Special Needs Students

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

What classifies a special needs student?•Broad legislative category referring to all students identified as needing special assistance to achieve educational equity, e.g., the disabled, the disadvantaged, those seeking nontraditional careers, limited English speakers

http://www.education.com/definition/special-needs-students/

The discrepancy between Differentiation and Modification• Differentiation – obtaining the understanding of the content from different perspectives. Examples: a lesson’s assignment for the same class period can be given in the forms of: worksheets, hands-on, and discussion

• Modification - changing the presentation of the assignment to acquire success for a student. An example is a summative assignment (a test) is given with 30 questions. A student who cannot finish the test gets a modified version with 25 questions, so they are able to finish.

Resources/Ideas to consider for teaching a student with ADHD or ADD….• Clarification of ADHD – a student

who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention deficit disorder• Ideas/ resources:• Idea: Start a routine for the student:

for example, have an assignment or task to begin the class in order to give the student no down time

• Idea: Establish the rules of the classroom: be firm but considerate

• Idea: peer tutor/mentor – allow another student to help the student along with note-taking and understanding of concepts

• Small group testing (limit distractions)

• Read testing materials and questions (if needed)

• Task ideas: keep student interested (hands on activities)• Examples: Math – apply the

lesson to using manipulative (algebra blocks). English, Social Studies, and Science – allow student to draw illustrations to show understanding of the concept. Ex. Drawing a food pyramid for life science.

• Apply concepts towards the student’s interests

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/4039-3.html

Resources/Ideas to consider for teaching a student who has an auditory disability….• Clarification – a student who is

unable to hear clearly. They hear little to no sound

• Resource/Ideas to accommodate:• provide student with lecture notes

along with explanation and steps, then provide examples for them to work.

• Allow peer tutoring for communicating (probably through notes) when teacher is unavailable

• Provide student with a board to communicate with peers/teacher with questions or comments

• Usage of a computer that provides touch-screen ability to maneuver objects or words to help with understanding the concept

Resources/Ideas to consider for teaching a student who are MILD learning disabilities….• Ideas/Resources: • The usage of a thesaurus and dictionary•Microsoft word for spell and grammar check• Idea: allow student(s) to write on something of interest to them

• Provide calculator usage in mathematics and science (if needed)• Provide a copy of notes – these children are typically not good note takers • Small group testing• Verbal testing

Technology Resources

• http://www.compasslearning.com/• Provides students the opportunity to

see and hear problems worked step by step (breaks it down more thoroughly) – good for mild learning disabilities: good for all subjects

• http://tewt.org/• Provides opportunities to learn how to

give presentations, hold proper discussion, how to write papers, and example activities: good for all subjects – especially ENGLISH

• http://www.explorelearning.com/• Provides the ability to play and learn at

the same time. It comes with student assessments and exploration guide to help students step by step: good for math and science

• http://etc.usf.edu/ss/ss912.htm• Provides lesson plans and

activities for each subject

Conclusion• All accommodations do not work for everyone. They need to be tested and data needs to be received from each accommodation to see which ones make the student most successful. Some students may require more assistance than others. When teaching these students, it takes time and patience. You have to be willing to work diligently with them.