Special Education HNHS - Recently Updated Pages

Daily Morning Announcements

jconte — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:21:46 CDT

Special Education HNHS Home

sadone — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:33:50 CST

Welcome to the Holy Names Catholic High School Special Education Information Site.

Child & Parent Resource Institute CPRI	Thames Valley Children's CentreThames Valley Children's Centre	Photo Gallery
Recent Photos Page

Recent Photos

jconte — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:44:23 CST

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Photo Gallery

sadone — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:01:36 CST

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Thames Valley Children's Centre

jconte — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:02:08 CST

Please go to the following website for more information about Thames Valley Children's Centre.
http://www.tvcc.on.ca/

CPRI Webpage

jconte — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:49:13 CST

Welcome to the Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI). We provide services to children and youth with complex mental health and/or developmental challenges.
We serve children and youth (and families) on a short term residential and community basis. The services we provide are highly specialized and include assessment, consultation, treatment, research and education. We also provide programs and clinics for children and youth, their families and caregivers.
Take a moment to explore our site. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Thehealthline.ca is pleased to facilitate the Child and Parent Resource Institute mini-site.
For information about health care services in the South West region, visit www.thehealthline.ca. © 2006 thehealthline.ca, All Rights Reserved.

5 “Official” Types of Autism Spectrum Disorders

jconte — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:00:18 CST

Autistic Disorder	Severely disordered verbal and non-verbal language; unusual behaviors.
Asperger’s Syndrome	Relatively good verbal language, with “milder” non-verbal language problems; restricted range of interests and relatedness.
PDD-NOS	Non-verbal language problems not meeting strict criteria for other PDD disorders.
Rett’s Disorder*	Rare neurodegenerative disorder of girls.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder*	Neurologists are scratching their head on this one, and assume psychiatrists mean neurodegenerative disorders.

We start our review of each Autistic Spectrum syndrome by presenting the diagnostic criteria for each of the DSM-IV PDD disorders, as defined out by the American Psychiatry Association:

1. Autistic Disorder - A total of six (or more) items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from (1), and one each from (2) and (3):

1. qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following: (a) marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction (b) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level (c) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest) (d) lack of social or emotional reciprocity

2. qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the following: (a) delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gestures or mime) (b) in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others (c) stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language (d) lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level

3. restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following: (a) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus (b) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals (c) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements) (d) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects (B) Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset prior to age 3 years: (1) social interaction, (2) language as used in social communication, or (3) symbolic or imaginative play. (C) The disturbance is not better accounted for by Rett's Disorder or Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. 2.

Asperger’s Syndrome Symptoms of Asperger’s include: impaired ability to utilize social cues such as body language, irony, or other “subtext” of communication; restricted eye contact and socialization; limited range of encyclopedic interests; perseverative, odd behaviors; didactic, verbose, monotone, droning voice; “concrete” thinking; over-sensitivity to certain stimuli; and unusual movements. Official DSM-IV criteria are similar to that for Autistic Disorder except do not include the “communication” problem areas: in other words, autistic people who talk well. [Many experts would argue that although verbal speech is preserved in Asperger’s, other communication problems certainly exist.]

(A) Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following: 1. marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction 2. failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level 3. a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people(e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people) 4. lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

(B) Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following: 1. encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus 2. apparently inflexible adherence to specific, non-functional routines or rituals 3. stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements) 4. persistent preoccupation with parts of objects

(C) The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

(D) There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years)

(E) There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.

(F) Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia.

Listen to the speech pattern of kids with Asperger's

3. PDD-NOS (PDD-Not Otherwise Specified) This category should be used when there is a severe and pervasive impairment in the development of reciprocal social interaction or verbal and nonverbal communication skills, or when stereotyped behavior, interests, and activities are present, but the criteria are not met for a specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, Schizotypal Personality Disorder, or Avoidant Personality Disorder. For example, this category includes atypical autism --- presentations that do not meet the criteria for Autistic Disorder because of late age of onset, atypical symptomatology, or subthreshold symptomatology, or all of these.

4. Rett’s Disorder The current DSM-IV criteria are given below. Thanks to the development of a new genetic blood test, though, we are finding Rett’s Disorder in children with much milder symptoms.

