Teaching Students with Special Needs

Prepare to teach the students with special needs you may have in your classroom using these
suggestions and guidelines for accommodating and modifying your lessons to meet the needs of
everyone. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable. Includes examples of traits
various types of special needs students may exhibit along with strategies to help your special needs
students be successful.

Teaching Students with Special Needs

It is inevitable that you will have the opportunity (and pleasure) of working with special
needs students in your classroom. You may need to make accommodations for some
and modifications for others. Providing for the needs of special education students will
certainly be one of your greatest challenges as a professional educator. Consider these tips
and strategies.

Jabberwocky
When working with special needs students, two terms you are sure to encounter
are accommodation and modification. An accommodation is a device, material, or support
process that will enable a student to accomplish a task more efficiently. Modification refers to
changes to the instructional outcomes; a change or decrease in the course content or outcome.

Students with Learning Disabilities

Learning disabled students are those who demonstrate a significant discrepancy, which is
not the result of some other handicap, between academic achievement and intellectual
abilities in one or more of the areas of oral expression, listening comprehension, written
expression, basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation,
mathematics reasoning, or spelling.

Following is a list of some of the common indicators of learning disabled students. These
traits are usually not isolated ones; rather, they appear in varying degrees and amounts in
most learning disabled students. A learning disabled student …

 Has poor auditory memory—both short term and long term.

 Has a low tolerance level and a high frustration level.

 Has a weak or poor self-esteem.

  Is easily distractible.

 Finds it difficult, if not impossible, to stay on task for extended periods of time.

 Is spontaneous in expression; often cannot control emotions.

 Is easily confused.

 Is verbally demanding.

 Has some difficulty in working with others in small or large group settings.

 Has difficulty in following complicated directions or remembering directions for

extended periods of time.

 Has coordination problems with both large and small muscle groups.

 Has inflexibility of thought; is difficult to persuade otherwise.

 Has poor handwriting skills.

 Has a poor concept of time.

Teaching learning disabled youngsters will present you with some unique and distinctive
challenges. Not only will these students demand more of your time and patience; so, too,
will they require specialized instructional strategies in a structured environment that
supports and enhances their learning potential. It is important to remember that learning
disabled students are not students who are incapacitated or unable to learn; rather, they
need differentiated instruction tailored to their distinctive learning abilities. Use these
appropriate strategies with learning disabled students:

 Provide oral instruction for students with reading disabilities. Present tests and
reading materials in an oral format so the assessment is not unduly influenced by
lack of reading ability.

 Provide learning disabled students with frequent progress checks. Let them know
how well they are progressing toward an individual or class goal.

 Give immediate feedback to learning disabled students. They need to see quickly the
relationship between what was taught and what was learned.

 Make activities concise and short, whenever possible. Long, drawn-out projects are
particularly frustrating for a learning disabled child.
  Learning disabled youngsters have difficulty learning abstract terms and concepts.
Whenever possible, provide them with concrete objects and events—items they can
touch, hear, smell, etc.

 Learning disabled students need and should get lots of specific praise. Instead of just
saying, “You did well,” or “I like your work,” be sure you provide specific praising
comments that link the activity directly with the recognition; for example, “I was
particularly pleased by the way in which you organized the rock collection for Karin
and Miranda.”

 When necessary, plan to repeat instructions or offer information in both written and
verbal formats. Again, it is vitally necessary that learning disabled children utilize as
many of their sensory modalities as possible.

 Encourage cooperative learning activities (see Teaching with Cooperative

Learning) when possible. Invite students of varying abilities to work together on a
specific project or toward a common goal. Create an atmosphere in which a true
“community of learners” is facilitated and enhanced.

It's Elementary
Offer learning disabled students a multisensory approach to learning. Take advantage of all the
senses in helping these students enjoy, appreciate, and learn.
For additional information on teaching learning disabled students, contact the Learning
Disabilities Association of America at 4156 Library Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15234; 412-341-
1515; www.ldanatl.org.

Students Who Have Higher Ability

Students of high ability, often referred to as gifted students, present a unique challenge to
teachers. They are often the first ones done with an assignment or those who continually
ask for more creative and interesting work. They need exciting activities and energizing
projects that offer a creative curriculum within the framework of the regular classroom
program.

