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The first step in addressing special needs in any classroom is recognizing which students are struggling. This can be done in a variety of ways, but the most simple method, and the one I typically use, is to observe my students during individual or group work time and see who is less engaged or appears confused. Looking at patterns in assignment or test performance can also be a helpful indicator of a student that may be struggling and needs a little extra assistance in some way. This step must be completed before attempting to classify the nature of the need.

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Students tend to fall into regular patterns of behavior after the first few weeks of classes. Knowing what to look out for can help you identify students who are struggling and provide an opportunity to intervene and get them back on track.

The common metrics typically used for identifying struggling students - grades and attendance - sometimes do not catch a student in time for effective intervention. These identifiers can also miss students who might be getting by but could do better with a little bit of help.

So, what are some other markers you can use to identify students who might need extra help or a bit of encouragement?

1. Keep an eye out for patterns of poor study practices.

Those students with poor time-management techniques often submit assignments last minute. These students will typically struggle since they do not carve out time to sufficiently work on or study the course material. Fortunately, these patterns of behavior usually appear early in the course and can be immediately addressed. Also watch for those students who do well on take-home assignments but do poorly on in-class work, quizzes, or tests. This behavior usually indicates that the student is getting outside help to complete assignments and is not spending enough time to learn the material on their own. While this is often a sign that a student is relying too much on outside help to complete course work, it can also be an indicator of academic dishonesty.

2. Watch for avoidance behavior, such as the student who avoids answering questions when called on or doesn't participate in group work.

Students with a poor grasp of material tend to avoid speaking up in class. Struggling students can also show signs of frustration, anger, or anxiety when asked to answer questions or work on problems in class; especially if they do not have a firm grasp of the material or are struggling with a topic. With group work, students who are having difficulty tend to copy down answers rather than participate in discussion or group activities.

3. Look for changes in attendance such as missing class or showing up to class late or leaving early.

A student who begins to have difficultly later in the course might change their attendance behavior. Changes in attendance behavior can also indicate an outside issue, work schedule conflicts, family problems, etc. which could potentially influence a student's success in the course.

While each of these alone might not indicate a student is having a problem, several of these behaviors together can indicate that the student in question is encountering difficulty either with the material or a situation outside of the classroom. It is important to remember that students struggle in class for a range of reasons, some of which are unrelated to course material.

Once you have identified students who might need additional assistance what can you do to help?

For immediate in-class interventions, the Search Institute has great suggestions for working with struggling students. For help beyond the classroom:

Reach out to the student either face-to-face, where appropriate, or via email.

Offer to meet them individually to discuss their course progress and how you can help to support them.

During your meeting work with the student to identify the issues they are having.

Is it time management?

Are they working and do not have time to study?

Is it a prerequisite topic deficiency that is causing problems?

After identifying the issue, come up with a plan. Sometimes even the smallest act can help a student.
For example, I once had a student sit in my office and work on homework for 20 minutes once a week. She occasionally asked questions but she improved her homework grade on her own simply because working in my office removed the fear of doing the work by herself.

It is also good to know what resources your school offers for students as sometimes students are not aware of available resources. Knowing what your school or department supports in terms of free and private tutoring and what resources your school provides in terms of counseling and personal support gives you options for directing students to additional help.

Part of being an instructor is building an intuition for student behaviors. Knowing what to look for can help you help your students.

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How to Identify & Help Struggling Students

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Sometimes struggling students aren't noticed until their grades and attendance are already diminishing. What are some signs to help with early intervention to help them get on track?

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IRIS | Page 2: Distinguishing Between Disability and Language Difference

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Delays in social and communication development might occur when children are learning two or more languages. Because such delays can be red flags for further developmental problems in the areas of social-emotional development and cognition, early childhood educators must determine their cause: langu…

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As the chart shows, if one of the behaviors is observed in a student, further trials can be conducted to differentiate between the two causes.

For example, in my English as a foreign language classroom, if a student doesn't understand the instructions I give in English...

I, or the Japanese Teacher of English (JTE), can repeat the instructions in Japanese. If the student then understands after that, we can conclude that it was a language misunderstanding rather than a different cause.

If the student still doesn't understand, or doesn't carry out the instructions properly, then we can assume there is another underlying learning need present.

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Some behaviors the student displays may be characteristic of either a language or special need, or both. Therefore, more information must be gathered in order to gain a full-picture understanding and accurately classify the student's need.

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In order to distinguish a learning need from a special need, a student's overall academic and social performance should be considered. We can observe...

the student's grades in classes other than English. At my school, every other subject is taught fully in Japanese, so if the student is only struggling with a language need, their scores in other subjects should reflect this.

the student's proficiency level/rate of reading and writing in their native language, Japanese, compared with English. This will clearly display if there is a pattern of struggles, or if the students merely lacks the knowledge and skills in English. This step can be carried out in collaboration with the student's other subject teachers or homeroom teacher, as they would help to build a clearer understanding of the student's performance overall, as opposed to the limited observations I can make only in their English class.

the student's social functioning. How does the student interact with other students and teachers? Does the student participate in any club activities outside of class? These observations will help determine if the student is struggling with an area of development other than only language.

