Special Education Articles for Teachers

For those of us who have worked with special needs populations, we know first-hand the struggles of helping our learners communicate and progress academically in traditional venues. Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours labeling classrooms with icons, making PECS boards, and taking pho...

April is Autism Awareness month and Lesson Planet wants to help spread the word about autism and other related developmental disorders. Autism affects one out of every eighty-eight children in the United States alone, and that number is on the rise. According to Autism Speaks, ...

The purpose of this article is to provide a simplistic overview of what the Behaviorist Theory is and the implications behaviorism has on classroom management and teaching choices. I have personally found behaviorism to be a highly effective tool in terms of classroom management. When t...

Benefits of ASL for Young Children Traditionally, ASL (American Sign Language) is used as a mode of communication; it is also a beneficial teaching tool that promotes cognitive functioning. For very young children and infants, ASL promotes speech development, provides a mode of communication, an...

History of Sign Language in Education ASL, or American Sign Language, has a long and wonderfully-rich history based on the premise that all individuals have the right and capability to learn equitably. In 1620, Juan Pablo de Bonet published the first book on educating deaf individuals. This book...

What is a Peer Partner? A peer partner is a student who can effectively assist a special-needs or challenged student without pushing, controlling, or dominating them. It is an interpersonal way to encourage classroom community and friendship by creating a symbiotic peer relationship. I am not su...

Having a student with emotional disabilities in your class can be tough. They look like the other students, and can be as academically advanced as the other students, but they may act out in ways the other students may not. This may cause them to become outcasts and want to act out more. Here are...