Characteristics of Gifted Students

Gifted students exhibit several common characteristics, as outlined in the following list. As
in the case of learning disabled students, giftedness usually means a combination of factors
in varying degrees and amounts. A gifted student …
  Has a high level of curiosity.

 Has a well-developed imagination.

 Often gives uncommon responses to common queries.

 Can remember and retain a great deal of information.

 Can not only pose original solutions to common problems but can also pose original
problems, too.

 Has the ability to concentrate on a problem or issue for extended periods of time.

 Is capable of comprehending complex concepts.

 Is well organized.

 Is excited about learning new facts and concepts.

 Is often an independent learner.

Teaching Gifted Students

If there's one constant about gifted students it's the fact that they're full of questions (and
full of answers). They're also imbued with a sense of inquisitiveness. Providing for their
instructional needs is not an easy task and will certainly extend you to the full limits of your
own creativity and inventiveness. Keep some of these instructional strategies in mind:

 Allow gifted students to design and follow through on self-initiated projects. Have
them pursue questions of their own choosing.

 Provide gifted students with lots of open-ended activities—activities for which there
are no right or wrong answers or any preconceived notions.

 Keep the emphasis on divergent thinking—helping gifted students focus on many

possibilities rather than any set of predetermined answers.

 Provide opportunities for gifted youngsters to engage in active problem-solving. Be

sure the problems assigned are not those for which you have already established
appropriate answers but rather those that will allow gifted students to arrive at
their own conclusions.

 Encourage gifted students to take on leadership roles that enhance portions of the
classroom program (Note: gifted students are often socially immature.)
  Provide numerous opportunities for gifted students to read extensively about
subjects that interest them. Work closely with the school librarian and public
librarian to select and provide trade books in keeping with students' interests.

 Provide numerous long-term and ex-tended activities that allow gifted students the
opportunity to engage in a learning project over an extended period of time.

To obtain additional information on teaching gifted students, contact the National

Association for Gifted Children at 1707 L Street N.W., Suite 550, Washington, D.C. 20036;
202-785-4268; www.nagc.org.
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 Special Education in
Collaborative Classrooms
By Ann Logsdon | Updated May 05, 2019

asiseeit / Getty Images

More in School
 Special Education
 Getting Involved
 Readiness
 Learning
 At Home and Afterschool
 Learning Disabilities

In special education, the term "collaboration" refers to a team teaching approach. In addition to
the regular classroom teacher and the special education teacher, a collaborative team may also
include speech, occupational, and/or physical therapists. Today, more special education students
are taught in regular classrooms, and collaboration is increasing. Collaboration helps to ensure
children with learning disabilities get a free appropriate public education, including specialized
instruction, in a regular classroom.

There are several ways to ensure students get the instructional support they need. Collaboration
provides options to allow students to be educated (as required by American law) in the least
restrictive environment.
The Lead Teacher Collaboration Model

In classrooms with a lead teacher, often the regular classroom teacher delivers the instruction in
the subject area. The special education teacher is an observer who works with children after
instruction to provide specially designed instruction, ensure understanding, and to provide
adaptations and modifications.

The Learning Centers Collaboration Model

Each teacher is responsible for instruction in a specific area of the room. Students are assembled
into groups that rotate through the centers for instruction. Special education teachers may deliver
instruction in areas of their certifications and may also serve as support to other teachers without
a special education background. This approach is particularly appropriate for younger students,
for whom center-based education is more typical.

Pull-Out Collaboration Model

In some settings, rather than having special education teachers or therapists "push into" general
education classrooms, students are "pulled out" for services. In such situations, students might
leave the classroom for therapies or particular subjects, and then return to the general education
classroom. When this occurs, the general education teacher collaborates with the special needs
professional to be sure the student's needs are being met.

Alternative Collaborative Setting

Partially or entirely separate educational settings are relatively rare, even for students with
significant learning or developmental challenges. A substantially separate setting is designed
specifically for students with particular disabilities; for example, some classrooms are set up to
serve students with autism while others are set up for students with speech and language
disabilities, etc.

Students work one-on-one or in small groups with a special education teacher and possibly with
instructional assistants for all or part of the instructional day. Even when students are placed full
time in special education classrooms, teachers may communicate with each other to ensure
students' programs include appropriate instruction. Separate settings are typically used with
students who have a more significant need for direct instruction.

