About students with special needs (SEN)

This course aims to develop knowledge, understanding and skills of teachers and support staff who work with students who have special needs. It aims to help teachers implement differentiated learning to meet the needs of students with special educational needs, including:

• Intellectual Impairment
• Downs Syndrome
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
• Profound Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD)
• Cerebral Palsy

Course outline

The Introduction to Special Education Needs course, crafted collaboratively by the Special Education team (in the Northern Territory), alongside OnLineTraining and the Northern Territory (NT) chapter of the Australian Association for Special Education (AASE), is tailored to empower educators with the skills and knowledge necessary to support students with special needs. This comprehensive training is designed to enhance educators' ability to help these students navigate and overcome their unique learning challenges.

This course focuses on:

• A focus on a broad spectrum of disabilities, including Intellectual Impairment, Down Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Multiple Impairments, and Cerebral Palsy, providing educators with a deep understanding of these conditions and their impact on learning.
• Comprehensive training aimed at upskilling teachers to implement best practices in special education across all educational environments within the NT, ensuring that differentiated learning strategies are effectively tailored to meet the diverse needs of individual students.
• A distinctive emphasis on the specific policies, procedures, and challenges relevant to the NT, alongside a broader understanding of the various disabilities prevalent among the student population.

Upon successful completion of this course, educators will be better equipped to foster inclusive, supportive, and effective learning environments that cater to the individual needs of students with special needs, thereby contributing to their success and well-being in the educational landscape of the Northern Territory.

This course is divided into sections.

• Introduction to disability legislation and policy
  This section aims to raise awareness of legislation and policy pertaining to students with disabilities.
• Understanding a range of disabilities
  This section provides factual information about a range of high incidence disabilities, including cerebral palsy, intellectual impairment and Down syndrome.
• Strategies for the classroom
  This section aims to raise awareness of the importance of prioritising learning needs, and provide an understanding of assessment tools and strategies to support students with disabilities.
• Case Studies
  View real examples that illustrate both the student voice, and how experienced teachers may manage students in the classroom.

Who is the course for?

This is a foundation course aimed at those who want to gain a broad understanding of disability and special needs, and the legislative context.

Why join the course?

Participants’ pre and post-course evaluations demonstrate significantly increased confidence in identifying, assessing and supporting learners with this additional learning need.

This course looks at the impact this range of special educational needs can have on a student’s life and shows how you can make your classroom and practice more inclusive for these students. You will learn how to further understand their needs and develop a range of strategies to improve learning outcomes.

See what people say about our courses...

What you will learn

On successful completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• understand the concept of educational inclusion
• have an awareness of a range of disabilities
• be familiar with the School Support Services (SSS) delivery model based on Response to Intervention (RtI) and relevant legislation
• have an awareness of the ways in which schools can accommodate and support all students, including the use of the Student Needs Profile (SNP) and the development of Educational Adjustment Plans
• have an understanding of a range of disabilities
• be able to identify characteristics associated with certain disabilities
• be aware of possible behaviours that arise from the characteristics of disabilities, and their causes
• be aware of a range of intervention strategies
• be able to identify appropriate strategies for individual learners
• have identified what strategies to use with the young person with whom you are working
• have had the opportunity to view a number of case studies

You might also be interested in

• Understanding Autism
• Dyslexia and Significant Difficulties in Reading
• Speech Language and Communication Needs course