Working with Students who have Learning Disabilities Over the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of students who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities. I need to be aware of how to help those students who have learning disabilities and teach to the best of my ability. I also need to be supportive and understand not every student learns in the same way which is why it is important for me to be flexible in my own style of instruction. I need to be knowledgeable and patient, caring and kind, as I work with all of my students, regardless of ability. Some students are aware of other students who have special accommodations or extra time on tests. One way I will make it easier for students to understand why another student is allowed additional time taking a final would be to explain that being fair does not mean everyone gets exactly the same. Being fair means everyone gets what he or she needs. Since there will be a team of professionals involved with any student who has a disability, I will be working as a team player in the best interest of the child. I look forward to working with a team of personnel such as counselors, parents, special education teachers, medical professionals, social workers, and anyone else involved in supporting the student’s Individual Education Plan (otherwise commonly known as an IEP). The first thing I researched was different learning disabilities. I was shocked at how many there were, the broad spectrum some are categorized under and the severity of others. Some common diagnosed disabilities today are Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD), autism, emotional or behavioral disorders and developmental disorders, just to name a f... ... middle of paper ... ...e. Exceptional students should be pushed to their highest potential and it is our job as educators, along with other members of a student’s IEP team, to ensure the student is receiving a free and appropriate education as well as receiving all services instructed on his or her IEP adequately. Overall, my research has given me the opportunity to learn an incredible amount about working with learning disabled students. One of the things I will remember working with all students is to not let their abilities go unnoticed because of their disabilities. It would be easy to focus all of my efforts on how to help correct and regulate their disabilities when I could be focusing on their abilities. I hope to have the privilege of learning more by working with students with exceptionalities and look forward to gaining experiences by utilizing different styles and strategies.
The parents and family members cannot be asked to pay for special education services. In fact, if it is necessary for a student to be educated outside the student’s own school district, the district usually bear the cost for that placement as well as the cost for transportation (Friend, 2014). According to (Huefner, 2008), the IEP requirements in IDEA 97 and 04 for assessing academic progress and reporting it to parents have clarified the expectations for FAPE. In other words, an “appropriate” education is determined on an individual basis, defined by the child’s
A learning disability is defined as any one of various conditions that interfere with an individual's ability to learn, resulting in impaired functioning in language, reasoning, or academic skills. The National Center for Learning Disabilities explains it as a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to receive process, store and respond to information. Basically, among people with learning disabilities there is a noticeable gap between their level of expected achievement and their actual achievement. Doctors and professionals agree there is no way to pin-point any specific causes for learning disabilities. The NCLD says some possible causes may include heredity, problems during pregnancy or birth, head injuries or nutritional deprivation after birth, and exposure to toxic substances.
The classroom is a diverse place where learners from all different genres of life meet. Included in these learners are those that display learning disabilities. According to the British Columbia School Superintendent’s Association, ‘learning disabilities refer to a number of conditions that might affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning’. They also posit that ‘learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to language processing,
My purpose for this paper is to find and list web sites that will assist teachers who are teaching "special needs" students. As more "special needs" students are entering the classroom, teachers need more and better information on teaching them. The purpose of this paper will be to enable teachers access to information about teaching these students in the field of Geography. It is my endeavor to create a list that will span most grades that will be helpful to both new and experienced teachers.
During the second week, I selected to research the disability of speech or language impairment. This type or impairment is defined as a communication disorder that adversely affects the child’s ability to talk, understand, read, and write (Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, 2013). In my district, we have a small percentage of students receiving special education services with this type of disability. According to Friend and Bursuck (2006), the prevalence of speech or language impairments among students receiving special education services is considered a high-incident disability and approximately twenty percent of children receiving special education services are receiving services for speech or language disorders. The impact of this disability on a person’s physical, mental, social and emotional abilities affects the learning of the students every day in the classroom (Friend & Bursuck, 2006).
Adults with Learning Disabilities The field has not quite reached consensus on definitions of LD, and there are professionals as well as members of the public who do not understand them or believe they exist. For example, in a Roper (1995) survey of 1,200 adults, 85% associated LD with mental retardation, 66% with deafness, and 60% with blindness. In Rocco's (1997) research, faculty "questioned the existence of certain conditions or if they existed, the appropriateness of classifying the condition as a disability" (p. 158). However, most definitions describe learning disabilities as a group of disorders that affect the ability to acquire and use listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or math skills (Gerber and Reiff 1994; National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center 1995a; National Center for Learning Disabilities 1997).
In 1991 the Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was replaced by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law was passed to provide free and appropriate public education to every child with a disability. It requires that each child with a disability “have access to the program best suited to that child’s special needs which is as close as possible to a normal child’s educational program” (Martin, 1978). The Individualized education program (IEP) was developed to help provide a written record of students’ needs and procedures for each child that receives special education services. The IEP will list all the services to be provided, the student's performance level, academic performance, and modifications in place for the student.
After taking time to reflect on everything have learned throughout this class and the rest of my courses, it seems as though I have learned a lot and have developed many skills that will allow me to progress as a teacher. This class allowed me to gain a better understanding of education laws, as well as what brought these laws about. Additionally, this class also shined light on many aspects of working with special needs students that I was not aware of before.
The students in our classrooms, both special education and general education classrooms, require individualized education to reach their full potential. Each child’s potential is different just as each child’s road to reach it is different. Our job as teachers is to be there for the student’s to help them reach their potential through their own unique way.
Smith & Strick. (1997). Learning Disabilities: A to Z A Parent’s Complete Guide to Learning Disabilities from Preschool to Adulthood. New York: Fireside.
For a special education student to be successful and reach their true potential, it takes a collaborative effort between both the special education and general education teacher. Both teachers need to have an understanding of each student’s disability and unique academic needs. Both teachers play vital roles in participating as part of the IEP team, providing professional input, and best practices to develop the student’s IEP, which will provide all stakeholders in the child’s education the accommodations and modifications for the special needs child to be successful in the
There is a huge lifestyle difference between students with and without disabilities, and schools should take this under advisement. Students with disabilities are juggling the obstacles of their disabilities while trying to pursue their education. They work three times as hard as the average person does in order to accomplish the same thing. Students without disabilities have their routine for how they do and schedule their homework and their lives. It is not easy, but there is a lot less to juggle in the average student’s life. They have completely different ways to go about pursuing their education without the hoops to jump through as someone with disabilities does on a day-to-day basis. Schools need to consider the enormous difference in perspective from the students with and without disabilities. A student with disabilities may have to juggle medications, doctors’ appointments, and ways of understanding what they are being taught. At every stop, there is ...
When teaching students with disabilities it is important to know and understand the needs of all the students in the classroom. Ultimately, the goal for any educator is to educate all of the students in the classroom and ensure that appropriate accommodations are being made for students with disabilities. By utilizing these skills in reading, writing, and classroom management, an educator will be able to help all students be successful.
In society today, there are many children and parents who face the diagnosis of having a developmental disability that would qualify them for special education and needs. This time can come with many questions for the parents when they realize the specialized care and education their child will need. Most often, questions arise about their schooling and how they will be included with other children, as well as what services are available to their child. How their disability impacts their life is a very valid concern because their education will be impacted. When a disability is discovered, it effects trickle down from the child to the parents, to the teachers and finally the medical and educational specialists.
It was not until I saw the movie (before our class) “I Am Sam”, my thoughts about people with learning disabilities started to change. The movie changed my perception that mentally challenged individuals are strange by nature because they do not seem to understand when people talk to them and is different from myself. The movie showed me that they do comprehend information, have feelings as I do, and most importantly, that I have wrongly stereotyped their differences.