How can you teach independent skills within special education students?

Seminar Title

How can you teach independent skills within special education students?

Independence

Elementary

Elementary

Special Education

OT

A student’s first instinct is to ask for help right away without even trying or doing anything on their own. When this happens, it can be difficult to get to meet the needs of all of our students and do all of the things that need to be done in a school day when you are constantly helping, showing, and reminding your students what they need to be doing. The key is to have students develop independent skills early on to help students advocate for themselves, make choices, and build confidence and self esteem especially for students with special needs who need an extra boost and a sense of leadership. I was eager to start this journey and research this particular topic as I have noticed a real need for independence in my classroom and have picked up on all of the activities in a school day that requires students to be independent. I have researched and tried out some different opportunities to practice independence within students especially in the special education classroom setting. With the help of visuals, repetition of taught skills, and self check sheets students are held accountable for their own learning and ability to become independent. My research was applied to my K-2 small group special education classroom for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder. My research can be adaptable for any other special education teacher and early Elementary school teachers. My hope is that we can have a round table discussion and share different techniques and activities used to help build independence in our young students and offer each other different ideas to take away and implement in our own classrooms. If you are looking for ways to teach and increase independence in some of your students then this is the one for you!