ongoing sessions or a personalized education plan – outaouais only
A special education teacher is an education specialist who works with primary and secondary students who have specific learning difficulties in reading, writing, or mathematics.
Whether or not the academic difficulties observed are related to a learning disability or an attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADD/H), our special education services are for any student who needs a personalized learning environment adapted to his or her needs.
Our special education team often works in collaboration with other multidisciplinary specialists to help students who have a learning disability and need to develop learning strategies adapted to their situation.
The most common diagnoses requiring a special education intervention are the following:
- Dyslexia
- Dysorthographia
- Dyscalculia
- Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD)
- Difficulties related to organization
- A non-verbal learning disorder
- Systematic difficulties related to reading and reading comprehension
- Difficulties related to memorization
- Difficulties visualizing or making connections between concepts
- Difficulties related to cognitive strategies
Initial special education consultation for parents
As parents it is sometimes hard to know where to begin when a child shows persistent signs of academic difficulties. Being able to start with a special education consultation can be enlightening for parents who :
- Are worried about their child’s academic results, which from their point of view keep getting worse;
Finally, the initial special education consultation will also help determine whether or not it would be useful to proceed with a special education assessment, and in some cases, to contact a specialist such as a neuropsychologist, a psychologist, a speech therapist, or an occupational therapist.
Special education assessment
A special education assessment has three parts:
- A standardized evaluation to screen for and identify learning disabilities and academic difficulties in French (writing and reading) and in mathematics (logical-mathematical reasoning);
- An evaluation report with practical recommendations for the parents, teachers, and other specialists involved at school;
- A meeting with the parents to review the report and, if necessary, advise on proper equipment or educational materials to be purchased. In some cases, the special education teacher might recommend consulting another specialist. The reasons for this recommendation and a list of trustworthy specialists would be provided.
Finally, the special education assessment process will identify cognitive strategies and appropriate learning methods that will help the child in reading, writing, and reasoning.
