Inclusive education is a practice that strives to create learning spaces in which all students are given the opportunity to learn alongside their peers. In special education, this means designing learning experiences and instructional strategies that provide access to content for all children with disabilities. This practice works best when it is tailored to the individual needs of each student. While many students with disabilities receive special education services in special education programs and classes,…
Dyslexia presents itself in various ways, but a student’s age strongly factors into the symptoms teachers may observe. Students with dyslexia in grades K-5 struggle to remember letter names and sounds. Recognizing sight words also poses a problem. When reading aloud, these students may substitute words and confuse letters with similar appearances or sounds. For example, students commonly mix up the letters b and d. Students in grades 6-12 may have a hard time recalling…
Just as all students are different, so are all instructors. We need to ensure we are implementing instructional technology tools that fit our teaching style, availability, and technology skill level. If any instructor wishes to incorporate a new technology tool, it is vital we first assess the tool’s “goodness of fit” for both student population and course content. An instructional technology tool with a “goodness of fit” for a particular course and student group demonstrates…
Dysgraphia is a language-based learning difference that affects a student’s ability to produce written language. In the early grades, students with dysgraphia may have difficulty with consistent letter formation, word spacing, punctuation, and capitalization. In later grades, they may have difficulty with writing fluency, floating margins, and legible writing. Students with dysgraphia are often labeled “sloppy,” “lazy,” or “not detail-oriented” in a classroom setting, but students with dysgraphia are often trying very hard (if not…
As students return to schools shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic, many large school districts are not prepared to meet the needs of well more than 1 million students with disabilities who have a legal right to receive support and services but are not getting them ― and the problem is most severe for students of color, according to a new report. The crisis existed before the pandemic began in spring 2020, but was exacerbated in the…
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. Dyslexic kids have trouble reading accurately and fluently. They may also have trouble with reading comprehension, spelling and writing. Raising a child with dyslexia is a journey. As you move through it, you’ll gain a lot of knowledge about your child’s challenges with reading—and about the many ways you can help her succeed at school and in life. If you’re concerned your child may be dyslexic, here…
COVID-19 forced Keriann Wilmot’s son to trade his classroom for a computer. It was a tough transition for a 10-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. ADHD students tend to struggle more with remote learning. “It was a different environment for him,” Wilmot says. “He wasn’t used to this kind of work from school coming in the format of an email in his Chromebook every single day.” Her son would avoid math and writing and instead…
Are you ready to make a truly inclusive classroom? To do so means challenging the status quo, removing curriculum barriers, and presenting educational goals in interesting ways to engage all learners and serve all students equally. Inclusive learning provides all students with access to flexible learning choices and effective paths for achieving educational goals in spaces where they experience a sense of belonging. In an inclusive education environment, all children, regardless of ability or disability,…
Hi everyone! My name is Melanie, and I am an ASHA Certified Speech Language Pathologist. I have a great deal of experience working with children ages 3-12 in order to give them the tools/strategies to be able to better access the classroom curriculum. I have worked with children diagnosed with a variety of disorders and disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADHD, Fragile X Syndrome, Down Syndrome, reading and writing disabilities (e.g. dyslexia, hyperlexia),…
