Five Tips for Helping Students with Special Needs
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Loading... - Declan Buckley
- 21 Jun 2022
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They say that teaching is a thankless job – not only are teachers underpaid, but many of them dedicate countless hours of their free time to do extra work for their students. Being a teacher, in general, can be very difficult, but being a special needs teacher comes with its own unique set of challenges. Whether you are a special needs teacher or the parent of a special needs child, keep reading to learn some helpful tips for making the most of your child’s education.
What are the Challenges of Working with Special Needs Students?
Compared to most other professions, the burn-out rate for special needs teachers is extremely high – approximately 50% of special education teachers leave their jobs within just 5 years. Teaching is a difficult and stressful career in and of itself, but special education adds an extra layer of difficulty. Some of the biggest challenges of working with special needs students are as follows:
- Lack of parental support. You can pour your heart and soul into your efforts as a special education teacher but if the child’s parents are not on board, all of that work could be for nothing. Having a positive relationship with the parents of your students is essential.
- Lack of appreciation. Teachers do not teach because it is a prestigious or high-paying career – they do it for the love of the students. Still, a little appreciation goes a long way, especially in a challenging and stressful field like special education.
- Too much paperwork. Every special needs child needs an Individual Education Plan (or IEP) and each one can easily reach 10 to 20 pages long. Not only do these plans take time to develop, but there is a lot of documentation that needs to take place. This is all on top of your regular teaching duties which include curriculum planning, progress reports, lesson planning, and more.
- Scheduling challenges. Many special needs students have special schedules for their school day depending on which classes they are able to take and taking into account their needs for additional services like occupational or speech therapy.
- Working with other teachers. As a special education teacher, you have to develop your own curriculum for your students, but you also need to know the general education curriculum so you can work with your students to help them with their regular classes. Collaborating with other teachers can be very difficult, especially if they do not understand the challenges of special education.
- Too much documentation. In addition to developing each student’s IEP, you also need to collect data and provide evidence of student growth. If you claim that your student is struggling in a particular area, you need hard data to back up that claim and then you need to develop a plan for improvement.
Every situation is different so, as a special needs teacher, you may struggle with some of these challenges more than others. To help make your job as a special education teacher easier – and to ensure that your special needs students get the help they need – follow the parenting and teaching tips provided in the next two sections.
Teaching Tips for Students with Special Needs
Each and every special needs child is an individual so your teaching style will be dictated by the unique challenges each child faces. To help you succeed in teaching special needs students in general, however, you should consider the following five teaching tips:
- Keep your classroom organized. Structure is very important for special needs students and it can be very helpful for you as a special education teacher. Whether you have one student to keep track of or twenty, sticking to a daily routine as much as possible will help both you and your students. Keeping your classroom organized will also help to minimize stress and distractions.
- Remember that each child is an individual. Every special needs student is unique so try to get to know your students as individuals instead of identifying them by their diagnosis. As a special education teacher you may be responsible for developing IEPS – not only are these a federal requirement, but they can be a helpful tool for you and the child’s parents to come together to create an education plan that works for everyone.
- Give your students opportunities for success. Maintaining a positive outlook is incredibly important in a field as challenging as special education. Some days will be harder than others and some students will progress more slowly than others. Encourage your students to work hard and to improve by offering opportunities for small successes and then celebrating those successes.
- Create a support network. As a special education teacher, you will need to be able to work with your students’ general education teachers as well as their therapists and parents. The more you communicate with everyone, the easier things will be and the more your student will benefit.
- Keep things simple. When it comes to teaching special needs students, it is important to break down tasks into small, manageable steps – you should also keep projects short and sweet. The more complicated you make things, the more likely your students are to become confused or frustrated and that adds to the challenges you are already facing. Read More...
