Personal Statement On Special Needs Children

I hope to gain knowledge essential to the teaching of children that need special education services. Though I intend to be an elementary education teacher, I know that I will still encounter many children with disabilities, both physical and intellectual and I want to be able to give them the best education that I can while they are in my care.

The time is now to become a Special Education Teacher. I believe the best fit for my academic and vocational goals is the UWM Exceptional Education Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program.

I was adopted by my Grandfather, David Crawford, when I was 11 years old. Along with me (is) my two younger brothers, Nick age 15 and Caleb age 14. Nick has autism and every August through October Saturdays for the past 5 year the whole family has participated in Challenger Baseball, an non profit organization set up in different towns around the United States that provides a positive environment for children with disability to play on a baseball team against other challenger teams. My grandfather actually set up the Bond County district after finding a love for it when Nick played in Edwardsville, Il. Aside from the players there are buddies that help each individual play, buddies help their player bat, run around the bases, play catch, and

My personal philosophy of special education drives not from teaching in the field, but from, observations, and personal experience, and the workshops I attended. I have had the opportunity to work with individuals with special needs in many different settings, all this help cultivate my knowledge in handling the needs of the special needed student. Special needs students have the ability to learn, to function, to grow, and most importantly to succeed. The difference comes into how they learn or how they need to be taught. There are as many beliefs about the "hows" as there are teachers and each of us forms our own philosophy through our experiences and research. As a student in a special education teachers’ program, learners with

People are thought as child to dream big and reach for their goals. Throughout grade school to high school there are often asked what inspires them. Some people dream to become police officers, dancers, lawyers, and doctors. There are some people who chooses to become an educator. As they journey through college, to pursue the knowledge needed for their career, their passion leads them to special education. These teachers fine this career to be job satisfying, have empathy for the children, and the vacancy of the position viability. Not all teacher feel the same however, over time their dissatisfied with their job and leave because their brunt out.

One of the most essential aspects of the educational process is to know how to motivate students for learning. A challenging part of being a teacher is to know and learn how to motivate students. First of all, a good definition for motivation is as Byrnes quote “Motivation is construct

Under the Education Act 1981 provision should be made so that children and young people with Special Education Needs (SEN)/Disability or children and young people that have a learning difficult but which has not yet been clearly identified, are supported and can access mainstream schooling.

My passion for the rights and advancement of people with disabilities started after my son Jacob (name used with his permission) was born with special needs. I accepted this new life path and absorbed myself in knowledge. Management at his early intervention program recognized my drive, commitment, love and leadership skills and sent me to attend trainings, workshops and conferences on their behalf, in return, I created and presented in-service trainings for parents and staff. As a single parent, I embraced this method of acquiring knowledge, skills and resources in a journey I am still forging.

A few months after I began substitute teaching, an administrator offered me a tutoring position. I worked with children in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. I loved that each day of tutoring included working in multiple subjects with students of various ages and abilities. Eventually, I began to consider a teaching career. However, in considering various teaching options, I found the prospective of middle grades or secondary education more compelling than elementary education; yet, a particular subject did not captivate me.

I am now retired after a 37 year career in human services with the state of Minnesota. I can bring a wealth of experience in coordinating services and programs with relevant stakeholders whether they pertain to individuals with disabilities or persons with healthy nutrition needs. Further, I feel this opportunity is a natural extension of my adult interest in providing needed service to underserved persons especially in rural

. I determined my developmental needs as I was applying for positions available and not being successful even though I knew I could to the role with my hands tied behind my back. After over six years out of the professional work space I realized that I need to re address the skills that I have and to also learn some new ones to place me in a better position to acquire the role that I am after. Every role keeps evolving and I believe that we need to keep evolving with it. So constantly learning and training is very important. Once I have secured the role that I am after then I will have to readdress my developmental needs to keep progressing. I want to set myself goals to keep learning and developing.

As we learned throughout this semester, everyone in this world comes from/has a different cultural background. Culture can be race, ethnicity, where you are from, religion, hobbies, and much more. But in this case, this family is culturally different from others because they were blessed with a son that has special needs. The Anderson family has many factors that go into their culture, but a big one being their son Daniel. Daniel is diagnosed with ADHD, epilepsy, sensory processing disorder, anxiety and at the end of December he is getting tested for autism. As I interviewed Daniel’s mother, Caitlyn, she explained the role he plays in their family. She discussed some of the influences Daniel has on family identity, interactions within the family, how the family functions, and how they progress differently through some of the family life cycle stages than a family without a child with a disability might.

One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.

To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou cans 't not be false to any man.—Shakespeare, Hamlet.

Children with special needs are a wonderful part of our world today. A child with special needs bring a whole new life to those who they are around. They light up our world when we are around them and do not see when there is trouble with different issues. After watching the two movies, Lorenzo’s Oil and The Other Sister, my eyes were opened even more about living with children who have special needs.