Welcome to the C O A T S website

What's New This Month

What's New Archives
(prior months)

Related Websites

WHAT'S NEW - MAY 2004

IDENTIFICATION AND DIAGNOSIS OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS-RESOURCES FOR ALBERTA TEACHERS

Welcome to the website for the Council on Alberta Teaching Standards (COATS). This area of the website changes monthly. The theme for this month will be of interest to teachers, administrators, and parents who are exploring issues related to the identification and diagnosis of students with special needs. The links that follow have been selected with a view to providing resources for Alberta teachers. We hope that you find this website to be a valuable resource. For quick reference bookmark http://www.teachingquality.ab.ca today!

WEBSITES RELATED TO THE IDENTIFICATION AND DIAGNOSIS OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS-RESOURCES FOR ALBERTA TEACHERS

Frequently Asked Questions
Foothills Academy
Calgary, Alberta
http://www.foothillsacademy.org/faq.html

Foothills Academy serves an advocacy role for children with disabilities. Founded in 1979 and located in Calgary, this non-profit charitable organization introduces itself through a set of frequently asked questions. Under the sidebar header "Expert Advice," the website describes and defines a number of conditions that are considered learning disabilities. These disabilities can be, for example, auditory, visual, or oral, and include lack of motor coordination or hyperactivity. The Academy states that it achieves a high rate of success with its program, which includes individual program plans (IPPs). This website also offers links to other organizations that work for the learning disabled.

J. P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre
Copyright © 2001 The J. P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
http://www.ualberta.ca/~jpdasddc/INDEX.html

This website offers an abundant array of resources for parents and teachers concerned with children's learning disabilities. Many of the online materials presented here fall under the heading of inclusive education. Under the header "For Teachers," the website offers numerous online resources that focus on managing student behavior. These online resources deal with conditions such as attention deficit and attention disorder, Asperger's syndrome, autism, regression, oppositional behavior, lack of student motivation and more. The information provided typically includes diagnosis as well as possible intervention strategies.

Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
Copyright © 2001 Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
http://www.ldac-taac.ca/english/indepth/earlyid/pros.htm

This web page highlights the kinds of professionals who are able to assist in the identification and diagnosis of children with learning disabilities. The roster of professionals who can help is extensive and includes the audiologist, learning abilities specialist, neurologist, pediatrician, psychologist, school/educational psychologist, and speech and language therapist. Suggestions are made to parents for collecting useful observations of their children and about the selection of a health-care professional to assist in the assessment of learning disabilities. In addition, the web page provides ready access to further learning disabilities (LD) articles. The Learning Disabilities Association of Canada elaborated a new definition of learning disabilities in 2002 (http://www.ldac-taac.ca/english/defined/definew.htm). The website also provides an assessment checklist for teachers who suspect that a student in their classroom might have a learning disability. (http://www.ldac-taac.ca/english/indepth/assess/charactr.htm).

Literacy and Learning Disabilities
Literacy Alberta
Calgary, Alberta
http://www.literacyalberta.ca/facts/12.htm

This Fact sheet (#12) presents general information about the connection between learning disorders and literacy. Unless they obtain adequate support, individuals with learning disabilities can remain without the skills of literacy. Difficulty in learning to read, if persistent, is one possible indication of a learning disability. Some of the information presented applies to adults, but some is relevant as well for children and adolescents. Overall, the website encourages those affected by learning disabilities to find the support they need to learn. Learning disabilities (LDs) are now recognized as neurological conditions, and can be categorized broadly in five groups of problems: (1) visual, (2) auditory, (3) motor, (4) organizational, and (5) conceptual or social. In addition, this website contains a valuable collection of online references.

Resources for School Support
Copyright ©2004 2Learn.ca Education Society of Alberta
http://www.2learn.ca/profgrowth/sssextras.html

This web page is intended to serve as a valuable resource for teacher professional development. The web page provides teacher resources relating to special needs and learning disabilities. These sets of online resources have been collected by and for Alberta teachers. Some items are also intended for parents of children with special needs. The topics treated include at-risk students, and disabilities such as Asperger's Syndrome, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Attention is also given to the topic of gifted children. Links are provided to national organizations dedicated to improving the lot of children with exceptionalities, such as the Council for Exceptional Children.

