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bg/ student teacher. Next year will be my final year 
So I found out where I'm going next year. I am going to another primary school which is about halfway between my house and my boyfriend's house (and now requires me to drive in peak-hour traffic -.-). More to the point, my placement next year will be a special education placement.
I was initially expecting to be doing my final teaching placement out within a mainstream class that has a few students with mild to moderate disabilities (i.e. vision/hearing impaired, Aspergers, maybe some behavioural issues). Instead, I get what is known in my state as a "Special Class". Not a special unit, a special class.
The difference? A special class has no more than 8 kids at junior primary level (K-2) or 12 kids at primary or secondary level (3-7 and 8-12/13). Usually the children have an intellectual disability of some shape or form (this can include autism or Down's Syndrome among others), although some of them also have a physical disability along with it.
To give you an example, the school I spent time at for my placement recently had 2 special classes: one K-2, the other 3-7. There were 8 kids in the K-2 Special Class, all of them boys. Two of them I suspect had a mild intellectual disability or were autistic, but were otherwise fine (they were capable of instructing children in how to play dominos
) while one other child had an intellectual disability, was slightly struggling with his speech, but also wore hearing aids. One other child was completely different from the rest in that he was around 4-5 years old, but had the mental age of an 1.5-2 year old child. There was always someone with him at all times. One of the other children would also have periods where he refused to speak, which resulted in the Special Ed teacher (a lovely lady ) providing him with his own set of PECS cards.
On the other hand, a special unit is usually attached to the school but is an entity in and of itself. THe children there could have a range of disabilities, but they are also generally severe enough to warrant being in the unit rather than in class. Unlike a Special Class, there also isn't a specific number of students.
So basically, for those of you who have a child with special needs of some kind, what are some things that you've noticed in your child's class/program that you could recommend? What should I expect? Aside from the obvious, are there things that I shouldn't do? I am already beginning to prepare some resources, including making my own set of PECS cards.
So I found out where I'm going next year. I am going to another primary school which is about halfway between my house and my boyfriend's house (and now requires me to drive in peak-hour traffic -.-). More to the point, my placement next year will be a special education placement.
I was initially expecting to be doing my final teaching placement out within a mainstream class that has a few students with mild to moderate disabilities (i.e. vision/hearing impaired, Aspergers, maybe some behavioural issues). Instead, I get what is known in my state as a "Special Class". Not a special unit, a special class.
The difference? A special class has no more than 8 kids at junior primary level (K-2) or 12 kids at primary or secondary level (3-7 and 8-12/13). Usually the children have an intellectual disability of some shape or form (this can include autism or Down's Syndrome among others), although some of them also have a physical disability along with it.
To give you an example, the school I spent time at for my placement recently had 2 special classes: one K-2, the other 3-7. There were 8 kids in the K-2 Special Class, all of them boys. Two of them I suspect had a mild intellectual disability or were autistic, but were otherwise fine (they were capable of instructing children in how to play dominos
) while one other child had an intellectual disability, was slightly struggling with his speech, but also wore hearing aids. One other child was completely different from the rest in that he was around 4-5 years old, but had the mental age of an 1.5-2 year old child. There was always someone with him at all times. One of the other children would also have periods where he refused to speak, which resulted in the Special Ed teacher (a lovely lady ) providing him with his own set of PECS cards. On the other hand, a special unit is usually attached to the school but is an entity in and of itself. THe children there could have a range of disabilities, but they are also generally severe enough to warrant being in the unit rather than in class. Unlike a Special Class, there also isn't a specific number of students.
So basically, for those of you who have a child with special needs of some kind, what are some things that you've noticed in your child's class/program that you could recommend? What should I expect? Aside from the obvious, are there things that I shouldn't do? I am already beginning to prepare some resources, including making my own set of PECS cards.
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