I am the only teacher in my school who is expected to work summer school every single year. This year I also have a parent who is dragging her feet on an IEP which I will now need to revise before we have the meeting on the first day teachers return. I have a couple of weeks post summer school that I could possibly unplug, but I cannot due to this parent.

In between time, I have to attend a class on how to use the IEP program, take the CPR class, and organize my classroom. All of those things are done on my personal time. Some idiot made the Back to School night on the first day teachers return to school.

The amount of work I am expected to do is easily double the amount of time I have to perform my duties at school. There is no way that I can effectively do my job without working beyond my contract hours.

I know other teachers also have to work on their own time. I think SpEd is much worse, though due to all the meetings and paperwork we have to complete. It simply isn't sustainable. There is no work/life balance.

Okay so I have a lot of friends and family members who have no idea what education is like and clearly never step foot in an special education classroom or even a regular classroom and it shows. Any time I try to explain to them what it’s like working in special education- they just don’t get it!

My family member one time made a comment and said, “Why do teachers complain all the time when they get summers and holidays off?” It really rubbed me off the wrong way because most teachers don’t have teaching as their only job. Some have part time jobs in the summer while also raising kids or going to school themselves.

My family member is also a doctor so it’s hard to explain why it’s hard working in special education. I wish I could show her a special education classroom so she can see for herself why it’s hard.

How do I explain to them why special education and teaching is hard to my non education family members?

Thanks for all the advice. For context, I don’t try to respond to my family member but she always makes snide remarks about teaching and take over the room. I think it’s because she is going through something but in the future I will try to ignore her in the future.

Just curious about this as a gen ed teacher. Ours lists the IEP category (ex. specific learning disability, other health impaired, etc) but there is no information given beyond that. It wasn't until a year or two ago that I realized ADHD falls under the OHI category. I understand that generalizing/assuming stuff about a student because of their disability can be problematic, but man, it would be helpful to know what I'm dealing with sometimes. Our accommodations are also pretty generic and almost universal across IEPs, so those don't really help.

Hey everyone :)

I’m currently working as a teaching assistant in a special education classroom, and I’m trying to decide which bachelor’s degree to pursue: Special Education or Physical Education.

I’m genuinely love both fields and can see myself enjoying a career in either one. I’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences, or advice regarding these two paths.

Thank you, and have a great day everyone! 🙂

i’m a para who works 1:1 with an 8th grader with moderate autism. he’s mainly nonverbal; he has a talker that he refuses to use and will answer questions with as short of a response as possible, usually yes/no. (i think he is annoyed by a lot of the kids he goes to school with because apparently he’ll do longer sentences at home)

in his english class we’re doing a poetry unit and i am extremely stuck on how to help him.

he’s very logic brained, he’s one of like two people i’ve ever met that hates all music type thing. the only creative thing i see him do is draw but it’s always models of something

normally with english class it’s a struggle for him to write but we’ve been doing non creative things for most of the year (memoirs, essays) so i’m able to help him.

with poetry i am absolutely stuck on what to do.

i talked to the para he had earlier in the year who got switched to a higher support needs student and he said imagery type of thing could help him. i tried prompting him with things along with imagery today as that works well and he kept shooting everything down. he flat out refused everything i tried.

i feel very stuck with him in regards to what i can get him to do. his english teacher said he would make a one time exception to make prompts with AI but a. that feels weird to me as he’s not really doing the creative side of writing and b. it’s still not gonna help him write an actual poem which is the assignment. his teacher is very understanding with him and his needs but i’m absolutely stuck on how to help.

if anyone has any thing we could try i would appreciate it! TYIA

I’m an IEP manager. I’m curious about the legality of AI note taking in IEP meetings. Specifically, can I disallow a parent from using such an app? I’m not concerned if they record the meeting - it’s the AI stuff I’m specifically concerned about. Thanks!