Team Teaching

Team teaching involves general education and special needs teachers working together
simultaneously to teach a classroom of students. Either teacher who has the necessary
background knowledge in the subject introduces new concepts and materials to the class. Both
teachers work as a team to reinforce learning and provide assistance to students as needed.
Special education teachers provide specially designed instruction to students with IEPs, and
regular education teachers can assist with this as well.

Consultation Models of Collaboration

A special education teacher may provide some instruction to students, but the majority of service
is indirect. The special education teacher mostly provides guidance to the regular education
teacher on how to modify instruction to meet the student's needs.

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Teaching Students with Disabilities:

Strategies for Regular Classrooms
When students with disabilities enter the mainstream classroom, it can be a
challenge for teachers. We examine some issues - and offer solutions - to help
make teaching these special classes less stressful.

Teaching Strategies to Help Ease the Strain on Mixed

Ability Classrooms
Integrated classrooms can be a challenge for students and teachers alike. But
with proper planning, support, and a few simple strategies, teachers can ease the
strain and serve every student better.
A Growing Issue in Modern Classrooms
In the past, schools may have only had a handful of disabled students requiring
special care. These students were typically sequestered in the special education
department. In today's modern classrooms, mainstreaming the growing number
of students with disabilities is the order of the day. This mixing of classrooms can
present a challenge to teachers already coping with reduced funding and
overcrowding. It also provides a wealth of learning opportunities for both
instructors and their students.
As Vanderbilt University's Center for Teaching is quick to point out, combined
classrooms offer critical lessons in patience, empathy, and the value of
community. These opportunities might be missed in schools where special needs
students are kept in isolation.

Training and Support are Crucial

Like any program involving children with special needs, training and support are
critical to ensuring every student's needs are met. Enlisting extra aids - preferably
those with Special Education training - can make all the difference in easing the
burden.
For school districts with budgetary restrictions to hiring additional staff, classroom
volunteers can make all the difference. Volunteers can help provide extra
instruction, supervise during projects, and support student learning. Another pair
of hands and eyes not only ensures that students get the help they need, it can
free the teacher to instruct the rest of the class.

Plan for Success

When planning for an integrated classroom, there are a number of simple
methods teachers can incorporate into their classroom plan to make challenging
subjects less stressful for teachers. Some useful tips include:

 Incorporate Life Skill Training into the Curriculum

 Make Use of Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences
 Maintain Flexibility
 Begin Your Planning Early

Teachers should review the needs of their students with disabilities prior to
planning the week's lessons. Extra planning helps teachers tailor their offerings
to the student's needs. This extra time will also allow you to arrange more
classroom helpers for those days when the curriculum might prove to be more
than your special needs students can manage.

Collaborate
Beyond the help of aides, the support of your peers can go a long way in helping
students get the most out of any class. The William and Mary School of
Educationadvocates a collaborative approach to teaching inclusive classrooms
that benefits the students and teaching staff as well.

Some of the methods Sue Land, M.Ed., an educator at the school, recommends
are:

 Interactive Teaching
 Parallel Teaching
 Station or Center-Based Teaching
 Alternative Teaching

Using one - or many - of these methods help to provide special needs students
with the support they need while ensuring that standard student's learning
doesn't suffer.

Practice Positive Classroom Management

As with any successful classroom plan, positive classroom management
techniques are key. A good plan will help students of all abilities understand and
adhere to your expectations. More importantly, providing students with clear
guidelines helps them to take ownership of themselves and their actions. This
extra responsibility can foster a sense of ownership of their actions, as well as
increase their independence. Some of the techniques outlined in the Study.com
Classroom Management course that work well in blended classrooms include:

 Display and Review Classroom Rules

 Employ Positive Reinforcement
 Establish Non-verbal Signals Linked to Desired Outcomes
 Post the Schedule and Keep to It
 Use Positive Language that Focuses on the Student, Rather Than the
Disability

Other strategies will vary depending on the needs of your students and the
support you receive from your school district and volunteers.
Vary Your Approach
Varying how you approach learning helps not only the special needs students in
your class; it can benefit the standard students as well. By demonstrating that
there is more than one way to solve a problem or learn a concept, you are
preparing students for life beyond school, where thinking outside the box can
reap huge rewards.

