Special education major...?

Question

I was just looking into possible college majors and I am seriously thinking of going for Special Education. But I have one concern. My mom is a teacher at privte school just for kids with learning disablities such as reading problems but it is not for children with more severe disabilities like autism... I would love to work with only these students because I honestly connect so much better with my mom's students then the kids who are in the Special Olymipcs program I am in at my school.. I would work with them if necessary but I would prefer just LD. Is there a certain specification in the degree of Special Education that just works with LD and not handicap disabilities?

Answer 1

at the undergrad level-

most colleges have a generic

teacher of teh Handicapped/Teacher of students with disabilities degree which covers everything from LD to autism-

you may be able to take some electives that focus on your specific area of interest.

At some colleges-you can specialize at the Master's level

Answer 2

Yes, my Master's is in Specific Learning Disabled.

These students are average to above average in intelligence. They just need to learn the strategies that best  help them learn and retain information.

To meet NCLB you need to be highly qualified. I have a Bachelor's in Early Childhood and Elementary Ed. So, I am highly qualified in K-6 education in both regular and special ed. So you might want to think about the grade level you would like best and make sure you concentrate some of your efforts in becoming highly qualified.

Private schools do not have to concern themselves with NCLB, but you never know where you will end up teaching. Public schools usually pay better and have better benefits. However, I know a woman who started her own private school and she did quite well for herself.

Answer 3

My credential if for mild to moderate.  It's up to you what job you take with it.  You just cannot do the mod/severe population.  You get a M/M credential and take a job as a resource teacher, they typically do not deal with the more challenging students, usually those with LDs.  h**l, ask your mom, she outta know what's going on!

Answer 4

At my son's school there are two different programs.  One is called Resource Specialist Program and it is for non severe learning disabled kids.  Kids for example with math disabilities or reading issues who can understand the work but need strategies and accomodations to do the work.  Sometimes the teacher pushes into the general education class to help and sometimes she pulls kids into the resouce room to help them.  The other class is a special day class and this is for more severe learning disabled kids such as autistic and down syndrome.  They are in a self contained classroom for most of the day and maybe go to a general education room for a few subjects.  I think what you are looking for is more of a resource program type job.

Answer 5

This question can only be answered by telling us your state (publicly or privately) or looking it up on your state's department of education website.  Each state makes up its own rules regarding this.  I don't know of a state that only offers one area of special education, however.  Most certifications will fall into one of these 4 categories - mild disabilities (kind of what you mom has),  moderate to profound (Special Olympics and less abled), blind or deaf.  Most offer more, but the trend is moving towards certifications in a fashion such as this.  When you talk to colleges, it's necessary to talk to them about what kind of license you would work towards.  (My first two years of college, I didn't know better and had to search for a college to transfer April of my sophmore year.  ugh!)