1. Vancouver Island University
An Introduction to
Special Education Services
In BC
Pamela Cameron
Vancouver Island University

2. Define the following  Exceptional students  At risk
 Special education
 Adapted curriculum
 Modified curriculum
 Charter of rights and freedoms
 Inclusion
 Individual education plan
 School based team
 Mainstreaming
 Gifted
 High incidence
 Low incidence
 Integration
 Impairment
 Disability
 Handicap

3. BC Special Education Acronym Guide
ADD/ADHD MCFD
APA OCD
ARC-BC OT
ASD PDD
ASL POPARD
AT POPFASD
BC CASE PRCVI
BSP PT
CAST PRP
CDBC SET BC
CDC UDL
CEC WIAT 2
CYMH WIKI
DL WISC
ESL WJ3
FASD LA

4. History of Special Education in Canada
1978 – Alberta Supreme Court decision
Ordered Lamont County school board to widen doors, build a ramp, and educate Shelley Carriere, a student with cerebral palsy, in her community school
1980 – Ontario Education Act was amended to recognize the rights of students with disabilities to receive an appropriate education at public expense, and to permit parents to appeal the identification of their child as exceptional and the placement of their child.

5. Exclusion to Integration
1981 Charter of Rights and Freedoms
1985 Charter amendment prohibits discrimination on the basis of mental or physical disability
Major changes in the Canadian education system
“From Exclusion to Integration”

6. History of Special Education in Canada
1995 – Eaton v. Brant County School Board
Stated that “unless the parents of a child who has
been identified as exceptional by reason of a
physical or mental disability, consent to the
placement of that child in a segregated
environment, the school board must provide a
placement that is the least exclusionary from the
mainstream and still reasonably capable of
meeting the child’s special needs”
(Eaton v. Brant Board of Education , 1995, pp )

7. B.C. Ministry Definitions
Definition: 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

8. BC Min of Education requires that ….
Wherever possible, students with special educational needs are educated in:
Regular classrooms
In their neighbourhood schools

9. B.C. Ministry Definitions
Goal: The goal of the BC school system
is to support the intellectual
development of all students, including
those with special needs. Enabling all
students to achieve the goals of
human, social and career development
is a responsibility shared by schools,
families and the community.

10. B.C. Ministry Definitions
Inclusion: The School Act requires that
school boards make available
educational programs to all school age
persons resident in the district. All
students are to be included. A
Ministerial Order requires the
integration of students with special
needs with those who do not have special needs in most instances

11. Current State of Inclusive Education in B.C.
Inclusive education in B.C. is defined as:
The value system which holds that all students are entitled to equitable access to learning, achievement and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their education.
The practice of inclusion transcends the idea of physical location, and incorporates basic values that promote participation, friendship and interaction.

12. Current State of Inclusive Education
The changes we are experiencing currently are intended to ‘move from the goal of access for as many students as possible to success for as many as possible’

13. Current State of Inclusive Education
Success for exceptional students depends on complex rights that include:
a. identification of educational needs
b. adapted teaching and services to meet those needs

14. Individual Education Plan
Describes …….
Program goals and objectives designed to meet the individual needs of each student

15. Individual Education Plans
Written in consultation with:
Parents
Classroom teachers & administration
Other involved specialists & outside
agencies

16. Individual Education Plans
Include:
Medical information and diagnosis
Current levels of educational performance
Goals for the student
All adaptations/modifications to materials & instructional & assessment methods

17. Individual Education Plans
Describe:
All support services in place
Names of all personnel providing support services during the school year
Period of time and process for review of the IEP & any SET BC requirements

18. Activity In small groups, respond to the following challenge:
Should we have a policy of inclusion in our schools?
2. What are the advantages/disadvantages of adopting such a model?

19. Low Incidence Categories
A: Dependent Handicapped
B: Deaf Blind
C: Moderately Intellectually Challenged
D: Physical Disability/ Chronic Health Impairment
E: Visually Impaired
F: Deaf or Hard of Hearing
G: Autism Spectrum Disorder

20. Dependent Handicapped
The student is completely dependent on
others for meeting all major daily living
needs.
Requires assistance at all times for each of
the following:
 Feeding
 Dressing
 Toileting
 Mobility
 Personal Hygiene

21. Deaf/Blind  Medical evidence shows that the student's vision
is impaired (from partial sight to total blindness)
And
 Medical evidence shows that the student's
hearing is impaired (from moderate to profound
hearing loss).
The degree of impairments, when
compounded, results in significant
communicative, educational, vocational, and
social skills difficulties

22. Moderate to Profound Intellectual Disabilities
Assessment information indicates the student's intellectual functioning is more than 3 standard deviations below the norm on an individually administered Level C assessment of intellectual functioning (SS <55), and
There is delayed adaptive behaviour and functioning of similar degree (SS<55) on a norm referenced measure of adaptive behaviour.

