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The NCSE document is an essential document to read before beginning the process of creating or planning an IEP. It contains the requirements for an IEP and also contains some examples.

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A simple and straightforward breakdown of what Individual Education Plans are for teachers, parents and students.

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Individual Educational Plan (IEPs) - Stepping Stones School

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Individual Educational Plan (IEPs) What is an Individual Education Plan?
An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a written document prepared for a named student. Specifies the learning goals that are to be achieved by the student over a set period of time and the teaching strategies, resources and supports necessary to

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The student support file which a support plan is created to help support the student along their learning journey. It contains the log of actions, support checklist, support plan and support review record.

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The guidelines for the student support file which contains information on how to approach the student support file in both primary and post-primary education.

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An in depth guideline for teachers in post-primary schools which focuses on including all children in education, and how support should be offered.

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This website gives an introduction of "what is dyslexia?" and provides reliable information regarding dyslexia.

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Dyslexia Association Ireland | Supporting Children & Adults with Dyslexia

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Our vision is a dyslexia friendly society. Where everyone with dyslexia is enabled to fulfil their potential.

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This website provides numerous documents and resources for both teachers, parents and students on dyslexia and how to support it.

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This website places cookies on your computer to improve your experience. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. For more details, see our privacy policy. I agree

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The British Dyslexia Association is the voice for the 10% of the population that are dyslexic

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A website that holds numerous teacher created resources and aids for dyslexia that will promote learning.

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Dyslexia Reading Aids and Resources | SEND | Twinkl - Twinkl

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Looking for dyslexia support? Browse through this page to discover a wide selection of engaging and teacher-made dyslexia reading aids and resources.

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Text to speech software that students with dyslexia can use.

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ClaroRead - Text to Speech Software | Claro Software

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ClaroRead is easy-to-use software that helps to increase student confidence in reading and writing. Get in touch for your free DSA assessor copy today.

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Reading pens for dyslexia are handheld devices that scan and read text aloud, helping individuals with reading difficulties improve comprehension and independence. This website offers these pens, and also offers information regarding them.

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Scanning Pens | Dyslexia Reading Aids for Students and Adults

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Welcome to Scanning Pens, an award-winning portable assistive technology company offering you a range of reading pens and helpful resources for your school.

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Information booklet for parents on awareness and assessing visual impairments of children.

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This website offers support and awareness for teachers, parents and students about visual impairments, and also provides information on additional resources such as visiting teachers and guide dogs.

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Fighting Blindness incorporating The National League of the Blind - We are a patient-led charity with a mission to cure blindness. We are the leading Irish charity funding research into treatments for sight loss.

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Education supports for students who are blind or visually impaired can vary from school to school. This can happen because of resource availability or because of a lack of knowledge about what is needed.

Sight loss affects people in different ways. It is important for parents and students to voice their concerns and ask for whatever type of assistance the individual needs at that particular time.

Below is some information that may be helpful as you advocate for yourself or for your child.

National Council for Special Education (NCSE)

The NCSE have produced a booklet to inform parents and guardians of supports and services available for children and young people who are blind or have a visual impairment. You can download the booklet here.

ChildVision

ChildVision is dedicated to the education and therapy needs of children who are living with blindness or multiple disabilities and vision impairment. They cater for students from all over Ireland, ranging in age from birth to 23 years of age. For more information visit their website here or contact them on info@childvision.ie or 01 837 3635.

National Braille Production Centre

National Braille Production at ChildVision was established to meet the educational needs of children with a visual impairment attending either mainstream or special education at both primary and secondary level. They offer books in Braille, Large Print, text files, and DAISY format. For more information visit the ChildVision website or contact them on 01 837 3635 or braille@childvision.ie.

Visiting Teacher Service

The Inclusion Support Service (which is part of the National Council of Special Education) operates Visiting Teacher Service for deaf or hard-of-hearing children and children with visual impairments. Visiting teachers aim to be a support to both the parents or guardian and the child.

They assess and evaluate the needs of each child and provide information and advice to assess educational planning for children and young people with visual impairments.

They work closely with colleagues from a range of educational and other professional backgrounds, in addition to national organisations to ensure a multi-disciplinary approach to the student's education.

The Visiting Teacher Service is available for pre-school, primary and post-primary education. More information about the service is available here on the NCSE website and a list of visiting teachers by area, along with their contact details can be found here.

