Diverse Learners

Teachers welcome many (and hopefully all!) types of learners into their classrooms.
This document highlights the different kinds of minds they will encounter.

"Disability," defined
"Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation
restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a
HO difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation
y sW restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations" (WHO ICF).
S a l
i c a
d
e l "views disability as a feature of the person, directly caused by disease,
M
e o d e trauma or other health condition, which requires medical care provided in
h
T M the form of individual treatment by professionals" (WHO ICF).
i a l
o c "sees disability as a socially created problem and not at all an attribute of an
e S el
h o d individual" (WHO ICF).
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While the World Health Organization advocates
for an approach that combines both models, the
social model is a more holistic and widely-
accepted model, especially by individuals with
disabilities, their, advocates, and many non-
medical professionals.

Definitions/Criteria from the

2005-2010 Teachers'
Collective Agreement
At-risk: "At-risk students are students who display characteristics likely to affect their learning or
behaviour that will place them in a vulnerable situation, particularly, with respect to academic
failure or their socialization, without immediate intervention." * Note: These students are not
"categorized" or "coded" in the same way as the students with more specific special needs
included below.
Behavioural difficulties linked to psychosocial disturbances: "students whose overall functioning . . .
shows that the student displays: aggressive or destructive behaviour of an antisocial nature [. . .];
repetitive and persistent behaviour that significantly violates other students'rights or the social rules
appropriate for an age group and which takes the form of verbal or physical aggression,
irresponsible behaviour and the constant challenging of authority."
Students with handicaps: "a person with a deficiency causing a significant and persistent disability,
whois liable to encounter barriers in performing everyday activities.
Learning difficulties: "[W]hen . . . remedial measures . . . have not enabled the student to make
sufficient progress in his or her learning to meet the minimum requirements for successful completion
of. . . language of instruction or mathematics."
Moderate to profound intellectual handicaps: "students whose cognitive functions . . . show a level of
general functioning that is clearly below average, as well as impaired adaptive behaviour appearing
from the beginning of the development period."
Pervasive Developmental Disorders: "students whose overall functioning . . . leads to one of the
following diagnoses: autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger
syndrome, or a non-specific pervasive developmental disorder" (Please note: the definition as it
appears in the Collective Agreement requires updating in accordance with the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- see www.dsm5.org).

MEES Coding System for Students with The inclusive adult

education classroom
Special Needs (Youth Sector) supports all kinds of
14. Severe behavioural disorders diversity:
23. Profound intellectual impairment
24. Moderate to severe intellectual
impairments
33. Mild motor impairments or organic
impairments Implications
34. Language disorders
24. Moderate to severe intellectual
impairments - Funding - sexual/gender diversity
23. Profound intellectual impairments - Class composition/size - cultural diversity
50. Pervasive developmental disorders - Resources (access to support - linguistic diversity
53. Psychopathological disorders staff and consultants, assisted - religious diversity
99. Atypical disorders technologies) - economic diversity
36. Severe motor impairments - Individualized education
42. Visual impairments plans
44. Hearing impairments