special education schools

special education schools questions and answers

More information about special education schools at Education News.

Q: What schools in the Atlanta area that benefit children in special education?
I'm moving to Atlanta soon. I have a child that is in special education.What EXCELLENT schools in the Atlanta area that benefit children in special education?

A: I'm assuming you mean public schools. Our daughter is 5, and is developmentally delayed, plus is hearing impaired and has an eating aversion. Once a week she goes to the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta for feeding therapy, although she is not autistic. She gets some assistance through the Katie Beckett Medicaid Act for this. She is currently attending Pre-K at Harper Elementary in Riverdale and LOVES it! She is in a Mixed Needs class of 10 students and is making PHENOMENAL progress. Her lead teacher, Ms. Mae Fleming, is WONDERFUL.

Q: Are there good special education schools in San Antonio ?


A: All public schools, including those in San Antonio Texas have to provide special education to students with disabilities. It's not a question of whether they want to or like to. They have to--the same way they have to provide sanitary drinking water throughout the buildings in the district.

Q: What is the role of the special education teacher in the schools?
This question is going to be on my next test and I can't find it in the book.

A: Clearly, the role of any teacher is to teach. As far as special ed. goes, that teacher has the responsibility not only to teach the regular classroom stuff, reading, writing, math etc, but also Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and peer socialization. They things that other kids don't have to be formally taught, boundaries, social cues and lots of things we don't think of. They also teach life skills, such as how to budget, how to do house chores, cooking and cleaning and how to be a valuable part of the community.

Q: Can someone give me SPED (special education) schools list.?
if possible manila area pls. thanks. =) i need the list because a friend is looking for a job @ sped schools.

A: Try contacting your local education department they should have a list or be able to tell you where you can find one.

Q: What rights do parents in California have to force schools to conduct a special education assessment?
What about private as well as public schools? Do parents have to pay for the IQ test out of their own pocket? Or can they force the schools to pay for and do the assessment?

A: According to law, from the time of your request the school MUST take your child into a Child Study Team (of which you are a member), and hold a meeting within 60 days from when your written request was delivered to them. The Child Study Team, together, will determine if a referral for testing is warranted. http://www.specialeducationlawyers.info/... Whether the child attends public or private schools, the public schools MUST attempt to identify ALL disabled students in their district. A private school can utilize public school specialists (special education teachers, speech therapists, etc.) to provide an adequate program for the child. Make it clear to the principal (politely) when you drop off your written request, that you expect a Child Study Team meeting within the next 2 months. If he says he can't guarrantee that, or you don't have a date for the meeting by week 3, start using the words "due process." Once again, politely, tell him you've been doing research, and you know he has 2 months, by law, to get the team together from the date you hand him your request. Here's a site to get you started on your advocacy education: http://www.wrigthslaw.com/ (the links down the left hand side of the page bring you to very detailed information in each area) http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/lre.faqs.... (scroll down and see #12) Once your child is in the system, keep on them to ensure they're doing the right thing for your child: http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/fape.dysl... Wrightslaw also can link you to advocates in your area. Look in their advocacy section (from the left-hand links on the page), or enter your state's name and "advocate" in their search box. Be strong, and good luck!

Q: Have you had a positive experience with public school special education?
I know that most people ask questions because they have a problem and are looking for help. And I know that when you are having a problem, and you are under a lot of stress, it's sometimes hard to have a sense of perspective. One frequent responder in the Special Education often says something to the effect that special education is corrupt throughout the entire United States. While I have had some experiences with incompetent special education professionals, the majority that I have observed have been dedicated, skilled, and very good at teaching students with a wide range of special needs. I would love to hear from people who have had a positive experience. Please share some information about how public school special education has been a good experience for someone you know. Please also say where you live. (BTW, I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and I believe that we do have many fine special education programs here.)

A: I have had great experiences with Special Education in Massachusetts, California, and Texas. They always put the best interests of the child first and always value my input and answer my questions. I have talked to some private schools for my son, who has autism, and they seemed to be clueless and knew less than I did.

Q: What are some good math games for a special education high school math class?
It is Special Education and most of the students have learning disabilities. We are doing algebraic fractions with positive numbers. What can I do to help them learn and get them interested? I'd like to get them up and moving! The school is in an urban area and we have no access to computers.

A: Anything that you can do with food gets the kids interested. Of course you have to buy it yourself, but sometimes it is worth it. You can use the food to divide and make fraction problems. Maybe bake a cake (less expensive) and have them figure out how to cut it so there are enough pieces for everyone. That of course is a basic thing, but useful in everyday life. (And it is not expensive to bake your own cake). As for games, you can make a simple board game on paper. Then make a set of problems and cut them apart and put them in envelopes. Have the kids play in small groups of 4. They can use coins or torn pieces of paper as markers. In order to move the # of spaces that they roll they have to get the answer right. Give candy to the winner; or a homework pass. Fly swatter game; put several random answers on the board. Prepare problems ahead of time so that you have answers that will match them. Get 2 different colored fly swatters. Give a problem that they can solve in their head, or give them a section on each side of the board to work it out. The first person to swat the correct answer scores a point for their team. Remind them that they cannot hit each other, and that you are the sole judge in determining who was first. When it doubt call it a tie! Give candy to the winning team. I have 6 rows in my class. Have them go up 1 member from each row. Give a problem. The first to solve it correctly gets a point and gets to try to make a basket (buy a basketball hoop and foam ball at the dollar store). It is really hard to make the baskets so I give 2 bonus points to the team if they make it. Give candy to the winning row. I have the kids work the problems at their seats too and hand it in. That way ALL are actively involved instead of just talking to each other and not paying attention. Make a checker board with problems. In order to move to a spot they have to give the solution. If they are wrong then they cannot move there. Makes the game more interesting. I bought inexpensive bingo chips and keep them in plastic bags, sorted. I have a whole list of ideas at school; this is all that I could come up with off the top of my head. I pull out my list when I need to come up with something new for my classes. Email me if you need more ideas. Hope these work for you! One more; concentration on the overhead. Use sticky notes to cover them up; have problems on one side and solutions on the other. They have to match up the problem to the solution. If they are right their team gets a point.

