Students with moderate to severe disabilities are significantly more likely to struggle with postschool life, including finding employment, community involvement, postsecondary education, and independent living. As we know, students have a finite amount of time in the public education system to prepare for adulthood, and it is vital that their education incorporates functional academics. In this blog, we’ll explore what functional academics entail and how functional academics can be incorporated in instruction for students with moderate to severe disabilities.
Teaching in a self-contained classroom this year? Or maybe you’ve been teaching in a self-contained setting for years and are looking for some tips to help you restructure? Either or - you’ve come to the right place! Structuring your self-contained classroom can take quite a bit of planning and organization to make sure that a supportive and engaging learning environment is the result. While students with low incidence disabilities in your classroom may have similar academic needs, each student still requires personalized instruction - which can make striking a balance between overall classroom structure and maintaining individual needs challenging. In this blog, we’ll provide you with different measures you can take to build a classroom environment that enhances instructional time, strengthens independence, promotes positive behaviors and maximizes student outcomes!
While working with students with moderate to severe disabilities can be incredibly rewarding, it also poses its own set of unique challenges. The one-size-fits-all instructional approach that may work in general education cannot be replicated for students receiving specially designed instruction and related services (and rightfully so!). A personalized approach to learning for special education students requires careful consideration and a solid understanding of the federal education laws in place to protect our student population. In this eBook, we will uncover the top 5 pressing pain points that special educators face and offer strategies to help you navigate them effectively to ensure your students have every opportunity to thrive.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the most widely studied use for using interventions to teach children with autism. ABA interventions serve as a valuable early intervention tool for students from pre-kindergarten through the transition to adulthood. The idea is to use targeted teaching strategies that boost skills and cater to each student's unique needs These strategies are typically individualized for students as different students will have different needs. Students with autism may benefit from repetition of material, tasks being broken down into smaller steps, and having additional visuals alongside text or verbal directions.
As educators, working toward meeting (and exceeding!) your students’ education goals is always top of mind. Goals are built into student IEPs, covered in your daily classroom routines, woven into your lesson plans, etc., which is why including systematic instruction while teaching your students is key.
In today's ever-changing educational landscape, the pursuit of equitable and inclusive education remains a paramount goal. However, achieving this goal often requires a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the unique needs of all students, particularly those in special education programs. Research has highlighted the significance of providing tailored support, fostering a supportive environment, and implementing evidence-based strategies to ensure that special education students receive the quality education they deserve.
Whether you’re early on in your career as a special education teacher or you’re a seasoned pro, developing a daily schedule for your classroom has its benefits. And, although creating a daily schedule at the start of the school year may seem like a tedious action item, it will help you, your paraprofessional (if you have one), and your students with extensive support needs stay on task throughout the year.
Differentiation is tailoring or modifying lessons to best fit the needs of learners. Learning goals are the same, but students progress through the materials at different speeds and with different supports. It allows teachers to take into account the specific needs, skills and profile of their learners which is based on their interests, and the particular way they learn when designing each teaching hour as the needs vary from lesson to lesson, even for the same student. When learners have access to differentiated and tailored instruction, this can have a positive impact on behavior and skill acquisition.
Both as educators and parents, we frequently associate reinforcement with smiley stickers, candies and pizza parties. We tend to overlook that even in adulthood, reinforcement plays a significant role. In the workplace, it can look like verbal praise or recognition for an individual accomplishment being posted on a company-wide forum or email OR receiving a promotion or raise based on exceptional performance. When we experience reinforcement in either of these ways, we are motivated and are more likely to keep engaging in these behaviors!
Oftentimes when we think about those early elementary school years, we envision primary colors, making friends, hands-on learning, classroom number lines, and ABCs. At the core of it though, is the early stages of reading comprehension. Students need to be able to read texts and make meaning from those texts. This forms the basis for all of the learning that occurs in later elementary and extends through middle school, high school, and beyond. Yet, throughout the years, there has been much debate regarding the best instructional strategies that get students to the goal of reading comprehension. How do we best teach students to read text and make meaning from it?