Certificate in Empowering Students With Disabilities Online Course

What Are Special Needs?

Danny has a seeing-eye dog. Carmela needs extra help with math. Yoshi has autism. And they're all in your class this year! In our first lesson, we'll look at the growing numbers of children with special needs, and talk about how you can welcome them to your classroom and set the stage for successful learning.

The Special Education Process and the IEP

How do kids get placed in special education? As you’ll discover, it’s not a snap decision. Today, we’ll trace a student’s path through every stage of the placement process and look at the role a teacher plays from start to finish. In addition, we’ll analyze the parts of an Individualized Education Program (IEP). And finally, we’ll talk about the modifications spelled out in an IEP and how they affect your assignments, classroom environment, or testing procedures.

It takes a whole team to help a child with special needs succeed—and today you’ll meet the members of that team. After a quick look at the power of collaboration, we’ll explore the roles of the special education teacher and the paraprofessional. Next, you’ll meet the specialists who can help you with everything from speech problems to assistive technology to adapted PE games. We’ll finish up with a look at how guidance counselors, social workers, and school nurses can lend you a helping hand.

Learning Disabilities

In this lesson, we’ll talk about reading, writing, and math disabilities—the most common learning disabilities (LDs) you’ll see in the classroom. First, you’ll get a chance to see how it feels to have an LD. After that, we’ll talk about the memory problems of students with LDs and how they affect everything from reading a book to solving a word problem. And finally, we’ll look at fun learning strategies that will make your lessons memorable for kids with LDs (and your other students as well!).

Imagine how frustrating it would be if you couldn’t speak clearly, understand other people, or express your thoughts and feelings well. That’s what life is like for children with speech or language disorders, a topic we’ll investigate today. In addition to learning what it’s like to have these disorders, we’ll explore simple tricks that can beef up your students’ communication skills.

ADHD and the Other Health Impaired Category

They bounce off the walls, talk nonstop, stick erasers up their noses, and can’t sit still for two minutes. They’re kids with ADHD—one of the most common disabilities you’ll see in your classroom—and today we’ll talk about what their lives are like. After that, you’ll learn ways to address the attention and organizational problems that can make schoolwork such a challenge for these children. We’ll also look at the “Other Health Impaired” category, which includes ADHD, and see which children are eligible for an OHI label.

Students can shine in many ways, and today we’ll look at how students with intellectual disabilities can be stars in your classroom. First, we’ll see what it’s like to be a student with Down syndrome or another intellectual disability. Next, we’ll look at how you can help students with these disabilities by focusing on both academic and adaptive skills. And finally, we’ll explore three great ideas for meshing math, reading, writing, and daily living skills in your lessons.

Behavior Disorders

They’re your biggest challenge: kids who hit, kick, curse, yell, skip class, steal, cheat, and lie. Today we’ll look at children with behavior disorders and examine the roots of problems like conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. We’ll also discuss three important tools for handling behavior problems: behavior contracts, functional behavioral assessments, and behavior intervention plans.

Children with autism will give your teaching skills a workout with their unique combination of strengths and impairments. In this lesson, we’ll explore three areas in which these kids need help: communication skills, social skills, and the ability to handle transitions. How can you address all of these needs? With a single powerful tool—social stories—that you’ll master today.

Other Disabilities

In this lesson, you’ll meet kids with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, hearing or vision impairments, developmental delays, and a host of other challenges. In addition, we’ll take a closer look at the assistive technology—both high-tech and low-tech—that can help kids with these disabilities triumph academically.

Today, we’ll talk about “best practices” for teaching children with special needs. And here’s good news: Many of these ideas will work for your entire class! First, we’ll explore how to balance students’ IEP requirements with your curriculum standards. Next, we’ll investigate a great technique for helping students grasp difficult material: directed instruction. And finally, we’ll tackle that tough question: How can you grade students with disabilities fairly?

Dealing With Transitions

Transitions can be scary for all of us, and that’s especially true for students with disabilities. In this lesson, we’ll look at ways to smooth three big transitions our students make: from elementary to middle school, from middle school to high school, and from high school to real life. We’ll also take an in-depth look at the transitional IEPs you’ll create for your high school students with disabilities.