What are the roles of a Special Education Teacher?

Even though “every child is special” is cliché, a child with special educational needs calls for more patience, expertise and skill from the teachers and educators who take up the role of educating them and bringing them to the mainstream society. Here we have all you would want to know about the field of special education teaching – from job options to required skills.

What are the required skills for becoming a Special Educational Needs teacher?

From an employer’s point of view, the teachers for special needs children need to have both hard and soft skills. Wondering what they are? Here is a list:

Now let’s get a more elaborate idea, shall we?

• The lesson plan for special needs children must be such that it meets the individual learning needs and IEP goals. A skilled teacher from a good teacher training institute will know how to identify the various learning needs and meet them through appropriate lesson plan development.
• A classroom full of special needs children needs proper implementation of policies and expectations. Thus a special needs teacher can ensure a well-managed classroom.
• Allotting assignments and evaluating them timely is something the teacher training course will train you with and that is really important for monitoring the progress of the learners.
• Teaching skill accompanied by knowledge of myriad subject is a necessary thing for aspirants with a SEN certificate. This skill will ensure growth and development of the children in a holistic way.

When it comes to the soft skills, it is all about how the teacher communicates or empathizes with the children. To elaborate more, we have it here for you.

• Communication at all levels- with students, parents, other teachers, caregivers and specialists- is mandatory in both spoken and written forms. This will only make the learning experience more fruitful.
• Handling the children can be stressful for they might throw temper tantrums at any moment and might require more than average time to understand even a simple thing. Thus, stress management is necessary for not losing temper and acting harshly unintentionally.
• To make the learners feel understood and supported, empathetic behavioral approach on the teacher’s behalf is necessary. This way, challenges can be overcome also.
• Starting from difficulty in adapting a particular lesson by the student to listening to the grievances of parents- a teacher needs to listen to or attend all and suggest solutions for those. Problem-solving and decision-making will go hand in hand here.

What are the job options after special teacher training?

It is not always that you only have to be associated with an educational institute after completing a course for teachers of special needs children. You do have the provision to explore other options of career. Wondering what they are?

• Therapist

You have the options to become occupational therapist or recreational therapist. Being in such a profession will mean that you help people with disabilities meet their developmental needs and maintain the life skills.

• Social worker

You can be a social worker anywhere- a school, an agency working with child welfare and so on.

• Instructional coordinator

Here you develop lesson plans, course curriculums etc for schools and other institutes working with special needs learners.

How to be a SEN Teacher?

You need to be a graduate first for applying for a training course. There are various institutes and courses to choose from. But make sure that you choose the right one which is recognized by universal bodies and accredited. Otherwise, the certificates you acquire at the end of the course will fail to fetch you placement.

With an accredited certificate, you can now apply for vacant positions relevant to your qualification. Employers around the globe will be ready to take you in.

Hope you find the perfect online teacher training facility for completing your course. We must remind you that teaching children with special educational needs is not as easy as A-B-C but surely, it is satisfactorily rewarding.

Image Source: Freepik.com