A Closer Look At Jobs In Special Education
Introduction In essence, special education is for children with disabilities who will require a tailor-made program (as opposed to general education.) Now, this definition is quite vague and if, sometimes, as is the case with children diagnosed with autism, there is no doubt about the disability in question, sometimes it can be harder to tell. If the kid never showed any worrying sign until he/she entered school, how can his needs be evaluated? In this presentation, we will discuss 5 cases where your kid may benefit from special education.
The Obvious As we mentioned in the introduction, if your child was born deaf, blind or with some other type of impairment, there is no question that he couldn’t be thrown into your typical class room and be left there to fend for himself without any type of help whatsoever.
He will need different supports and teaching methods so as to circumvent his deficiency, and still learn like a regular kid. That’s where special education will prove useful.
Learning Disabilities This sort of classification is problematic in that it can be attested that the child is experiencing problems but the cause of the disability is not always clearly known. It could be dyslexia or dysgraphia, but the disability could be more pervasive.
It is generally accepted that such trouble stems from the brain’s inability to treat the info transmitted by the senses, either right at the input, when trying to interpret its meaning, when trying to memorize it, or when trying to act upon it by speaking, writing, and so on.
EBD If your kid is having difficulties making any sort of connection with classmates and teachers, and that it is having a negative impact on his/her grades, there might be an EBD (emotional & behavioral disorder) involved.
The same can be said if he or she shows clear signs of depression or aggression against others or him/herself. Children diagnosed with ADHD are part of this group.
Communication Issues Seeing that communication is at the center of the learning process (learning is not a passive but an active endeavor that requires an exchange between student and teacher), whenever it is impaired for one reason or another, it’s the whole skills of the child that can be affected.
Communication issues either concern a kid’s ability to express himself or to understand what’s just been said. Stuttering, dyspraxia and auditory processing disorder are some of the deficiencies that comprise this class.
Gifted Education On the other end of the spectrum, children who show a lack of interest in school matters because the program is too easy for them and not challenging enough can also benefit from a differentiated curriculum.
These “gifted� kids (who all share a very high IQ) will then be able to work at their own speed and realize their full potential.
Conclusion Coming to the conclusion that your child may need to take a different path than general education is not an admission of failure. In this day and age, programs have emerged to help children with deficiencies to learn better and really minimize the effects of their impairment. So, don’t let your pride get the best of your kid’s future. If you sense that he may need special attention, have him examined by a specialist.
This presentation was brought to you, courtesy of the n째1 portal for children with specific needs: http://www.procaretherapy.com