Teaching Children with Special Needs: Complete Career Guide

Teaching children with special needs requires a special type of person — one who has not only special skills and qualifications but also the right attitude and ambition. Becoming a special needs educator is a unique opportunity to help frame and develop the minds of young people.

As an inclusive educator, you’ll need to learn how to use specialised learning material and equipment and also how to apply specialised educational techniques — wanting to discover more about this role and the industry? Then read on below.

Inclusive education is a system in place where all students, regardless of their learning capabilities, can be placed in the same classroom. Those with disabilities are provided with the proper support and systems to help them integrate inclusively in the same educational space as those without disabilities.

By teaching special needs students in schools, it can enable the students both to feel included and also attend a school that is close to their home, while still meeting their educational needs.

Though challenging, a career as an Australian special needs teacher would be one of the most rewarding types of teaching jobs you could have. If you’re up for the challenge of providing quality care, support and friendship, then this career could be for you.

Teaching students with special needs will come with a multitude of challenges. Knowing how to deal with a special needs child is of the utmost importance in any teaching role, but it’s especially crucial for a special needs teacher. You should do your research and know what you’re going into before choosing special needs teaching as your career of choice. Here’s a list of essential things you need to know about before pursuing a career as a special needs teacher:

It’s recommended that you do your research by speaking with other special needs teachers who may be able to give you further advice to help you decide on whether a job as a special needs teacher is right for you.

If it doesn’t seem like the right fit, you can still venture into education through another position, such as in support services.

To better understand the role, it’s good to keep in mind the list of responsibilities and tasks you’ll be required to undertake as a special needs teacher.

As you are teaching special education, you’ll have more tasks and duties than most regular school teachers, meaning you’ll dedicate a lot more hours to your job.

Your list of tasks include:

The term’ special needs’ is used to describe a vast array of diagnoses and disabilities. Ranging from physical and developmental to behavioural and sensory, generally, these students face learning difficulties that require special attention or amendments to help them better adapt and learn.

Knowing the different types of disabilities out there is vital for a special education role. You need to understand how to effectively manage and educate the children based on the methods that best work for their disability.

You can start out your quest to become a special needs teacher by completing an Education course. There’s plenty to choose from, including a Certificate III in Education Support or the very popular Bachelor of Education and then entering Special Needs postgraduate courses or by choosing an undergraduate degree that includes special needs teaching aspects.

You can also take a more roundabout route to become a special needs teacher. You could, for example, take TAFE courses in education, such as TAFE Certificate IV in Education Support.

The certificate allows you to become a teacher’s assistant, which includes support for special needs teachers.

You’ll also undertake subjects that involve learning about the behaviour of children and how you can support their development in fields such as literacy and numeracy, plus loads more.

There are heaps of courses available, and you have the opportunity to pick one that’s most suited to your needs, whether that be through online study or on a part-time basis.

The industry of education is one of the fastest-growing industries in Australia. Every year, Australia’s education system attracts students from all around the world, making it a $20 billion export industry.

Employment within the education sector is predicted to grow by 12% over the next five years as we become internationally recognised as a world-class leader in education. As the population continues to grow, so does the need for more specialised and qualified teachers to help guide our children for the future.

Check out our infographic below for more information on the special education industry:

In the world of education today, there’s a way higher demand for special needs teachers than before. Now that even more disabilities are recognised; more children require additional support, care and assistance with their learning and development.

Whether that’s in specialist centres, as support staff in childcare centres, primary schools or secondary schools, there’s no shortage of jobs in the education support sector.

You can also choose to pursue a career in child care or disability to further your learning in a specialised career. The beauty of this diverse career path is that you have the option to choose what you’re most passionate about and tailor your study to suit.

Whether you’re on the hunt for a career change or beginning your job search, there’s a multitude of job outcomes available. These include:

So long as you have qualifications in education or education support, finding a career path that suits you should be no issue. It’s all about trying to find what you’re passionate about and what you believe you’re good at.

No matter where the job takes you, a career in special education will be an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling role.

Special needs teaching is an incredibly complex and fast-paced type of position. No two days will ever be the same, and unfortunately, every child will respond differently to your methods. Such a role must understand how different disabilities work and what methods work best based on the type of disability.

You can roughly divide disability into four branches; physical, developmental, sensory and behavioural. This includes teaching kids with learning disabilities like ADHD, above-average intelligence (gifted) and children who are on the autism spectrum, as well as children with physical disabilities.

Mild learning disabilities might require the use of extra visual cues in lessons or more physical activities that can still occur in a traditional school environment. Still, more severe special needs could also include aspects of physical therapy and one-on-one classes in special education schools.

It’s important to remember that even if you’re teaching special needs children in an inclusive education school environment, you need to customise learning programs to their individual or additional needs.

You also need to develop programs with parents – to the parent’s capabilities – so that they can continue to promote learning and development at home. Furthermore, your programs need to address children’s social, emotional and behavioural needs.

There’s also a range of different strategies that special needs teachers will often include to help them with their teaching methods. Some of these strategies include:

No matter what methods or strategies you undertake in teaching your students, a good teacher will continue to research and implement different methods that can best help the students develop.

Is there really a career path more rewarding than dedicating the time and support to help the development and learning of gifted and special needs kids? Start your career today with one of these popular childhood education and care courses.

What may come as a surprise to most is that gifted or highly intelligent students are also listed as special needs students. These students with higher abilities do not perform well in ordinary classrooms as their special needs are often left unattended or underdeveloped.

What is commonly found amongst gifted students is their tendency to act up and disrupt the class; this is because they can find the class content to be boring and not challenging enough. The hardest part about teaching gifted students is to keep them challenged and motivated with innovative lessons and creative teaching methods.

A few key things to keep in mind about gifted students include:

If you’re ever lucky enough to have the opportunity to teach a gifted child, you must do your research and figure out what’s best for that child.

Special Needs teaching is as rewarding as it is challenging, but the effect you will have on a child’s life is something that makes this such an important career. If you want to start making a difference today, begin your career through one of the education courses on offer; or, continue your path in a disability or child care course instead.

No matter what field you choose to go into, the education industry is one that is both challenging and rewarding and is perfect for anyone who is up for both.