According to the Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of Witwatersrand, deafness is one of the single largest prevailing disabilities in South Africa affecting more than 4 million D/deaf people, out of whom 300,000 to 400,000 are profoundly affected. For children hearing is key to learning spoken language, performing academically, and engaging socially. WHAT IS HEARING IMPAIRMENT? Hearing impairment is a partial or total inability to hear in one or both ears and can have several different causes. It is important to be familiar with the cause of the child’s …
Autism is known as a “spectrum” disorder because there is wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) occurs in all ethnic, racial, and economic groups. WHAT IS AUTISM? Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behaviour. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is said to be a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. INFO FACTSHEET: Including Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Epilepsy is a neurological condition characterised by unusual electrical activity in the brain causing unprovoked seizures. When there is a sudden excessive electrical discharge that disrupts the normal activity of the nerve cells, a seizure may result. IESA FACTSHEET: Including Learners with Epilepsy
An inflexible curriculum does not respond to the wide variety of learner needs. Inclusive Education refers to the capacity of ordinary local schools to respond to the needs of ALL learners, including those requiring extra support because of learning or physical barriers, social disadvantage, cultural difference or other diverse learning needs. Please feel free to download our factsheet and share – if you have any questions or enquiries please contact us at info@included.org.za IESA FACTSHEET: What is Differentiated Teaching?
Around the world there is a far greater emphasis on investigating the symptoms of ADHD and finding out why the child behaves as he/she does, and then finding solutions which may, but do not necessarily, include medication. These could include healthy eating, supplements, exercise, counselling and other therapies. IESA FACTSHEET: INCLUDING A LEARNER WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER Please feel free to download and share – if you have any questions or enquiries please contact us at info@included.org.za
IESA is proud to announce that it launches the second version of its first ever periodical: Inclusion In Education – Perspectives on Inclusive Education in South Africa. This initiative was developed in order to establish a credible journal, in which research findings and examples of good practice would be made accessible to a wide range of interested education stakeholders. IESA seeks to contribute to the inclusive conversation and share perspectives about inclusive education in South Africa. Currently, this periodical is issued once a year with plans to issue it twice a year. Find your second issue here: Inclusion in Education - Perspectives on Inclusive Education in South Africa Volume 2
Applications for school enrolment are now open. We are very aware that this is often a time filled with much anxiety and therefore, we at IESA would like to share some new tips together with information drawn from a past article written by our Senior Information and Support Officer, Caroline Taylor. We hope that this will guide you as you make your applications for 2020. Unabridged Versus Abridged One of the latest issues to be aware of is that some schools are asking for unabridged Birth Certificates rather than the abridged one. This has resulted in many parents feeling anxious at the prospect of having to queue at Home Affairs. To note is that the process for ID documents are separate from the applications for birth certificates, and this means…
When you have handed out the standard assessment to a learner at exam/test time, have you ever felt that there is really no chance of him making it? We know there are learners whose writing or language skills are poor but, if they are given more time and a different type of assessment, they are able to convey their understanding of the work. Department of Education Policy guidelines provide solutions to this. An example is applying for assessment accommodations regarding barriers to learning and/or immigrant status requests for assessment purposes for learners who require them. The following guidelines are extracts from WCED Circular 0017/2016: Which learners are eligible for accommodations? Those who experience barriers to learning arising from a disability, learning difficulty, learning disability or behaviour and/or psycho-social disorder which…
