager: often also the skill
OF INCLUSION
development teacher, develops and

implements the IEP, outlines goals, objectives, British Columbia promotes an inclusive education

adaptation, modifications, strategies for system in which students with special needs are fully

teaching, assessment measures and special participating members of a community of learners. 

education services. Also, they collaborate (B.C. Ministry of Education, 2016)

with the team to ensure the student is

receiving the support they need. Including students with special needs in the

Classroom teacher: provides classroom is important because it fosters diversity

accommodations and uses teaching and a sense of belonging. All students should be

strategies that help the student learn provided with opportunities for learning and be a

INCLUDING
objectives on their IEP and monitor progress. part of their community. It helps to reduce stigma

They also provide student updates to the and promotes understanding. Furthermore, all

team. students can benefit from supportive teaching

Educational assistant: supports student strategies and resources used in an inclusive

learning and skill development activities under classroom.

the direction of the teacher.  

Parents: provides input for the IEP, Resources

communicates student needs with the school, Provincial Outreach Program for Deafblind
and advocates for their child. Students
Principal: overlooks the IEP and ensures that - consultative services to school districts for

inclusive practices are implemented planning and implementing programs

at the school.  

Specialists: such as, teacher of the visually Provincial School for the Deaf
impaired, orientation and mobility instructor, - referrals can be made through the Provincial

braillist, teacher of the deaf and hard of Educational Review Committee for the Deaf and

hearing, visual language interpreters, must Heard of Hearing (PERCDHH)

meet appropriate qualifications to provide  

services and training for helping the student Provincial Resource Centre for the Visually
access their education. Impaired -PRCVI or SET-BC
- lends learning resources, reference materials

REFERENCES and equipment to school districts

B.C. Ministry of Education, (2016). Special

Education Services: A Manual of Policies,

Provincial Education Review Committe for
Procedures and Guidelines.
Deaf Students
- gives advice and recommendations to districts

National Council for Special Education (n.d.).  

Strategies for Learning and Teaching. Retrieved Auditory Training Equipment (ATE)
from https://www.sess.ie/categories/sensory- - Ministry of Education provides auditory training

impairments/deafblind/tips-learning-and-teaching. equipment and maintenance

 Deaf or
Deafblind Visual Impairment Hard of Hearing
CATEGORY B CATEGORY E CATEGORY F
Definition & Identification Definition & Identification Definition & Identification
A student with deafblinded has a degree of A student with visual impairment is one whose visual A student who is deaf or hard of hearing has an

visual and auditory impairment, which can range acuity is not sufficient for the student to participate with audiological assessment by an audiologist that

from partial sight to total blindness and from ease in day-to-day activities. The impairment interferes affirms a bilateral hearing loss, a unilateral loss with

moderate to profound hearing loss. The compounded with optimal learning and achievement and without proper significant speech/language delay, or a cochlear

impairment results in significant challenges in adaptations, can result in a substantial educational implant. The medical diagnosis must also result in

developing communicative, educational, vocational, disadvantage. substantial educational difficulty. As such, decibel

avocation, and social skills. The student’s functioning may be described by one of loss is not a sole criterion for determining a need for

Identification information should come through a the following by an ophthalmologist, optometrist, orthoptist education intervention, assessments to determine the

multidisciplinary assessment process. It should or the Visually Impaired Program: student’s language development and

describe the sensory acuities (vision and hearing), A visual acuity of 6/21 (20/70) or less in the better eye communications skills may also be required.

physical development, orientation and mobility (skills after correction;

and knowledge), social development, academic A visual field of 20 degrees or less;

abilities, educational achievement, and Any progressive eye disease with a prognosis of

communicative competence of students who are becoming one of the above in the next few years; or Strategies for Teaching
deafblind. A visual problem or related visual stamina that is not

correctable and results in the student functioning as if Modify the acoustic/physical

his or her visual acuity is limited to 6/21 (20/70) or less environment
Strategies for Teaching Strategies for Teaching For example:

seat the student closest to the teacher,

Use concrete material and hands-on experience
Provide opportunities to explore and ensure appropriate use of hearing aids and
whenever possible.
understand their environment as they need an assistive technology,
For example, allow students to hold magnets to feel
emphasis on conceptual development and minimize background noise, and
the pushing and pulling force of the magnetic field
exploration of their environment. face the student when providing instructions. 
when teaching about objects that have same or
Provide specific teaching in generalisation as
different charges.
they often have difficulty generalizing skills Modify the linguistic/communication
Supplement visual material with clear verbal
and concepts from one situation to another.
explanation.
environment
Provide access to sensory information (e.g.
For example, explain each process of the water For example:
awareness of pressure and temperature,
cycle in great detail in addition to providing students write on the board to support verbal instructions,
balance, smell, taste and touch) as these are
with a diagram of the water cycle. pre-teach key vocabulary,
important learning pathways.
Provide mobility and orientation training as students rephrase and repeat difficult words,
For example, teach the concept of
with visual impairment experience great difficulty in supply photocopied notes where possible and
opposites by allowing the student to feel
acquiring skills in direction, mobility and travel.  encourage the child to repeat and/or explain
objects that are hard/soft, rough/smooth,
For example, teach the student the path they need the task that has been explained to ensure
wet/dry.
to take from the classroom to the washroom by understanding before completion.

practicing how to walk there several times.