The
Special Education system in Ontario has a language of its own. If you
are the parent of a child who has been recently identified as
exceptional by the school board, you can get lost in the language during
your first school meetings. There are many acronyms that are used by
school administrators and school staff and most often they don't think
about the fact that parents may not understand their "language". So it's
up to the parents to become knowledgeable about the language of special
education. In this article, I am going to explain the meanings of ten
of the most important acronyms in special education.
IEP - Individual Education Plan.
The
IEP is a document that lists the strengths and needs, and the programs,
services, accommodations and supports that are required by a particular
student. It lists the annual goals in each alternative or modified
subject area, as well as the learning expectations for each term, which
are determined by the student's strengths and needs. A student does not
have to be formally identified as an exceptional student to receive an
IEP. But if the student is formally identified by an IPRC, it is a
requirement of the Regulation 181/98 of the Education Act that they
receive an IEP.
IPRC - Identification, Placement and Review Committee.
The
IPRC is composed of at least three persons, one of whom must be a
principal or supervisory officer of the school board. At annual
meetings, where the parents are invited to attend, the committee decides
whether or not the student should be identified as exceptional and if
so, which category of exceptionality. They also decide on an appropriate
placement for the student. The parents can either agree to the
decisions, or appeal the decisions.
OEN - Ontario Education Number
Parents
will notice the OEN on school documents such as the report card. A
unique OEN is assigned to every student across the province by the
Ministry of Education. The same number will follow the student through
his or her elementary and secondary education and will be indicated on
all of his or her school records.
OSR - Ontario Student Record
The
OSR is a record of a student's educational progress through school. The
contents are to be used by school staff for the purpose of "improvement
of instruction" of the student, according to the Education Act. Parents
are to be told about the purpose of the OSR and its contents. They must
be allowed to have access to all of the information contained in the
OSR.
EQAO - Education Quality and Accountability Office
EQAO
is an arm's-length agency that provides information about student
achievement in Ontario, based on periodic assessments. This is basically
to see how the teachers, the school boards, and the educational system
in general are performing. When students are in grade 3 and again in
grade 6 they are required to take reading, writing, and math tests
administered by the EQAO. They are also required to take a math test in
grade 9. However, the principal is authorized to exempt students from
taking any or all of the tests if they are unable to participate for
reasons such as a developmental disability.
SERT- Special Education Resource Teacher
There
is usually one in every school. As the name implies this teacher is a
resource for regular classroom teachers. He or she consults with
classroom teachers regarding students who have IEPs and are placed in
the regular class. In fact the SERT is usually the lead person in charge
of developing the IEP for these students. Sometimes small groups of
students are withdrawn from the regular class to a resource room for
more intensive instruction in math and language. This class is run by
the SERT.
EA - Educational Assistant
EAs
are assigned to classrooms, either regular class or small placement, to
support students as part of a multidisciplinary team. They also help
teachers with non-instructional tasks. In some school boards, EAs may
have the same duties as described below for SNAs.
SNA - Special Needs Assistant
The
SNA supports students with special educational needs, usually in a
special education classroom, under the supervision of a special
education teacher. In addition to helping with their learning needs,
duties may include assisting with the students' safety and physical
needs, including hygiene and feeding, as well as assisting with therapy
sessions.
ABA - Applied Behaviour Analysis
ABA
methods are best known for treating people with autism and other
developmental disabilities.ABA methods are based on scientific
principles of learning and behaviour to build useful repertoires of
behaviour and reduce problematic ones. The undesired behaviour(s) are
clearly defined and recorded, and the antecedents and reinforcers of the
undesired behaviour(s) are analysed. Individualized programs are
developed based on this information. The teacher must collect and
analyze the data on an ongoing basis in order to measure the student's
progress in each of the program areas. The program must be altered as
necessary to maintain or increase a student's success.
TEACCH - Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication related handicapped Children.
Intervention
strategies include clear and explicit expectations, physical and visual
structure, schedules, work systems and task organization. The goal is
to allow children with autism to develop skills so that they can be
independent of direct adult prompting.
These
ten acronyms are just the tip of the iceberg. Take some time to learn
some of the "language" of Special Education and you will be a better
advocate for your son or daughter with special needs.
Karen
Robinson at AFASE at school http://www.afase.com provides special
education advocacy training and consulting services to parents and
guardians whose children are challenged by autism and other
developmental disabilities.
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