Isaiah is a 7-year-old boy who attends a metropolitan primary school. At the time he was enrolled at the school, his parents provided reports and advised the principal that Isaiah had an intellectual disability and that he had received one year of early intervention. He is currently accessing the curriculum at a Kindergarten level (pre-literate). Isaiah also has a facial palsy that affects his left side, he is anaphylactic to foods such as lentils, peanuts and cashews, and he must have a gluten-free diet. Isaiah has a personal healthcare plan, and the school has a school anaphylaxis management policy in place.
Although Isaiah comes from a multilingual family, he speaks only English, and both his receptive and his expressive language skills are delayed for his age. Isaiah’s parents have been able to source speech and occupational therapy through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) for non-educational purposes in line with the NDIS applied principles and tables of support. As a result, Isaiah attends speech pathology sessions outside school hours once per week. Additionally, a school liaison officer transports Isaiah to speech pathology sessions once per week during school hours.
Currently, Isaiah participates in a specialised educational program on most days supported by highly modified materials in a room with three other students. This program provides individualised instruction on most content as well as specific skill development in language and motor skills.
Most programs are adjusted with emphasis on specialist gross motor and fine motor skills, core strength, posture and letter formation, as recommended in reports from Isaiah’s therapists.
Isaiah accesses the playground regularly and socialises well. Isaiah’s parents work closely with the school in planning for his health needs and agreed adjustments to curricular programs.