Special Eduaction & Differentiated Learners

What is your experience/perception with Special Education today in America? As educators, how do we truly meet the needs of differentiated learners?

 

I have had the opportunity work in a special education classroom as a one on one paraeducator before I took on my current position as a classroom assistant. The student that I worked with has pretty severe autism and the few other students in the room had significant disabilities as well. As far as being in the school, the students were included in many things such as field trips, recess, lunch, and assembly’s. The students who were in general education classrooms were very helpful and understanding. They tried very hard to play with our class and wanted to help them do little things such as walk to the line at the end of recess, or pull around the red wagon while a student sat in it, or roll a ball back and forth. I would say that the students in the general education classrooms were very aware that the students in our class were much different than them but at the same time they were very accepting of the differences. They did not make fun of the students who couldn’t speak, or control their actions. They simply did their best to ignore it and put it behind them because it really didn’t matter.

My perception with Special Education today in America, is that I feel as if too many people are not being exposed to people with special needs and/or disabilities. It seems as if some people don’t even realize that they exist and if they do realize it, they choose to deny it or completely ignore it. I think that our younger general education students are much more open to the special education students when they are exposed to them and are given the time to actually be around each other and try to make connections or understand one  another.

As educators, we meet the needs of differentiated learners by having different students do different things to prove their knowledge. This may be in the form of different assignments, different tests, different projects, different lengths of writing, etc. We also provide visual instruction, auditory instruction, and written instruction when appropriate. This makes it easier to reach all students and make sure they obtain the information as needed depending upon their learning style. We allow students to do things differently within the classroom such as sit in a closer/more distant spot in the room when instruction is being given; sit/stand when working at their desks; choose to work with a partner or independently; find a place in the room to read, aloud, silently, with a whisper phone, etc.