School Psychology Resources Online
Copyright © 1995-2004 by Sandra Koser Steingart
http://www.schoolpsychology.net/

This website provides valuable resources for parents and educators within the realm of school psychology. The website catalogues a comprehensive inventory of disabilities that are arrayed under some 18 headings-for example, attention deficit disorder, autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, learning disabilities, and Tourette's disorder. Under the heading of "Other Information" this website also provides references to organizations and agencies dedicated to serving and supporting special needs children. The site features a searchable database of its materials. Dr. Steingart works in Baltimore, Maryland.

This web page sponsored by Alberta Learning acknowledges the status of students with special needs. Under the School Act, school boards are required to provide such students with an education so that they can realize their potential. Identification is a first step in providing students with special needs with the educational opportunities that will support their success. This web page features a number of recently published online resources related to the identification and diagnosis of children with special needs. The first such resource is entitled "Assessment and Identification of Students with Special Needs, Field Review Draft" (2004). The second resource is a 2003/2004 edition of "Special Education Definitions." The third resource is a newly released "Handbook for the Identification and Review of Students with Severe Disabilities" (2003). In addition, more than 10 other special needs resources are available online by linking to this web page.

Special Needs Opportunities Windows (SNOW)
Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (ATRC)
University of Toronto,
Toronto Ontario
http://snow.utoronto.ca/resources/disability/index.html

Originating from the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (ATRC) at the University of Toronto, this web page provides online resources of interest to parents and teachers of special needs students. Resources are presented for conditions such as autism, visual impairment, hearing impairment, learning disorders, physical handicaps, and speech impairment, for example. Resources are also made available for the gifted. Under a sidebar header "Adaptive Technology," the web page directs attention to the use of technology to address special needs. One part of the mission of the ATRC is to make education accessible to learners with disabilities. A sitemap indicative of the wide range of the Centre's activities is available at http://www.utoronto.ca/atrc/sitemap.html.

Teaching Students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
© 2004 Government of Alberta
http://www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/specialneeds/fasd.asp

The condition of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a topic of urgent concern. The neurological condition and related developmental delays arise from the exposure of prenatal infants to alcohol. This online resource (2004) from Alberta Learning is subtitled "Building Strengths, Creating Hope" (2004). The resource is divided into an introduction, five chapters, three appendices, and a bibliography. Chapter one provides a definition of FASD and an account of the symptoms associated with the condition. Subsequent chapters deal with developing appropriate classroom strategies and support. This resource is also available in a print edition.

This web page is part of a resource guide intended for teachers. It addresses the question: "Who needs extra help?" Teachers can begin the identification of special needs by observations in the classroom. Students' weaknesses can become evident as children are observed struggling in a variety of possible learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. Sometimes learning disabilities appear in combination. Special needs require understanding on the part of teachers to address those needs. Formal assessments by various specialists can help to identify particular special needs and be the next step in providing students with the classroom adaptation and supports that they require.

The Warning Signs of Learning Disabilities
Bergert, S.
http://www.ericfacility.net/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed449633.html

This ERIC Digest (#E603) deals with the early classroom diagnosis of learning disabilities (LDs) and provides the classroom teacher with a useful point of departure for recognizing students with special needs. Many of the warning signs for learning disabilities are already discernible in the language behavior of children in the classroom. Other warning signs are apparent in the children's lack of motor coordination. Deficits in cognition and attention if persistent over time can likewise furnish early indicators of possible learning disabilities. In addition, some warning signs are perceptible in children's social behavior. This report distinguishes sets of such warning signs for elementary students and for secondary students. In general, teachers' or parents' observation of warning signs can lead to actual assessment and remediation for such students. The report includes references for further study.

Young Gifted Children
Gifted Canada
http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/giftedcanada/ynggift.html

Gifted Canada provides a variety of online resources about bright and gifted children in Canada. This web page focuses on the characteristics of gifted children and on how they can be identified. Gifted children develop in stages that vary from the developmental stages of ordinary children. Such children can be a challenge for their parents. Gifted children are sometimes described as over excitable, that is, as more intense and easily stimulated than other children. This web page also offers an extended list of behaviors that can be associated with giftedness. Lastly, this web page includes numerous links to other electronic resources related to the topic of gifted children.