What Are the Different Types of Special Education Services?

Special education services, as well as associated programs and services, are offered to students who require special accommodations, according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Based on the extent of needs of an individual student, there are multiple solutions to guarantee that they enjoy a quality education that helps develop and nurture their strengths, and helps them overcome their obstacles. So what are the different types of special education services?

Special education services include speech-language, specialized curriculum, mental health services, and counseling, as well as physical therapy and occupational therapy, therapeutic recreation, social work services, assistive technology, one-on-one support in the classroom, and transportation.

Common Special Education Services Provided by Schools

List of the most common special education services provided by schools:

Speech-language
Mental Health services
Specialized Curriculum
Counseling
Social Work Assistance
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
One-on-one support in class
Therapeutic learning
Assistive Technology
Transportation

Speech and language delays, Autism Spectrum Disorder, cognitive delays, social and emotional issues, and learning differences are some of the most common special needs that young children are diagnosed with.

What Modifications and Accommodations Are Offered by Special Education Services?

Students with disabilities can benefit from accommodations, which is a change that helps them overcome or work around their limitations.

In most cases, these alterations are physical or environmental. To accommodate a student who has difficulty writing, the teacher could have the student answer questions verbally. Assignments and curriculum materials with accommodations that special education students are working on can help them benefit from this type of flexibility. Some examples of accommodations are sign language interpreters for deaf students, computer text-to-speech systems for students with visual impairments or dyslexia, or more time for students with fine motor limits, visual impairments, or other learning issues.

Changes in instruction and evaluation are the most common sources of modifications. Typically, a modification refers to a shift in what is being taught or expected of the individual.

One way to make the assignment less difficult is to reduce the amount of work required of the student. Only certain types of assignments will be affected by this change. Students’ capacity to succeed in school can be greatly enhanced by making even a minor change to a given task.

Students who are taught differently may be able to graduate with a standard diploma rather than an IEP diploma if they become successful in general education content. Alternate books, pass/fail marking alternatives, reworded questions in easier language, and daily feedback to students are all instances of modifications.

How Does a Child Qualify for Special Education Services?

Before a child may be deemed as eligible for special education and related services, it must first be determined that he or she is in need of such services and so requires them. An evaluation can be requested from the school, by you, teachers, or anybody else who detects that your child is having a hard time in a classroom setting.

What Happens During the Evaluation?

The school requires your approval to take this step and schedule an evaluation, no matter who asks for it.
The evaluation will most likely be conducted by a team of professionals.
In an evaluation, psychologists and educators will ask questions and interact with the child to see how they react and perform during certain tasks or situations.
The school psychologist is generally part of this team, as are other educators.
They conduct a series of examinations on the child and analyze their academic records. They will also observe the child’s behavior and interactions in the classroom as well.

Upon completion of the evaluation, the evaluator will provide a report. A summary of the findings and suggestions for how to help your kid will be included. There will be a meeting to discuss the results with the team. Your child’s struggles, strengths, abilities, and needs are revealed in the examination. This will help determine if your child meets the criteria for special education services.

What Is an (IEP) Or Individualized Education Program?

The assistance that children will get in their classes will be determined by the IEP team.

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed by a group of professionals that includes the child’s teachers, social workers, therapists, and parents. It is necessary for the team to meet in order to discuss the child’s educational requirements as a result of his or her accommodations and to build a successful individualized special education program to meet those requirements.

Students who are eligible for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must receive instruction that is specifically tailored to their needs. Because of this, special education programs, especially those that are individualized, must be designed to meet the requirements of each student.

There are a variety of approaches that may be used to meet a child’s special education requirements. Aside from meeting academic standards, special education programs provide instruction in a wide range of subjects and skills. Often, these subjects and skills include social and emotional coping strategies.

When it comes to kids on the autism spectrum, it is especially crucial for them to develop social and behavioral skills that will allow them to engage with others more effectively in the classroom. Special education services provided in schools can help students who need specific accommodations meet their goals.

What Are the Additional Services Offered in Special Education Programs?

Students who qualify for special education services at school may also be eligible for additional services which are services that are provided in addition to specialized teaching. A child with a disability may require more help in order to reap the benefits of special education programs.

The special education program may include:

Transportation
Speech-language therapy
Occupational therapy
Therapeutic recreation
Assistive technology and other related services.

There is no one-size-fits-all guideline for special education services. Every student who receives special education services has different needs that must be met in order to help them reach their fullest potential.

Students and teachers in special education may be eligible for “extra aids and services,” which are characterized as “additional resources.” The employment of supplemental aids and services in regular education courses or other educational settings allows children with special needs to attend school alongside their peers who do not require such services, which can help the special education students integrate into a full classroom. Teacher training, visual aids, and other accommodations such as preferred seating and more regular breaks can all be used to help students succeed in the classroom.

Special education services should be based on peer-reviewed research to the extent that it is practicable to do so. This might indicate that students are receiving treatments that have been proved to be successful for autistic children, sometimes known as evidence-based treatments (EBTs).

How Is Special Education Provided in School?

Special education services are provided in the classroom in a variety of ways. There are in-class services, pull-out services, inclusive classrooms, exclusive education plans, and specialty schools.

In-class services include visits from an occupational therapist or speech-language therapists directly in the classroom to help a student and teacher during the day with lesson plans. In-class services also include the use of aids that are specially trained to assist children who need special accommodations in a one-on-one setting throughout the day in the classroom.

Pull-out services include taking children out of the classroom for a portion of the day to work with them directly in a one-on-one setting. Pull-out services include occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, social work, and more. There are many specialists who work within schools and work with students who need special education services. Sometimes students who need additional support with reading, writing, speech, or social and emotional coping skills work directly with professionals in pull-out services.

Including children with a variety of abilities and special education services, teachers in inclusive classrooms allow kids with special needs to receive the help they require while still remaining in a typical school setting. In addition to their aided learning, pull-out services may be offered to a small number of children in a classroom setting.

Certain students may benefit from being part of a smaller group of children who have similar educational needs to themselves. The fact that there are fewer students per instructor than there would be in a more conventional classroom increases the likelihood that those students will be able to absorb topics that they may otherwise find difficult to comprehend.

In some cases, it may be necessary to place students who have substantial cognitive or physical limitations in an educational setting where they would benefit from a low student-to-staff ratio. In specialty schools, special education services students will be provided with programs that will better fulfill their needs.

In addition to occupational, speech, and cognitive therapy, these children will be able to receive additional therapies to help them improve their quality of life and prepare for adulthood. Among the services given by the school may include art therapy, aquatic therapy, career training, life skills, and other comparable alternatives, amongst other things.

The most effective alternative for children who require round-the-clock care that their local community cannot give is to enroll them in residential special education programs. Even if their educational needs may be covered at home or at a specialty school, the medical needs of these children may often surpass their educational requirements in the majority of cases. In certain cases, students enrolled in these types of programs may be put in institutions such as adult day care centers or residential care facilities once they have reached an adequate degree of maturation.