Everyone is Special and Unique

Everyone is Special and Unique
Author: Regina G. Burch
Publisher: Creative Teaching Press
Total Pages: 20
Release: 2002
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781574718348

In this rhyming picture book, children learn about accepting others who may be different than yourself.

A Smile as Big as the Moon

A Smile as Big as the Moon
Author: Mike Kersjes
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2007-04-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1429976209

Besides being a football coach at his Michigan High School, Mike Kersjes taught special education classes, dealing with children whose disabilities included Tourette syndrome, Downs Syndrome, dyslexia, eating disorders and a variety of emotional problems. One autumn Kersjes got the outlandish idea that his students would benefit from going to Space Camp, where, in conjunction with NASA, high school students compete in a variety of activities similar to those experienced by astronauts in training for space shuttle missions. There was only one problem: this program had been specifically designed for gifted and talented students, the best and the brightest from America's most privileged high schools. Kersjes believed that, given a chance, his kids could do as well as anybody, and with remarkable persistence broke down one barrier after another, from his own principal's office to the inner sanctum of NASA, until Space Camp opened its doors, on an experimental basis, to special ed students. After nine months of rigorous preparation, during which the class molded itself into a working team, they arrived at Space Camp, where they turned in a performance so startling, so surprising, that it will leave the reader breathless. A truly triumphant story of the power of the human spirit.

Exceptional People

Exceptional People
Author: Faith E. Andreasen
Publisher: R&L Education
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2012-10-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475801270

Exceptional People: Lessons Learned from Special Education Survivors is a unique work that describes disabled (exceptional) students’ and their parents’ perspectives as they journeyed through the education system. For educators, it provides a window to the souls of the children whose lives they affect on a daily basis and offers proven strategies that can be implemented immediately. For students, it describes how they can successfully overcome the embarrassment of their special education label, the humiliation of being bullied by classmates, and the discomfort felt when called “stupid” or “lazy” by their teachers. For parents, it captures their pain when they first learned their child had a disability and the fight they faced as they attempted to advocate for their child (usually not knowing their legal rights, the correct questions to ask, or the organizations available to support them). An easy read with a powerful message, ExceptionalPeople conveys significant insights through its personal stories and professional tips.

Yes We Can!

Yes We Can!
Author: Heather Friziellie
Publisher: Solution Tree
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781936763993

As states adopt more rigorous academic standards, schools must define how special education fits into standards-aligned curricula, instruction, and assessment. Utilizing PLC practices, general and special educators must develop collaborative partnerships in order to close the achievement gap and maximize learning for all. The authors encourage all educators to take collective responsibility in improving outcomes for students with special needs.

Strengths-Based Approaches to Educating All Learners with Disabilities

Strengths-Based Approaches to Educating All Learners with Disabilities
Author: Michael L. Wehmeyer
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 121
Release: 2019
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807777641

Michael Wehmeyer, a leading scholar with over four decades of experience as a teacher, teacher educator, researcher, and advocate, provides a cogent but accessible account of the evolution of special education. Offering a compelling vision of where the field should be headed in the next decade, he notes how the digital revolution has made it possible for all learners to gain access to content and instruction. This text focuses on the need to consider how young people with (and without) disabilities learn and the importance of creating personalizable education as strengths-based approaches to disability move education away from diagnosis and remediation to schoolwide instruction for all students. This book is not written as a criticism of traditional special education models, but instead examines the big ideas for going beyond special education that can improve outcomes for learners with disabilities and prepare them for the 21st-century world. “If you are part of the field, you must choose whether to look backward or forward. This book includes the tools you need for the latter.” —Sue Swenson, president, Inclusion International “Dr. Wehmeyer masterfully articulates the flaws in our current approach and offers a roadmap to a more promising future for our nation’s children.” —Melody Bruce Musgrove, The University of Mississippi

Lessons Learned from the Special Education Classroom

Lessons Learned from the Special Education Classroom
Author: Peg Grafwallner
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 115
Release: 2018-10-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475844271

Lessons Learned from the Special Education Classroom offers practical techniques and research-based suggestions where all students, regardless of their abilities, are actively engaged in a vigorous, scaffolded, differentiated classroom taught by a compassionate, equitable teacher. With 25 years of classroom expertise, the author shares her down-to-earth suggestions for building classroom community and embracing all learners while offering concrete suggestions for creating respectful parent and student partnerships. At the end of each chapter, Peg outlines how to use the chapter in a professional book club, as a PLC resource, and as a Professional Development supplement.

Revitalizing Special Education

Revitalizing Special Education
Author: James M. Kauffman
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2022-09-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1801174946

Revitalizing Special Education presents neither a pessimistic nor a Pollyannish view of past or future, but rather is a careful assessment of some of the greatest threats to robust special education posed by distorted and misguided thinking about what special education is and does.

Inclusive Educational Administration

Inclusive Educational Administration
Author: Mary Konya Weishaar
Publisher: Waveland Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2007-03-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1478610557

Regular and special education administrators regularly encounter problems when attempting to work together to create and maintain successful special education programs. This updated and improved second edition seeks to overcome this obstacle by training readers in shared problem solving. Each chapter focuses on a specific issueincluding school reform, fiscal and human-resource matters, school governance, identification and placement, conflict resolution, program evaluation, transportation, and disciplinefollowed by real-life case studies and questions designed to encourage inclusive thinking and discussion within a cohort. These real-life case studies are an ideal way to hone problem-solving skills in the safety of the classroom and prepare for real-world situations. The second edition integrates new legislation, such as IDEA 2004 and No Child Left Behind, and discusses contemporary developments including Response to Intervention (RtI). Enhanced graphics and semantic maps effectively highlight key terms and concepts. The authors have added a new section featuring concept maps and key vocabulary terms for each case study. Instructors will appreciate this invaluable tool to facilitate discussion and promote critical thinking about the elements presented in each chapter.