I am a student who helps with Special Ed students and I am just curious.
122115
Yes- they do.  Women with DS are fertile. Men with DS have traditionally been considered sterile; however, there have been two documented cases of adult men with DS fathering children.
20870
My son was diagnosed with D. in the third grade. Does your school have a class designed to tutor you? My son had to have assignments and tests read to him, and he was allowed to answer verbally. He taped the classes. Some assignments were altered. Not made easier, but if it required alot of writing, he was able to use a computer. We even homeschooled for 5 years.  We found a curriculum that was alot of hands on experiences.  It is hard. Hang in there, you're an inspiration to someone watching you.
443275
I am a special education teacher (EBD) currently (9-12).  I am also a licensed school counselor.  \n\nWhat I love...\nMaking a big difference in a kids life that may need a break.\nGoing beyond what regular teachers can do to help kids.\nFlexibility of schedule and materials.\nYou get to meet some great parents!\nYour colleagues.\nThe success you will see when you care about a kid.\nEveryday is different (BELIEVE ME ON THIS ONE!)\n\nWhat I don't love so much...\nPaperwork...loads of paperwork...mountains of it.\nThe amount of poverty you have to deal with can be tiresome.\nParents who are mentally ill (i.e. - Bi-Polar and angry).\nThe sense of entitlement that kids and parents can have.\nStupid standardized testing.\n\nMixed Feelings on...\nBeing the social buffer for "PC" vs. Socially Acceptable (all kids).\nAdvocacy for behavioral trouble when your boss is punishing a kid (kinda puts you in an odd spot).\nSocio-economic status isn't a factor on standardized testing and you will be responsible for academic progress.\n\nThings to consider before making the leap...\nWhat type of school do you want to work in?\nAre you organized?\nDo you have good interpersonal skills?\nDo you have good conflict resolution skills and can you stick up for your self in a "PC" way?\nWhat age group do you want to work with?\nHow do you handle adversity or disagreements with peers?\nCan you talk the talk? (alot of Spec. Ed. is knowing the lingo!)\nDo you take things personally?\nFind some theories on working with students or academic/behavioral models and make sure you ask about them during an interview.  Try to find a school that fits your needs first, then you can be successful.\n\nPotential for burn-out...\nTrying to hard...you will never "fix" kids; only maturity can help some.\nDon't like the academic style your colleagues use can make it tough.\nYour first couple of years...YIKES, they are tough.\nSmall schools and you with little experience can be a recipe for disaster.\n\nThings that can help...(course work)\nCounseling Theory classes\nAbnormal Psychology classes\nStatistics...yuck\nCounseling classes (helps squash drama outside of school)\n*Find a college that deals with practical rather than theory!\n\nThings that help...(general)\nUsing " i " statements to de-escalate kids.\nGiving the benefit of the doubt...ALOT.\nBeing organized.\nWorking with a good team.\nBe prepared to explain why you do what you do.\nDocumentation of all phone calls and emails (A MUST).\nBe computer literate.\nRemember, it isn't always about academic content (regular teachers can hate that statement!)\n\nI really hope this helps.  It is an awesome profession but you must take care of your philosophical and personal needs (demographics) before you can truly be effective and decrease burn out risks.
387961
I am so sorry that your son's teacher said that to you.  There are no easy answers as I am left wondering about some of the details.  I am a mother of 3, and when I was a child I was in special ed as well, I am hyper active.  As an adult I use my excess energy to my advantage and I work in a field where things are always changing and I don't have to sit for long periods of time....\n\nEvaulate the situation.  What if anything would you want the principal to do?  Is there another class for your son to go into?  Besides being a Jerk is this teacher the "best" teacher for your son?  Is changing schools an option?\n\nDepending on your answers to the above questions, you may consider talking with your son's teacher, or making an anonymous report to the principal of the school stating that you fear retaliation if you speak to him/her directly.\n\nSometimes we all say or do things that we realize after the fact were wrong.  Sometimes we don't realize what our words truly mean.  I think that a solution for the teacher is to have him/her take an in service on diversification and understanding special needs.
