In classrooms, the special education teacher co-teaches with a general education instructor. Today’s classroom consists of general education students and students with special needs (autism, Asperger’s, ADHD, Other Health Impairment, learning disabilities, etc.).
The IEP Process
It is one of the many functions of educators to identify those students who have exceptional needs and require special education and related services. Schools must promptly provide the appropriate services to ensure that students are receiving a quality education.
There is usually a process in place for referring students who may require special services. This process involves either a parent or school personnel submitting a written request for a special education assessment. The assessment plan is developed and provided to the parent within 15 calendar days. If the parent approves the plan, the parent signs the assessment plan and returns it to the school.
Assessments are conducted by those individuals identified on the assessment plan. An IEP meeting is scheduled and the appropriate team members along with the parent are notified. The IEP meeting is held within 60 calendar days. Once the IEP is signed, the IEP is implemented.
Collaboration
When teachers (general education and special education) collaborate, they are offering special education in the general education classroom. Within the public school setting, more and more special education students are taught alongside their non-disabled peers in regular classrooms. “Collaboration helps to ensure children with learning disabilities get a free and appropriate public education, including specialized instruction, in a regular classroom” (Logsdon, 2008).
The benefits are that children with special needs are provided with the opportunity to model behaviors and learn from those who are non-disabled. Non-disabled students learn empathy and that everyone has both strengths and challenges.
Fully Inclusive Program for Students with Disabilities
“Inclusion is a term which expresses commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend. It involves bringing the support services to the child (rather than moving the child to the services) and requires only that the child will benefit from being in the class” (WEAC, 2007). There are several indicators of a fully inclusive program for students with disabilities. The following factors help guide planning and insure that students with special needs are receiving an appropriate education with their non-disabled peers.
- Disabled students are members of general education classrooms. They are taught along with their non-disabled peers.
- The general education teacher and special education teacher collaborate to make certain that systematic instruction is being delivered, disabled student’s IEP goals are being met and modification of the core curriculum when necessary is being applied and
- All students are engaged in enrichment activities.
Strategies to Balance Behavioral Control with Academic Learning
Regardless of what teachers use to guide education, it is important to have effective strategies. When addressing behavioral concerns, teachers must identify the maladaptive behavior and the function of the behavior. Once these factors are identified, teachers must rearrange the antecedents and consequences in order to teach more successful behaviors. Once a student’s behavior is under control, teachers can then modify the instruction in order to encourage compliance and attention to the task. Some strategies to balance concern for behaviors and academics are as follows:
- Implementing systematic interventions – interventions that are systematic and consistent allow for academic learning and adaptive behaviors
- Practice of new skills – skills should not be taught in isolation but rather in natural contexts through modeling, guided practice and continuous rehearsals
- Commitment to sustained intervention – in the case of children with autism, teachers must realize that although interventions are applied, it may not eliminate the problematic behavior. Teachers must not give up but rather be committed to consistently applying interventions.
Once children with special needs are identified and placed under the auspices of special education, special education teachers are concerned with meeting the IEP goals, ensuring that successful and systematic teaching is set in place and making sure that special education students are receiving an appropriate education.
Sources:
Logsdon, Ann. How Schools Teach Special Education Students in Collaborative
Classrooms. About.com: Learning Disabilities. 2008. (Retrieved on 11/9/2010)
WEAC. Special Education Inclusion. 03/15/2007. (Retrieved on 11/9/2010)
Tasha Kelley - By day, I am employed as a school psychologist who works with and assesses children with special needs. I have been blessed with a ...
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