Degree helping children with special needs?

Question

I'm interested in working with children that have special needs/social emotional issues. I enjoy younger children the most-- Pre-K through 3rd grade. I've looked at jobs in early intervention, elementary school counselor, and therapist positions.

Working WITH the children is very important to me. My undergrad degree is in Human Development and Family Studies...and while I have found jobs I enjoy, in order to find a position with decent pay and benefits, most require a Master's or Teacher Certification.

I want to further my education. What Master's degree would be most beneficial? Social Work, dual certification in early childhood/special ed, counselor education, school pyschology???

I'm not sure where to start.

Answer 1

i'm a k-1 special ed teacher. it's a very very hard job to be a classroom teacher, though very satisfying. It is probably the hardest route you can go to work with kids. I see the speech therapists at my school who work 1-on-1 or with small groups and it seems like a much easier job, and you get the same pay if not more and benefits. the same goes with a school psychologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists. they all get to work with kids with special needs but their jobs are much easier than a classroom teacher's. they also don't have all this planning to do. however, those positions are harder to get because there are only a couple per school. If I could go back in time and decide about my career now I would do speech therapy. you have to decide if you love to teach and you want to teach kids to read and if you can handle classroom management, and then you should be a classroom teacher. I would research all these different professions with a career adviser.  

Answer 2

Well, do you want to be a teacher, therapist, or counselor?  If you want to teach, then you will need to get a Master's Degree in Early Childhood and Special Education.  If you want to be a therapist, look in to Speech-Language Pathology.  There is a national shortage of SLPs in the US.  You can work in the schools, hospitals, clinics, etc... and specialize in pediatrics.  You must have your Master's Degree to be an SLP or Occupational Therapist.  You must have your Doctorate to become a Physical Therapist.  Audiology requires a Doctorate and psychology & social work require Master's Degrees.  You will make more money in all the other fields but teaching however, you will not have to deal with insurance companies and progress notes.  As a teacher you would have a classroom of children with disabilities with varying developmental abilities.  In the other fields, you work with 1-3 kids at a time (pending on the field you choose) and frequently become a consultant to teachers, parents, doctors, and other therapists.  

Check out the national organizations for each field.  

The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association http://www.asha.org/default.htm

The American Physical Therapy Association http://www.apta.org//AM/Template.cfm?Sec...

The American Occupational Therapy Association http://www.aota.org/

The National Association of Special Educators http://www.naset.org/

The National Association of School Psychology http://www.nasponline.org/

The National Association of Social Workers http://www.socialworkers.org/

Check them out and do a little research in each field.  Either way, you're going to have to get a Master's or Doctorate Degree pending on which field you choose.

Since you're not interested in becoming a classroom teacher, look in to the field of Speech-Language Pathology.  You work with children who have language delays, developmental disabilities, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrom, Fragile X Syndrome, Cleft Palate, feeding/swallowing disorders, etc... There is a severe shortage nationally.  Please e-mail me if you are interested in learning more about this wonderful field. The job is challenging, rewarding, and the money isn't too shabby.

Answer 3

dual certification in early childhood/special ed. my mom is a special ed teacher and because of this certifictaion it help with her pay so much. and now she does inservices all around the state. she says she teaches teachers how to teacher better.  

Answer 4

yes

Answer 5

You can do early childhood special ed.  

Answer 6

Your best bet is to speak with a counselor at a university program. I would start with the Masters of Education program. Many schools now have what they call a "career switchers" program, where you can work towards your certification or certification and Masters.  

Answer 7

I know you wrote that you don't want  to be a classroom teacher and that you prefer to work with smaller groups of kids.  The thing to keep in mind, however, as that many special educationn classes, especiallybehaviourr classes, have a cap to the number of children that can be in the class.  In my class I have four kids at the moment.  The cap for the number of kids in my class is 8.  I would recommend you get a teaching certificate and then take an additional qualification in special education.  This would probably take less time than a masters.