Identifying Special Needs

Diagnostic Checklists for Profiling Individual Differences

Identifying Special Needs provides expert guidance to recognising and categorising the specific characteristics of a range of special needs. Drawing on her experience as an educational psychologist and special education teacher, Glynis Hannell provides easy-to-use checklists to help teachers quickly and accurately gather information to determine whether individual students need specialised attention and services, and guidelines on how to provide this help.

This unique book offers diagnostic criteria and supporting notes for a wide range of special educational needs, including autism spectrum disorders, communication disorders, social and emotional issues, cognitive disabilities and specific learning disorders. Relevant to both primary and secondary school students, all checklists can be photocopied for ease of use and downloaded from the companion website. This fully revised third edition includes additional information on guiding conversations with parents, children and colleagues, as well as advice to parents on how to select outside professionals.

The practical checklists and resources help teachers and educational professionals to:

Identify and understand special needs

• screen any student for possible special needs;

  understand the causes and characteristics of various types of special needs;

  link classroom observations to diagnostic criteria used by specialists.

Profile individual differences

• create accurate and comprehensive profiles for individual students, including positive characteristics;
• record each student’s unique pattern of development within a special needs ‘label’.

Work together with colleagues and parents

• quickly record important information and avoid writing time-consuming reports;

  request and prepare for further assessment and intervention;

  coordinate information from several teachers or professionals;

  involve parents in observing and discussing their child’s pattern of strengths and challenges;

  plan effective, inclusive intervention in the classroom setting;

  follow up with recommended further reading, websites and professional references.

Based on internationally accepted diagnostic criteria, and relevant for educational professionals worldwide, this is an essential book for teachers, psychologists and other specialists to ensure that the children and adolescents in their care receive the support they need to succeed.