23. Physical Disability/Chronic Health Impairment
Documentation of a medical diagnosis, carried out by a physician in one or more of the following areas:
 Nervous system impairment
 Musculoskeletal condition
 Chronic health impairment

24. Visual Impairments
A documented report by an opthalmologist, optometrist, orthopist or the Visually Impaired Program of the BC Children’s Hospital which describes the students visual impairment having visual problems even after eye correction. Details are in the category checklists.

25. Deaf or Hard of Hearing
The student must have a medically diagnosed significant bilateral or unilateral hearing loss with significant speech/language delay, or a cochlear implant typically documented in a report from a health professional such as an audiologist

26. Autism Spectrum Disorders
The syndrome of autism is a condition
characterized by a marked disorder of
communication and a severe disturbance of
intellectual, emotional and behavioural
development.
It is a syndrome defined and diagnosed through the observation of behaviours. The syndrome is caused by an underlying physical dysfunction within the brain or central nervous system, the exact nature of
which is as yet unknown.

27. Intensive Behaviour Support or Students with Serious Mental Illness
Students who require behaviour supports are students whose behaviours reflect dysfunctional interactions between the student and one or more elements of the environment, including the classroom, school, family, peers and community. This is commonly referred to as behaviour disorders.
Behaviour disorders vary in their severity and effect on learning, interpersonal relations and personal adjustment.

28. Intensive Behaviour Support…..
Students Requiring Intensive Behaviour Interventions are eligible to be claimed in this special education funding category if they exhibit:
antisocial, extremely disruptive
behaviour in most environments (for
example, classroom, school, family, and
the community); and·
behaviours that are consistent/persistent over time

29. Intensive Behaviour Support….
 serious mental health conditions which have
been diagnosed by a qualified mental health
clinician (psychologist with appropriate training,
psychiatrist, or physician); and
 serious mental illnesses which manifest
themselves in profound withdrawal or other
negative internalizing behaviours; and
 These students often have histories of profound
problems, and present as very vulnerable,
fragile students who are seriously 'at risk' in
classroom and other environments without
extensive support.

30. High Incidence Categories
Learning Disabilities
Mild Intellectual Disabilities
Gifted
 Moderate Behaviour Support or Students with Mental Illness

31. Activity Reflect on your experiences with inclusion:
1. What did you gain?
2. What did the person with the exceptionality gain?
3. What did the school community gain?
Discuss in small groups

32. Funding Structure Level 1 = $37,700 Dependent Handicapped (A)
Deaf Blind (B)

33. Funding Structure Level 2 = $18,850 Moderate to Severe/
Profound Intellectual
Disabilities (C)
Physical Disabilities/
Chronic Health (D)
Visual Impairments (E)
Deaf or Hard of Hearing (F)
Autism (G)

34. Funding Structure Level 3 = $9,500 Intensive Behaviour
Interventions /Serious Mental Illness (H)

35. Funding Structure
High Incidence funding is included in student allocation
Mild Intellectual Disabilities (K)
Learning Disabilities (Q)
Behaviour Support / Mental Illness (R)
Gifted (P)

36. Meeting the Criteria for Supplemental Funding
Must meet the criteria for placement in the specific category / medical diagnosis
A current IEP must be in place
Ongoing and regular special education services must be provided

37. Meeting the Criteria for supplemental funding
Services must be outlined in IEP and directly related to the student’s identified special needs
Special education service(s) must be in addition to any services provided under the formula funding eg. Learning assistance, counseling

38. District or School-based Specialists for:
Students with Special Needs
Severe Learning Disabilities
Students requiring Behaviour Support
Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Visually Impaired

39. District or School-based Specialists con’t
Speech and Language Pathologists
Occupational Therapist & Physiotherapist
School Psychologist (Assessment)
Teacher of Hospital Homebound
Coordinator for Special Education Technology (SET BC)

40. ?? Questions ??