Inclusion

Characteristics of Learners with Borderline Intellectual Abilities:
- Attention difficulties
- Lack mental flexibility
- Attack problems randomly vs. systematically
- Don't generalize well
- Don't self-monitor and self correct well
- Lack delay of gratification
- Slower processing speed
- Slower rate of response
-Think more concretely
- Lower frustration tolerance
- Poor judgement and common sense, sometimes naive, immature
- Self-help issues
- Social skills issues
- Behaviourally may see anger, silliness, avoidance, overactivity, passivity.
- Some students have physical features but most do not
- Most of these learners have normal perinatal history, normal early development, normal physical appearance and health


Result:  Issues in most or all areas of academic functioning, school functioning, social functioning.


Long-term Issues
- Lower self-esttem
- Increased Mood disorders
- HIgher behavioural disorders
- Decrease Social success
- Overall emotional distress


Sometimes Diagnosed in these areas:
Ages 2-4 - ADHD is usually the diagnosis, 
Grade 5-7 ODD/ CD 
Grades 8-10 Depression in High school


Causes/Risks
- Heredity
- Genetic Conditions
- Drinking during pregnancy
- Lack of oxygen at birth
- Toxins or disease
- Prematurity
- Low birth weight
- Chronic malnutrition


Presentation
- Jankowsha& Shaw (2012) International School Psychology Association
- "Good teaching is one key to creating resilience for children with borderline intelligence."
- "Of all the teacher characteristics predicting academic resilience, only child's perception that they care about the child as a person was predictive."
- "Teacher report working with these students as unrewarding, tend to ignore these students and don't tend to bond with them. " 


Strategies
- no fix
- Show this child you enjoy him or her
- Structure, routine, and predictability
- Progressive, step-wise learning
- Pre-teaching of concepts
- Reduce amount of work, amount of homework
- Instructions short and simple
-Teach organization and planning skills (task, task materials, lockers, desks, give extra set of books for home, checklists for materials needed, etc..)
- Use concrete and observable (See it, feel it, hear it, do it)
- Repetition
- Generalization
- Teach social skills
- Computer assisted, teach to interests, relevant to life
- Small group opportunities
- Teach how to copy with challenges and failure
- Teach how to persist.


Motivation to achieve must be greater than motivation to avoid
"I did my best today and it was enough" (Quote from the Borderline Intellectual Ability support facebook page).


How can we support these learners in Middle School and High School


- RTI Time/ Flex Time
- Provide scribes, readers etc.
- Digital Readers
- Provide video tutorials for them to access at anytime
- Teach them how to use assistive technologies
- Reteach during RTI
- Gradual release of responsibility
- Repetition
- More Visuals
- More Face to Face/Screencast Video Connection in an Online School
- Give students the option to share their knowledge in different ways with technology such as Vociethread.
- Preteach before they get to a lesson so that they walk in with confidence.
- How we communicate this to parents is important.  


ND Student Challenges and Strategies
Highschool 0.8 - 8.6 reading level.  Kids deemed for at risk to drop out.
Build that relationship with that child.

Be upfront with the areas or challenges that the students might have.  Have them become advocates for themselves.
Send out an email to each teacher.  Telling the teacher where they are at.  Teachers have a heads up.
Lots of choice for students. 
Making sure that kids, teachers and sub teachers know what they need to be successful.
See Ted Talks - Every kid needs a champion.

- Trish and Rori-Lynn could come in and present to the staff.  
 

Assessments can be given
- End of grade 3 and up
- ESL- should be in the country 3-5 years before assessment. 


Resources
Online with Alberta Ed. "Teaching Students with Autism". Good starting point for language for IPP's. 
Pedro's Whale- Story book


IPP's
Online with Alberta Ed. "Teaching Students with Autism". Good starting point for language for IPP's. 

Checklists
Go over a code 54 with students
Role we are playing in assessment - Fountas and Pinnell
Anecdotal notes - What happened before the incident - What happened, what were your strategies, and what are you doing with it next. 
Include medical alerts in the Continuum of Supports 


LIFT Allocations
I in LIFT - Where are we spending the majority of our time.
How do we access the expertise in our building.
Where do we get the time as our inclusion specialist to do this.
Trish will let us know when the PAT's accommodations need to be in.


****Next meeting February 3rd have your updates done for the Continuum of Supports Document.