MESSAGE TO TEACHER
It is inevitable that you will have the opportunity (and pleasure) of working with special needs students in your classroom. You may need to make accommodations for some and modifications for others. Providing for the needs of special education students will certainly be one of your greatest challenges as a professional educator. Consider these tips and strategies.
Planning the Schedule:
1.Each day provide an opportunity for the child to engage in something he enjoys or does well. This offers a necessary balance to his struggles in areas of weakness.
2.Emphasize spiritual training and the development of your child’s own relationship with the Lord. He must have a sense that God loves him and made him for a purpose—that he has a destiny—in order to persevere. Remember, he battles every day in areas that come quickly or easily to others. He not only needs the spiritual strengthening, but the development of the habit of seeking God as his strength. Therefore, devotions or church activities should be part of his daily schedule.
3.While your plans will include long-range goals, only communicate the small goals within your child’s reach. Stretch him a bit, but be sensitive to what is too challenging. Break tasks into small steps, telling him only the first step. Once he accomplishes that, tell him the next. That way he is not overwhelmed and will have the experience of repeated successes, not one overwhelming failure.
4.Vary tasks so that he is not using the same type of focus or the same muscles so long that he becomes overly fatigued or discouraged. If he has been reading history, don’t have him begin reading his literature assignment. Instead, have him do something physical, watch a video, or participate in a discussion. Don’t follow a drawing lesson with something requiring lots of handwriting, since both involve the same fine motor muscles. (Note: Teach cursive or italic handwriting instead of manuscript—printing—since it’s ultimately less frustrating.)
5.Plan daily exercise breaks. Exercise helps concentration as well as the development of coordination. Frequently, children with special needs attend occupational or physical therapy. Those types of activities can be carried on at home during breaks as reinforcement. Some children do well alternating between 10-20 minute work periods with 5-10 minute of exercise. Others can handle 60 to 90 minutes of instruction followed by a 10-15 minute break. Experiment to find out the best routine for your situation.