Irish Guidedogs Next Steps Programme

The Next Step Programme aims to equip young people who are blind or vision impaired with the skills to manage the transition to life in college. For more information visit their website or contact Irish Guidedogs at clientservices@guidedogs.ie or 1850 506 300.

Disability Access Route to Education (DARE)

DARE is a third level alternative admissions scheme for school leavers, whose disabilities have posed additional academic challenges. DARE is for school leavers under the age of 23, who are determined to pursue a higher education degree despite the challenges they face. The steps to the application process can be found here.

The Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD)

AHEAD is an independent non-profit organisation working to promote full access to and participation in further and higher education for students with disabilities and to enhance their employment prospects on graduation. AHEAD provides information to students and graduates with disabilities, teachers, guidance counsellors and parents on disability issues in education. AHEAD works with graduates and employers through the GET AHEAD Graduate Forum and the WAM Mentored Work Placement Programme. AHEAD coordinates LINK, a worldwide network of professionals promoting the inclusion of students and graduates with disabilities in Higher Education managed by six European partner organisations. For more information visit their website here.

Disability Services in Third Level Institutions

All third level institutions will have a support service for students with disabilities. These will vary depending on the size of the institution. In some places it may fall under the remit of the Access Office and others will have a large Disability Support Service. Some colleges hold a weekend prior to the start of the college year for students on DARE to get to know the campus and facilities. Contact the relevant institution for more information about their services.

CareersPortal.ie

CareersPortal.ie is Ireland's national career guidance website, providing the most up-to-date and relevant career information and resources to those needing or providing career guidance. Information about the impact of vision impairment on learning, learning strategies and available supports can be found on their website here.

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Education - Fighting Blindness incorporating The National League of the Blind

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Education supports for students who are blind or visually impaired can vary from school to school. This can happen because of resource availability or because of a lack of knowledge about what is needed. Sight loss affects people in different ways. It is important for parents and students to voice their concerns and ask for

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This YouTube video provides a simulation for teachers and parents showing the differences and difficulties that may arise from being visually impaired.

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This is a brief straightforward fact sheet explaining dyscalculia, the trouble areas and ways to help.

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An in-depth look into dyscalculia and the difficulties and supports involved. It also contains links to websites and supports for parents and students to help them with their learning journey.

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Defining Dyscalculia

Dyscalculia is a learning difference that can cause difficulties with core mathematics. It affects approximately 6-8% of the population. It occurs on a spectrum with some people mildly affected and others more severely. With the right understanding, accommodations and support, people with dyscalculia can achieve success in education, the workplace and in wider society.
People with dyscalculia lack an intuitive grasp of simple number concepts or 'number sense'. They have difficulties estimating the magnitude of numbers, exhibit poor understanding of number relationships, and lack fluency with simple numerical operations. Often if the right answer is achieved or the correct procedure followed, it is done so mechanically, with great effort and without confidence.
Dyscalculia is not a general difficulty with learning, it impacts specific skill areas. Dyscalculia is distinct from mathematical difficulties arising from literacy or other learning difficulties, or maths anxiety but can co-occur with these difficulties. The impact of dyscalculia can change according to the environment (i.e. what a dyscalculic person is being asked to do and under what circumstances).

Language, Recognition and Rights

Some people prefer the wording 'a person with dyscalculia', while others prefer the term 'a dyscalculic person'. When working with individuals it is important to use the terminology that the person is most comfortable with. When communicating with a wider audience the terms may be used interchangeably to reflect the variation of preference that exists.

Dyscalculia is a recognised disability under Irish and EU law (such as under equalities, accessibility and disability legislation). However, many dyscalculic people do not consider themselves 'disabled' and this view should be respected.

What difficulties might be experienced by a student with Dyscalculia?

These students often experience difficulties with basic mathematical or numerical tasks or processes such as adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing. Students can also experience difficulty knowing which mathematical process should be employed based on context.

Other challenges can include telling the time using an analogue watch or clock, handling money or calculating change.

There is a high incidence of co-diagnosis of dyslexia with dyscalculia. This obviously leads to greater challenges for these students.

Students with dyscalculia will often experience a lack of confidence or low self-esteem as a result of previous experiences with trying to study maths.

What can you do to support these students?

New concepts should be introduced using concrete examples only moving to more abstract concepts after these examples have been thoroughly understood by the student.

Multi-sensory teaching can help students who have difficulty with a particular delivery method e.g. visual or aural.

