Special Education

Students With Intellectual Disabilities
A Resource Guide for Teachers

The Nature of Intellectual Disabilities

Schools play an important part in the move toward including all people, with or without disabilities, as full participants in the community. Teachers are taking the lead in this important area of social change.

If you are a classroom teacher who has or will have a student with an intellectual disability in your class, this resource guide can be helpful. Feelings of concern, anxiety, frustration, uncertainty or even outright fear may accompany the news that you will be teaching a student whose particular learning needs are unfamiliar to you.

This resource guide contains practical suggestions for you. It includes information about:

  • the nature of intellectual disabilities,
  • preparing to teach students and sources of support,
  • involvement in the transitions and changes that will occur from K to 12 and beyond,
  • tips for teachers covering a wide range of topics,
  • case studies, and
  • resources and references

This resource guide, combined with your own abilities and creativity, can promote a successful teaching and learning environment. Practical examples are provided in plain language to help answer the questions you may have concerning: Why? How? Where? and When?

Integration is one of the major strategies used to achieve an inclusive education philosophy.

Inclusion is 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.

Integration provides opportunities for students with special needs to participate and interact fully with other students in schools. However, the emphasis on educating students with special needs in regular classrooms does not preclude the appropriate use of resource rooms, self-contained classes, community-based training or specialized settings such as Provincial Resource Programs.

Working collaboratively is essential when a student with intellectual disabilities is included in your class. This teaching approach to developing and implementing an educational plan may be unfamiliar to some teachers. Collaborating with a variety of other professionals will be a crucial part of this new approach. A school-based team can help make planning and program decisions. Experience has shown that teachers find working as part of a cooperative problem solving group to be helpful. The team may include school administrators, teacher assistants, parents and specialists of various kinds. The team can be a vehicle for referral, individual educational plan development, review and liaison with support personnel and outside agencies.