Special Talents Special Needs

This is a handbook for teachers and facilitators working with people with learning disabilities who are interested in creative expression through drama. Based on their considerable experience working with the Strathcona Theatre Company, Ian McCurrach and Barbara Darnley have created a step-by-step guide to running a drama group.

This book provides teachers and other relevant personnel with fundamental information to enhance their professional competence. Issues addressed include exceptionally and special needs education, special needs education in Hong Kong, gifted and talented learners. There are two special units of high and low incidence disabilities, and the last two chapters provide additional information regarding parents and families of special needs children, and use of technology in special needs education.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Special Education, Second Edition is a comprehensive resource for those working in the fields of special education research and practice. Featuring reviews of assessment instruments and teaching approaches, legal issues, overviews of specific learning disabilities, dozens of biographies, and more, this complete desk reference is an indispensable guide for professionals, academics, and students alike. Named an American Library Association Top 25 Reference of the Year in its First Edition, The Concise Encyclopedia serves as an important reference for the education of handicapped and other exceptional children. Written and edited by highly regarded and respected experts in the fields of special education and psychology, this authoritative resource guide provides a reference base for educators as well as professionals in the areas of psychology, neuropsychology, medicine, health care, social work and law. Additionally, this acclaimed reference work is essential for administrators, psychologists, diagnosticians, and school counselors, as well as parents of the handicapped themselves. What's new in this edition Comprehensive coverage of new legislation such as Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act Cultural competence in Special Education, including new material on culturally/linguistically diverse students Many new entries including notable biographies, new service delivery systems, special education laws, new assessment instruments, cross-cultural issues, neuropsychology, and use of the Internet in research and service delivery. Some of the topics covered Academic assessment Achievement tests Addictions Bilingual education Child and adolescent behavior management Counseling with individuals and families with disabilities Early childhood education Gifted education Intelligence tests Mathematics disabilities Psychoeducational methods Rehabilitation Socioeconomic status Special education parent and student rights Traumatic brain injury

Identifying Special Needs provides expert guidance to recognising and categorising the specific characteristics of a range of special needs. Drawing on her experience as an educational psychologist and special education teacher, Glynis Hannell provides easy-to-use checklists to help teachers quickly and accurately gather information to determine whether individual students need specialised attention and services, and guidelines on how to provide this help. This unique book offers diagnostic criteria and supporting notes for a wide range of special educational needs, including autism spectrum disorders, communication disorders, social and emotional issues, cognitive disabilities and specific learning disorders. Relevant to both primary and secondary school students, all checklists can be photocopied for ease of use and downloaded from the companion website. This fully revised third edition includes additional information on guiding conversations with parents, children and colleagues, as well as advice to parents on how to select outside professionals. The practical checklists and resources help teachers and educational professionals to: Identify and understand special needs screen any student for possible special needs; understand the causes and characteristics of various types of special needs; link classroom observations to diagnostic criteria used by specialists. Profile individual differences create accurate and comprehensive profiles for individual students, including positive characteristics; record each student’s unique pattern of development within a special needs ‘label’. Work together with colleagues and parents quickly record important information and avoid writing time-consuming reports; request and prepare for further assessment and intervention; coordinate information from several teachers or professionals; involve parents in observing and discussing their child’s pattern of strengths and challenges; plan effective, inclusive intervention in the classroom setting; follow up with recommended further reading, websites and professional references. Based on internationally accepted diagnostic criteria, and relevant for educational professionals worldwide, this is an essential book for teachers, psychologists and other specialists to ensure that the children and adolescents in their care receive the support they need to succeed.

Special Education in Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Exceptionality is designed for use by preservice and inservice teachers who will teach students with special needs in the general classroom. The text provides a rare glimpse into the lives of persons with exceptionalities, including their families and teachers. Focusing on human exceptionalities across the life span, the text employs a traditional organization beginning with four foundations chapters that introduce teachers to special education, followed by 10 "categorical" chapters each on a different "disability." Each categorical chapter features sections on transition, cultural diversity, technology, instructional strategies, and family considerations.

Those who enter the special education profession should be recognized as positive contributors to society. This book celebrates the many talents of special educators and how those talents are utilized throughout all facets of life. It provides an excellent view of the positive dispositions of special educators and can also be utilized by employers seeking to employ special educators who possess these dispositions. .

Gifted pupils who also have special needs often receive provision for the special need whilst the giftedness is overlooked. Children with such double exceptionality can become depressed, frustrated and misbehave, and may not fulfil their potential. Based on international research and practice, this practical text enables the reader to identify highly able pupils with special needs, such as ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia and Downs Syndrome, and then make provision for them within the mainstream school. The book offers three emerging themes: creating a positive, constructive and supportive learning environment; offering a cognitively challenging curriculum; and engaging the learners in partnership to understand and manage their learning support. Whilst aimed mainly at teachers and students at both primary and secondary levels, this book should also be of interest to educators, researchers and educational psychologists.