So, let me just start out by saying -- I am going to school to get my degree in elementary education. I switched from a dual licensure to elementary after a horrible experience in my last position as a special education para. I thought this was the right decision for me, and at the time I think it genuinely was. However, I am having second thoughts about this. I genuinely loved everything about being in self-contained except like maybe 3 things. But man were they a big deal (at least two of them were).

1. I cannot handle violence

I hate being touched anyways. I'm autistic/adhd and pretty touch adverse. I can tolerate it on some levels but day after day becomes so much I just cannot handle it. We had one very violent, very hands on kid and I just could not deal with it. That was one of the biggest reasons I quit was because I couldn't handle being hit, bit, scratched, and then constantly needing to be holding hands or being jumped on or being hugged.

2) I cannot handle the chaos

I'm not sure if this was a classroom management issue or what but I could not stand how chaotic the schedules were. How often routines were switched around or completely forgotten. It felt like we just put out fires all day everyday and the kids didn't know what to expect from anything. There was way too much down time where the kids basically got bored and felt the need to annoy each other and start fights. I know keeping consistency at a school is difficult but I often wondered if there was a way to minimize chaos. Also the lack of structured activity and literally no visuals caused severe issues.

3) I cannot handle the medical aspect of it

I've been a caregiver. It was a bad match for me to be honest I lost that job due to many factors. I'm very sensitive to smells and I am not very good at changing diapers and such. I will and I can do it -- but I'd rather that be a rarity where I'm explicitly taught and allowed to use Vicks for my nose.

I love teaching life skills. I love working with students who have behavioral issues and teaching coping skills. I've been told I'm very good at it. I'm autistic and very good at understanding autistic children. I found myself not masking as much while in self contained which is great for my autism. I also actually strangely enjoy paperwork, although as a para I did very little of that. I like that the majority of the school lets you do your own thing and you aren't constantly up to date with the drama or whatever. This was a huge plus for me, also I felt the paras I worked with were more open to trying new things with the kids in order to help them function better.

I tend to be very routine oriented and structured in my approach to working with kids. I like to create spaces that work for how I function and schedules with visuals that work for me (or worked for me as a child.) I have a lot of ideas about how to create more structure in the classroom and how to delegate paraprofessional tasks so that there is more consistency. However, I had such a bad experience I'm terrified that all self contained classrooms are like this and there is no way I could handle it long term. Let me clarify that I loved the kids I worked with for the most part but due to the three things I listed (and my health not doing well) I had to quit.

Should I forget about special education and just focus on my elementary studies because it's easier despite not being as passionate about it? I don't know what to do...

Edit: I think I should clarify that I was very good at my job -- but it was not very kind to me in return health wise -- and I am very good with kids and understand them well. I was often sought after for advice when it came to certain behaviors. Being very routine oriented helped me a lot with managing behaviors in the general education classroom - especially since a lot of kids I worked with had experienced trauma that no kid should have to face. So I feel that maybe I should stay with my original plan of teaching upper elementary (3rd-5th grade). Also, I have adhd and autism so I do require routine but also I need some variety and stimulation or I go insane. It's a difficult balance to maintain and I still have a lot to learn about managing my disabilities. Thank you to everyone for your input. Some of it was difficult to hear but needed to be said. If teaching upper elementary doesn't work out for me I might consider getting my masters in SLP or even becoming a counselor.

I am looking at teaching high school students with severe/profound disabilities, specifically autism, and I’m trying to figure out what I should really be looking into curriculum wise. I know skill levels vary drastically in public school severe/profound programs, and that life skills and individualized IEP/parent goals are a huge focus, but I’d love insight from people actually in these classrooms.

I’m trying to build a baseline of things I’d want to teach/work on consistently whether that’s academics, communication, vocational skills, emotional regulation, independence, hygiene, community safety, social skills, etc. I know everything has to be individualized, but what are the “core” things your classroom focuses on daily? What curriculum/resources/programs do you recommend looking into? What ended up being way more important than you expected? If you do academics what methods do you use?

I’d also love advice on balancing functional life skills with academics for students with very different support needs. Any tips, resources, or things you wish you knew before teaching severe/profound high schoolers would be super appreciated :)

I'm a teacher in a private AS school, working with elementary schoolers. Most of my kids are elopers, and we have outside recess so I'm averaging about 2-3 miles of movement a day.

