Resources for Special Education Teachers

The topics listed are individual websites that can be accessed by members of The American Academy of Special Education Professionals (AASEP). If you are not a member of AASEP, and would like to join AASEP, click on the following link: Join AASEP to Register.

Members of AASEP, please login  (member login and password) to have full access to all the information and other websites links, in our database.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

  • Acronyms Frequently Used in Special Education - An extensive list of acronyms related to special eduction, organized alphabetically.

Autism

  • Structured Teaching: Strategies for Supporting Students with Autism - Structured teaching is an intervention philosophy developed by the University of North Carolina, Division TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children). . Structured teaching is an approach in instructing children with autism. It allows for implementation of a variety of instructional methods (e.g., visual support strategies, Picture Exchange Communication System - PECS, sensory integration strategies, discrete trial, music/rhythm intervention strategies, Greenspan's Floortime, etc.). The following information outlines some important considerations for structured teaching to occur. It is one of many approaches to consider in working with children with autism.

Prevalence

  • How Many Adults Really Have Learning Disabilities? - There is a growing body of reliable data that indicate that learning disabilities (LD) in adults are a wide-spread problem. Until recently, we have only had estimates of the incidence of adults with LD in specific segments of the population including various formal and informal educational and workplace training settings. Some estimates have been alarmingly high. For example, the United States Employment and Training Administration (1991) estimated that between 15-23% of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) title IIA recipients may have a learning disability. Based on the Department of Labor observations, the percent of adults with LD increases to between 50-80% among those reading below the 7 th grade level (U.S. Department of Labor, 1991).

Resources

  • “Awesome Library” for Special Education Teachers - An exceptional site containing hundreds of great links and topics pertaining to all areas of special education, organized by topic.

Students with Learning Disabilities

  • Accommodations for Students with LD - Accommodations are alterations in the way tasks are presented that allow children with learning disabilities to complete the same assignments as other students. Accommodations do not alter the content of assignments, give students an unfair advantage or in the case of assessments, change what a test measures. They do make it possible for students with LD to show what they know without being impeded by their disability.
  • The GED and Students with LD and/or ADHD - Many students leave high school before graduating. Some struggle in school with personal problems. Sometimes students' poor choices result in school failure and finding no success they leave school early.  Over 18 million adults in the United States have not completed high school. Glenn Young of the United States Department of Education suggests that as many as one-half of these students, or 50%, may have a learning disability and/or ADHD that contributed to their decision to leave school without a high school diploma. The precise number of students with learning disabilities, however, is difficult to determine. Many times these problems were not diagnosed in school. This may be especially true for women.