Math in Special Education

Helen Keller was once quoted as saying “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” This is the problem that students with special needs face everyday as they encounter many challenges. Math has typically been one of the more difficult areas for a student with special needs to master. Often one of the main problems associated with a disability has to do with math, such is the case for a child with a Learning Disability who will have imperfect abilities in many areas, including math. So what hope does a child with special needs have? Are these students unable to learn math and thus should be put in different classes as to not get in the way of progress of the main stream students? I would like to respond to these statements with a resounding no; there is not only hope for these children, but a bright future ahead of them. Even though students with special needs can struggle with math and other academics, students can have success in a balanced mathematics curriculum given the right opportunities, such as doing hands on activities, assigning an appropriate number of problems, making things relevant to them, and many more effective strategies.

First I believe it is necessary to see what is going on in the field of mathematics today in the United States. According to recent test results U.S. teenagers were average in reading and science, their scores were below average in math, compared to 64 other countries and economies that participated in the 2012. (Layton 2013) What is important to note is that these are not just children with special needs scores, but rather the entire country. So problems in mathematics are not limited to Special Education. I believe the United States could look to tak...

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...connect with their student on some level. Even though students with special needs can struggle with math and other academics, students can have success in a balanced mathematics curriculum given the right opportunities, such as doing hands on activities, assigning an appropriate number of problems, making things relevant to them, and many more effective strategies.

Sources (APA)

Works Cited

Jody, M. (2009). The General Educators Guide to Special Education. Corwin.

Layton, L. (2013, December 2nd). Education. Retrieved January 15, 2014, from The Washington post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/us-students-lag-around-average-on-international-science-math-and-reading-test/2013/12/02/2e510f26-5b92-11e3-a49b-90a0e156254b_story.html

Sousa, D. (2007). How the Special Needs Brain Learns. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.