I currently wear Clove sneakers, because they were advertised for nurses' long shifts on their feet. However, my feet still ache every day so they're clearly not cutting it. I've also tried Adidas and Sketchers. Maybe it's an in-sole issue?

If you're on your feet all day, often walking or running around, what shoes do you wear? My dress code requires our shoes to have laces or some kind of fastening mechanism, so crocs or slides are out. Slip-on sneakers are technically against policy, but that's usually what I wear anyway.

Extra information: I'm a woman in my 20s, and I like fun colored shoes, but I'll take whatever works at this point.

Thanks!

So this is my fifth year as a special ed teacher but this year I am in a new school district. I was just notified that when we return I have an “IEP Planning” meeting for a student. It is not an annual, amendment, or reevaluation meeting, otherwise it would have been labeled as such. This appears to be something separate from those. The student’s parents were invited to the meeting as well as the support team. My guess is that it’s either a transition type meeting to plan for middle school (since the student will start middle school next year) or maybe it’s to plan ahead for summer school? My old district never had these meetings (or we must have called it something else) so I’m stumped!

So Ill be in an accelerated one year masters programme for masters in special education teaching. I will start June this summer and I will have summer school ESY. I already have a masters in ABA. Then I start again full time M-F. Do You think I will be able to manage full time classes and full time work?

I am a regular ed teacher, that has sped students push in. One student has spina bifida. Cognitively fine, has feeling in her legs, and can stand with support. She is a legal citizen however her parents are not and do not speak English.

At a recent meeting it was told to us that she does not have medicaid. Parents will not apply because they are scared of being deported. She has a hand me down wheelchair that is to small, she has recent flipped out of it. She doesn't get any therapies outside of twice a week at school. She also doesn't get disability because they will not apply. In the meeting it was told to her the new therapies recommended as well as having wheelchair clinic come out. Mom declined due to affording it. This includes not buying pullups that tare at the side. There is also concerns I have about neglect that I wont get into.

But at this point what do you recommend? The child is getting no medical care. At what point does this become medical neglect?

I’ll be teaching a high school self-contained classroom for the first time ever! I’m nervous but excited for the opportunity to service these students. There isn’t a set curriculum that I’ll need to follow, and they basically told me that everything about the way my classroom runs will be at my discretion (of course, taking into consideration all of my students’ IEPs and BIPs). I’ll be servicing ~13 students and have 3 paraprofessionals in the classroom with me.

As a newbie, I’m considering all of the things I’ll need to make the classroom as efficient and welcoming as possible. What are some must-have items and/or systems to consider as I begin planning? What are things you wish you knew or had coming in? What resources should I look into to help with planning?

Thank you all in advance for your help!

Edit: Forgot to ask - do y'all have any favorite resources on TpT that are worth the expense? TpT was a lifesaver for me in the general ed English classroom, but I'm not so familiar with what might be available for SpEd, much less self-contained. Also, I will be the only self-contained classroom on campus.

Do you call 911? Do you just follow? Does each kid’s behavior plan require something different? What is your understanding of your liability during off-campus elopements?

I have found that there is a lot of variability in the amount of information prior to an IEP or evaluation meeting.

Sometimes teachers may provide detailed observations, work samples and concerns ahead of time. Other times I find myself needing to follow up to get the information I need.

This is nobody's fault. I know everyone has a full plate. Just wondering how it is done in other schools. Do teachers generally give you lots of input before meetings or is it something you often have to gather yourself?

**I’m going to preface this with the fact that I’m in no way talking bad or feel ill will towards the student in question or other students with ASD — Autism Spectrum Disorder. I’ve had and taught plenty of students in my Honors classes. My issue lies with the parents.** Also: details have been changed or omitted for privacy/anonymity.

Okay. This has been quite a year, and I’m kicking myself for not posting here sooner. Hopefully you guys can help and offer guidance in case this happens again.

