Building on the Strengths of Students with Special Needs: How to Move Beyond Disability Labels in the Classroom, Mar/2017

As a must-have reference for busy teachers with little special education training, this book supplies classroom-tested instructional strategies that address the characteristics of and challenges faced by students with special needs. Dozens of differentiated strategies target teachers’ anxieties and provide responsive interventions that can be used to address specifics of IEPs and learning plans.

With Building on the Strengths of Students with Special Needs, special education expert Toby Karten focuses on specific disabilities and inclusive curriculum scenarios for learners in K–12 environments. She offers valuable advice on how to prevent labels from capping student potential and encouragement to help teachers continually improve learner outcomes. By highlighting more than a dozen disability labels, this resource walks teachers through the process of reinforcing, motivating, scaffolding, and planning for instruction that targets learners of all ability levels. Included are details relevant to each disability:

1. Possible Causes
2. Inclusion Strategies
3. Characteristics and Strengths
4. Classroom Implications

Typical instruction needs to match the diversity of atypical learners, without viewing any disability as a barrier that impedes student achievement. Teachers must not only learn how to differentiate their approach and target specific student strengths but also maintain a positive attitude and belief that all students are capable of achieving self-efficacy.

About the Author:

Toby Karten—a staff developer, instructional coach, educational consultant, author, adjunct professor, and inclusion specialist—has taught populations of learners at levels ranging from preschool to graduate school. She has collaborated with administrators, staff, students, and their families at local, national, and international school sites and educational conferences as an invited speaker and inclusion coach. She has an undergraduate degree in special education from Brooklyn College, a Master's degree in special education from the College of Staten Island, a supervisory degree from Georgian Court University, and an honorary doctorate from Gratz College. Karten has been recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children and the New Jersey Department of Education as an exemplary educator, receiving two Teacher of the Year awards. She has instructed learners across every setting in the continuum representing the least restrictive environment. Her ongoing professional goal is to help learners achieve successful inclusion experiences in school and life.