• SOD department aims to increase the students’ participation in cultures and curricula.
• SOD department aims to meet the students’ needs by restructuring the policies and applied practices.
• It aims to help the students overcome barriers to learning and ensure their effective participation.
• It aims to emphasize FIA social responsibility in building the UAE community and developing its values.
• It aims to build a mutual relationship between the school and the UAE community.
• SOD department emphasizes that inclusion in education as a part of inclusion in society.

SOD department follows certain procedures to identify and support students with learning difficulties. These procedures listed below:

FIA values all children equally and endeavors to ensure that each child should have the opportunity to realize his/her potential in a challenging and supportive environment. We believe in providing the best possible provision for students of all abilities. We plan our teaching and learning so that each child can aspire to the highest level of personal achievement.

Definition 

What is Giftedness? Who is Talented?

The term giftedness refers to ‘a student who is in possession of untrained and spontaneously-expressed exceptional natural ability in one or more domain of human ability.

The term talented refers to ‘a student who has been able to transform his ‘giftedness’ into exceptional performance’.

All gifted students have the potential to be highly able but not all highly-able students are truly gifted.
Common distinctions between the Outstanding and gifted students:

• Intellectual
• Creative
• Social
• physical abilities

  Intellectual

• Gifted students are those who have superior general intellectual ability as revealed by intelligence and achievement tests and teacher ratings of their classroom performance.
• An intellectually gifted person may have a striking talent for mathematics without equally strong language skills.

Creative

• It is essential to understand their creative potential.
• The way of thinking of students with high potential, often differs from the way that other students think, because generally gifted present in their thinking many details that are present in a single idea, their answers are uncommon.

Social

• Gifted students are no different when it comes to navigating peer relationships. 
• They are often more sensitive and emotionally aware than other children, can easily be hurt by unkind comments.

Physical abilities

• Gifted students are those who are exceptional in motor skill abilities in many activities and maintain a high level of physical fitness.
• In general such student is simply a good all-round performer.
• In a game situation the gifted student seem to be in the right place at the right time.

Process of Supporting GAT
The following are key aspects to consider when personalizing education programs for students with special gifts and /or talents.

1. Differentiation

   An effectively differentiated curriculum meets the needs of students with a range of learning styles and ability levels. A differentiated curriculum is essential for gifted and talented learners whose potential is unlikely to develop without special educational provisions.

2. Pace

It is likely that gifted and talented students will learn at a faster pace. They may understand new concepts more easily and with fewer repetitions. Consequently teachers will need to provide appropriate challenge to sustain the students’ attention and desire to learn.

3. Assessment 

Assessment is an important, ongoing diagnostic tool for matching curriculum delivery to students’ needs. Pre-assessment allows teachers to determine what students already know, so that a more challenging learning program can be provided.

4. Curriculum Modification

Gifted and talented students generally understand concepts and ideas at a level which is above usual age-related expectations. Therefore the curriculum needs to be concept based and include complex, abstract ideas so that interests and abilities are challenged and extended.

5. Enrichment

It is expected that the vast majority of gifted and talented learners will be taught in mainstream classes as part of a differentiated curriculum. Provisions for gifted and talented learners need to include opportunities for enrichment, extension and acceleration within and beyond the classroom.

SOD services are being offered for students with special learning needs. These services depend on a set of criteria or standards to ensure an effective outcome, and these are:

• The presence of a private resource room where the SOD team can work with the student on one-to-one basis.
• A set of resources and material are available; such as a computer, a white board, visual aids, a specialized reading program( both English and Arabic). In addition to that flash cards, worksheets, and multisensory manipulatives that are prepared by the SOD team are available to cater to the students diverse learning needs.
• Classroom support is provided for students, if need be; especially in written tasks and quizzes.
• Each student should have a private educational portfolio that includes:
• Referral Checklist or Report filled out by the teacher
• Parent’s consent
• SOD and GAT checklist
• Informal, cirriculum-based assessment report.
• Formal Assessment
• An IEP ( Individuaized Educational Plan/ Program).
• On-going evaluations such as checklist, progress report, SST report, Parent Meeting Form,Parent Consent form,etc..
• A rotational pull-out schedule for each student.
• ALP (GAT)

A specific number of cases should be acknowledged at the beginning of the academic year( maximum till end of Term 1).

