What Special Ed Students Want You to Know

I have been in the special ed business almost 6 years now. This time of year, the honeymoon has worn off and behaviors start to spike. Teacher frustrations with academics tend to go up as well when you realize that little Johnny doesn't remember the material you went over a billion times already. During this tense time of year, I have realized the commonalities many of my students face. Most of these have come from true heart-to-heart conversations I have had with my students over my years of teaching. I have listed all of the ones that I feel educators need to be reminded of from time to time. Some of these may seem obvious, but some have truly taken me awhile to fully understand. I am hoping you will be able to take away some insight to the struggles some of your special ed students face.

Special ed students want you to know:

• I promise, I really did learn the material. When I say I can't remember, I mean it. I know it is there somewhere, but I just cannot seem to grasp the memory. It's like having a filing cabinet for a brain. The files are in there, but I just can't seem to open the drawer. It gets stuck from time to time and I need your help opening it.
• Sometimes I misbehave because it is better to be sent to the office and be labeled a trouble maker than it is for my peers to decide that I am dumb.
• Sometimes I misbehave because I am dealing with such big and powerful emotions from tragedies in my life that school becomes insignificant. I know that it is your whole world, but I just cannot deal with it some days.
• When I say that I am upset over something, please do not tell me it is "not a big deal." It may seem like I am overreacting, but this is my reality and my perception of the situation. You not taking it seriously just upsets me more. I need you to empathize and have my back.
• I know your job is to get me college ready, but that may not be my future. Please help me become a good person and citizen because that will be far more valuable to me in the future than academics will.
• When I have a hard time focusing, I am not doing it on purpose. Please redirect me kindly and quietly instead of calling me out in front of my peers. I hate being embarrassed for something that I cannot control.
• Sometimes you are the only stable person in my life. Thank you for always being there for me.

Executive Functioning Strategies

 Hi everyone, this is Shyra at Junior High Core Values. Tonight I’d like to quickly share some strategies to help students with Executive Functioning challenges.  I’ll tell you now, it’s 8PM and I’m just getting home. Today was one of those days where I had to use every trick in the book!

There are eight executive function skills that humans, be they middle schoolers or adults, are expected to use to organize information and take action.  These are;

 Each student is different, and it’s important to keep trying different strategies until one clicks.

Checklists  When I see that a student is struggling, or at an SST, I sit with the parents and student and come up with checklists for school and for home. These checklists are detailed and clear, but never go beyond one page.  They are laminated and kept in a student’s planner , binder, or iPad case. For those students with iPads, the Reminder app is a great way to set up checklists ( and it’s less likely to get lost)

Star Stickers I go through star stickers like crazy! I start off putting them next to the directions (especially on tests) but they are also used for anything I want my student to pay special attention to.

File Folders At the beginning of the year, I show my students who get overwhelmed by the AMOUNT of information on a page, how to use a file folder to cover the top and bottom. Because of this, it’s easier to focus on one task at a time.

Timers  I recommend using a timer for many things. Especially homework.

Colored Paper.  Depending on what funds you have available, I have found that this strategy works REALLY well. Every one of my study guides is neon yellow. Summative assessments are on white, graphic organizers on light blue, articles on green. 

Provide Student Choice  (Where and when appropriate of course) Whether we are writing in language arts, reading in literature, or having our “Cool Club” at lunch, I always provide students as many choices as possible. For students struggling with getting started, I always explicitly state their options, but they have to be the ones to decide what they want to start with. 

These are the basic strategies I use on a day to day basis. What strategies are you using?