Working with students in self-contained settings or those with severe or multiple disabilities is hard. I see the same teacher mistakes in special education classrooms over and over. Teachers and paraeducators don’t realize the consequences. I would actually argue that these 6 teacher mistakes are signs of poor classroom management and ineffective teaching of special education students.
Do you do any of these? STOP!
If you stop these 6 mistakes in the classroom, your special education students will be the better for it- I promise!
6 Mistakes Autism Unit Teachers and Paras Make…
Fix #1: Stop Talking So Much!
I see this teacher mistake in special education classrooms over and over again. We want to explain things to a student, so we do just that… we use a whole lot of words to explain.
The problem is that students with multiple disabilities need more time to process language. Adding more and more words can actually slow down the processing time and make what you are saying more confusing.
Simplify what you are saying, please.
2.Fix #2: Wait a Minute Please!
We just talked about needing more time to process language. So, right after we verbally bomb a student and ask them a question, we offer them no time to process and produce a response.
Wait a minute… literally.
After you ask a question, wait just one minute (and this feels like forever). Allowing that extra processing time will give a student a chance at answering!
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Fix #3: Stop Doing It For Me!
So we asked a really wordy question, gave no wait time, and then when the student didn’t respond right away, we answered for them/picked the one we thought they wanted/ just did it for them.
All the student learned was that if they wait long enough (or don’t say anything) people will do it all for them. It is the opposite of independence- it is learned helplessness.
What is worse is that we become conditioned into doing for our students. Eventually, that leads to us not offering the chance for them to even try it on their own.
Stop making this teacher mistake in special education. Start helping students by allowing them the opportunity to try it themselves.
Fix #4: Stop Treating Me Like an Idiot!
A student who happens to need extra time to process language, wait time to think about it and respond, and then a chance to try it themselves- and then who fails is not an idiot. Moreover, the inability to talk does not mean the inability to think or to feel.
Please.
We have no idea what is happening inside the heads of nonverbal students. Stories like that of Carly (click here for more) prove that inside the students we label as ‘disabled’, are feeling, thinking, normal people.
Fix #5: Stop the Meaningless Crap!
If I had to sit and do folder games for 8 hours a day, 187 days a school year, for 22 years… well I can think of better things.
Having a folder game that has no purpose but to keep a student mentally sedated is not helping them gain a useful skill or practice something meaningful.
I am a proponent of building independence into a classroom. You must have activities a student can do independently. Just make sure there is some purpose, variation, and room for growth embedded in it.
Otherwise it is meaningless crap.
Fix #6: Stop Sitting Me All Alone!
No one puts baby in a corner… but all day we have students isolated from the herd and that is somebody’s baby.
Social interactions are so important and practicing is the only way to improve on that skill. Some of our students, however, only ever talk to grown-ups all day at school.
Build in social interactions into the school day- building that skill is so important and needs to be practiced!
So, I know none of my Rock Star Readers would ever make any of these teacher mistakes in their special education classroom. But if you know of anyone that need to read this, please send them here so maybe they can see the light.
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PLUS, if you want to read more about improving your classroom experience for students, check out 9 Surefire Ways to Fail in an Autism Unit!
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I found this article very informative. I am the para for a 14 year old boy. I am clarity for #5- stop the meaningless crap. I am not a fan of giving a student games and activities just to keep him/her occupied. Unfortunately, that is what our days are becoming, Would you suggest some other activities I can do with him? His team and I agreed that his education plan should include employable skill building as well as the other academic and social skills. any ideas and other resources will be greatly appreciated.
These are great ideas…..connection…communication…awesomeness!
I agree emphatically, with a slight exception to number one, in regards to number six. Yes, keep it simple, to a point. You must eventually expand language. Unless they are exposed to language as most people use it (#1), then they will be isolated (#6) in everyday situation. Obviously, you need to start simple, then expand to prepare them for social interactions with peers. If you keep it simple, you are not preparing them, hence segregating them from interactions in non controlled environments.
Hi, this applies also to the classroom situation except maybe number 5. Another one to go with number six, but may be more in a classroom setting again, is trying to make all the kids with autism friends. Just because they have the same disability doesn’t make them want to be friends, some do not like some things that they may do or say.
I am an autism mom and also working on my sped teaching qualifications. I love this article. Love. It. There is so much respect for the students included in these suggestions and you are correct, they are all someone’s babies, and 2 of them happen to be mine. Thank you.
Great article. My daughter was in one of these classrooms with a teacher who did not know how to teach autistic kids. This was high school. She had been a behavior disordered teacher and essentially destroyed several kids in her first year. One had to transfer out, two dropped out, one girl attempted suicide and my daughter ended up in partial hospitalization program for suicidal thoughts and severe anxiety. Now 3 years later, she is trying to get her GED and having so much difficulty. She has severe anxiety, depression, and PTSD all from this teacher. She sleeps in my room due to her anxiety. She is almost 21 and my heart breaks daily. I am a disabled nurse and she lost her insurance when I had to take Medicare. She now has no therapy or medication because I cannot afford it and there are no services she qualifies for. The school system stood behind the teacher, even though we had a psychiatrist that specialized in autism coming to her iep meetings and recommending interventions. Those would last a few days and then wouldn’t be followed. Any suggestions?
I am so sorry to hear your frustration- I complete understand that one or two years with new or struggling teachers can have a profound impact on students. Now can be a very challenging time for you as a parent because your daughter is going to age out of the K-12 system soon and you may feel at a loss for what to do next.
I cannot comment here about what an appropriate course of action may be for your child and your situation without more information. I would urge you to contact me by email so that I can recommend someone who I know works to help people transition to adult services. With that in mind, your daughter does have a diagnosed disability and would be eligible for support and services. If you are having a hard time with making those connections, like I said, I have someone I can recommend. What state are you in?
Okay… either way, I want you to feel like there is hope and a way to get more support, please email me at ajones@noodlenook.net so I can share more with you.
Thanks, and good luck!
You rock! I’m a psychotherapist specializing in working with neurodiverse people and your list is my battle cry too. I find parents and guardians engage in the named behaviors too. Thank you for speaking the truth with such passion and clarity!
Another one is get out of their personal space and don’t fuss at them with anger for not doing what you want them to do when they aren’t ready to do it.
I had a “trained” para come to my room (I was subbing) and yell at my student (2nd grade) for not doing his work and how he’d be missing recess to catch up on his work. It was stupid. I asked the student once the para’s tirade stopped to bring his chair over to sit beside me while I talked with the class as a whole; the para stomped out.
My student stemmed for about 5 minutes and then I asked him to come with me to look in his desk and we’d find what work he needed to finish in his desk. It went fine and he missed nothing from recess because it was only 15 minutes of mayhem (it’s been raining for days here). When he came back he had finished 3 assignments and they were correct.
Whoever is training “special need para’s” needs to study themselves on the subject of ASD/Aspergers.
By the way, I’m an aspergers and when I was in 2nd grade, I did the same thing as my student. These students need to do their work, but not be pushed to it. Having a substitute in the room was hard enough for him as everything was thrown off the predictable path. Additionally, the kids were having trouble as a whole staying calm and focused not being able to run and play outside for days.
School was absolute torment for me. I am 65 now and there was no awareness at all when I was in school. ALL of my teachers did these things. I was finally taken in and tested to see how badly “retarded” I actually was. I grew up hating school with a passion.
Sean- I am so sorry to hear that you felt like school was tormenting and I want to make sure a new crop of teachers doesn’t make these mistakes which can grow a new era of students with negative feelings about school. I hope along your path in education you stumbled upon at least one teacher who made you feel smart, important, and capable.
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