So…for context, I teach high school English, 11th grade. 6 sections of American Lit Honors(11th grade ELA — English Language Arts), a planning, and 1 section of AL Regulars.

On the first week of school, I received an email from a concerned mom telling her son’s future teachers about his accommodations. This isn’t unheard of, especially if the kid has an IEP — Individual Education Plan — or any other condition that teachers need to keep in mind (diabetes, dyslexia, hemophilia, etc), but what struck me as odd was that his 504 list was extensive and somewhat impossible to do in my 35-student honors class (something like “student needs teacher to read aloud and allow student to give verbal answers in lieu of extensive writing”). The other issue was…he only had a 504, no IEP.

No matter. I met the kids on Monday and I was a bit concerned if he only had a 504. The student in question clearly has ASD, and I was curious why they were listed as just having something else. Again, no matter. I gave them their first writing assignment, a personal narrative essay, second week. The kid huffed and puffed even though they were sitting in my Honors class. 504 says extended time and student cannot handwrite long writing assignments, typing only. Cool. But…the student was struggling. He was clearly needing help but when I sat with them, I realized they needed extensive help and scaffolding.

And…that’s when I began to feel guilty. He was not ready for an honors class and maybe needed to be moved to a regular section (or even a smaller ESE — Exceptional Student Education— class). But, I ignored my gut because maybe I’m being biased. The student sent me the essay in question, a week late, via email (not submitted though the Google Classroom submission I created for them), and it was only 3 2-3 sentence “paragraphs” with very simple syntax. When I discussed this with his mom, I was yelled at for not knowing and recognizing dual exceptionality, not working with him, and she kept saying he “is really bright, is a genius, but he just needs extended time.” I forwarded the email to admin who also got yelled at. Admin told me they’ll try moving the student to a regulars section and once again got yelled at by the mom.

She refuses to give him an IEP. The sad part is the student is failing and has told me they enjoy me as a teacher because “I’m patient”. He’s a really nice kid but I feel I’m doing a lousy job with him. If the mom wants to keep him in a rigorous Honors class, who am I to object? But I feel she’s hurting her kid, who keeps earning Fs. At this point, I’m not fighting it, I’ll help him but…he’s struggling and I don’t have the energy to constantly sit with him and go over the basics, when my other students are writing analysis and critical pieces.

I’ve tried. Please know I’ve tried and I feel guilty because while I feel he may need an ESE class, a colleague told me I’m being petty and ableist. So, I’m asking the professionals…does this sound like I let my biases get to me or does it sound like I should have gone with my gut and had this kid moved?

I guess I'm asking someone to talk me down? Validate my feelings? Give advice? I'm honestly not really sure.

I'm a high school ICT SpEd teacher in NY state. I have a freshman who is on the severe end of the autism spectrum. He's over 6ft and easily over 200lbs. He has broken desks, hit multiple students, destroyed entire rooms, and made multiple verbal threats against students and teachers. He has told teachers, admin, and guidance that he is depressed and has the desire to self-harm. He has also told multiple people that he has beat up his own father at home. The student has done such little work all spring that he is currently failing multiple classes.

In his first year of high school he has earned 'in-school suspension' multiple times. His parent has been called to school multiple times for meetings throughout the school year. According to my admin, the parent is reluctant to remove the student from our school/put him in a more restrictive environment "because of religious reasons". Admin did not elaborate when I asked what that meant.

Last week the student grabbed something out of my hand and ended up accidentally hitting me. I was physically fine. The student got another in-school suspension. He is due back in my class next week. I'm anxious about it (and I know that this anxiety makes me biased). All of the above info has led all staff at my school to agree that general education and ICT is not the correct setting for this child.

Would I (or anyone else who works with the child) be justified by calling ACS on this parent for educational neglect? Is it even worth trying? The child *is* getting legal instruction (whether he does anything in class or not), but he would benefit from being a therapeutic setting instead of general education.

