Essential Resources for Special Education

Teachers can use this spreadsheet—free template included—to track accommodations and strengths to keep students on track and motivated.

From metaphors for elementary school kids to mindset shifts and graphic organizers for teens, here are teacher-tested tips for normalizing learning accommodations across grade levels.

Rolling carts, file folders, QR codes, and a little bit of weekly upkeep make a huge difference.

When students who need supports refuse to use them, the cause is generally not lack of motivation—it’s the sense of stigma attached to accepting help.

Don’t let the devices run amok in your classroom, experts warn. Here’s the right—and wrong—way to handle them.

Free or low-cost tools can help all students—with and without learning differences—better access course content.

Many speech issues can be corrected with therapy, so it’s important that teachers know the signs of a potential problem.

By setting high standards and encouraging a growth mindset, teachers can help all students learn to their fullest potential.

It’s important to organize the learning environment in ways that support students’ focus and engagement.

An academic coach for neurodivergent students shares how to help neurodivergent students reach their potential throughout the school year.

Prioritizing the inclusion of students with disabilities into all aspects of the school community ensures a welcoming learning environment.

Traditional homework policies can unintentionally penalize students with disabilities—but teachers can change that.

Teachers can use these ideas to foster a supportive climate for students receiving special education services and their peers.

Teachers can incorporate academic challenges into their existing lessons for students that are ready for more advanced learning.

Teachers can help autistic girls stay on track and feel more secure, confident, and ready to learn with these simple adjustments.

With an asset-based approach, teachers can help students with disabilities recognize strengths while working to address their areas for growth.

Whether teachers know or simply suspect that they have an autistic student, these ideas support learning for them and the whole class.

A thoughtfully designed classroom—and lesson—should always take into account the known limits of the student brain, says developmental psychologist Karrie Godwin.

Students will participate more if you give them frequent, low-stakes chances to interact with content all throughout a lesson.

Students with learning disabilities and other challenges may find word problems difficult even when they know the math, so building up their confidence is key.

With a few instructional shifts, teachers can create classrooms that better encourage confidence and academic growth.

By providing targeted supports and instruction, teachers can help students with dyscalculia find more comfort and success in math class.

By integrating age-appropriate modifications, special education teachers can design high-interest, standards-aligned science units.

Teachers can adapt activities to make PE inclusive for all students, including those with physical and/or learning disabilities.

An education specialist shares her step-by-step guide, which has helped her students better utilize visual supports.

Including hands-on tools in your lessons should help strengthen students’ understanding of abstract concepts.

Vague directions, complicated explanations, and poorly sequenced tasks can overwhelm students. These research-backed strategies can help.

With this simple Google Form and spreadsheet—free template included—the whole IEP team can keep up to speed on the supports students need.

Art pieces, artifacts, and interest questionnaires can make a world of difference.

Through intentional collaboration, special education teachers and their students can prepare for IEP meetings that honor students’ voice and input.

A longtime special education teacher passes along his step-by-step guide for all parts of the IEP process.

Teachers can approach and instruct students with compassion and encouragement to subvert the idea that neurodivergence indicates maladaptive behavior.

Joint leadership in the classroom is more than a model of instruction. It requires mutual respect and a shared vision for students’ success.

Teachers can use these strategies for deeper communication to establish an inclusive learning environment for students.

By creating effective systems, special education teachers can set themselves, general education teachers, and students up for success.

Even with limited time, teams can focus on data and discuss student progress to make meaningful action plans.

Paraprofessionals are an invaluable resource in a partnership that strengthens instructional support and enhances student success.

These strategies can help new general education teachers work collaboratively and productively with special education teachers.

With targeted training for paraprofessionals, administrators can set their schools up to successfully support students in special education.

Schools can use an approach to building relationships with families that is empathetic, respectful, and centered on students’ success.

An expert in special education shares strategies for building strong and enduring relationships with students’ families that every teacher can use.

Schools can provide parents and caregivers with information about essential services that help their children achieve success.

To ease the challenges of a new school and higher expectations, administrators can make it a point to plan the transition well in advance.

Teachers can support students during the final stages of college preparation by viewing supports through a transition lens.

Teachers and parents can work together to help students develop independence and strengthen key skills needed to meet college expectations.

Teachers can use these tools and tips for guiding conversations to simplify transition and graduation planning.

Instruction on activities of daily living helps middle school students in special education develop important skills like organization, hygiene, and self-advocacy.

With well-designed, intentional prompts, keyboarding instruction can help students develop several skills at once.

Teachers can encourage high school students’ success by focusing on learner variability and creating customizable learning experiences.

Varying the format of comprehension checks guides students to demonstrate learning and provides teachers feedback on progress.

Providing elementary students with multiple means of action and expression helps ensure that teachers create equitable, valid assessments.

When teachers provide students with multiple ways to show their learning, they can also develop different ways to assess that learning.

Teachers can use tech tools to make it easier to give students choice about their learning, increasing engagement.

Generative AI can make educational content and instruction more accessible, helping teachers meet a breadth of student needs.

Leadership teams can intentionally plan time for teachers to collaborate and build their understanding of effective special education.

Administrators can elevate special education teams from support roles to central drivers of inclusive instruction.

School leaders and teachers can use this model to learn about and fight ableism through self-reflection and systems change.

A special education district administrator uses these questions to understand how the well-being of teachers affects their work.