The Learning Disabilities Association of America offers some helpful tips to teach
children of all abilities how to learn:

 Use Visual Aids to Enhance Understanding

 Supply Regular Feedback
 Engage Students with Open-ended Questions
 Model Behavior and Learning Practices

With these methods - and a little patience - teachers can provide every student in
their classroom with the high-quality education they deserve. An effective plan
will prepare them for a time when they will have to make their own way in the
world beyond the safety of the school's walls.

The Benefits of Inclusion are Many

As the NY Times reported as far back as 1993, when inclusive pilot programs
began, with proper support and teacher training, special needs students can
thrive both academically and socially. And studies have shown they aren't alone.
Integrated classrooms provide a real-world atmosphere that teaches all students
how to better cope with challenges, explore new concepts, and develop the
positive personality traits that prepare them well for a world full of people of
differing abilities.

Who are itinerant teachers?

Itinerant teachers are usually qualified school teachers who have had some formal training in the
education of children with visual impairment, either through a residential course or a distance
education programme (e.g. a three-year diploma in Special Educational Needs). These teachers
travel around local mainstream schools and communities to offer advice, resources, and support
to visually impaired children, their teachers, and their parents.
Itinerant teacher programmes have been established in several low- and middle-income countries
(including Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi) in partnership with local ministries of education, and
often with the support of non-governmental organisations.
An itinerant teacher normally works under the direction of a full-time co-ordinator (usually
someone with a background in teaching children with visual impairment) and may be given
responsibility for a cluster of mainstream schools and homes in a given district (often 8–12
schools, depending on their geographical distribution). Itinerant teachers are usually released
from their main teaching work for two days a week in order to carry out their itinerant duties.
This release arrangement is agreed at ministry level; in practice, however, itinerant teachers can
only travel to schools and homes if they have previously arranged for colleagues to teach their
class in their absence.
Go to:

Duties of an itinerant teacher

The duties performed by an itinerant teacher can vary between teachers and from one district to
another. There are no official job descriptions to help define their role, but many of the following
duties are common to itinerant teaching services in Uganda and Kenya.

Working with teachers and children at school

Itinerant teachers travel to mainstream schools to provide individual tutoring in reading and
writing Braille (using a frame and stylus) for blind children and those with severe low vision.
They transcribe class work, tests, and examinations to and from Braille for both teachers and
children, provide advice to class teachers on how to meet children's needs in the classroom (e.g.
the best position for a child in the classroom), and instruct children in the use and care of low
vision aids
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An itinerant teacher supports a child at home during the school holidays. INDIA
‘Itinerant teachers play an important role in the pre-school development process’

Working with pre-school children at home

Evidence shows that, for children with visual impairment, the pre-school stage is when the basics
of learning, literacy, daily living skills, personal organisation, and mobility are established.1
Itinerant teachers play an important role in this development process by spending time with
visually impaired children at home in order to prepare them for primary school education. They
provide tutoring in pre-Braille skills (e.g. sorting and matching activities) and daily living skills.
They also play an important role in developing young children's orientation and mobility skills
by assisting local rehabilitation workers with home-based programmes.

Identification, assessment, and referral

Itinerant teachers are often the first professionals to identify that a child has a problem with
vision. They will normally alert their co-ordinator, who will then refer the child for clinical
assessment. In the case of older pre-school children, itinerant teachers may carry out a
preliminary functional visual assessment (perhaps using an E-chart) and may set the child a
range of practical tasks to assess their current level of visual functioning.
These teachers are often an important link between families and clinicians. They can provide
health professionals with useful background information about a child's circumstances and visual
functioning. They also follow up children who have been prescribed spectacles or low vision
aids, provide parents with information on where to buy aids, and seek funding for parents who
are unable to afford them.

Counselling, practical support, and advocacy

Itinerant teachers provide individual and family counselling on how to raise a child who is
visually impaired. They can also help the family to see their child in a positive light and to
develop a supportive attitude towards their child. This will help with schooling and
independence. Itinerant teachers also provide practical support to families, such as organising
hospital and eye clinic visits for parents.
Itinerant teachers can sensitise local primary schools about issues related to teaching a visually
impaired child in a mainstream class. In Uganda and Kenya, itinerant teachers play a key role in
sensitising communities about the importance of sending children with disabilities to school.

