Special education refers to teaching children and youth who have different types of disabilities. There is a wide range of disabilities that fall into the special education umbrella. They could include physical disabilities such as being hearing or visually impaired. Children could have cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, or malformed or missing limbs. Children could have varying degrees of mental retardation, emotional disturbances, learning disabilities such as ADHD or dyslexia, or autism or Asperger’s syndrome.
Special education teachers meet with the school counselors, school administration, and the parents to develop and Individualized Education Program (IEP). This plan is tailored to meet the child’s individual needs and abilities. The plan includes behavioral, social, and academic goals for the student to work on. Teachers stay in close contact with the parents so that they are informed of their child’s progress (or lack of it).
Depending on the student’s disability, the student may be in the regular classroom with other students. The student is pulled out for special help and individualized instruction according to her needs. Sometimes students with disabilities will be in a separate classroom and will go in to the regular classroom for classes for short periods of time for activities such as PE or art.
There are a few characteristics that are critical that a special education teacher has. Of course she has to be a licensed teacher. (In some states, regular teachers can get a Special Education Endorsement to be qualified to teach special education.) Sometimes only a Bachelor’s is required. Some states require a Master’s. A special education teacher needs to be patient because she will be dealing with students who will have struggles throughout their whole education. She will need to understand the special needs created by the disabilities of the students in her classroom and different motivational techniques that work with these types of students. She also needs to be very well organized.