Teaching Students with Severe Disabilities

Summary: In the authors' own words, "the lives of people with severe disabilities, as well as those of their parents and families, can be complex and difficult for others to understand. Similarly, teachers and other service providers for these persons often face challenges, many of which cannot be fully appreciate by their friends or even some of their co-workers. Helping to make life better for other people doesn't necessari...ly make one's own life worse, but it also doesn't make it simpler or easier. We don't; expect this book to achieve this outcome either, but if it moves readers in a positive direction and helps them expend their energy more effectively, we will have been successful." Drawing on their own personal experience, the authors of Teaching Students with Severe Disabilities present information in a way that makes the most complex findings of research understandable and usable in the real educational world. This book offers comprehensive coverage of all of the issues that are pertinent to teaching students with severe disabilities. The authors clearly and completely address both methodology and curriculum, presenting topics in the order in which a teacher would approach them: prior considerations, planning and assessment, general instructional procedures, and, finally, procedures targeted to learners with specific disabling conditions. In addition, they pay thoughtful attention to assessment, the role of paraprofessionals, and multicultural concerns. [read more]