578975
Many public school systems, like the ones in New Jersey, created a No Child Left Behind Act which tries to enforce that all children will learn through modifications - whether that means having a child study team evaluation for an IEP, or having a teacher make modifications within their lesson plans to help a child learn.  \n\nPublic school teachers HAVE to do evaluation assessments on all the students they teach during the school year.  Usually if we see a "problem" (possible learning disability or non-specific LD) we will contact the parents for an initial meeting.  PARENTS NEED TO BE THEIR CHILD'S ADVOCATE and many times must push the school system to evaluate a child and offer assistance.  Assistance may be a one on one aide, involvement in a special education class, large print books, occupational and physical therapies, etc.\n \nI believe that many children slip through the cracks because parent/teacher communication may be weak.  I also believe that it is a teacher's NUMBER ONE priority to ensure the students in his or her class can learn.  Sad to say many teachers become complacent in their careers and are not looking to hard for the children who need help.
16834
Unfortunately, in today's schools often students are passed into higher classes when they haven't yet mastered the skills in the lower classes.  Teachers who seem to be less interested than you simply pass the students into the next class, saying, "He'll be fine."  Some of these students experience this for years.  It's not uncommon for a student to be lacking skills that he/she should have learned in third grade, but it's not discovered until he/she enters high school because well-meaning or disinterested teachers just keep passing them along.  Some of your low-achieving Algebra I students may not be doing well in algebra because they don't know pre-algebra, geometry, or even possibly basic arithmetic.  Since being able to do math is cumulative (you can't do long division without knowing how to multiply, for example), having missed something in the past can really affect them into the future.  You can't do much for these students except encourage them to study on their own, or (if you are allowed) encourage them to get a tutor.  (Be careful with this one: in the state where I live, if a teacher recommends a particular tutor, the school district is responsible to pay for it, which doesn't make the school district happy!)\n\nIf you feel that the kids are prepared for the material and yet are zoning out in class, it might be the result of a neurochemical problem, like Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.  Not all people with ADHD are "hyperactive", but all of them basically have problems with concentrating on schoolwork, keeping track of assignments, and so forth.  When you're working one-on-one with these students you might be able to keep their attention focused for long enough that they have a chance of capturing the material before their minds move on to something else, but when they're in class they have nothing to keep their minds from wandering.  If you suspect psychological difficulties of this type, you might want to refer the students to a school counselor and/or discuss it with the parents.  Another possibility is that the students are doing drugs, which can cause students to manifest some of the same psychological symptoms.\n\nAlso, society teaches students, girls in particular, that math is hard and they just can't get it.  When you're encouraging them to continue working on a hard problem, you're working against all of that societal pre-programming.  That's hard, but a few experiences with success could help students who have that problem.\n\nSeriously, though, I suspect that the great majority of the students you're describing are giving up because the material is just too far beyond their level of skills, or because psychological problems are getting in the way of their learning.
526497
Every student needs different accommodations.  Think in terms of these three categories:\n\nEnvironmental accommodations - alternative seating, adaptive devices, etc.\nInstructional accommodations - providing copies of notes, different reading materials, etc.\nAssessment accommodations - extra time, oral tests, etc.\n\nYou'll also want to work with the theories of differentiated instruction (as outlined by Carol Ann Tomlinson) and Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences to modify content, process and product for your individual students.\n\nI'm linking to a comprehensive planning guide for teachers of special needs students.  It will have a lot of information you are looking for.
92009
I don't think your question relates to Special Education. Special Education is the provision of services to children with disabilities. I understand it can sometimes be difficult to find an appropriate category.\n\nI would suggest, resolving this question so no one answers. Then, re-ask it under a different, more appropriate category. You might get more answers.\n\nGood luck with your question.
166405
You'd get more answers if you posted this in "higher education" rather than "special education." Special Education focuses on helping people with special learning needs/differences in school.\n\nI can say that if you are reviewing literature in the English language, a way to speed up your reading would be to read the first and last sentence of each paragraph. If these two sentences look interesting, go back and read through the whole paragraph. Use the headings to give you an overall idea of each section.
125928
This belongs in "homework help," not in "special education."\n\nYou may understand the drill and can follow the solution procedure, but you must understand WHY that procedure works in order to really be able to apply it, especially under stress (like in a test).\n\nYou need a tutor...someone who can guide you to understand the reasons behind the procedures.
193176
As a teacher, I doubt they are plotting against you. Personally, I don't have time to plot against any of the students. When things like that happen there are generally two reasons: 1) accident - I had a situation where a student asked me why I had asked them the same question 3 or 4 times - I hadn't realized that I had or 2) the teachers think highly of you or your ability and are therefore trying to give you a challenge.
