HomeMy WebLinkAbout10a Standard 8 Categories of ExceptionalitiesCATEGORIES AND DEFINITIONS
OF EXCEPTIONALITIES
.Special Education Plan /June 2012 Pg. 76
CATEGORIES AND DEFINITIONS OF EXCEPTIONALITIES
(STANDARD 8)
Purpose of the Standard
To provide information on the categories and definitions of exceptionalities available to the
public, including parent(s) /guardian(s) and community associations.
The chart of student exceptionalities, set out by the Ministry, is organized by exceptionality
category, specific exceptionality identification, and specific exceptionality definition.
Category
Exceptionality
Definition
Behaviour
Behaviour
A learning disorder characterized by specific behaviour
problems over such a period of time, and to such a marked
degree, and of such a nature, as to adversely affect educational
performance, and that may be accompanied by one or more of
the following:
a) an inability to build or to maintain interpersonal
relationships
b) excessive fears or anxieties
c) a tendency to compulsive reaction
d) an inability to learn that cannot be traced to intellectual,
sensory, or other health factors, or any combination
thereof
Communication
Autism
A severe learning disorder that is characterized by:
a) disturbances in
• rate of educational development
• ability to relate to the environment
• mobility
• perception, speech, and language
b) lack of the representational symbolic behaviour that
recedes lan ua e
Deaf and Hard -of-
An impairment characterized by deficits in language and speech
Hearing
development because of a diminished or non - existent auditory
response to sound
Language Impairment
A learning disorder characterized by an impairment in
comprehension and /or use of verbal communication or the
written or other symbol system of communication, which may
be associated with neurological, psychological, physical, or
sensory factors, and which may:
a) involve one or more of the form, content, and function of
language in communication
b) include one or more of the following:
• language delay
• dysfluency
• voice and articulation development, which may or
may not be organically or functionally based
.Special Education Plan /June 2012 Pg. 77
Category
Exceptionality
Definition
Speech Impairment
A disorder in language formulation that may be associated with
neurological, psychological, physical, sensory factors, that
involves perceptual motor aspects of transmitting oral messages,
and that may be characterized by impairment in articulation,
rhythm, and stress
Communication
Learning Disability
A learning disorder evident in both academic and social
(Con't)
situations that involves one or more of the processes necessary
for the proper use of spoken language or the symbols of
communication, and that is characterized by a condition that:
a) is not primarily the result of:
• impairment of vision
• impairment of hearing
• physical disability
• developmental disability
• primary emotional disturbance
• cultural difference
b) results in a significant discrepancy between academic
achievement and assessed intellectual ability, with deficits
in one or more of the following:
• receptive language (listening, reading)
• language processing (thinking, conceptualizing,
integrating)
• expressive language (talking, spelling, writing)
• mathematical computations
c) may be associated with one or more conditions diagnosed
as:
• a perceptual handicap
• a brain injury
• minimal brain dysfunction
• dyslexia
• developmental aphasia
Intellectual
Giftedness
An unusually advanced degree of general intellectual ability that
requires differentiated learning experiences of a depth and
breadth beyond those normally provided in the regular school
program to satisfy the level of educational potential indicated
Mild Intellectual
A learning disorder characterized by:
Disability
a) an ability to profit educationally within a regular class
with the aid of considerable curriculum modification and
supportive service
b) an inability to profit educationally within a regular class
because of slow intellectual development
c) a potential for academic learning, independent social
adjustment, and economic self - support
.Special Education Plan /June 2012 Pg. 78
Category
Exceptionality
Definition
Developmental
A severe learning disorder characterized by:
Disability
a) an inability to profit from a special education program for
students with mild intellectual disabilities because of slow
intellectual development
b) an ability to profit from a special education program that
is designed to accommodate slow intellectual
development
c) a limited potential for academic learning, independent
social adjustment, and economic self - support
Physical
Physical Disability
A condition of such severe physical limitation or deficiency as
to require special assistance in learning situations to provide the
opportunity for educational achievement equivalent to that of
pupils without exceptionalities who are of the same age or
developmental level
Blind and Low Vision
A condition of partial or total impairment of sight or vision that,
even with correction, affects educational performance adversely
Multiple
Multiple
A combination of learning or other disorders, impairments, or
Exceptionalities
physical disabilities, that is of such nature as to require, for
educational achievement, the services of one or more teachers
holding qualifications in special education and the provision of
support services appropriate for such disorders, impairments, or
disabilities
.Special Education Plan /June 2012 Pg. 79