Classroom

Management of
Children with Specific
Disability
The individuality of students’
needs should be primarily
concern for any teacher.
However, the type of disability
will play an important part in
determining the strategies that
you will use to help the
students adjust and perform to
their abilities.
As a special education teacher, you
will be required to adapt the
curriculum and make necessary
modifications to increase the
student’s chances of success.
If you are working in a regular
education setting, you will come
into contact with high-incidence
disabilities.
These may include the following:
• Learning Disabilities
• Mental retardation: note that the label
of mental retardation (MR), while used in
IDEA, may vary from state to state. For
instance, some states use cognitively
delayed or cognitive disability (CD) in
place of MR.
• Emotional disabilities
• Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD)
 Students with learning Disabilities

Working with students with learning

disabilities can be a challenge, since
there are numerous types of learning
disabilities (e.g., dyslexia, dyscalculia,
visual motor impairments). As a result,
the teacher should be aware that not all
techniques will work with all students but
try as many of them as possible.
 Adjust the Means of Presentation and
Evaluation

Students with learning disabilities have

different strengths and weaknesses,
methods of presentation. Some students
learn better by seeing (visual learners).
Some by listening (auditory learners), some
by feeling (tactile learners), and some by a
combination of approaches.
If the student learns best through material that is
presented through material that is presented through
the auditory channel, then you may want to consider
the following examples.

 Give verbal as well a written direction to

assignments.
 Have students close their eyes to focus on hearing
words or information.
 Have students drill aloud to themselves or to other
students.
 Place assignment direction on tape so that students
can replay them when they need to.
Give students oral rather than written tests.
Make adjustments to the type of assignment, the
level of difficulty, And amount and sequence of
material presented to students with learning
disabilities.
It is strongly suggested that you correct and hand
back each student’s work as soon as possible to allow
for immediate gratification and feedback.
Shorten the length of the assignments to ensure a
sense of success.
Make copies of chapters of textbooks so that the
students can use a highlighter pen to underline
important facts.
Make sure that the child’s desk is free from all
unnecessary materials.
Make adjustments to the work space and amount
of time given for assignment.
Try to alternate quiet and active time to
maintain levels of interest and motivation.
Develop a work contract with specific times and
assignments so that the child has a structured
idea of his responsibilities.
Depending on how you design your classroom,
you may want technique depends on the specific
learning style of the child, who may be less
distracted by working under these conditions.
Place the student closer to you to receive
more immediate feedback.
Try to separate the student from others
who may be distracting.
If the child is primarily a visual learner, consider the
following examples when adjusting the mode of
presentation:

Encourage students to write down notes to

themselves concerning important words, concepts,
and ideas.
Offer the student an outline of the material that will
be presented if you are going to lecture.
Have students use flash cards printed in bold bright
colors.
Let students close their eyes and try to visualize
words or information in their heads (i.e., to see things
in their minds).