Math - The Lower Levels

Although many teachers have taken courses or have attended workshops for Special Needs Education, not all of those teachers have had the practical experience in a strictly Special Needs class. Of course the differentiation in lessons is always important. Teaching to Special Needs students who are integrated into a mainstream classroom is a challenge, especially those who learn differently.

I had never put much thought into working in a Special Needs School coming through Teachers College; however after moving over to England I was approached by a school to see if I’d want to teach with them. This Special School focusses mainly on students with Autism, however also includes students with Down’s syndrome, Moderate to Severe Physical Disabilities, Severe Behaviour Problems, and so many more. I have learned so much since beginning to work at this school, but my major growth as an educator has come in the area of PMLD Math.

PMLD stands for Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities. These students work at the very basic level. Some examples of work they do in math are practice grasping and letting go of objects, parachute games with putting on and taking off coloured balls, practicing to put objects in a container and taking them out, stacking blocks on top of each other, just to name a few. Although these students are working at such low levels education wise, the hardest part for me was finding age appropriate yet skill level appropriate tasks for these students to complete. For examples, although these students love interacting with the Smartboard to various number songs, those songs aren’t necessarily age appropriate for them. Students work alongside the other, more abled classes in the unit that they are doing, however the learning object is very different from them. If other classes are working with money and how to count money, etc. the PMLD class could be working on putting coins into a container or picking them out of different textural items. Sensory activities are key to these students, as it interests most of them and encourages participation.

I have encountered many challenges along the way and still am today. For me, it’s challenging to think at such a basic level. I have relied on my colleagues so much and have not been afraid to ask questions. This experience has opened my eyes to continued learning throughout my career. I’m always learning alongside the students, no matter what their level.

There are a few websites that I recommend for finding food SEN resources. TES and Twinkl both offer free and low priced resources for teachers to use. These resources are highly use in the school I'm currently working at. 

Do you have any experience teaching the lower levels in a Special Education class or mainstream integration? Could you offer any advice?