Special Needs Students in my Class?

Question

I just found out that I will be having two special needs students in my class next year. One is autistic and the other has speech problems due to physical disability. How do I prepare myself?

Answer 1

Have you studied up on Autism and Speech difficulties?
First of all I'd get to know the students to see what help they need first.
I provided you with some link sources down below which may help you.

Answer 2

You gave limited information. What grade do you teach? How do you know your class list for next year? Shouldn't you be focusing on the students you have now? Do these children have aides?

Every single child is different. That also applies to children with needs that aren't typical.

I have a daughter who's 6 years 10 months and in the first grade. She has Autism. So far she doesn't have an IEP (no need for one), she doesn't have any services, and we've had no problems yet. With my daughter, and all children in general, consistency is the key. Listen to the child's parents. Do not expect any less from these children. My daughter gets the same homework, classwork, test time (for now), and follows the same rules. As long as the parents are also consistent, homework shouldn't be an issue. If something becomes an issue, figure out why and work on it, just like you do for your typical students. The one exception we have is that the gym teachers are not to use the microphone during my daughter's class, because her ears are sensitive and she can't understand directions, but I'm sure the whole class benefits from not being yelled at through a microphone.

Good luck; You'll learn a lot from these students

Answer 3

Being the mother of an autistic child I can tell you the best thing you can do is read up on autism to get an idea of how the student will learn. Autistic children are highly intelligent but socially lacking. They don't learn like typical children do.

Most importantly don't expect the autistic student to be able to keep up with the other kids in some areas, other areas autistic children excel far beyond their peers. You'll have to make a different lesson plan (usually an IEP) which the previous school should have one already.

Don't burden the autistic child with lots of homework because once home, many of them can't relate to doing school work at home. It's just the way they think.

I would gather the class together with the special needs students not there and explain to them why their classmates are different and make it known that anyone picking on either of them will be dealt with harshly.

Once you find the strong points of the two newcomers, you can focus on developing those.

Autistic children wear out quickly and can have a meltdown if they don't understand something. It's frustrating, but you'll eventually learn how to work with them. You can probably find a transcript of the DSM IV manual online, look up Pervasive Developmental Disorders and you'll get a good idea of the way you can handle the students because if you know more about the dynamics of the condition, you can come up with a better plan.

One VERY important tool you can utilize is a notebook that you make a short entry in every day and send it home with the autistic student to keep an open line of communication with the parents. Ask them to write a little something in there daily too and send it back to you. Keep that open communication going.

Answer 4

will if i was you take time to relax . and take a couple of breath's. know these special needs students that you will have in your class will need a little more of your time. to help them . take your time with the one that has a speech to make sure you understand what they are trying to say to you, and if you don't ask them to wirte it down for you or try it again until you under stand what they are trying say to you. As time goes along you will being to understand what they are to you. i schould know i have a speech problem to and i have to do that sometimes still for those who don't under stand me . know the autistic one you have be come around them or they will start bouncing off the walls. and ask the other students to help you out and wait on you because you have two special needs students coming in your class next year and that will mean you need a little bit more time with them .a nd you will come to them when you are done helping the one your with. and tell the kids in your now what kinds of problems that they have so they can help you get ready for they come. and right before the come remind your students of what yall have talked about. and if questions try your best answer them the best you can.

Answer 5

working with my cousin (15) who is autistic i found this helps for reading.

some autistic children learn to read better with phonics and others with a whole word approach and still others a mixture of the two approaches. One thing that may be of great help is testing the child to see which approaches might work best and to evaluate strengths and weaknesses.
Reinforce what the child is reading with repetition. Read books out loud, act them out, create visual aids and watch movies based on books. Don't be afraid to try new things and be patient. It may take a while when teaching autistic children reading to find the methods that work best for each individual child

Answer 6

children that are autistic sometimes they are on meds, they can be very distracting to the class. Some of them can also pick up the negative behaviours . Inculding him or her in the lesson plan can assist you alot like sound out words even for the child with the speech problem. The children that are easliy distracted in class peer them up with someone that is strong to keep them focus. The child that is autistic you can get toys that can assist him with a para to work with him you may not know what he or she knows but do a one on one with you and the child sometimes the parents might state to you that the child knows abc and then they dont . I deal with both but you can never be prepared because you dont know sometimes they say mild but when you are finished you will cry because the person before never took the time to care but it will work out you just have to take time just like you will treat a baby for the first time but still demand respect they know how to try to work their head on you as a push over dont make them see you are weak. Phonics have good programs for them also take into consideration they may not like big groups

Answer 7

I have a handicapped bro in highschool, infact I had a class with him last year. I informed all his teachers (although is perfectly cool) of what he hates, public speaking, he hates whent he class is loud, crap like that.... so what i am saying is you need to get background on those 2 kids, make sure you can understand... if not.. know about them, the best will come out of you, meaning you will know what to do, NEVER!! AND NEVER! talk behind their backs to the class, never say "you guys we need to make sure that (frank) must be treated... etc... but make sure... no one is blocking the way, people are being polite, silence the class in times of ... take care you will be great.

Answer 8

Meet with the parents, and listen to what they have to say about what their child likes, dislikes, his/her strengths and weaknesses, etc. Try to meet with previous teachers, too, to see what they found worked and didn't work when they had the student. And stay flexible!

I am the parent of a 15-year-old with autism, and every year, we'd ask to meet with the new teacher before school started to explain some of her idiosyncracies, etc. We'd also ask the previous year's teacher to sit in to offer any clue he/she could about how to make the most of the year. Whenever we had a teacher who said, "Great! I'd love to meet with you!" or who took notes or who said, "Yes, I can do that. I'll have to arrange my schedule to make sure we do math in the morning," or whatever, we ended up having a great year. On those rare occasions we got a teacher who had difficulty finding the time to meet with us, or who said, "Well, in my classroom, I do it THIS way. She'll get used to it," I knew we were in for trouble.

In general, however, most kids with autism thrive on structure and a dependable schedule. When our daughter was in kindergarten, we bought a cheap wall clock and the teacher drew on it with Sharpie markers, where the hands would be when it was snack time, hand washing time, story time, resting time, etc. And she really made an effort to stay on the schedule. On those days where there was an assembly or something going on so that they could not adhere to the regular schedule, she would start a week in advance "preparing" my daughter for the change by saying things like "This Friday, we're not going to library, we're going to the assembly, instead." And then, as it got closer, things like, "Remember, no library tomorrow, assembly instead!" And "Instead of library this morning, we're going to the assembly after snack!" so that we could minimize surprises as much as possible.

Many kids with autism are hypersensitive to things like lights and sounds. For example, our daughter is very sensitive to any loud sound, and listening to a classful of children sing at the top of their lungs was excrutiating for her. When it was time for music and the kids would be singing, they made arrangements for her to go to the library or principal's office, instead.

Ask the parents how open they are about discussing the various disabilities. Most kids are very curious, and would do better, I think, with a clear-cut explanation about what the kids' problems are, pointing out how everyone is the same in some ways and how everyone is different in one way or another, too. With you to help guide the discussion, this could be very helpful to the other kids and their interaction with your two special needs kids. However, it is important to check with the parents and observe their wishes about how they prefer this to be handled.

Anyway, hope this helps....

Answer 9

Take the advice from Dee. If you need help ask! There will be teams who are trained who will come into the school and advice you on what an individual child needs. Ask your head to contact them. Most importantly don't feel you are on your own, always seek help.

Answer 10

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