Search for Personnel Preparation ProgramsWho are Special Educators, Early Intervention and Related Service Providers?
- creative problem solvers
- capable of understanding a variety of learning styles and teaching strategies
- care about the future of infants, young children and youth with disabilities and their families
- team players
- intelligent, organized and flexible
- lifelong learners
- prepared to meet the challenges of their profession with confidence and enthusiasm
Special educators, early intervention and related service providers are just like YOU…
and YOU can make a real difference in the lives of infants,
young children, and youth with disabilities.
What they do…
Special educators, early interventionists and related service providers can have many roles and responsibilities in any given educational setting. Their activities each day will be determined by the children they are working with, the kinds and severity of disabilities those students have, the children's ages and the setting in which they are working.
Finding ways to help children be successful, no matter what the task or challenge, is a very rewarding experience for everyone involved!
Where they work…
Special educators, early intervention and related service providers work in many different environments. They may work in in-home settings, local day care settings, general education classrooms or classrooms specially designed for students’ with more significant disabilities to maximize their learning. Work settings in public schools vary according to the individual needs of the student.When infants, young children, and youth with disabilities, and their families receive appropriate instruction and services from well-trained teachers, paraprofessionals, and early intervention and related service providers, they often make substantial progress in many aspects of their lives.
Who they work with…
Infants, young children, and youth with disabilities, and their families, who receive special education instruction and are provided early intervention and related services, vary greatly in their needs and backgrounds. Like all children, they…
- differ from one another in ability, age, learning style and personality;
- come from various cultural backgrounds and may speak different languages; and
- have unique learning needs.
- cognitive impairments, such as mental retardation;
- learning disabilities that require specific teaching strategies;
- physical disabilities that limit their mobility;
- sensory impairments, such as hearing loss and vision impairments;
- emotional or social disabilities;
- traumatic brain injury;
- autism;
- speech or language impairments;
- chronic health problems; and
- multiple disabilities.
