Chapter 2: High Incidence Disabilities
Chapter 3: Low Incidence Diabilities
*Things I Do Right
I think that one of the things I do well in my classroom is figuring out ways to teach students with Learning Disabilities, so that they are challenged, but never feel that they are outside of the crowd. I teach Inclusion, which means that about half of my students in any given class have learning disabilities, so I have to be able to cater to their needs without making it clear to the other students just who my "inclusion" students are in the room. This can be difficult as I try to accommodate my students' needs, based on their IEPs and 504s These plans are very specific, and it can be hard to hide some accommodations, like preferential seating and oral testing, or even re-testing. Chapter 2 states that ADHD and ADD are some of the most common learning disabilities, and I believe that this is certainly the case, based on my own classroom experience. I think I do a good job of keeping my students with these two disabilities engaged. It is so important to remember that the two disabilities are completely separate with separate needs and educational issues. This is often forgotten because both are based on attention deficits. I definitely see the difference between the two clearly, and I have to admit that having dated a gentleman with extreme ADHD for so long has helped me to recognize these differences. He has shaped my perception of the unique needs of these students. Two other common learning disabilities in my classroom are Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. I think I do well with these students, and I often find myself giving them silent cues or spelling words on the board for no other reason than to make a point for the other students' notes and to let my students with Dyslexia or Dysgraphia see the words I am saying aloud. This seems to help them feel more a part of the classroom experience. Students with Intellectual Disabilities, such as Asperger's Syndrome, usually flourish in my classroom. Their accommodations aside, I treat them the same way I treat my other students, though my explanations may be more in-depth and detailed, and I tend to keep my sarcasm on low around them. For whatever reason, I seem to really relate to these types of students and they to me. I have only taught two students with Aspergers, and in both cases, I was able to build good rapport with them. Also, visual and hearing impairments are rarely seen in our classrooms, but when they do, we have translators that help greatly. Also, I feel that I am good at understanding the difference between students who are culturally different versus students who have learning disabilities. ESOL students are frequent students of mine, and I think that teaching to their needs is one of my stronger points.
*Oops
It is important to admit one's flaws in order to grow, and I have to admit that I am not very good at dealing with behavioral or emotional disorders in the classroom. It is not that I am unfeeling--I adore my students--but I do become very frustrated when I feel that they are not living up to their full potential. I have trouble differentiating between students with real behavioral disabilities and those who just refuse to behave in class for whatever outside reason. I also panic (mildly) when faced with extreme emotional outbursts. Because I am not an overly emotional person, in the classroom at least, it is hard for me to relate to some of my students with this type of disability. I prefer intense emotion to keep its place in my personal life and stay far away from the classroom. I don't really know how to deal with either behavioral or emotional disabilities, other than following a list of instructions provided to me in my professional books. Further,I have never had a student with diagnosed autism in my classroom, but those students in the school who I know are autistic seem to gravitate towards me. It seems that the autistic students in my school are often very talkative, if repetitive, and like to touch, and while it may make me a lesser person to admit this, I don't enjoy this interaction. I do not like to be touched by strangers, and even though I know perfectly well that these students cannot change their needs, it is hard for me to relate. I rarely interact with students who have severe mental retardation or other serious intellectual disabilities because I work in a large school, and these self-contained classrooms are on a different hallway. I would not know how to teach a student with a serious intellectual disability.
*Things I Might Use
Improvements I would like to make include being able to practice strategies for handling behavioral and emotional disabilities (and subsequent outbursts) appropriately. I would also like to try to expose myself to the more serious intellectual disabilities in order to become better at interacting with them. Also, perhaps I could be the "general education" part of a collaborative team created to help an IDD student. I hope to work on my communication strategies for students with disabilities, as well as instructional strategies to be able to teach all of my students more effectively. Also, though I provide preferential seating to students who need it, I hope to be able to come up with a more effective classroom plan, so that there are more seats up front. Further, I want to be able to improve my ability to use technology in the classroom in order to help my students with disabilities, which means I need to become more familiar with the different disabilities and the technology available to help them learn better. The only other improvement that I can think of at this time is to work more closely with my special education facilitators at my school in order to increase my knowledge base.
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