(A) All of the following:
1. apparently normal prenatal and perinatal development
2. apparently normal psychomotor development through the first 5 months after birth
3. normal head circumference at birth

(B) Onset of all of the following after the period of normal development:
1. deceleration of head growth between ages 5 and 48 months
2. loss of previously acquired purposeful hand skills between ages 5 and 30 months with the subsequent development of stereotyped hand movements (e.g., hand-wringing or hand washing)
3. loss of social engagement early in the course (although often social interaction develops later)
4. appearance of poorly coordinated gait or trunk movements
5. severely impaired expressive and receptive language development with severe psychomotor retardation

5. Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)

(A) Apparently normal development for at least the first 2 years after birth as manifested by the presence of age-appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication, social relationships, play, and adaptive behavior.

(B) Clinically significant loss of previously acquired skills (before age 10 years) in at least two of the following areas:
1. expressive or receptive language
2. social skills or adaptive behavior
3. bowel or bladder control
4. play
5. motor skills

(C) Abnormalities of functioning in at least two of the following areas:
1. qualitative impairment in social interaction (e.g., impairment in nonverbal behaviors, failure to develop peer relationships, lack of social or emotional reciprocity)
2. qualitative impairments in communication (e.g., delay or lack of spoken language, inability to initiate or sustain a conversation, stereotyped and repetitive use of language, lack of varied make-believe play)
3. restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, including motor stereotypies and mannerisms

(D) The disturbance is not better accounted for by another specific Pervasive Developmental Disorder or by Schizophrenia.

A 102 Newsletter

jconte — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:14:54 CDT

Hi Parents: We have had a terrific start to our semester and the 2008/2009 school year. The students have all had their school pictures taken and they have all been assigned their lockers. We are hoping that their individual schedules are relatively set too, so that their days will now become a routine that the students can follow with ease.
To get us started I would just like to remind all parents of a few general housekeeping rules at Holy Names High School so that we can maintain our roles in a professional manner. Please remember that our Educational Assistants will be ready and waiting for your son or daughter at 8:00 am everyday in the main foyer. We ask, please parents, that you respect our space as professionals and leave your son or daughter in our care at that point. Should yo uhave to let us know about something special regarding that day, with respect to your son or daughter, then please write that in our communication booklet and we will be sure to read it when we get back to the Life Skills Room. Should you need to come into the school you must stop at the main office and ask our Main Office Secretary, Mrs. Jones, to call us in Room A102 to come and meet you in the main office. We also request, please parents, tha tupone entering the school that you sign in at the main office before walking into the school.
If your son or daughter is on any type of medication, that must be administered at school, you and your child's doctor must fill out a Board Approved Medication Form thta you can obtain from us in Room A102. As part of our communication with you daily, our Educational Assistants are all filling out a daily communication log so that you can read about your child's day. As of next week there will be a separate book designated for communication alone. At the bottom of the communication log you will find a spot for you to fill in any pertinent information about your child's night that might be valuable for us to know.
Our period three will be our Life Skills Class where all of our students will be in Room A102 together. Mrs. Quinn will be teaching the class with a peer helper, Ms. Sarah Waugh, and together we will be covering the following areas of the curriculum: Nutrition, Cooking, Health, Math, English, Laundry, School Store, and Used Uniform Sales. Those students that will be working in the School Store will be delving into: inventory, sales, purchasing and accounting. Those students that will be working with the Used Uniform Sales will be delving into: sales, customer relations and working with Campus Ministry Peer Helpers along with Mrs. Kim Gosling (our Campus Minister).

We are all looking forward to working with you and your children!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Conte - Special Education Department Head, Mrs. Quinn - Life Skills Teacher, Mrs. Gendreau - LSST and Ms. St. Amand - LSST.
Mrs. Crawford, Mr. Maksoud, Mrs. Semande, Mrs. Brennan, Mrs. Levenick, and Mrs. Kirchhoeffel all of whom are members of our Educational Assistant Team.

Assistive Technology Resources & Helpful Websites

jconte — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:29:26 CDT

http://www.kurzweiledu.com

http://www.disabilityresources.org/DRMind-terminology.html

http://www.pecs.com picture exchange

http://seriweb.com

http://familyvillage.wisc.edu/index.htmlx

http://www.mayer-johnson.com board maker program

http://snow.utoronto.ca/technology/products/index.html

http://texthelp.com text help for read and write

http://dragonsys.com voice to print Dragon Naturally Speaking 7

http://www.franklin.com spelling aid

www.infocommons.utoronto./atrc/service/vendors.html

www.gov.on.ca/MOH/english/pub/adp/overview.html

http://www.inspiration.com

www.aroga.com vendor for adaptive technology

http://www.peabody.vanderbuilt.edu/projects/proposed Assistive and Adaptive Devices

http://www.peabody.vanderbuilt.edu/projects/proposed/asttech/home.htm adaptive input and output devices

www.e-accessibility.com information on technical issues, E-access Bulletin

http://www.cwu.edu/~setc/ldtech/write_out_loud.html

http://www.alphasmart.com Portable Classroom Keyboards

http://utoronto.ca/atr/reference/tech/techgloss/html

http://www.maher-johnson.com/software Spec Ed software

http://www.wcdsb.edu.on.ca/ss/pdfIEP.pdf Parent Pamphlet

Canadian Down Syndrome Society

jconte — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:00:44 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Assertive Discipline Techniques

jconte — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:39:33 CDT

http://www.humboldt.edu/~tha1/canter.html - The Cantor and Jones Model - Assertive Discipline

