Courtesy

• When teaching students with disabilities, remember a few basic rules of common courtesy. First, do not make any assumptions about the person's ability to do work. Do not assume that, because someone has a disability, their skills are not up to par. Ask the student or their parents which types of work they have difficulty completing. Also, speak with the school guidance counselor about the nature of the child's disability. The guidance counselor usually has files on students with disabilities and these files often include information on the accommodations the student needs.
  
  

Differentiation

• If you are teaching a class with disabled and non-disabled students, you may need to use differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction refers to the use of slightly different lesson plans and approaches for different students. When you use differentiated instruction, you don't place the students in separate classes and give them separate lectures. Instead, you might give some students extra accommodations: additional resources, extra help after class and different tests or extra time on tests.
  
  

Presentation

• If you are teaching students with disabilities, modify your presentation style so that it is understandable to a wide number of students. The most important strategy here is to speak slowly in a clear voice, providing definitions for all new terms you introduce. Another strategy is to always ask the students to repeat back what you've said; this will allow you to test whether your students have understood the lesson. One very important strategy is to provide students with written outlines, so they will be prepared for the lesson before class starts. This is important for students with certain cognitive disabilities, such as dyslexia, that limit their ability to take good notes of their own.
  
  

Interaction

• Interact with your cognitively disabled students one-on-one, especially if their condition impairs their ability to take notes or follow along in class. One strategy for interacting with your cognitively disabled students is to talk to them after class and ask them questions about the material. Make clear that you are not grading them on their answers to these questions, that you simply want to know how they are progressing. Another strategy is to give your students a brief (two- to three-minute) recap of the lesson after class, highlighting the basic facts the students need to know.
  
  

Assessment

• When preparing assessments for students with cognitive disabilities, pay attention to the nature of the disability. Students with disabilities that affect their ability to take tests (e.g. reading impairments) should be given modified tests that accommodate their abilities. Students with disabilities unrelated to the test (e.g. counting skills for a reading test) should not be given extra accommodation.