Identification and educational placement of students with intellectual disability in Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the identification and educational placement of students considered to have intellectual disability in the Canadian context and, specifically, the province of Ontario. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to describe trends in the school-based identification of students with mild intellectual disability and developmental disability based on the Ontario criteria over a 14-year period, as well as current patterns characterizing classroom placement. METHODS: Using data provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education, a doubly multivariate analysis of variance and profile analysis were performed. RESULTS: Findings revealed a statistically significant decrease in the number of students identified with mild intellectual disability over time, and that students identified with developmental disability per the provincial criteria accessed their education in specialized settings at a significantly higher rate than their peers with mild intellectual disability. CONCLUSIONS: Reasons for differences in the identification and placement of the two groups of students are explored relative to the research context.

Parent perspectives on inclusive education for students with intellectual disability: A scoping review of the literature.

The aim of this study was to collect and analyze research on inclusive education from the perspective of parents of students with intellectual disability (ID). The review examined characteristics and trends related to geographical origin of research, design, data collection, publication source and year, source of data, age of individuals with ID, and research focus. The initial database search produced a total of 2,540 non-duplicated articles published between 1994 and 2019. In total, 63 articles were included from the initial search and a subsequent ancestry search. The results show a significant increase in publication on the topic in the final one-tenth of the review time parameter, suggesting a continued upward trend. The majority of articles were qualitative in design, used interviews and surveys to collect data, and focus on the perspectives and beliefs of parents on inclusive education. Gaps in the existing set of research included a lack of family perspectives beyond that of mothers (e.g. father, grandparent) and a limited focus beyond perspectives and beliefs, to that of parent experiences of inclusive education.