Importance of Online Learning in the Special Needs World

The world of special needs is full of complications but when you peep into it, more often than not, you are greeted with immense abilities. What happens to these abilities totally depends on how they are handled. And unfortunately, they rarely meet the right kind of guidance at the right time.

As a society, we fail to acknowledge special needs and fill in the gaps. All we give our specially-abled fellow humans is sympathy or ignorance. And that is why in most cases, they slip through the cracks of our traditional education system and miss out on opportunities.

Special Education in the US

In the US, children qualify for special education if they are diagnosed with 13 disabilities defined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This list includes disabilities like Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emotional Disturbance, Intellectual Disability, Orthopedic Impairment, Speech or Language Impairment and Traumatic Brain Injury, etc.

Children who qualify for special education services receive early instruction and intervention from trained experts. IEPs — individualized Education Program is the name of the service offered at school.

More often than not, the kind of services offered to them does not match their abilities given that a huge number of learning issues may be related to a particular disability and the response is often standardized. As a result, there are too many instances where children find the intervention offered to them to be insufficient and unsatisfactory.

Online Tutoring to the Rescue

Online tutoring is one efficient tool that can turn the tables for specially-abled. In some cases, it can be the only tool that makes learning possible for a student who is physically unable to be present at school or any other place of learning. Let’s talk about the key benefits of online learning that make it important for the special needs community.

1. Completely Eliminates Commutation

Commutation is one of the biggest problems faced by the special needs community. Special needs students are often dependent on caregivers to move around and the process consumes the time of both parties.

Online learning eliminates the need for commutation. It gives students the freedom to attend their classes without any help. They just need a PC or a laptop and a good internet connection. Other than that, there is no dependency and the arrangement saves time for everyone involved.

2. Enables Students to Learn at an Individualized Pace

Online tutoring provides special needs children with a chance to learn at their individualized pace. One-on-one sessions enable the tutors to break down the lessons as per the individual learning requirements and it also paves the way for as many revisions as required. So, with online learning, there is no limit to how a child needs to approach a topic or how many times a lesson has to be repeated.

3. Matches Students with the Right Educators

It is important to find an educator who can understand a disability and create a learning strategy that can counter it. Special needs educators have to create effective lesson plans that can jump above learning issues to achieve goals. The best way out is by matching an experienced tutor with the student or in some cases matching a special needs student with educators who have similar learning disabilities.

4. Helps with Identification of Test Taking Abilities

Students with special needs cannot perform at par with other students when it comes to standardized testing methods. They have different test-taking abilities that are in sync with their learning abilities. Special education online tutoring makes way for structuring test prep according to learning abilities. Furthermore, tutors can individually prepare students for the tests by breaking down every type of question and simplifying the whole process.

5. Improves Self Confidence and Performance

When children receive the right guidance, they perform better at school/college. This is true for special needs children also. When they get individualized guidance, they perform better in academics and this, in turn, results in self-confidence and a newfound love for learning. Online learning also helps special needs children to forget about their limitations and overcome the anxiety attached to learning in a public setup.

6. Prepares them for Success

Online tutoring prepares special needs students for success by priming their academics while helping them understand their abilities and learning issues clearly. Its one-to-one learning sessions provide specially-abled students with special tips and tools to overcome learning differences. And arms them with the confidence they need to survive in a world that doesn’t understand their abilities.

There is no doubt that special education tutoring helps students to rise above their disabilities and achieve personal and professional goals. It helps them find their place in the world and make an impact by understanding themselves better and by learning to overcome hurdles with determination and a different approach.