Positive Behaviour Discipline Websites

jconte — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:33:03 CDT

http://www.pbis.org/main.htm - Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports

http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/ - Mental Health in Schools - UCLA

http://www.disciplinehelp.com/ - Discipline Help

Special Education Websites

jconte — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:28:20 CDT

Please find a list of special education websites that are provided here to help you with whatever your interests might be in special education. Thanks

http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/adhs/index.html - Adaptive Dimension in High Schools

http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.a4dbd0f2c4f9b94cdeb3ffdb62 - ASCD: For The Success of Each Learner

http://www.asperger.org/ - The Source: Autism and Asperger Syndrome

http://www.brainconnection.com/ - Brain Connection: The Brain and Learning

http://www.integra.on.ca/ - Children's Mental Health Centre

http://www.ldao.ca/resources/education/pei/assessment/index.php - Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario

http://www.ldonline.org/ - LD Online - Learning Disabilities and ADHD

http://www.ncld.org/ - National Centre for Learning Disabilities

http://www.nldline.com/ - Non Verbal Learning Disorder (NLD)

http://snow.utoronto.ca/index.php - Adaptive Technology Resource Centre

http://www.nld-bprourke.ca/ - Byron P. Rourke - NLD

Mild Intellectual/Developmental Disability

sadone — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:58:18 CDT

Intellectual /Developmental Disability

Description

Mild Intellectual Disability: a learning disorder characterized by:

(a) an ability to profit educationally within a regualr 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. (Ontario Ministry of Education)

Many factors associated with mild intellecutal disabilities correlate with learning difficulties. A variety of assessment methods are used to identify mild intellectual disabilities and include; IQ scores or percentiles, adaptive skills tests, skills-based assessments, and levels of academic achievement.
Developmental Disability: a severe learning disorder characterized by:

(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. (Ontario Ministry of Education)

Students who have developmental disabilities are a highly heterogeneous group with a wide range of learning strengths, needs, and abilities. They may exhibit one or more of the following characteristics: significant impairment of general cognitive functioning; severe delay in academic skills in all areas when compared to skills of their chronological peers, significant impairment of adaptive functioning (eg. self-help, social interaction).
Students with mild intellectual disabilities may demonstrate the following delays in cognitive development: literacy and numeracy levels that are typically three or more years below their age-appropriate placement; a tendency to be distracted easily; short attention and interest spans; difficulty with all academic subjects; delays in speech and/or language acquisition; difficulty remembering.
Students with developmental disabilities may exhibit the following observable characteristics:

delay in acquiring speech and/or language, and non-verbal skills
delay in gross and/or fine motor coordination
associated physical/medical conditions
short attention and interest spans
confusion with abstract and figurative language
tendency to interpret language literally
need for support with personal care skills
need for support with socially acceptable behaviour
need for support with changes in routine
need for support to establish a positive self-image

http://educ.queensu.ca/~adaptech/exceptionalities/intellectual.htm

Additional Resources

(1) Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner Special Education Teacher Companion at: http://www.ocup.org/resources/documents/companions/speced2002.pdf
(2) Canadian Association for Community Living
http://www.cacl.ca/
(3) Community Living Ontario
http://www.communitylivingontario.ca/

Calendar

jconte — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:01:50 CDT

Spec Ed Calendar	Holy Names Catholic High School Website	Parent Guide to Special Education
Learning Support Services WECDSB	Special Education Websites	Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Mild Intellectual/Developmental Disability	What is Autism?	Canadian Downs Syndrome Society
CNIB	ADHDCanada.com	Cerebral Palsy
Assistive Technology Resources & Websites	Obsessive Compulsive Disorder	What are Autism Spectrum Disorders?
Famous People with Learning Disabilities	Famous People with Dyslexia & ADD/ADHD	Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
Daily Announcements	A 102 Newsletter	5 "Official" Types of Autism Spectrum Disorders