Helping All Students Thrive You show up on the first day of school and discover that your class of 25 includes three students with a variety of disabilities — physical, developmental and cognitive. How do you make sure they are accepted and progressing satisfactorily? Or perhaps an education support professional joins your classroom. How do you determine how to work with your special needs students and the other adult? The following suggestions are provided by the University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration. The suggestions support your success working with students with disabilities: WELCOME THE STUDENT WITH DISABILITIES as you welcome any other. When you refer to your students, make sure they’re all your kids, not “my kids” and “the special ed teacher’s kids.” BE SUPPORTIVE AND FLEXIBLE. You may need to modify some of your assignments so the student with disabilities can acquire the same skills or knowledge as the other students.
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