Teaching Children With Special Needs
As a new teacher, providing for the needs of learning disabled students can be remarkably challenging, and also amazingly rewarding. Students with special needs will require more time and patience from you, as most necessitate specific instructional strategies within a very structured environment. The important thing to remember is that students with learning disabilities are not unable to learn. Rather, their distinctive learning abilities require educational techniques that are tailored to their specific learning process. It is important to consider these tips and strategies when working with special needs children.
- Keep activities short and concise. A learning disabled child can become easily frustrated with longer projects.
- Use a multisensory learning approach with concrete objects and events. Applying different senses (sight, sound, touch, feel) can help students comprehend abstract terms and concepts better.
- Be prepared to repeat instructions and relay other information verbally or written as needed.
- When using visuals to convey information, such as an overhead projector or on a white board, be sure to verbalize the information in order to help reinforce the concept.
- Give immediate feedback and frequent progress reports. The relationship between what was taught and what was learned needs to be communicated quickly.
- Give assignments in both written and oral form. For students with reading disabilities, focus on providing oral instruction whenever possible. Offering tests and reading assignments in an oral format can result in a better assessment of progress within a subject matter.
- Provide lots of praise. Use words of encouragement that link directly to the learning task or classroom goal that the student has completed.
There is no greater feeling for a new teacher than when a learning disabled child achieves an academic goal. While the process may be challenging, the reward for both you and the child will be well worth it.