Present mathematical processes or procedures in a number of ways - often students will grasp a concept if it is approached in an alternative way.

Encourage students to ask questions at all stages if they are having difficulty.

Maths teaching should be structured and cumulative and the use of multi-sensory methods employed.

Simple examples should be used for new concepts and concepts should always be introduced at the concrete level with materials before going to maths problems in number, symbol and word form.

The language used should be transparent and students should be encouraged to put mathematical terms into their own words.

Appropriate aids such as number lines, number squares, and calculators should be available, and students should be taught how to use them.

Computer programmes can be useful to help consolidate learning.

Metacognitive strategies will be particularly useful for problem-solving.

The book 'Teaching Numeracy to Children with Dyslexia' by Pauline Clayton may be useful for further strategies.

Have a plan or strategy, which works in any math word problem situation. When a student is presented with a question that requires mathematical calculation, they may benefit from following the 12 steps provided:

1. Read the problem carefully looking for clues and important information. Write down the clues, underline, or highlight the clues.

2. If necessary, rewrite the problem to help find these clues.

3. Look for clues to determine which math operation is needed to solve the problem, for example, addition, subtraction, etc. Look for keywords like sum, difference, product, perimeter, area, etc. They lead to the operation needed to solve the problem.

4. Look for what is needed to solve the problem, for example: how many will are left, the total will be, everyone gets red, everyone gets one of each, etc.

5. Use variable symbols, such as "X" for missing information.

6. Eliminate all non-essential information by drawing a line through distracting information.

7. Draw sketches, drawings, and models to see the problem.

8. Is the word problem similar to previous work, if so how was it solved?

9. Develop a plan based on the information determined to be important for solving the problem.

10. Carry out the plan using the math operations which were determined would find the answer.

11. Does the answer seem reasonable, if it does then it is probably ok - if not then check the work.

12. Work the problem in reverse or backwards, starting with the answer to see if you wind up with your original problem.

Useful Websites

https://ie.ixl.com/math/ provides Irish curriculum-based support from Junior Infants up to 6th year for Maths and English subjects.

Further information and videos which may be helpful can be accessed at http://www.stevechinn.co.uk/

Free multisensory maths tutorials can be accessed at www.alison.com.

www.helpmykidlearn.ie - provides ideas for parents of children aged 0 - 12 to learn on a number of topics, from numeracy, literacy, and communication skills.

http://www.primarygames.com/math.php and http://www.mathplayground.com/ - maths games for children.

Equatio works on Windows, Mac and Chromebook. It lets the user type, handwrite or dictate equations, formulas and more directly to the computer of Chromebook to create mathematical expressions digitally. With intuitive prediction, it can speed up the accuracy of simple and more complex maths expressions.

Books

"What to do when you can't..." series by Steve Chinn.

"Power of 2" series by David J. Sharp (2001).

"The Trouble with Maths: A Practical Guide to Helping Learners with Numeracy Difficulties" by Steve Chinn (2004).

"The Math Handbook; For students with maths difficulties, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia or ADHD" by Helmy Faber (2017).

Dyslexia and Maths Difficulties

Maths difficulties are common in students with Dyslexia. The areas of maths that students with dyslexia find the most difficult are:

The language of maths: Some students struggles to read and understand the vocabulary in maths questions, and therefore do not know what task they are being asked to do. Many different words can be used to describe the same action, e.g. add, increase, plus, total.

Sequencing: The learning of maths is very sequential, but to successfully complete many maths problems a very strict sequence must be followed. Learning multiplication tables is all about learning a strict sequence of information.

Orientation: Difficulties with orientation and direction can lead to confusion of maths symbols. Some people with dyslexia show weakness in the Coding subtest in the assessment, meaning that they struggle to decode symbols accurately and quickly.

Memory: There are many facts, figures, tables, and formulas which have to be learnt and recalled accurately.

Confidence: A lack of confidence in their own maths ability can worsen the above difficulties.

For more information on strategies for dyslexia and maths you can download our handout below:
Dyslexia and Maths Difficulties (PDF)

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Dyscalculia and Maths Difficulties | Dyslexia Ireland

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Dyscalculia is a learning difference that can cause difficulties with core mathematics. It affects approximately 6-8% of the population. It occurs on a spectrum with some people mildly affected and others more severely. With the right understanding, accommodations and support, people with dyscalculia can achieve success in education, the workplace and in wider society.

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A video which explains the best tips for supporting students with dyscalculia.