• Every case should be observed, assessed, and an action plan should be set for each student.
• SOD team should cater to the students’ social and emotional needs by  the aid of the social worker; thus, creating a supportive atmosphere inside and outside the class with the help of the classroom teacher.
• Positive reinforcers and direct corrective feedback should always be present in class and in one-to-one pull-out sessions.
• Intervention methods are and should always be flexible to cater for the special needs of these students.

If GAT students are allocated and identified, the SOD team develops an ALP to cater to the students’ additional needs with the support and cooperation of the classroom teacher.

Special Education Categories​
The UAE Ministry of Education has categorized the students’ disabilities to be able to provide the required support and programs as well as other related services.

Specific Learning Disabilities:
It refers to learning disorder related to basic psychological processes such as understanding, spoken or written language that affects the student’s ability to perform the required academic tasks or skills.
Physical disability:
It refers to the student’s physical problems that lead to poor or limited functionality and adversely affects his or her academic performance. This might include asthma, hyperactivity, heart disease, epilepsy, and head injuries etc.
Sensory Impairment:
It is related to impairment vision that affects a student’s performance negatively. This term includes partially and blindness.  Hearing impairment involves permanent or fluctuating issues such as deafness.
Speech and Language Disorders:
It means that students might have communication disorder including stuttering, impaired articulation, or language impairment that affects the students’ performance.
Autism Spectrum Disorders:
It is known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs) and it is usually accompanied with impairment in thinking and feeling.
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders:
It is a condition in which a student might not be able to learn in a case that can’t be identified by intellectual or health factors. Also, it includes poor interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers and inappropriate behavior under normal circumstances, a general unhappiness or depression, and fear.
Intellectual Disabilities:
It refers to having poor or limited intellectual skills as well as a difficulty to adapt behaviors during the developmental period. ​
Gifted and Talented:
It refers to the students’ unique abilities in one or more areas of intelligence. This includes creativity, outstanding academic achievements, or any other unique skills that could be supported.
Exclusion
​The term disability doesn’t apply to children with learning difficulties that are a result of one of the following:

• Environmental factors
• Cultural factors such as not being a native speaker of Arabic language.
• Students who have experienced academic failure. ​

Context and Key Priorities:

The department realizes that there are some gaps that need to be fixed and as a result a set of priorities are identified:

• Improve students’ phonological Awareness  and decoding skills by implementing intensive hands-on activities both inside the classroom and the resource room.
• Develop the teachers’ capacity and skills to work with SOD students professionally.
• Engage the school staff by conducting continuous CPDs and Workshops that help in identifying and developing an awareness regarding SOD categories and intervention techniques.
• Ensure that our Plans and IEPs reflect ADEK’s standards and recommendations.
• Ensure that the SOD students are learning and developing prerequisite skills in an active, collaborative, and inclusive context, that cater to all their needs.

Key drivers for our plan:
The SEN Department identified the following key drivers for planning:

• ADEK’s Rules and Regulations Regarding SOD and GAT:

All SEN students have the right of an inclusive education in the least restrictive environment no matter what the difficulties are ( academic, physical/medical, social, behavioral,etc…)

• Well-Developed Plans ( IEPs, ILPs, ALPs):

All action plans should be designed to cater to the specific needs of each student. The goals/objectives should be SMART and the plan itself should be revised and modified at the end of every school term.

• SEN Program and Learning skills (21st skills):

The SEN department ensures 21st century skills are reflected in the plans (IEP)and being developed and implemented through one-on-one instruction during pull-out sessions as well as in grade-level lesson plans.

• Arabic Language and SOD:

The SEN department will ensure that their plans will include and cater to Arabic Language skills, and this is ensured by identifying weakness, planning to remediate prerequisite skills, addressing weaknesses, assessing performance, and re-planning to cater to pending objectives.

• SOD and use of technology to support learning:

The SEN department will ensure technology is used to support students’ learning where appropriate, especially in remediating and developing phonics and spelling skills.

Planning Phases: 
We ensure our that plans address the short term objectives that pave the way to long term attainment of skills through monitoring the teaching and learning process( both inside the classroom and resource room), and the students’ outcomes ( attainment and progress). This is based on three key indicators:

• Enhancing resources
• Providing continuous CPDs to ensure that intervention techniques are systematic
• Ensuring that assessment is modified to cater to each specific need