Which is much better, General SPED or SPED with Specialization or mainstreaming?

Question

I'm planning to take up MA in SPED but some universities are offering General SPED while some are offering SPED with specialization/mainstreaming. Now im confused, which is better on two and what will I choose, please shed me some light on this matter thanks.

Answer 1

Considering autism is on the rise, why not get some training with working in special education with autistic children?  Heaven knows we don't  have enough teachers who have even the slightest clue about working with autistic individuals.

Answer 2

My son is on the autism spectrum and is SPED within the mainstream.  Meaning..he is in classes with his neurotypical peers, but has SPED accommodations from his IEP.

Within the public school, there are also kids in 'self-contained" classrooms.  These kids are in a standard special education classroom throughout the day.

There are also specialized schools ie Autism schools etc.  The staff of these schools are trained to specifically work with autistic children.  They also have a smaller student/teacher ratio.  The benefit of teaching at one of these schools is the instruction is much more specialized.  You also don't have to deal with the Beauracratic B.S. of the public school system, because most of the kids that attend already have gone through the IEP process in public school.

Answer 3

Years ago, I was told by an associate superintendent to specialize. Learning disabilities was on the rise then. Now autism is the focus.

You need to think about your interests.

My husband had some minor difficulties with spelling and my son was entering school when I added my Master's in SLD. I had a lot of experience with that disability, and I knew that was my calling.

The autistic spectrum ranges from severe to very high functioning (Asperger's). It would help if you had some experience with some folks on the spectrum, to help you decide.

If you generalize you could be assigned to any type of classroom. Emotionally disabled is tough.

Think about what grade level you prefer. High school mostly has inclusion teachers and general would be perfect. Middle school has a blend of inclusion, resource (pullout), and self-contained. Elementary mostly had pullouts in the past, now there is more inclusion. They still require some self-contained.

You need to be highly qualified. My bachelor's is early childhood and elementary ed. I did have to submit HOUSSE information to certify for my current high school position. So make sure you are highly qualified in the area you want to teach.

I began thinking about RTI (response to intervention) which is popular even though there is not enough research to back up the method. You might be called upon to help with that if you concentrated on the mainstream.