Q: Are there approved schools for training in special education?
Are there schools to train teachers for educating dyslexic, autistic and other special children ? Location - Chennai

A: Of course yes! i hope you mean in Chennai. There is a course run by an organisation called Vidyasagar(Formerly the spastics society of Southern India) , which runs an one and half year special education course for all neurological impairments(physical or mental). It has been recently recongnised by the Rehabilitation Council of India and the certificate holds good if and when applying abroad. There are also other schools such as Alpha to Omega center for learning that cater predominantly to autism and learning disability, or the Madras Dyslexia Association which provides services for children with learning disabilities. please go to this site for further details on the training course or if you can simply call helpline and get the numbers to the other two organisations too. http://vidyasagar.co.in/ i hope this information has been helpful. May peace be with you.:)

Q: What are some good math games for a high school special education (LD) math class?
It is Special Education and most of the students have learning disabilities. We are doing algebraic fractions with positive numbers. What can I do to help them learn and get them interested? I'd like to get them up and moving! The school is in an urban area and we have no access to computers.

A: I work with special ed all the time..I am a teachers aide. You may try something different for now and from what I know, fractions and most parts of math are quite difficult for these students..............When they receive a grade, it is because of the work I basically did for them..........they can't I would suggest you get inexpensive Chess Games and teach them the game................When we have recess at school and they stay in for rain, all the student scramble for the chess games,...Naturally 2 to a game...But they have all learned and fight for them now...........It has changed the kids in so many ways and helps them in many other, such as patience......Maybe the school can donate $50.00 for the cause.....good luck

Q: Does the No Child Left Behind Act affect private schools that do not offer special education services?
I understand that private schools (preparatory schools) are not funded by the government. Does that mean they don't have to take their state exams? Can they make up their own exams instead?

A: Some private schools ARE funded by state/and or federal. They do not want to make this known to the public because they don't want people to know that they ARE suppose to help kids thru special ed since they DO recieve the funding. There is a law (not sure which one) that states that ANY type of school that recieves state and/or federal funds HAS to provide special education help (IEP plan). The way to find out if the private school DOES recieve funds is to call and ask your state dept of education. The private school itself will not give out this info. As for NCLB, this is an interesting point you bring up. I am not sure if private schools have to take the state tests mandated by NCLB. I assume NCLB is to be for PUBLIC schools only. Even though 'some' private schools are funded, I am not sure if they are mandated to follow NCLB law. I guess the your state dept of education can answer this.

Q: private special education schools-West Los Angels area?
Specific learning disabilities-elementary

A: Try this listing as a place to start: http://www.at-la.com/@la-edu/private.htm

Q: How to find best school for Special Education?
Is any body aware of any website that can help me select the best school district for Special Education . I found a site (greatschools.net) which ranks schools on State exam score. It also give other info about the district like expense per child, student-teacher ratio etc. Will it be safe to assume that district with highest expenditure per child will offer maximum service for special education ?

A: No public school system is going to offer the maxium services available for every student in Special Ed. For one, a student must qualify for the particular services in question and not every child qualifies for certain things (OT, Adaptive PE, Speech). The second thing is that every child is entitled to a "free and appropriate" education under IDEA. This does not mean however "free and top of the line". This is where I find a lot of parents become confused. What that statement means is that public school districts will do everything thing they can to make accomodations and try things that have "emperical evidence" to back them up as far as adopting programs that work. They do not however have to try or provide anything that comes down the pike that doesn't have emperical evidence to back its validity just because a parent wants it. I think you'd be better off rather than looking at a district's budget looking at teacher-paraprofessional-student ratio, finding out how many of the districts Special Ed teachers are "Fully Qualified" under the "No Child Left Behind" law and seeing how many times a district has been taken to court for "Fair Hearings" in Special Ed. Those three things give a better picture as far as how a district (even the wealthy ones) are operating their Special Education programs.

Q: Good Special Education Schools in U.S.?
Ok, I have a six year old son that is Autistic. He is doing fairly well now! He is just starting to talk and likes school! I want him to go to a great school!!! I did not know where to put him though! We are currently in Birmingham, Alabama, and looking for somewhere better... not for me but for my little one!!!

A: i am the grandma of a 6yr. old grandson with autism here in montgomery,he is in an excellent special class for his needs,all i can suggest for you is maybe check out walter mckee elem that is where he goes ,he is in a class called PALS. YOU CAN CHECK THE WEB FOR MONTGOMERY PUBLIC SCHOOLS