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After we have determined whether the student is struggling with language or a different learning need, our approach can become more individualized and involved.

For example, we can administer further evaluations or tests to determine the exact nature of the learning need (medical exams, school counselor intervention, family consultation, etc).

This step must be carried out with lots of care and sensitivity, as my school, like in many Asian countries, has some stigmas and neglect when it comes to special learning needs. Therefore, ensuring the information is kept private, but also encouraging an open, accepting environment around the child is crucial to support them through the evaluation and diagnosis processes.

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Response to intervention usually involves the following:

Monitoring all students' progress closely to identify possible learning problems

Providing children who are having problems with help on different levels, or tiers

Moving children to tiers that provide increasing support if they do not show sufficient progress

Students who are struggling in school can also have individual evaluations. An evaluation can:

Identify whether a child has a learning disability

Determine a child's eligibility under federal law for special education services

Help develop an individualized education plan (IEP) that outlines help for a child who qualifies for special education services

Establish benchmarks to measure the child's progress

A full evaluation for a learning disability includes the following:

A medical exam, including a neurological exam, to rule out other possible causes of the child's difficulties. These might include emotional disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and brain diseases.

Reviewing the child's developmental, social, and school performance

A discussion of family history

Academic and psychological testing

Usually, several specialists work as a team to do the evaluation. The team may include a psychologist, a special education expert, and a speech-language pathologist. Many schools also have reading specialists who can help diagnose a reading disability.

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How are learning disabilities diagnosed?

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Response to intervention usually involves the following: Monitoring all students' progress closely to identify possible learning problems Providing children who are having problems with help on different levels, or tiers Moving children to tiers that provide increasing support if they do not show sufficient progress Students who are struggling in school can also have individual evaluations.

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After the student's specific need is identified, we can construct a collaborative plan of action moving forward in order to best support the student.

Options include...

specific special needs schools in Japan, if the need is severe enough for the student to require a school focused on addressing them individually.

additional support resources such as assistive technology devices or programs.

supplementary time spent with a teacher to address the problem areas.

referral to a specialist for further assistance if the nature of the need exceeds the school's capabilities.

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Special Needs Education is education for students with disabilities, in consideration of their individual educational needs, which aims at full development of their capabilities and at their independence and social participation. Special Needs Education is carried out in various forms, including in resource rooms, in special classes ( both are in regular schools ), and in special schools named "Schools for Special Needs Education".

Formerly, special schools had been established separately by types of disabilities, as "Schools for the Blind", "Schools for the Deaf" and "Schools for the Intellectually Disabled, the Physically Disabled and the Health Impaired". However, the number of children with multiple disabilities is recently increasing, and in order to appropriately meet their needs, the School Education Law was partially amended and enacted in FY 2007. Under the new "Schools for Special Needs Education" system, one particular school can accept several types of disabilities.

Schools for Special Needs Education are schools for children with comparatively severe disabilities. Those schools comprise four levels of departments, namely, kindergarten, elementary, lower secondary and upper secondary departments. (The elementary and the lower secondary are compulsory education.) In Schools for Special Needs Education, children learn by special curriculum, being surrounded by rich number of teachers and various facilities and equipment which meet the needs of those children. Therefore, the expense per student in Schools for Special Needs Education is about 10 times as that in regular schools.

Special Needs Education is provided also in regular schools. Special classes are small classes for children with comparatively mild disabilities that may be established in regular elementary and lower secondary schools. It may also be established as a branch class in a hospital for sick children.

There is another program of resource rooms (in regular elementary and secondary schools) where children with disabilities who are enrolled in and studying most of the time in regular classes may visit few times a week to receive special instruction. The disabilities covered in this program are speech impairment, autism, emotional disturbance, low vision, hard-of-hearing, Learning Disabilities (LD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and others.

In addition, various efforts are made in regular classes, such as instruction in small groups, team-teaching, instruction according to different achievement levels and the use of support assistants.

Furthermore, since FY2003, MEXT has commissioned all prefectures with the implementation of the "Project for the Promotion of the Special Needs Education System" in order to lay the foundation for a comprehensive education support system for children with Developmental Disorders such as LD, ADHD etc. studying in regular elementary and secondary school classes. This project has been expanded to include kindergartens and high schools in addition to elementary and secondary schools, so that consistent support is expected to be provided to children with disabilities for the whole period from infancy to employment.

MEXT has also promoted welfare education through stepped-up exchanges and joint learning of children with disabilities and those non-disabled conducted as part of school education and through awareness-raising activities targeting local residents.

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Special Needs Education is education for students with disabilities, in consideration of their individual educational needs, which aims at full development of their capabilities and at their independence and social participation. Special Needs Education is carried out in various forms, including in resource rooms, in special classes ( both are in regular schools ), and in special schools named "Schools for Special Needs Education".

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If the student was determined to have a language need, then my role as an English teacher can be more involved.

I can...

suggest or offer additional study resources to the student depending on their need (vocabulary lists, workbooks, online listening practice, etc).

meet with the student outside of the classroom for personalized tutoring.

be more aware of the student's need in the classroom, making sure to explain directions clearly and repeatedly to them, and checking in on their progress frequently throughout the class. Also, utilize higher-level students for group or pair work assignments as guides.