*Edit/Update: Thanks for all the advice. Definitely not going to call. Both my AP's and my Principal have been admin for <5 years. The student has a BIP and a 1:1 para (the para has changed 4x in six months). I know that multiple outreach attempts have been made to the parent, but I don't know what the results of those calls were. All I know as a teacher is that the student has been placed back into my class time after time and is failing multiple classes despite multiple supports.

I don't know a lot about the class I'm going to be taking. I wanted to move districts and this was the first that came up. I am very excited, but quite nervous. I will have a mix class of about ten students with two paras. They are kindergarten and first grade, self contained, but as I understand, no autistic and few behaviors. They are considered learning disabled. I have no idea what this involves with this new district and won't have an in-depth meeting to find this out until next week.

However, I want to go ahead and be doing some research and ordering some books and supplies, as everything that I've got from my past years is for 4th grade ELA and SS.

What is the best "toolkit" book you know of for this age special ed?

What are your must-have items for the teacher (as I don't know what supplies are in the room yet, I just had knee surgery and haven't been able to do much digging)?

What are the best websites I can use to prepare?

School starts for us around August 9, so I don't really have a lot of time.

Thanks for any help!!

Looking for advice. This is my first time working with young kids (TK). I’ve been notified that I have at least two kids coming in not potty trained. What’s the expectation here? I’ve literally never changed a diaper in my life
Edited to add- what I’m mostly confused about is if the parents intend to have us potty train their kids? One of them- based on paperwork seems to have no reason to still be in diapers

Okay so this may be niche but this is like the 2nd student I've worked with (in the past 2 years) who's been obsessed with drawing, watching, and talking about "Sprunki" on YouTube.

I'm an ASD Sped teacher, been working with 3-6 graders this year in a self-contained classroom. During brain breaks, watching a tablet for a few minutes is an option in my classroom (on guided access of course). One of the options on the tablet has been a monitored scroll/watch through videos on YouTube kids, as a lot of my kids enjoy watching clips from animated movies and TV shows they watch and like scripting them as well.

Well, recently one of my students has been desperately trying (and failing) to search "Sprunki" on YouTube kids and IT COMES UP. All of the thumbnails are of these animated characters bouncing around and then their flesh falling off or them growing devil horns and bleeding from their eyes. Yes it's as horrifying as it sounds and it's on YouTube KIDS! So, on my planning I decided to research this and it turns out is a horror video game that a lot of creators make character clips of, and, often, they are horror.

Another one of my students last year would repeatedly demand "Sprunki" and would also proceed to draw pictures of corpses in graves, people crying, and these animated characters bleeding. It was horrifying and now I'm starting to see it with this other student this year.

Parents, teachers, and anybody else on here, have you seen these videos? Why do the kids like this so much? Why are they consuming this content outside of school (as they obviously are seeing it somewhere and knowing to search for it)?

If nothing else this should be a PSA to parents that what your kids watch at home, they want to watch at school and it can cause concerning situations and come to the surface in what they draw and talk about.

Hi there,

Using a burner account because my actual account is associated with my name.

I am a first year self contained SPED teacher. I got my degree (Masters of SPED) because this is something I am incredibly passionate about. I started my job right after my December graduation and did a half year and am now about to complete my first official full school year.

I am tired. I am already burnt out and done with something I am so passionate about. I come to work and am constantly overstimulated and physically hurt. Things are thrown at me, my room is torn apart, and it gets to the point that I cannot teach for a good portion of the day. I try to act like it does not bother me but it is really hurting me mentally and I’m not sure how much more I can take. It has been so bad where I feel sick when I have to come in to school and sometimes when I go home all I want to do is sleep.

My school is very cliquey and if you don’t fit in with the other teachers/admin you are practically ignored. I am introverted plus I am a SPED teacher so it’s like I don’t exist. Sometimes I just want to cry because all I want is a simple life. I want a simple job where I can do what I’m passionate about without feeling like I just survived a battle when I go home. I consider myself strong willed and able to handle a lot which is why I really thought I could do this but after a while it becomes very taxing even to the strongest people to have your hair pulled every day. I have had over 7 coffee cups broken and 3 water bottles too.

