The Diversity of Students with Disabilities

This chapter describes the tremendous diversity that characterizes students with
disabilities. Most of these students are eligible to receive special education
services provided by the public schools. Yet, as this chapter shows, one cannot
really speak of them as a group in a meaningful way, except perhaps with respect to
the rights that all are accorded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) by virtue of their having a disability.

Some students with disabilities are never taken out of general education
classrooms; others never enter a regular school building. Some have very mild
disabilities observed only in school settings; others have multiple severe
disabilities that affect many aspects of their lives. Some spend only minutes each
week with a specially trained teacher, others the whole day. Some graduate from
high school with a full academic courseload and go on to highly competitive
colleges; others drop out of high school entirely; and still others receive special
diplomas or certificates of attendance. Some have parents who are deeply involved
in advocating and planning their individualized programs; others have parents who
have never attended an IEP meeting.

Meaningful discussion of standards, curriculum, assessment, and outcomes cannot

occur without some attention to the varied characteristics of these large numbers
of children. This chapter examines how their extraordinary diversity complicates
efforts to identify and categorize children with disabilities and to design
effective educational policies for them. It also analyzes how disability variously
affects the school experiences of these students, the roles their parents play in
that schooling, and the possible implications for standards-based reform.

Behavior is one of the greatest challenges a special education teacher faces. This
is especially true when students receiving special education services are in
inclusive classrooms.

There are a number of strategies that teachers—both special and general education—
can employ to help with these situations. We will begin by looking at ways to
provide structure, move on to addressing behavior in general, and look at
structured interventions as prescribed by federal law.

Classroom Management
The most effective way to deal with difficult behavior is to prevent it. It really
is as simple as that, but that's also sometimes easier to say than to put into
practice in real life.

Preventing bad behavior means creating a classroom environment that reinforces

positive behavior. At the same time, you want to stimulate attention and
imagination and make your expectations clear to the students.

To start, you can create a comprehensive classroom management plan. Beyond

establishing rules, this plan will help you institute classroom routines, develop
strategies to keep student's organized and implement Positive Behavior Support
systems.

Behavior Management Strategies

Before you have to put a Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA) and Behavior
Intervention Plan (BIP) in place, there are other strategies you can try. These
will help refocus behavior and avoid those higher, and more official, levels of
intervention.

First of all, as a teacher, it's important that you understand the potential
behavioral and emotional disorders children in your classroom may be dealing with.
These may include psychiatric disorders or behavioral disabilities and each student
will come to class with their own needs.

Then, we also need to define what inappropriate behavior is. This helps us
understand why a student may be acting out the way she has in the past. It also
gives us guidance in properly confronting these actions.

With this background, behavior management becomes part of classroom management.

Here, you can begin to implement strategies to support a positive learning
environment. This may include behavior contracts between yourself, the student, and
their parents. It could also involve rewards for positive behavior.

For example, many teachers use interactive tools like the "Token Economy" to
recognize good behavior in the classroom. These point systems can be customized to
fit the individual needs of your students and classroom.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a research-based therapeutic system based on
Behaviorism (the science of behavior), which was first defined by B.F. Skinner. It
has been proven to be successful in managing and changing problematic behavior. ABA
also provides instruction in functional and life skills, as well as academic
programming.

Individual Education Plans (IEP)

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a way to organize your thoughts in a formal
manner regarding a child's behavior. This can be shared with the IEP team, parents,
other teachers, and school administration.

The goals outlined in an IEP should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,

and have a timeframe (SMART). All of this helps keep everyone on track and gives
your student a very detailed sense of what is expected of them.

If the IEP is not working, then you might need to resort to the formal FBA or BIP.
Yet, teachers often find that with earlier intervention, the right combination of
tools, and a positive classroom environment, these measures can be avoided.

Inclusion is a great thing. Children with special needs are no longer isolated in
“Special Ed” classrooms and only seen on the playground or in the lunchroom. Kids
with special needs thrive in the presence of their peers. There are so many lessons
that children with special needs can learn from other kids, and so many friendships
to be formed.

