Including Students with Special Needs

Student’s Name

Institution Affiliation

Professor’s Name
 Including Students with Special Needs

Chapter 1 Reflection

Looking at the inside of any classroom that teaches general education, students struggle

differently for different reasons. Responsive to intervention is an initiative for implementing

decision making that is influenced by proactive data. This framework has been important as it

provides the teachers with better and timely data about their students to improve their learning

and performance (Friend & Bursuck, 1999). RTI as a model for special education has

increasingly helped early education identify and have a prevention model that helps schools

improve their range of interventions available in contemporary education and make sure that

every curriculum will reach the needs of all students. Further, Positive Behavior Support (PBS).

It is a system of education management that manages the behaviour of students with the use of

applied behavioural analysis, education reform and instructional design. The system is used to

foster and promote a set of desired behaviours and can foster an inclusive, safe and caring

environment for learning. These systems are important in data that the school uses to plan.

Special education has been termed special because there is a district place of education

with no0t only with individuals that have disabilities but also with diverse learners and those

learners at risk. It is composed of a range of techniques and teaching practices designed

specifically for individuals with disabilities and those who have special needs in learning.

Special education is implemented by special teachers and is not encouraged by untrained or

unqualified teachers (Friend & Bursuck, 1999). Finally, professional accountability is important

as it helps people become accountable for themselves and others around them.

Chapter 2 Reflection
 Research and experiences have been able to demonstrate that education is important to

disabled students. It can be made more effective by making sure that parents and the families of

the student play so that there is a meaningful opportunity for participation in the education that

their children get in school and at home (Friend & Bursuck, 1999). In essence, these families and

parents have influenced how a child achieves their special education hence the protection from

the IDEA law.

Working with families with children with disabilities and requires special education can

be challenging at times. Some parents might feel like they can give up on their children's

experience, but through working together with the teachers, the parents are guided in the right

way. Working with parents of disabled students has been an amazing experience because,

although there are some challenges, most parents help understand what their children want

(Friend & Bursuck, 1999). The parents I worked with were very important as I understood the

children on a personal level; hence it was easy to create relationships with the children. This

helped in improving the education services for the children.

Chapter 3 Reflection

Paraprofessionals are school staff that provide behavioural, instructional, and more

support that teachers cant provide both inside and outside the class. Most of the

paraprofessionals are used to work with students in general education and require special

education. Working with paraprofessionals helped me as a teacher as I could continue with other

students while the paraprofessionals deal with the students that are yet to catch up (Friend &

Bursuck, 1999). For instance, my paraprofessionals used to work with a certain group of students
during math concepts to help them understand the concepts more as I worked with other students

in the next context.

When people are working together sometimes, there must be some conflicts that are

related to professionalism. Teachers and paraprofessionals face a few conflicts during their work,

which brings some problems during work. For instance, a paraprofessional might decide to do

things on their way instead of following the teachers' guidelines, which could bring conflict.

Paraprofessional'sParaprofessional's works under the teachers as they are not qualified teachers

and require more teachers' guidelines. It is the duty of the teacher to make sure that the

paraprofessional work under clear supervision.

Creating a strong relationship between the teacher and the paraprofessionals is to make

sure that all of them work towards improving contemporary education, especially for students

who need special education.

Chapter 4 Reflection

In the context of contemporary general education and special education, universal

screening is the first step of ensuring that the teachers have identified students at risk and have

difficulties in learning. The universal screening consists of the measures that are brief

assessments that focus on the skills that students have acquired and how to predict the future of

learning for students (Friend & Bursuck, 1999). The highest percentage of universal screening is

based on readings, although it is important in writing, students' behaviour, and math.

The main advantage of using universal screening is that teachers can identify students at

risk of difficulty in learning. This will prepare the teachers enough to get strategies to deal with

the issue of difficulty in learning. In addition, in special education, universal screening helps
identify students who need to receive specific attention with appropriate interventions to their

special education (Friend & Bursuck, 1999). However, the universal screening deals with

assessments based on students' skills, especially in reading and writing; hence, it does not

support more practical learning, especially for special education.

Chapter 5 Reflection

Grouping students and giving them instructions has proven to be effective, although

grouping is not so much encouraged in improving contemporary education. When students are

kept in groups for learning, most students will get lost within the groups and let other students do

the school works for them. Due to that, grouping is highly discouraged, although when students

are given instructions in groups, it will be effective than just giving one student instructions

(Friend & Bursuck, 1999). Group instructions must be given by ensuring equal participation to

promote students' different abilities and levels of learning.

Whole group instructions are normally appropriate to use when introducing a new topic

or context and when the teacher is facilitating a class with discussions and new rules. Small

group instruction is appropriately used when the teacher needs the student to focus on a specific

thing or topic (Friend & Bursuck, 1999). However, the students are first given whole group

instruction before narrowing the concept to a specific topic. One on one instruction is where the

teacher gives instructions to the student's face-to-face, whether as small groups or s whole

groups.

Students with disabilities can easily learn on a higher level with direct instructions, as

they can know what to expect and what is expected of them as they keep on learning. It prepares
the students to apply what they have learned into context and understand the importance of

education they are taught in class.

Chapter 6 Reflection

Students diagnosed with low-incidence disabilities such as autism experience different

difficulties characterised by the low tolerance disability (Friend & Bursuck, 1999). The students

with autism have difficulties showing direct eye contact during learning with limitations of

communication and speech. Some of the students experience delayed language development with

echolalia speech, where they tend to repeat what other people are saying. These students develop

rituals they have a low tolerance of dealing with stress with a narrow range of understanding

many topics. Their interests can only be focused on a specific topic.

Students with autism can be easily distracted by anything, and therefore it is important to

avoid sensory overload the students with autism. It is important to make sure that the teachers

have respondents to the distracting behaviours of the autistic students using concrete language to

teach them (Friend & Bursuck, 1999). The students can be taught through the use of social

stories to make them understand the social expectations from other people.
 Reference

Friend, M., & Bursuck, W. D. (1999). Including students with special needs. Boston: Allyn &

Bacon. https://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/preface/0/1/3/4/0134754093.pdf