Rabu, 04 November 2015

Special Education Lesson Plans

Special education lesson plans are specially designed teaching methods or educational techniques for students of all age groups, with mild to profound disabilities. The lesson plans would vary depending upon the child's nature, age, and the extremeness and type of disability. These lesson plans are mainly meant to promote student engagements, to prepare students to function independently and to master skills, to build and support social competence, and to help children and their families lead a problem free life. Special education lesson plans include math, science, music, language and art lessons, computers and the Internet, social studies, physical education and health, and other multi-disciplinary lessons.

Special educators should design presentations to cater to different levels of individual disability. Music, dance, and other art forms are great aids to enhance learning in students with disabilities. Reading, writing, and public speaking can be encouraged by special educators. Well thought out lesson plans will enhance the child's reasoning ability and reading skills, feelings and response, create a sense of personal fulfillment, encourage language development, promote communication, help to achieve motor control and physical wellness, and cultivate positive attitudes towards the school.

The response of disabled students towards the curriculum depends on the nature of the disability, i.e., physical, emotional or cognitive. A good teacher can encourage each student to participate in the learning experience not only with the assistance of well-adapted materials, but also with proper instructional methods which would be practicable in a disabled individual.

One can find sample lesson plans for special education students in books, articles, and on the Internet; however, these lesson plans are to be modified to suit individuals. A special education teacher can design individual activity sheets for each child in consultation with physical therapists, counselors, doctors, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, and social workers.

Special Education Programs Meeting Student Needs in Nassau County

Children's Readiness Center

Student Disability: Significant developmental delays including autism, and mental retardation

Student Age: 5 to 8 (Early Elementary)

Students who attend this state-of-the-art early education center in Long Island need a highly individualized behavioral approach and small class size (6:1:2). As part of its educational/behavioral approach, the program's specially trained staff track results of each student's activities in continuous documentation. Long Island school program goals include not only developing the youngsters' communication skills and increasing their social interactions but also accomplishing individualized educational goals in preacademic and academic programs. Parents and family at this Long Island school learn behavioral and educational strategies that can be used with the children at home.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the teaching methodology used throughout the program. Skills are broken down into small steps and various teaching techniques are used to ensure skill mastery under a variety of conditions. This Long Island School uses a progressive total communication system that may include spoken words, photographs, pictures, symbols and/ or sign language, to increase communication skills. The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) method involves the child initiating a social exchange to make requests or communicate.

Carman Road Preschool

Student Disability: Preschooler with a disability (multiple disabilities, physical disabilities)

Student Age: 3 to 5

The Preschool Program at Carman Road School is one of many Long Island schools that provide total educational intervention for children with multiple, physical and cognitive disabilities in a specially designed environment. All children at this Long Island school are encouraged to reach their greatest potential through many activities that stimulate growth and development while building self-confidence. Youngsters are referred to the program by their local district Committee on Preschool Education (CPSE). Once accepted, they attend full-day classes, five days a week, entering an educational environment that promotes the greatest possible achievement.

The total child perspective at this Long Island school is used to address the needs of each youngster on an individual basis. The curriculum stresses the development of physical skills and the growth of cognitive, social, emotional and language skills. Each child's unique abilities and needs are considered in all the program's activities.

An Engineered Aided Language Environment, using visual strategies and assistive technology, are used to encourage physical development and the growth of communication skills for children attending this Long Island school. For each child, a multidisciplinary team develops strategies and methods to meet the goals and objectives of his/her Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Children receive physical, occupational, and speech therapies as prescribed in their IEPs. Time is spent each day encouraging the growth of skills needed in activities of daily living, such as feeding and dressing. Social skills are developed in structured activities and free play. This Long Island school uses individual and group projects such as painting, cooking, coloring, planting flowers, water play and using the sand table develop motor and learning skills. The children work with specially trained teachers in the Learning Center where they begin to use assistive technology, adapted computers, specialized software, touch screens and switches. Access to the Adapted Physical Education provides opportunities for additional growth in motor skills for children attending this Long Island school.

Parents can visit their child's classroom and observe the program. They can also talk with the classroom teacher and with members of the multidisciplinary team on these visits and throughout the year as necessary. Parents also participate in the development of the child's IEP. Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings at this Long Island school cover topics that are important to education and management of children with special needs and are held monthly.

Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance

The Orange County Schools ' Special Education Alliance was created by the 28 districts in Orange County in 2003. The primary goal of the Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance is to meet the need for a countywide system that can focus on special education. This includes offering staff development and training to school employees, creating leadership in advocating for legislative and administrative change, overseeing the decisions and rulings rendered by administrative agencies, offering a way to fund the litigation and appeals of administrative and judicial decisions and rulings especially when the outcome has a countywide significance or precedent setting in its implications for all students.

The Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance was created with the intention of addressing all the concerns of all students regardless of if the student has any manner disability. Any student that is not receiving the full services they need changed because of lack of funding to support mandates created under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The main problem that Orange County Schools faces with meeting this federal mandate is drawing funds from the regular education program. Funds are often taken from the regular education program to support the needs of special education students. Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance aims to provide the services all students need to be successful in meeting academic standards.

Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance plans to accomplish this goal by providing staff development to its practitioners, use the legislative process to seek adequate funding to provide these high quality services, and when necessary, support litigation to achieve these goals. Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance also encourages staff members, parents, advocates and organizations to get involved by using their voices and contact the local officials and hold them accountable for promises and mandates for which regular education and special needs children are entitled.

Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance is lead by an Executive Committee that is composed of Superintendents from different school districts across Orange County. The actual carrying out of the goals is the responsibility of the Review Committee. The Review Committee is comprised of five Superintendents regionally nominated, Orange County Schools' legal counsel, two private attorneys representing school districts in special education matters, two SELPA directors, and one business administrator. The Review Committee has been working hard for the past two years in order to try and meet the goals of the Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance. Even though the focus of the Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance is in the areas of legal and funding, it tries hard to work closely with teachers and staff members so that its members are informed about the needs of the schools at root levels.

