Special education classes take an already difficult period of a young person’s life (school itself) and make it just that much more difficult for someone who might already have a few problems with coping. First off, there is the inevitable derision which comes out of being different from the “norm” which the majority of the student body tend to create and enforce. Secondly, there is the personal knowledge that one is weak in an area which is considered necessary for being effective (which nobody wants to think about themselves). Third, there is the additional challenge of actually working to overcome this extra set of challenges, which makes the special education experience just that much more of a pain. However, as an adult who is involved in helping these students (no matter what your official title might be), you do have both the responsibility and the opportunity to guide the students in special ed through this difficulty.
The first step is going to be in helping them to understand that the additional teasing they are likely getting from the other students has nothing to do with their value as a person. They are no better or worse than anybody else because of this, and they have to learn how to develop a thick skin and let things people say to them slide. A good way to help them with this is to go back and forth saying ridiculous things (think “I’m a gigantic blue duck”), as proof that they are not true just because somebody says them. You might be surprised at how readily children will adapt to things, once they realize how little the two cent opinions of their peers really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Once this confidence level begins to grow, you are also going to see that your special ed students begin to grasp their concepts with a bit more ability. In some cases, the fact that a student is deficient at a particular skill set has as much to do with their own self image as it does with their own actual ability level.