646681
I have a son with mental retardation. (this is a more correct way of describing him rather than "he is mentally retarded").\n\nThrough his school years, he had a few classes with "normal" school kids involved.  These became good friends over the years.  Our school system had special activities which included both "normal" and "disabled" kids in the same activity.  These included a Circle of Friends program (movies, bowling, parties, etc.), Unified Sports (part of special olympics where teams are mixed), etc.\n\nWhy don't you check with your school or community and see what's around?  Check with Special Olympics in your community and see if you and he/her can get involved together.\n\nSet an example for others by being first to spend time with him/her.
616031
I'm not sure if this will help but I found an interesting site that I plan on using with my students next year.
46273
get involved with the students and know them beyond the teacher/student relationship.  is there anything that they're dealing with at school?  perhaps a school event?  talk with them about things other than books and problems.  i don't know what grade level you're talking about and i'm not a teacher, just a student.  perhaps have activities that can show the students that it's not all about homework and tests.  how to do this?  not so sure.  but these are my suggestions.
618488
Education and healthcare. Call me boring, but that's where it's needed most. I would divide it between the two. And I was reading what one person said about teaching the English language--believe me, that is not a priority. There are special needs kids in schools who aren't getting the attention they deserve due to budget cuts. Do your homework before you open your mouth, or rather, before you type something prejudicial instead of useful. The English studies come secondary to that.
537484
Mentally/physically challenged children are placed in Special Education classes as well as Mainstream. Some also have emotional behavior disorders. Each child's particular challenge may vary from the next child's. One child may have Down's Syndrome while another is Autistic.\n\nSometimes they work together on projects and sometimes they work alone.  Sometimes the assistant teachers work one on one with these kids.  They may watch movies. Some may eat lunch inside the classroom.  The teacher may help feed them or help them to the bathroom. Some may be walked to the cafeteria or to a certain class by a teacher. Some are able to walk to a mainstream class alone.They are also escorted to their own buses.  A physical therapist may visit the classroom to work with these children.\n\nFor two years, I  worked with these kids from first grade through twelfth grade as a Subsitute Teacher's Aide.  I do not know if the school has special classes for the preschoolers or kindergartners as I was never assigned to any.
250399
One aspect of my work is to help determine whether students are eligible for Special Ed, or for protections under state and federal laws to protect students with disabilities. When we make that decision, we are required by law to look at information from a variety of sources. Usually we do two or three different formal assessments that give us two or three completely different pictures of a student. These are usually standardized, so that you get a score in terms of how this student compares to other students his or her age. The team will review the school records, and get input from teachers, counselors, and family. Often, an objective outsider will observe the student in their usual classroom setting. Fifteen or twenty minutes of quiet observation can give you valuable information about a student.  \n\nAnother reason we need tests is to demonstrate that the students are actually learning what we allegedly teach them. Unfortunately, the yearly state tests we give them in the US each year are profoundly flawed.\n\nAlfie Kohn writes, "Don’t let anyone tell you that standardized tests are not accurate measures.  The truth of the matter is they offer a remarkably precise method for gauging the size of the houses near the school where the test was administered." By that he means that standardized test scores are profoundly affected by the students' social standing and economic condition (or socio-economic status).\n\nBut when it comes to taking away funds from a school, the same requirement of gathering information from a variety of sources does not seem to apply. It seems this is often done because of the scores on a single type of yearly test, one that covers a small fraction of what students should be learning in school, and one which has no direct consequences for the students who take it.  They don't care, and they like to draw pictures with the dots in the bubbles. On the other hand, there are big-time consequences for school staff.\n\nIn one major metropolitan area in the US, a favorite trick of the politicians is to cut the budgets of struggling schools and watch the test scores go down. Then they fire the principal and all the teachers (except the ones with "outstanding" ratings, which principals rarely give), replace the staff with new teachers, give them a highly-scripted curriculum (Teacher: Take out your pencils and open your workbooks to page 41. We are going to complete these sentences...), pour more money into the school, declare the school "Transformed", and take credit when test scores go up again. \n\nTeacher qualifying exams: They make an awful lot of money for the companies that give them, which sometimes charge more than $100 for a test that only takes an hour or two. Often a state will require six or seven of these for a teaching license. They do help protect the schools and the teachers unions from allegations that the teachers can't read or write. But you cannot test what separates a good teacher from a terrible one with a #2 pencil and a bunch of bubbles to fill in. And that's just common sense.