Since the Orange County Schools' Special Education Alliance was created it has accomplish a great deal to meet the needs of the school districts across Orange County.

Special Education Laws

Special education refers to the education of children with physical disorders or disabilities, psychiatric disorders, emotional distress, behavioral disorders, and learning disorders. Traditional educational techniques or school programs do not sufficiently meet the requirements of these children. Children with special education needs are guaranteed rights to services in schools under federal and state laws. These laws include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA 1997), and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). These laws guarantee special education programs and financial assistance for disabled children and youth in the United States.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 is a federal law that governs all special education services for children in the United States. The major objective of IDEA is to provide free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. The IDEA 2004 is a revision or reauthorization of IDEA 1997, which preserves the civil rights guarantees of IDEA 1997, but makes substantial changes regarding how schools determine whether a child has learning disability and needs special education services. Services to very young children, i.e., infants and toddlers, are also covered under the IDEA. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a civil rights legislative act, which proscribes discrimination against children with disabilities and provides them with reasonable accommodations. Under section 504, any person who has an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity is considered disabled.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) commands all educational institutions to meet the needs of children with psychiatric problems. In the United States, procedures for the implementation of the Federal laws and procedural safeguards are different in different states and therefore parents should have a good knowledge of the rules and regulations in their particular area. For any assistance, parents can always contact the regional office of the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Special Education Teachers

Special education can be defined as specially configured instructions and other education-related services to meet the educational, social, emotional, and vocational needs of students with disabilities. Special education teachers educate students who have various types of disabilities, including speech or language impairments, mental retardation, emotional distress, hearing impairments, orthopedic impairments, multiple disabilities, specific learning disabilities, visual impairments, autism, combined blindness and deafness, traumatic brain injury, and other health impairments. A special educator has to work with students of all ages from infants and toddlers, students in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as youths. The special educator's job also involves working with a team of professionals, i.e., doctors, speech pathologists, social workers, orthopedists, psychiatrists, counselors, etc. The teaching methods and techniques in special education would vary based on the disability and it would also vary from individual to individual.

The teaching methods include individual instructions, problem-solving techniques, group work, and special assignments depending upon the needs of the individual. They can also develop individual educational programs for each student to help with the child's activities of daily living. As technology plays an important role in special education, a teacher is expected to instruct the students and their parents on the latest instrumentations and its usage in disability, as the case maybe. For instance, interactive software and computers that talk are now available in the market, which would be of great help for students with speech impairments. It requires a lot of enthusiasm, optimism, patience, tolerance, and perseverance for one to be a special education teacher as the job involves a lot of interaction with students of all age groups and with other people.

In the United States, all states demand special education teachers to be licensed. The special education teacher has to complete of a teacher's training program and must have a Bachelor's degree or a Master's degree. As they deal with students with mild to profound disabilities, their job demands specialization in either one or other areas of disability, which would enable the teachers to develop their own curriculum materials and teaching techniques to meet the needs of the students.

Special Education

Special education refers to unconventional education services designed to cater to the needs of individuals suffering from physical and mental drawbacks such as physical handicaps, sensory (visual and hearing) impairments, intellectual capacity (mental retardation and autism), learning disabilities (reading and writing skills), speech impairment and those with behavior disorders. It seeks to address problems of the individual, as well as provide effective solutions through a set of formulated instructions, service aids and supports, learning techniques and transitions services.

The goal of special education is to address the needs of these special individuals (children, youth and adults) and ensure that they gain equal access to quality education regardless of their condition. In effect, it encourages them to keep up with the challenges of normal education and help improve their chances for success in life.

Specialized method of education

The primary focus of this special type of education is to provide support and learning techniques to the individual. Children are properly educated in the most learning-conducive environment to help them discover their in-depth skills and abilities hidden behind the disabilities they might have.

But not everyone can employ this educational service. As such, before the person can avail of it, different levels of evaluations must take place. The processes can vary, though the primary stages include referral, parental consent, child evaluation and review and recommendation of appropriate institutionalized methods.

An afterthought...

In today's society there are more than 6 million children and youth estimated to be suffering from disabilities, and the demand for special education has grown by leaps and bounds. By properly dealing with the issues and problems concerned and finding solutions, special education can give them the chance to stand up and be on equal footing with their peers, drawing out their true potentials as key movers and prime contributors to society regardless of their physical and mental difficulties.

Journal Of Special Education

Reading written journals on special education can help, for the articles can give you an in-depth insight to the true nature of teaching special children and what is involved. You will read about things you need to know as a teacher, parent, or specialist handling children with special needs. This is because the journals are written by scholars, recognized individuals and key persons in the field.

The Journal of Special Education is a written periodical that tackles the subject of special education. In it, you can find comprehensive discussions, reviews and commentaries, sample interventions in dealing with special children, outlined procedures concerning special students and timely research and in-depth analysis on matters concerning special education.

You do not need to buy published journals on special education just to get your hands on one, for there are available sources and links online that contain reliable research and discussions. Sample articles that you can find in online journals are practical applications and strategic teaching methods that you can use to educate special children formulated theories that address key issues on teaching children and individuals with special needs, source of advocacy or integrated network listing of disability and educational information, comprehensive guide on teaching individuals with special needs and selected reviews and data that can guide you in determining the needs of your students.

These are only some sample contents that you can obtain in electronic journals regarding special education. Whatever resource you use, the ideas and concepts gathered, plus the solutions presented, can help you become sensitive to the needs of your students and be quick in responding to them.