Module 5: High Incidence Categories

Categories: K and P

Category K: Mild Intellectual Disability

"Students with intellectual disabilities have general intellectual functioning significantly below the mean (2 or more standard deviations), as well as significant limitations in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following skill areas as appropriate to the student's age: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work, leisure, health and safety." (BC Ministry of Education, 2016).

Category P: Gifted

"A student is considered gifted when he/she possesses demonstrated, or potential abilities that give evidence of exceptionally high capability with respect to intellect, creativity, or the skills associated with specific disciplines." (Ministry of Education, 2016). Often, students who are gifted can be intensely focus on their talent/areas of interest and can demonstrate strong abilities in several areas. In some cases, they may also have another disability so it's not uncommon for them to not have strengths in every area (Ministry of Education, 2016). Students who are gifted can be offered supplemental services which can include, but are not limited to, the following: district and community classes, independent guided learning, mentorship, accelerating programs, or providing enrichment classes. (BC Ministry of Education, 016)

Category Q

Category Q: Learning Disabilities

"Learning disabilities refers to a number of disorders that may affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning...Learning disabilities range in severity and may interfere with the acquisition and use of one or more of the following:

• Oral language (e.g., listening, speaking, understanding)

• Reading (e.g., decoding, phonetic knowledge, word recognition, comprehension)

• Written language (e.g., spelling and written expression)

• Mathematics (e.g., computation, problem solving)"

(BC Ministry of Education, 2016).

Learning disabilities are life-long, but students can achieve great success with the appropriate supports. When students are given direct instruction, time to practice the skills they are learning, small group support, a variety of visuals and graphic organizers, assistive technology, repetition and word games, reference sheets for math, and extra time to process and complete assignments, they can succeed (HelpGuide, 2020). As there are many different types of learning disabilities, there are many strategies that can be used to support students. Utilizing Universal Design for Learning will greatly benefit students with learning disabilities.

Category R

Category R: Students with Mental Illness

"Children and adolescents with learning disabilities may experience increased levels of anxiety compared to young people without LD" (GreatSchools Staff, 2009). In elementary school, the stresses start to rise year after year and the students don't always have the coping skills to deal with stress. Eventually, this stress can lead to anxiety and with the chronic anxiety, some students will start to face depression. It is vitally important that early intervention is used to try to meet students needs and give them the tools necessary to cope with the stresses they face.(GreatSchools Staff, 2009)

Category R: Students Requiring Behaviour Supports

When working with students with behavioural needs, it is necessary to build strong relationships, be flexible and adaptive to the student's needs, manage sensory stimulation, teach expected and appropriate behaviour, and help them build social skills (BC Ministry of Education, n.d.).

For students with mental illness or who require behaviour supports, creating a safe, calm, predictable and consistent classroom is key. Facilitating access to support people such as the CCW, ASW, and Counsellor would be very beneficial. Introducing whole class self-regulation programs such as Zones of Regulation, MindUP or the EASE program would help everyone build tools to help manage their emotions.