There are many different learning techniques that are involved today’s society.  Many techniques may not have been heard of because they are only used in special needs classrooms.  There are many techniques that help special education students succeed just like everyone else. People with cerebral palsy have many different techniques that they can use to overcome their disabilities.  Physical therapy helps strengthen muscles and helps with balance.  Speech pathologists use sign language to communicate with children with cerebral palsy.  They help to make their speech clearer and make it easier for them to communicate with others.  Speech pathologists also use exercises to help strengthen the muscles in the mouth area that are used for communication.  These techniques are also used with disabilities like autism.  Picture boards are also another useful tool used to help students learn.  They provide a visual image for the kids to look at and also provide for a means of communication for students that can’t talk.  A person must simply hit the picture that they desire.  Most picture boards have commands on them like “please” and “thank you” or pictures of items like food.  Another big technique is sensory integration.  This provides stimulation for the nerves in the body that would not get stimulated other wise.  Since many disabilities affect interaction with other people social skills are taught and are emphasized in the learning process.  Social skills help students to communicate with other people their age and help teach them alternative ways of communication.  Music therapy is used to calm and soothe students.  Music is also a great way for children to have fun and express themselves.  Aspergers disorder is also uses lots of the same techniques as talked about above.  Medication can also provide a solution for many of the disabilities listed above.  Most medication stimulate chemicals in the brain and are able to help make a bridge between certain connections that have been broken in the brain.  Most of these disabilities last throughout a person’s life time and over time improvement can be seen in a person.  Medication helps provide more of a long term solution to problems that many people with disabilities face.  There is much hope for overcoming disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism, and aspergers.  With much research being done new cures and learning techniques are making it possible to finding a cure.  Learning can be done in many ways.  There is no right way to learn.

http://www.ncpamd.com/aspergers.htm

http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/pediatrics/patients/Tutorials/cp.cfm

In today’s society everything has to be perfect.  Our houses, cars,  and schools.  But then why is our education system less than perfect, especially when it comes to special education.  Were to start…budget cuts, not enough learning materials, and program cuts.  Yet we are spending money on frivilous smartboards, good smelling markers, and brand new sports uniforms.  As americans we are obsessed with our schools looking “pretty” or “fancy”.  Well what good is all this fancy stuff if education programs are being cut.  Many special education programs all around the United States are getting funding cut and even worse cut all together.  Even though special education students are just like any other student they are the ones getting their budgets cut.  Shouldn’t everyone be entitled to and equal education no matter how you learn?  Instead of being so involved in “my school is better than your school because we have fancy supplies” lets focus on what really matters which is actually getting an education.  Americans view education as the most important thing, so that leads to the question of…”Why are we cutting our educational programs?”  Well there are many answer for that, but none of them are good enough.  Educational programs like special education classes should not be cut from schools because of lack of funding.  If getting an education is so important lets not forget that the kids that need the most help are the ones whos programs are being cut.

This image is really self-explanatory.  A girl is graduating from school. She has a proud grin on her face that reveals her happiness towards her success.  Success can mean many different things to different people, whether it is winning a gold metal, or simply completing a goal that one has set for themselves. People may have similar goals, but what it takes to achieve these goals is what really matters.  Different approaches must be taken to achieve goals, depending on the person.  In order to achieve goal we must all overcome some roadblock that is in our way.  Students in special education classes must overcome roadblocks that others may not have to.  Not only do they have to overcome disabilities that the rest of us don’t. They must deal with the lack of special education teachers and the lack of funding.  Nevertheless they work hard and come on top.  This should be an inspiration to everyone.  It just goes to show that no matter what life deals, it is possibleto still achieve your goals no matter how big or small.  Now to address the lack of funding and teachers.   The lack of funding is ridiculous.  All students should be able to have and equal education with equal amount of funding no matter what.  This just goes to show how awesome kids that are enrolled in special education are because they still succeed even though they must deal with the unfair funding issue.  The lack of teachers is another issue that students must deal with.  Special education teachers are becoming less and less available because they are so underpaid and also because of the lack of funding.  How does this all have to do with special education students succeeding?  Well, even though they have numerous roadblocks to overcome that the rest of us don’t they still manage to earn an education and graduate.  The most inspiring thing though is that they are able to do it with a positive attitude and a grin on their faces.  So next time you complain about how hard school is and how bored you are, just remember that at least you don’t have to deal with the road blocks that special education students do.  This should be an inspiration to everyone, that no matter what life gives you; you can still come out on top and achieve your goals no matter how big or small.

http://www.district196.org/District/Departments/SpecialEducation/Index.cfm

When I think of the word help a lot comes to mind. First off helping someone should be a selfless act or one done out of the kindness of heart, not because of reward.  Helping others can be very beneficial even for the one doing the helping.  It is also important to be able to ask for help.  As hard as it may sound everyone needs help sometime or another and knowing when to ask for help is a crucial part to succeeding  in life and when asking for help one must be willing to except help.  Everyday I find myself helping others especially my peers.  When one thinks of Special Education the first word that comes is help.  Students in life skills classes receive help everyday to help them overcome their disabilities, but what many people don’t realize is that the students in special needs classes help others more than they are being helped.  They are able to teach and show the world new ways of completing tasks.  From first hand experience I have found that life skills students may not be able to help me in my math or chemistry classes, but they help me in far more rewarding endeavors.  They have taught me to have courage and to not be afraid of what other people think.  I importantly they have helped me to just be myself and be happy with who I am and to love life.  I also find joy in helping the students in ways that I can because when you have the ability to help someone you should use every available opportunity to help them.  By helping others we are able to  develop a stronger connection with others and make our communities strong through working together.  When the word help comes to mind I realize that it does not have just one set definition. It can mean different things to different people and having the ability to help is a great gift that many people take for granted.  In today’s society asking for help makes one feel dumb or non dependent, when the truth is that by asking for help one is advancing them among the rest.  Special education student or not we all have the ability to help others.  Help does not have to be academic and even the smallest help can make the biggest difference.  “Every great man is always being helped by everybody; for his gift is to get good out of all things and all persons.” John Ruskin.  Just as John Ruskin states in his quote; help gets good out of all things and all persons.

http://quotations.about.com/cs/inspirationquotes/a/Helping1.htm

In today’s world there are many different kinds of people that come from many different places, all with different experiences.  Almost everyday during lunch I find myself in the Life-skills room (special ed room) volunteering during lunch and helping the kind and wonderful students down there.  Even though this is very time consuming I love every minute of it because the kids down there teach me more than I think I could teach them.  I have learned that even though they have disabilities they find different ways to learn and prove to the rest of the world that they are just the same as everyone else.  Each and everyday I am amazed at the courage and love they display even though many people are rude and unkind to them.  I am writing this blog in the hope of informing people that even though we may look different or learn differently that we all are important and all have something to contribute, no matter our disabilities.  Even though some people need extra help learning or have to complete simple tasks in different ways we should all treat each other equally and learn to work together and not bring those that are different or appear to be different down.  By learning to not be ignorant, except people for who they are, learning to work together, and appreciate what one can contribute no matter how small; the environment around us can become a better place for everyone.