Special Education Teaching Jobs

Those in special education teaching jobs work with students who have needs that can't be met in a regular classroom. Some students may have autism or intellectual or emotional challenges, prevent them from reaching their potential without the assistance of a specially trained teacher. In some cases, students may be blind or deaf but still need to learn basic life skills such as cooking, shopping or buying a home. This teachers can adjust classroom lessons to meet the requirements of a wide variety of students who face learning challenges.

Jobs in special education teaching include working one on one with severely handicapped students, being part of a team at a deaf school or hospital, using music therapy. Some spend all their time in administrative positions or helping to educate or mentor other education teaches. Although most of those in jobs in education teaching work with students who only have minor disabilities, others have additional training so they can work with children who have speech or language problems. Still others help prepare IEPs (individualized education plans) which provide other teachers with information about how classrooms need to be modified to help students learn to their maximum potential.

There are even special education teaching opportunities available in hospitals, mental health facilities and doctors' offices. Candidates may often work with emotionally disturbed children or those with learning challenges. There could be an overlap between medical and emotional issues, making regular communication between teachers and doctors a priority. Some jobs are permanent and others are temporary. Most teachers who work with children who have emotional issues get special certification or a Master's degree in the field.

Requirements for that education teaching jobs can vary from state to state, as can the types of jobs available. In Washington, DC, for example, those seeking employment could check with the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. It oversees Gallaudet Univeristy, a college for deaf students, as well as the American Printing House for the Blind. Special education teachers can contact this office to get leads on possible job opportunities. Teaching jobs can include being teachers' assistants, working as aides or being a teacher without special certification.

There are a huge variety of careers in education teaching. They include adaptive physical education teachers, individuals who can alter the regular physical education requirement so that blind, deaf or physically handicapped children can take part in the classes. These teachers must make sure that children are still getting plenty of exercise, even if they are in wheelchairs. Other special education teachers include art and dance therapists, teachers who have extra training in working with emotionally disturbed children. Some special education teachers have auditory training to supplement their work with deaf children.

Jobs in special education teaching can be adapted to special settings, making each job slightly different. Some teachers have their own classrooms and work with small groups of students. Others may go to parents' homes and work with severely mentally or physically challenged children on a one to one basis. The jobs can be so different from one setting to another that it is difficult to list all the different types of special education teaching jobs.

What Are Positive Behavioral Supports, and Can They Help My Child?

Does your child with autism or ADHD have behavioral issues while at school? Does your school district continue to punish your child, rather than find a way to decrease their negative behavior? This article will discuss the use of positive behavioral supports to increase positive behavior thus decreasing negative behavior.

Punishment only works in the short term to decrease negative behavior. Positive behavioral supports are research based and best practice, to change a child's behavior for the long term.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA 2004) requires : The IEP team in a case of a child whose behavior impedes his or her learning, or that of others to consider. . .strategies including positive behavioral intervention and systems to achieve positive change.

So while many special education personnel continue to punish a child with a disability for negative behavior, the use of positive supports are required by IDEA 2004, and they are also effective long term.

A summary of Positive Behavioral Supports:

1. Positive behavioral support is the application of positive behavioral interventions and systems to achieve positive change.

2. Positive behavioral support is an approach to discipline and intervention that is proving both effective and practical in schools.

3. The emphasis is on behavior change that is durable, comprehensive, and linked to academic and social gains.

4. The development of positive behavioral intervention and plans, are guided by functional behavioral assessment and is a foundation on which positive behavioral support is delivered.

5. Functional Behavioral Assessment is a systematic way of identifying problem behaviors and the events that predict occurrence, and maintenance of those behaviors.

6. A proactive perspective is maintained along a continuum, using prevention and interventions.