Identifying special needs

If you’re a teacher with little or no experience in special education, identifying children and adolescents with potential disabilities may seem an impossible task. Drawing from her experience as an educational psychologist, and general education and special education teacher, Glynis Hannell offers guidelines to help you quickly recognize and categorize the specific characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, emotional-behavioral disorders, cognitive disabilities, speech or language impairment, health-related disabilities, and more.

Using the practical checklists and resources in this guide, teachers can quickly and accurately gather key information to determine whether individual students need specialized assessment, attention, and services while complying with the law. Organized according to internationally accepted criteria, this fully revised new edition shows educators how to

• Quickly record important information and avoid writing time-consuming reports
• Incorporate the day-to-day observations of parents and/or therapists
• Track significant changes over time
• Recognize the symptoms and underlying causes of specific disorders
• Know when and how to refer a student for further assessment
• Request and prepare for an intervention or IEP team meeting
• Address the learning and environmental needs of students with specific disorders/disabilities in the inclusive or general education classroom setting

Discover the telltale signs of specific disabilities and equip yourself with the tools you need to ensure that all of your students receive the services they need to succeed.