42203 Instructors of persons with disabilities

What this occupation covers

Instructors of persons with disabilities teach children and adults using a variety of techniques to facilitate communication, rehabilitation, social skills and increased independence. They are employed in rehabilitation centres, specialized educational institutes and throughout the school system.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 8 main duties for this code.

• Develop individualized education and intervention plans based on special needs of client to facilitate their readaptation and independence objectives
• Assess individuals in areas such as physical limitations, orientation and mobility skills, and cognitive, social and emotional barriers to establish client rehabilitation or adaptation goals
• Assist individuals with physical, intellectual, visual and hearing disabilities or multiple disorders to develop life skills and provide job training
• Instruct individuals with disabilities and their families in the use of rehabilitative techniques, prosthetic devices, wheelchairs and other equipment designed to maximize clients' independence and potential
• Instruct persons with a visual impairment in reading and writing braille and in the use of special equipment or supports such as human or animal guides, long canes and other adaptive mobility devices
• Instruct persons who are hard of hearing or deaf in lip-reading, finger spelling and sign language according to individual communication needs
• Instruct persons who are hard of hearing or deaf in the formation and development of sounds for speech using hearing aids, and other devices and techniques
• Collaborate with specialists, such as rehabilitation counsellors, speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists, to develop programs for clients' special needs

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 8 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 31203 Occupational therapists
• 42201 Social and community service workers
• 43100 Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants
• 41221 Elementary school and kindergarten teachers
• 41220 Secondary school teachers
• 31112 Audiologists and speech-language pathologists

Excluded from this code

• Occupational therapy rehabilitation consultant (See 31203 Occupational therapists)
• Special education technician - social and community services (See 42201 Social and community service workers)
• Special needs educational assistant (See 43100 Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants)
• Special needs teacher - elementary school (See 41221 Elementary school and kindergarten teachers)
• Special needs teacher - secondary school (See 41220 Secondary school teachers)
• Speech and hearing therapist (See 31112 Audiologists and speech-language pathologists)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

braille instructor · braille teacher · deafblind intervenor · finger-spelling teacher · instructor of persons who are blind · instructor of persons who are deaf · instructor of persons who are hard of hearing · instructor of persons with a learning disability · instructor of persons with a mobility impairment · instructor of persons with a visual impairment · instructor of persons with developmental disabilities · instructor of persons with disabilities · instructor of persons with intellectual disabilities · instructor of persons with special needs · job coach for persons with disabilities · lip-reading instructor · lip-reading teacher · orientation and mobility instructor for persons with a visual impairment · orientation and mobility instructor of persons who are blind · orientation and mobility instructor · orientation and mobility teacher for persons who are blind · orientation and mobility teacher of persons with a visual impairment · rehabilitation instructor for persons who are blind · rehabilitation instructor of persons with a visual impairment

Employment requirements

• Completion of a college program in special education, rehabilitation, orientation and mobility, visual impairment, hearing impairment or intellectual disability is required.
• A bachelor's degree in special education or a related field such as social work or psychology may be required.