Regardless of what subject or grade they teach, the goal of teachers is basically the same: to put their students on the road to being successful adults. But in the world of the special education teacher, that road can be paved with potholes, speed bumps and outright road blocks. Everyday, special education teachers around the world strive to peel the ”disabled” sticker that society can sometimes place on their students and reprogram them to see themselves not as “disabled” but “differently-abled.”

WeAreTeachers and our partner, PCI Education, a leader in special education learning, see the groundbreaking work taking place in classrooms all over the world and we want to inspire more of it.

We are now accepting submissions for our “Individual Attention, Collective Impact” microgrant, which enables special education teachers to share their best practices for reaching individual students. Additionally, all of the ideas will be posted in an online gallery to educate and inspire other teachers.

Kim G., a special education teacher in Arlington, TX feels her heart swell with pride every time she shops at her local grocery store where David, a former student with Downs Syndrome, works as a bagger. Friendly and affable, David is well known and liked amongst store patrons as well as one of the store’s most valued employees for his reliability and positive attitude. Kim remembers when David was one of her students, he was sweet and gentle, but frightened and sometimes picked on by the mainstream students.  “David was scared to talk to anyone because he wasn’t sure how he would be treated,” Kim explained, “it was heartbreaking because you knew he wanted to engage people, but he had some bad experiences and now was very leery and withdrawn.”

David’s parents were also afraid to encourage their son to shine, they themselves were so traumatized from hearing David tearfully, desperately recount the day a boy had frightened him in the school cafeteria with a lit match that they had curbed their urging that David participate in regular school functions.

Kim and her special education colleagues worked hard with David and his parents to draw him out and make him more assertive and self-determined and lo and behold, after years of gentle pushing and inspiring, David applied at the grocery store where he has worked since he finished school.

Special education teachers everywhere can relate to David’s story. Along with their special learning needs, students often come in with a special set of concerns: ridicule, fear, and uncertainty about the future. But special education teachers face these needs each day with a bold determination to help students, and sometimes parents, get to a place where they can be appreciated for their individual skills and talents.

The following video talks about how teachers at the O’Hearn School of Massachusetts are working towards this goal through the technique of full inclusion teaching.

Just as the O’Hearn School is using innovative techniques, teachers all over the world are finding and tailoring special solutions to their students individual needs.

Do you have a great special education idea that you would love to share? It’s not too late! The deadline for submissions is November 13th, so apply now! You could win $200 in cash and a flip video camera to capture the implementation of your idea and share with the WeAreTeachers community. And don’t forget to sign up to be a part of our Special Education microcommunity to stay connected with important news, blogs, and people in the special education field.