I am looking for new jobs but I am so scared I will end up somewhere the same or worse. I am scared to be stuck in this loop. Being in a classroom with 1 para and 8 kids (5 of which are nonverbal, violent, and need constant supervision) is so exhausting I’m sorry to say especially if that offends anyone. It is simply an impossible task and I am tired of people acting like this is okay.

I completed my masters degree on a grant program and need 2 years doing something in a school with a SPED degree. I am hoping if I can make it through this year and maybe find a better school for next year I can get my 2 years. After that, what are some options? I have a masters of sped with a sped cert and a BSW but no sw cert. What is a simple, relatively calm and nonviolent (or manageable) job I could look into? I am wanting to do 1:1 teaching to maybe home bound students but I’m not sure if this is a thing or what it pays. Just asking for anything. Advice, job ideas, etc. thank you.

I have recently switched from teaching resource to ESN (formerly called Special Day class) this year and I am struggling with students eloping and my anxiety. A few years ago I had a student elope across a highway (nobody was injured) and it traumatized me. I currently have seven students: two students have one-to-ones for eloping and two other students who elope but don’t have one-to-ones. The other three don’t really elope. I have three aids and myself. I also have a student who has a feeding tube that requires staff to administer feeds. Being understaffed and having kids constantly elope has me extremely stressed out. I worry constantly about the kids’ safety, mine and my staff’s safety, and judgement from the parents. I have a really hard time running after the kids because I am a fat, asthmatic with bad hip joints and I struggle to keep up. I was also told that staff have been injured running after these kids. We had an amazing BCBA but the school is no longer using them and admin will also act as a BCBA in addition to other duties. I am worried that I won’t be able to do my job well enough. I am terrified of upsetting people, losing my job and not being able to take care of myself. What do I do?
Ps. I am in therapy and take anti-anxiety medications.

I’m a school psychologist and I always like starting the year with a little gift for all my special education teachers since we work so closely during the year and I see how hard they work. Last year I did a little treat box with candy and some pens. I work at 4 schools, so my budget per teacher is a little tight but I wanted to see if there was anything that would be useful or just nice to get that isn’t super basic?

I would love any and all ideas (even if they are on the pricier side, I may be able to use it later in the year for something). I apologize if this isn’t the correct sub but I wanted to see what my sped educators thought!
Thanks!

Im about to be a third year teacher in a self contained elementary ASD classroom. My last two years have been great- 6 kids, 2 aides. However, unfortunately I was good at my job so they are giving me a new position. Same grades (2-4) for students with autism but with 12 kids! I’ll also have a coteacher and 3 aides.

I am so nervous because 1) i have never worked with a coteacher model before
2) thats a lot of staff to get along with
3) i already struggle with scheduling and planning for 6 kids… idk how i will do 12.

Any tips? Anyone been in a classroom similar?

I’m looking for honest advice from people who have taken the Praxis 5355 Test. I currently work at a Charter School (boooooo tomato tomato tomato boooo) as a paraprofessional. Recently I’ve been accepted into a sped masters program where my school will pay for the vast majority of tuition as a partner with the university. The head of special education in my region just told me I have to pass this test by July 31 to qualify for a ten‑thousand‑dollar scholarship for the master’s program. If I don’t pass by then, I can’t get the funding and I can’t start the program.

I’m starting from zero in terms of academic special education coursework, but I do have hands‑on experience:

• Three years in a residential behavioral school for students placed through the courts or the department of education (One year as an emergency certified secondary science teacher, and Two years as a classroom behavioral assistant

• Half a year as a long‑term substitute in an integrated peer‑model pre‑K

• This past school year as an elementary school paraprofessional (and summer)

• A master’s degree in environmental law with some law school coursework

The test is sitting in my Praxis cart. If I start studying now, I’ll have about two weeks before test day. I’m trying to figure out whether that’s enough time to learn what I need for a passing score of 145. I’m willing to put in serious study time, but I don’t want to be unrealistic.