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Top Tips for Supporting Learners with Dyscalculia and Maths Learning Difficulties

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This information comes from asiam.ie, which is an Irish autism charity that explains what is autism.

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Diagnostic Criteria for Autism

Since there is no biological test for Autism, Clinicians use diagnostic criteria, or a checklist of observable traits or characteristics, to determine a diagnosis. There are two main tools used in Ireland.

DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

The DSM-5 is a manual that clinicians in Ireland and many other countries use to diagnose Autism and other neurotypes, as well as mental health conditions. When you are going through an assessment for Autism, the clinician will use the criteria outlined in this document.

If an Autism diagnosis is confirmed, the DSM-5 also outlines three levels of severity based on how much support an individual may need:

Level 3 - requires very substantial support
Level 2 - requires substantial support
Level 1 - requires support

These are based on social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour.

Please note the DSM-5 is not a perfect tool.

No two Autistic people are the same and vary significantly in their strengths and challenges. It is difficult to capture individualism through a classification tool. This is why it is important to pick a professional who has experience working with Autistic people.

Additionally, the language used within the DSM-5 is not welcomed by many in the Autism community. It frames Autism as a disorder and Autistic behaviours as impairments, deficits and abnormalities. This goes against how AsIAM defines Autism.

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As I Am | Ireland's Autism Charity | What is Autism?

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'What is autism' is a question to which the answer is constantly evolving. It is now understood as an invisible condition one is born with.

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The Irish autism website that has a range of information, resources and supports available.

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Founded in 1963, the Irish Society for Autism is the longest established dedicated organisation for people with Autism in Ireland.

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The Autism Good Practice Guidance for Schools is issued by the Irish Government and provides information om how schools, teachers and parents should adapt and cater for students with autism.

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Sensory processing relating to autism is important for teachers to understand, as they will be able to cater for the students in their lessons.

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As I Am | Ireland’s Autism Charity | FAQs

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Discover answers to frequently asked questions about Autism. Get insights and information to better understand diagnosis, symptoms, treatment options, and more.

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This website explains what is ADHD, the signs of it and how it can be managed.

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ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a medical/neurobiological condition in which the brain's neurotransmitter chemicals; noradrenalin and dopamine do not work properly.

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This file offers teachers an understanding of ADHD and how it can be managed, and how they can adapt their lessons to include all.

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This case study shows how Shadi Abdalla who was ADHD, managed himself to get work started.

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This factsheet explains to teachers what they should know, and what they should do in regards to students with a TBI.

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What Teachers Should Know

A severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is damage to the brain caused by an injury that changes the way the brain normally works. Concussions are sometimes called mild TBIs, and most have a temporary effect on brain function. Severe TBIs usually have longer-lasting effects.

Severe TBIs can cause temporary or permanent impairments in:

memory and attention

coordination, balance, and mobility

language and communication skills

hearing, vision, touch, smell, and taste

emotions, resulting in depression, anxiety, aggression, poor impulse control, and personality changes

Severe TBIs can affect all aspects of students' lives, including:

relationships with family, friends, classmates, and teachers

how they learn and participate in classroom and extracurricular activities

Students with TBI may:

have short- and long-term memory loss

need frequent breaks due to inability to concentrate for long periods of time

require seating accommodations or assistive devices in the classroom

need help and/or extra time getting to other classes

struggle with writing, reading, and other academic tasks they used to be able to do

have seizures or other neurological changes

seem depressed, anxious, or show aggressive or inappropriate behaviors

miss classroom time for medical appointments and to visit the school nurse for medicine

benefit from individualized education programs (IEPs) or 504 education plans

need extra time to complete homework and assignments

What Teachers Can Do

The effects of a TBI vary from person to person. Speak with your student's parents or guardians, the school counselor or psychologist, and special education staff to find ways to customize your instruction.

Students with TBIs often face a long-term healing process. To help students with problems related to concentration, organization, and memory, you can:

reduce distractions in the classroom

break assignments into smaller tasks

repeat and review assignments and have students write them down

provide a checklist of tasks to complete each day

give extra time for tests and assignments

Date reviewed: November 2019

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Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Factsheet (for Schools)

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A severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is damage to the brain caused by an injury that changes the way the brain normally works. Concussions are sometimes called mild TBIs, and most have a temporary effect on brain function. Severe TBIs usually have longer-lasting effects.

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This video shows schools how they can help or support students who are in school with TBI.