Exploring Exceptionalities

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Explain various disability classification systems as they relate to disability definitions, assessment and diagnosis

- Investigate terminology used in disability classifications systems

- Consider the historical progression of disability classification systems

- Define disability in the Canadian context

- Compare and contrast the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) with other classification and assessment models, e.g. AAIDD, ICD, ICF, DM-ID, RTI

2. Describe characteristics of a variety of mental and physical disability labels

- Examine the etiology, prevalence and incidence of various major disability labels

- Compare and contrast types of disability, i.e. cognitive versus physical; invisible versus visible; acquired versus development; progressives versus intermittent versus stable

- Consider the additional complexities of dual  (multiple) diagnosis

- Keep in mind that a disability is what someone has, not what someone is and that knowledge about a disability type is only a single tool in supporting an individual who has a disability

3. Explore the eligibility to funding for typical support and treatment services for several disability labels.

- Describe the assessment process for several exceptionalities, such as ASD, FASD, mental illnesses, intellectual disability

- Describe the funding eligibility and process for several exceptionalities, such as ASD, FASD, mental illness and intellectual disability.