Challenges
The lack of clear job descriptions and support makes it very difficult for itinerant teachers to
organise their work in order to reach the children who most need their help. Some teachers have
to overcome many barriers, including:
 struggling to obtain permission from their own head teachers to visit children on their
caseload
 having to travel long distances, without adequate transport, to visit schools
 poor access to appropriate teaching and learning materials
 a lack of moral support from the teaching profession.
One of the biggest challenges itinerant teachers face is working with visually impaired children
who have additional complex needs or disabilities. Teachers who work with these children at
home need to be able to deliver a programme of training in basic development areas (i.e. motor,
communication, and social skills) and involve parents in practising these skills with the child.
Unfortunately, many itinerant teachers are not sufficiently trained to work with these children.
Go to:

Making it work
In spite of the many challenges they face in their work, itinerant teachers still offer a range of
skills that can complement the skills of other professionals in eye care and rehabilitation. This
will ensure that visually impaired infants and young children go on to take part in education and
training, including mainstream schools.
We would like to encourage health professionals in eye care and paediatric care to work closely
with itinerant teachers in districts and sub-districts where these teaching services are available.
Health workers should be able to draw on the skills of itinerant teachers and on their knowledge
of the community, family, and children when deciding which intervention programmes to
implement, or when prescribing low vision aids orother equipment.
Provided they are given adequate support from their school and other professionals, itinerant
teachers can play an essential part in ensuring visually impaired children receive the care and
skills training they need.
Itinerant teachers (also called "visiting" or "peripatetic" teachers) are traveling schoolteachers. They
are sometimes specialized to work in the trades, healthcare, or the field of special education,
sometimes providing individual tutoring. Historically, the term has also been used to describe
traveling teachers in regions without formal schools, as well as the sophists of Ancient Greece,
the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, and even Jesus of Nazareth himself. Itinerant lecturers
include James Ferguson (Scottish astronomer).

What is a Resource Teacher?

A resource teacher is a specialized educator that focuses on helping children with
physical or educational learning difficulties to develop their reading and writing skills.
They must be organized, patient, good at motivating students, extremely understanding
of people's individual needs and able to accept people's differences.

This category can include teachers who are specialized in educating students who are
visually or audibly impaired, and those teachers who concentrate on life skills and basic
academic processes to the mentally impaired. Most resource teachers instruct students at
elementary or middle school, however some specialize in working with infants or
toddlers.

Children with disabilities often require some kind of modified education in order to keep
up with the workload of a specific subject, for example, mathematics or comprehension
exercise. Resource teachers do not tend to help individual children on individual subjects,
they are more likely to work with small groups of children on a wide range of academic
subjects. They do not do the children's homework for them or help them, but they will
assist with any specific problems that they may encounter. Resource teachers are
primarily there to ensure that students that may find the course more difficult or may
feel overburdened by the school's workload get all the extra help they require.

The majority of resource teachers work with children that have mild or moderate
disabilities by using existing traditional teaching methods that have been modified from
the general education curriculum to meet each student's individual needs. Part of their
job will also be to set individual and realistic targets for each child with the help of the
child's regular teacher. They will also be responsible for monitoring, recording and
assessing each child's progress, which will also be done alongside their normal teacher. On
important days such as parent-teacher conferences, both teachers will meet with the
child's parents so that they are able to fully understand their child's educational needs
and how they are developing.
Some schools may have special individual rooms called Resource Rooms, which are like
study halls that students who are having trouble in classes that contain computers, books,
reference books and other educational aids. Each of these rooms will be fitted with
technology that can help students with learning difficulties, such as computers with
synthesized speech or audiotapes to assist children.

Sometimes students will be sent to the resource room to take an exam or test if they
have been absent or sick at the time of the exam. Alternatively, if a student needs to
take a break from the class or another student they can retire to the Resource Room and
continue their work away from any distractions without any severe discipline that is found
in a normal classroom situation.

Resource teachers are primarily involved in developing the student's behavioral, social
and academic skills, and also helping them to progress emotional and teaching them to
interact effectively in everyday social situations. Another important aspect of the job is
to begin to prepare students for daily working life after they graduate. This can include
career counseling or teaching them life skills such as budgeting.