Special education is for students who are extra special and sensitive
In simple terms, special education is for children with special needs. Special education teachers understand the various limitations and disabilities of children, and teach accordingly.
It is that branch of education where special instructional methodology is applied to educate students with specific needs, Various forms of instructional materials, equipments, learning-teaching aids, etc are used to educate students in a comfortable ambience. A trained professional tries his best to increase the level of personal self sufficiency of students with varying needs and requirements.
Special education is primarily given to children with various kinds of disabilities. For instance, autism, emotional turmoil, speech problem, hearing impairments, mental retardation, etc. Teachers divide students into various groups and then they start working accordingly.
The main focus is to make students learn the basic life skills and other subjects. Several teachers change the curriculum so as to cater to various needs and requirements of students. In most cases, teachers teach students at primary, middle and secondary level.
Be it an academic task or a non-academic task, special educators make extra effort to teach students. They break each and every task into several steps. For instance, writing a sentence would be – identifying a pencil, identifying the paper, holding the pencil in the hand, scribbling on the paper with the pencil, etc. This helps the teacher to know where the student is facing problems, what is his/her positive and negative points, what else can be done to complete the task.
Special educators don’t adhere to traditional methods to educate students. They educate students through various mediums – visual, kinesthetic, audio, tactile, etc. They encourage and motivate students a lot. This helps to motivate students quickly.
Teaching methods are continuously adjusted and modified as per the requirement of children. Teaching methods can be anything – it can be problem-solving assignments or instruction for individuals or a group assignment. They work for the overall growth and development of students – social, emotional and academic development of students. They cooperate with parents at all level. They give updates on the progress of children and even suggest various kinds of techniques to teach students at home.
Children with various needs have right to learn everything just like the normal children. We strive to bring an overall development of these children so that they can at least try to live a normal life.