Special Education Teacher
Teaching is a challenging profession, but teaching special education comes with specific considerations that must be addressed. Special education teachers work with students who have a wide range of learning, emotional, mental, and physical disabilities. They adapt general education lesson plans and teach all the basic subjects such as reading, math, and writing, to students with mild and moderate disabilities. They may also teach basic skills like literacy and communication techniques to students with severe disabilities. Most special education teachers work in public schools, teaching students ranging from preschool, elementary, middle and high school levels. Others work in private settings such as childcare services and other institutions. In order to become a successful special education teacher, you will need much more than a degree that says you are capable of the job, you will need patience, dedication, and the want to help disabled children become all that they can be. Here is some general information on special education.
-Advise for Special Education Teachers-
1. Keep things simple. Break down each skill you want to teach your student and teach it one step at a time. Children with disabilities must have things simplified to limit the frustration that comes with new skills, and to reduce the attention for task completion.
2. Leave the miracle work to a higher power, what ever that may be for you. Skills are taught over weeks in special education, not days. Many new teachers in this field try to solve problems at a rate that is unattainable for a child with disabilities, and this results in more damage to the child's self esteem. This is why it is important to know the different techniques when it comes to teaching general education and special education.
3. Balance your sense of flexibility. It is important to modify environments for children with disabilities, but there must be a balance as to not let their disability become their excuse. Teach them strength and perseverance. This is a delicate balance to achieve.
4. Keep your sense of humor; other teachers may see you as less capable than them. Often students will not cooperate with lesson plans and the parents will expect you to have all the answers. You must keep your cool and enjoy the small victories.
5. Have a reliable support system in place. There will be many stresses with teaching special education; you will need a network of other special education teachers to advise you and to vent to.
6. Remember you are the teacher, make parents be parents.
7. Positive reinforcement does work, stay positive and keep the bigger picture in mind.
-Disabilities in Special Education-
Children with specific learning disabilities, or SLD’s, are the fastest growing population of special education students whose difficulties require special education services. Here is a list of special education disabilities.
1. ADD and ADHD
2. Autism and Aspergers
3. Behavior and Emotional disabilities
4. Cognitively disabled
5. Dyslexia
6. Giftedness
7. Learning disabilities
8. Multiple disabilities
9. Physical disabilities
10. Speech and Hearing disabilities
You can search for more information on these disabilities and find out the best practices to support special needs students effectively in the classroom.
-Shari Duddy
Shari Duddy is a special education teacher consultant in the New Jersey area. She believes in breaking down the barriers that have been built between teaching general education and special education. Dividing the two into categories takes away from what is important, focusing on strengths and needs. Shari is a member in a group called 'Coaching Parents for Special Education', which is a group dedicated to helping parents better understand their children's disability, how their learning is impacted, and focuses on giving the parents the tools necessary to work along side the teacher and ensure their children graduate. Shari Duddy is just one of the many selfless people who choose to spend their life helping children.
While all children have skills and strengths unique to their personality, sometimes a child's particular needs are best served by special education. If you are concerned that your preschool child is not developing skills such as talking, walking or playing as quickly as other children their age, you should talk to your pediatrician. You may discover your child is just fine and that their development falls within the normal range for their age. But if your pediatrician is worried about your child's development or if you have any concerns about your child's progress, you may want to ask for a referral to your school district's special education program.
-Advise for Special Education Teachers-
1. Keep things simple. Break down each skill you want to teach your student and teach it one step at a time. Children with disabilities must have things simplified to limit the frustration that comes with new skills, and to reduce the attention for task completion.
2. Leave the miracle work to a higher power, what ever that may be for you. Skills are taught over weeks in special education, not days. Many new teachers in this field try to solve problems at a rate that is unattainable for a child with disabilities, and this results in more damage to the child's self esteem. This is why it is important to know the different techniques when it comes to teaching general education and special education.
3. Balance your sense of flexibility. It is important to modify environments for children with disabilities, but there must be a balance as to not let their disability become their excuse. Teach them strength and perseverance. This is a delicate balance to achieve.
4. Keep your sense of humor; other teachers may see you as less capable than them. Often students will not cooperate with lesson plans and the parents will expect you to have all the answers. You must keep your cool and enjoy the small victories.
5. Have a reliable support system in place. There will be many stresses with teaching special education; you will need a network of other special education teachers to advise you and to vent to.
6. Remember you are the teacher, make parents be parents.
7. Positive reinforcement does work, stay positive and keep the bigger picture in mind.
-Disabilities in Special Education-
Children with specific learning disabilities, or SLD’s, are the fastest growing population of special education students whose difficulties require special education services. Here is a list of special education disabilities.
1. ADD and ADHD
2. Autism and Aspergers
3. Behavior and Emotional disabilities
4. Cognitively disabled
5. Dyslexia
6. Giftedness
7. Learning disabilities
8. Multiple disabilities
9. Physical disabilities
10. Speech and Hearing disabilities
You can search for more information on these disabilities and find out the best practices to support special needs students effectively in the classroom.
-Shari Duddy
Shari Duddy is a special education teacher consultant in the New Jersey area. She believes in breaking down the barriers that have been built between teaching general education and special education. Dividing the two into categories takes away from what is important, focusing on strengths and needs. Shari is a member in a group called 'Coaching Parents for Special Education', which is a group dedicated to helping parents better understand their children's disability, how their learning is impacted, and focuses on giving the parents the tools necessary to work along side the teacher and ensure their children graduate. Shari Duddy is just one of the many selfless people who choose to spend their life helping children.
While all children have skills and strengths unique to their personality, sometimes a child's particular needs are best served by special education. If you are concerned that your preschool child is not developing skills such as talking, walking or playing as quickly as other children their age, you should talk to your pediatrician. You may discover your child is just fine and that their development falls within the normal range for their age. But if your pediatrician is worried about your child's development or if you have any concerns about your child's progress, you may want to ask for a referral to your school district's special education program.