Instruction for Children with Special Needs

I am a middle school Learning Support teacher and have 2 very bright students (above average IQ) with Asperger’s Syndrome that surprisingly have a tough time understanding some of the words or concepts in our reading selections, even though their expressive vocabulary seems pretty “profession-like” at times.  Any ideas of how I can build their receptive vocabulary?

I am a Learning Support teacher and have a 5th grade student with High Functioning Autism. He has been putting his hands down his pants while in the classroom. It appears that he is masturbating and I am not quite sure how to handle this…any ideas?

My older middle school Life Skills students need some community-based work experiences, but our school is located in a rural area without many opportunities nearby.  What can I do to help them learn some beneficial work skills?

I have a student in my class whom I know is very bright, but his test scores sure don’t show it!  He’s attentive during class and participates on occasion, so it seems like he’s following along but then freezes on the exam.  What can I do to help him prepare more effectively?

The students in my Life Skills class need more practice with social skills, but they always seem to clam up in those unstructured times like lunch and in between classes.  Is there something I can do to help them have more opportunities to interact?

I have a great team in my classroom but sometimes we are not all on the same page when it comes to providing preventative or consequential interventions with our students.

 

One person might talk too much to a student, giving attention to behaviors of concern and inadvertently increasing the behavior while another person may not do enough.

 

Sometimes even  the basics of student interactions are just not there. What can I do to make us a more cohesive team with providing  our interventions?

I have a student in my class who is always behind schedule on projects and comes up with a million excuses as to why the work is not completed. Is there anything I can do to help her take responsibility and ownership of her learning?

One of the students in my Learning Support class requires prompting and reassurance for every problem on his math worksheet.  I want him to complete tasks more independently but he is constantly asking me for help or if his answer is correct.  I can’t work with other students who also need my help with all of these interruptions.  Do you have any suggestions?

I’m a Middle School FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences) teacher and I have a student with special needs in my class of 20 general education students.  She’s not disruptive, but she also doesn’t participate very much.  How can I help her get more out of my cooking classes?