Children with autism spectrum disorder and other learning disabilities, such as
ADHD, perform better, both academically and socially, if the classroom is set up to
accommodate their special needs.

Teachers are called upon to be creative and innovative when preparing classrooms.
Managing an all-inclusive classroom is easier if simple, personalized teaching
strategies for the special needs student are implemented. The following tips will
help you create a learning environment that will help students bloom where they are
planted!

11 Classroom Management Strategies for Children with Special Needs

1. Use computer based programs to hold the interest of students with autism. Brain
Parade’s See.Touch.Learn. program is an invaluable tool when working with children
with autism. The See.Touch.Learn site edition is a revolutionary visual learning
and assessment tool for teachers and educators on the Brain Parade user platform.
The program consists of 4,400 images and 2,200 exercises created by a certified
behavior analyst. You can also use your own images to personalize lesson plans for
students who have specific interests. One standardized app allows teachers to
create effective, customized lesson plan, that can be shared with other students
and teachers who may share the same interests. See.Touch.Learn has been researched
and implemented in schools around the world. It has proven to be an effective
learning tool for instructing students with autism.

2. Set the desks in the classroom is rows, rather than using circular seating
around large tables, if possible. Students with autism need their own space. The
student with ADHD is easily distracted, so a seat close to the teacher, facing
forward works best. Children with special needs are easily distracted, so keep
their desks away from the windows, doors and activity centers in the classroom.

3. Post classroom rules in a conspicuous place in the classroom, and review the
regularly. Ask students to take turns reading the rules aloud as part of the daily
routine. Make sure all students understand the rules of the classroom and the
consequences for not adhering to them. It may be helpful to allow the class to help
formulate the classroom rules.

4. Keep it simple. Give verbal prompts frequently, and be sure your instructions
are easy to understand. Repeat instructions if the student does not seem to
comprehend what you are saying.

5. Use visual aids such as charts, graphs, and pictures. The See.Touch.Learn
computer program consists of colorful, vivid pictures that are sure to please.
Children with autism tend to respond well to technology. See.Touch.Learn is very
appealing to them and allows them to be interactive while learning.

6. Peers can be wonderful role models for students on the autism spectrum. Pair
compatible children together when working on projects or participating in classroom
activities. Many children welcome the opportunity to be a peer role model to the
special needs student. The experience is not only positive for the student with
autism, but for the peer counselor as well.

7. Have a predictable schedule. Children with autism tend to prefer predictable

routines. Give advance warning if the daily schedule is going to change. If there
is going to be a field trip, a special guest in the classroom, or a substitute
teacher, try to let the class know in advance. Unexpected changes in the routine
can be difficult for the child with autism.

8. Teach social skills, such as hand raising, taking turns and sharing as part of
the learning curriculum. All students will benefit when reminders are given.
Children with autism often engage in self-stimulating behaviors such as hand
flapping, rocking or even slapping themselves in the face. Help the other students
in the class understand these behaviors.

9. Provide opportunities to take a break. Read a story, play a short game, stand up
and stretch, or have casual conversation. Sometimes an opportunity to get out of
his seat and walk around the room can be very calming for the child on the autism
spectrum. Try to be aware of the signs that your student may need a short break.

10. Focus on student strengths. If a child is interested in dinosaurs, baseball,

dogs or water sports, he needs the opportunity to exhibit his expertise in that
subject. See.Touch.Learn was developed with the personalized lesson plan in mind.
Students with autism thrive when they are studying a lesson plan that was formatted
specifically for them.

11. Be aware of environmental triggers. Loud noises, bright lights, and hot or cold
temperatures can disrupt a child’s thinking pattern and cause an unnecessary
classroom outburst. Be mindful of these environmental triggers and eliminate them
whenever possible.

