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Becoming a special education teacher requires a license, completing a training program, and getting a bachelor’s degree. Some states even require you to get a master’s degree and offer licensure programs to college grads that have no education training. Teachers that have special education classes must have patience, be organized, able to provide motivation of students, understand the students’ needs, and become accepting of the differences of others. They get involved in the social, behavioral, and academic development of their students. When the child is older, teachers prepare them for daily life after graduation, and offer career counseling when needed.
Types of disabilities that qualify a child to enter a special education class are learning disability, language or speech impairments, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, hearing impairments, visual impairments, orthopedic impairments, autism, combined blindness and deafness, and brain injury. Most students fall into one or two of these categories. A teacher’s job is identifying a child having special needs and to intervene early for the necessary education of that child.
There are a small number of students that have severe cognitive, physical, or emotional disabilities, and are taught basic literacy and life skills. Most are instructed at the secondary, middle, elementary, and preschool levels; however some teachers have to work with infants and toddlers. Working with infants is often done in their own home, helping the parents learn techniques that encourage development and growth. Toddler’s go to preschool where they are helped in language, social, cognitive, motor, and self-help skills through playing.
