Case study: Omar

Collaborative curriculum planning for Omar

Omar is in Year 7 and has an acquired brain injury, sustained at 3 years of age. Omar has always enjoyed using technology. In primary school, he particularly enjoyed the process of designing and building his own creations.

Omar has muscle weakness in all limbs. He developed seizures at 4 years of age. An occupational therapist and speech pathologist assess Omar regularly. They also contribute to his personalised plan. Diagnostic testing revealed that Omar has difficulties with receptive and expressive language. It also revealed he has difficulty with handling and manipulating objects.

Omar enjoys using technology to communicate, particularly using his tablet to take photos. His keyboard skills are developing, so he uses a switch-adapted mouse. This assists him with typing. He has regular in-class support from specialist staff to assist him with using his assistive technology.

Omar has difficulty in the following areas in the classroom:

• sequencing ideas
• analysing information and linking concepts
• problem solving
• composing sustained written responses
• responding to nonverbal cues, such as tone of voice
• typing on a keyboard
• handling and manipulating objects
• maintaining engagement for sustained periods of time.

Omar responds well to assistance when he is learning a new skill. He enjoys opportunities to be independent.

Omar’s support team meet to discuss his learning goals and priorities. His support team includes:

• the special education teacher
• Year advisor
• occupational therapist
• speech pathologist
• his parents.

Using collaborative curriculum planning, they identify that Omar requires substantial adjustments in all his subjects. They decide he should work towards Stage 2 Mathematics and English outcomes. They also decide he should work towards Stage 4 outcomes for all other subjects.

Adjustments for Omar

Through collaborative curriculum planning, it’s decided that Omar would benefit from the following adjustments:

• Using assistive technology for composing short simple sentences. For example, speech to text software or keyboard.
• Note-taking scaffolds, preferably in a digital format.
• Annotating images to demonstrate understanding. For example, the markup feature for photos on an iPad.
• Using visual aids such as photographs, pictures or symbols to demonstrate key terminology and concepts.
• Checklists to support self-organisation.
• Peer support.
• Physical prompts to model skill development. For example, hand over hand.
• Verbal contributions to class discussions.
• Regular rest breaks and extra time for tasks.
• Ensuring his school equipment is easily accessible in his classrooms. For example, arranging for his classes to be located close together and providing a locker or storage area nearby to hold his equipment.

Omar’s Technology teacher considers how these adjustments can be used to support Omar’s learning throughout the unit of work. His Technology teacher includes them in his program, describing ways in which Omar can demonstrate evidence of his learning.