Creating a Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan

A Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan is critical for the success of a teacher

in any kind of classroom. Still, a poorly organized resource room or self-contained
classroom will be just as unproductive and chaotic as a general education classroom
without a behavior rudder-perhaps more so. Too long, teachers have relied on being
the biggest, the loudest or a bully to control misbehavior. Many children with
disabilities have learned that disruptive behavior will help them avoid the
embarrassment of revealing to their peers that they can't read, or that they get
the answers wrong more often than not. Creating a well ordered and successful
classroom is important for all children. Shy or well-behaved children need to know
that they will be safe. Disruptive students need to have the structure that will
support their best behavior and learning, not their worst behavior.

Classroom Management: A Legal Obligation

Because of lawsuits, states have created legislation that requires teachers to
provide progressive discipline plans for students. Creating a safe educational
environment is more than something "nice," it is a legal responsibility as well as
important to retaining employment. Being proactive is the best way to be sure that
you can meet this important obligation.

A Comprehensive Plan
For a plan to truly be successful, it needs to:

Provide clarity about expectations. This begins with rules but needs to continue
with teaching. Routines or procedures also provide clarity about expectations.
Recognize and reward appropriate behavior. This can be provided through Positive
Behavior Support.
Sanction and provide consequences for unacceptable behavior.

In order to assure that a plan provides each of these things, it will also require
all of the following.
Reinforcement: Sometimes the term "consequence" is used for positive as well as
negative outcomes. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses the term "reinforcement."
Reinforcement can be intrinsic, social or physical. Reinforcement can be designed
to support "replacement behavior," though in a class-wide system you may want to
offer a menu of reinforcers, and let students select things they find reinforcing.
Put food items on the bottom of the elementary reinforcement menu, so you can
"white out" those items if your school/district has policies against using food for
reinforcement. If you have students with really difficult behaviors, a sandwich bag
of popcorn is often enough to keep them working for long periods of time
independently.

Reinforcement Systems: These plans can support a whole class in positive behavior
plans:

Token Systems: Tokens can be points, chips, stickers or other ways to record
students' successes. You need to find the best way to communicate immediately when
students have earned tokens toward the reinforcers of their choice.
A Lottery System: Catch students being good and give them tickets that are good for
a drawing. I like the red tickets you can buy for carnivals, and kids like them
too.
The Marble Jar: a jar or another way to accumulate the whole classes' success
toward a group prize (a field trip, a pizza party, a movie day) will help provide a
visual reminder of rewards: it also helps you remember to sprinkle praise
generously around your classroom.
Consequences: A system of negative outcomes to prevent unacceptable behaviors. As
part of a progressive discipline plan, you want to have consequences in place. Jim
Fay, author of Parenting with Love and Logic, refers to "natural consequences" and
"logical consequences." Natural consequences are outcomes that flow automatically
from behaviors. Natural consequences are the most powerful, but few of us would
find them acceptable.

The natural consequence of running into the street is getting hit by a car. The
natural consequence of playing with knives is to get badly cut. Those are not
acceptable.

Logical consequences teach because they are logically connected to the behavior. A
logical consequence of not completing work is losing recess time when work can be
completed. A logical consequence of ruining a textbook is to pay for the book, or
when that is difficult, to put in volunteer time to repay the school for lost
resources.

Consequences for a progressive discipline plan might include:

A warning,
The loss of part or all of recess,
The loss of privileges, such as computer time,
A letter home,
Parent contact by phone,
After School Detention, and/or
Suspension or other administrative action as a last resort.
Think Sheets can be used as part of your progressive plan, especially at that point
when students lose all or part of their recess or other free time. Use them with
care: for students who don't like to write may see writing as punishment. Having
students write "I will not talk in class" 50 times has the same effect.

Serious or Repetitive Behavior Problems

Have an emergency plan and practice it if you are likely to have a student with
serious behavior problems. Determine who should get a phone call if you need to
remove children either because they are having a tantrum, or because their tantrums
put their peers at risk.

Students with disabilities should have Functional Behavioral Analysis, completed by

the teacher or school psychologist, followed by a Behavior Improvement Plan created
by the teacher and the Multiple Disciplinary Team (IEP Team). The plan needs to be
disseminated to all the teachers who will have contact with the student.