"Change happens one person at a time." My students with special learning needs demonstrate the truth of this statement. As a Special Education teacher, I work with each of my gifted and beautiful scholars to give them the best supports possible to ensure their success.
Our school is a small, nurturing public community school in New York City.
Our diverse student body scholars from all over the city including the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. My students are eighth graders who have special learning needs. They learn together with general education students in an Integrated Co-Teaching classroom, which allows the opportunity for students with special learning needs to work with general education students while two teachers in the classroom: one Special Education teacher and one General Education teacher. My students are bright, talented and curious learners who often do not demonstrate their gifts and talents at first glance. One student is shy and quiet but a brilliant artist, another has verbal tics due to Tourette's Syndrome, but gave a flawless performance from a scene from Of Mice & Men.
My Project
My student with Tourette's Syndrome and Tic Disorder has struggled with school his entire 8th grade year because he cannot simultaneously control his verbal tics and write by hand at the same time. As a result he is often unable to complete classwork or take any notes. However, when given an iPad this past week during English, he was not only able to complete the classwork assignment, but he even began to work on an extension of the assignment! Having the iPad to type his work, rather than write it by hand made a world of difference. He went from 10-15% productivity to 100% productivity and was extremely proud of his work. He smiled and asked me, "how can I get an iPad for me?"
Having an iPad in my classroom for my students with special learning needs will have a dramatic impact on their learning and productivity.
For my student with Tic Disorder, we discovered that not only does using the iPad to type allow him to do the classwork and take notes, but he also no longer exhibited the verbal tics while he was using the iPad to type his work. This iPad will literally change a student's life!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Chao and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
