Special education field is witnessing constant changes to meet the requirements of the candidates with physical impairments and learning disabilities. Teachers who have patience and persistence can be successful as special education teachers and improve the life of gifted students in an excellent way. These teachers have the ability to work in different kinds of settings. Usually, they work with K-12 students, however they can even teach kids from infancy to preschool stage.

It is essential that special education teachers need to be highly skilled and qualified in order to work in the United States. They need to hold a license to teach the gifted children. The license is received once they complete their bachelor’s degree and a program on special education. Most of the special areas include children with mild or moderate disabilities, behavioural disabilities, and severe disabilities.

Job description for a special education teacher

It is difficult to become a special education teacher; however the result is always satisfying. It can be mentally and physically exhausting to work with special need students, at the same time it is a rewarding job too. The teachers need to focus on students who have autism, emotional disturbances, and hearing and visual impairments. They need to create IEP or Individual Education Program for every special student, create personalised curriculum, and set goals to meet each of their needs and abilities. Some teachers are supposed to teach in classrooms while some are required in small groups of general classrooms, it depends on various other factors.

Requirements to get the job of a special education teacher

The basic job to teach special students requires assisting general teachers in recognising the special needs or disabilities of some students. Then the teachers need to adjust their curriculum to meet the needs of children as per the IEPs or Individualized Education Programs. As they are responsible to teach candidates with different kinds of disabilities, creating the IEPs is pretty essential. Some children will need flash cards to make them read, while others may need teachings on life skills.

Besides the education qualifications, these special teachers require to be calm, patient, inspiring, accepting, and organized. It is important that teachers excel in communication skills, because what matters most is to interact well with the children. In addition to this, special education teachers need to talk to parents, counsellors, and general teachers as well. All of them need to work together and bring out positive outcomes.

For basic level special needs students, a bachelor’s degree is required. While for high level students, a master’s degree is required. Additionally, a special education program has to be completed too. In addition to this, some of the states in the United States ask for special tests from the teachers too.

There are special education degree courses available online too. It has become convenient for the teachers to get their education and degree from the internet. If you are ready, go ahead and start applying for one of the noblest job on the planet.