Mid-State RBERN

Special Education & ELLs

• New Resource on English Language Learners with Disabilities - English language learners with disabilities are a growing part of the K-12 school population in the U.S. Available knowledge on how to effectively educate these students, and measure their progress, is small but increasing. However, many educators and families have pressing questions.Impact: Feature Issue on Educating K-12 English Language Learners with Disabilities offers responses to some of those questions. In its pages are articles by experts from around the country who are helping schools meet the needs of this growing student population. Published by the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration, and Research & Training Center on Community Living, this free publication is available online at ici.umn.edu/products/impact/261/261.pdf or ici.umn.edu/products/impact/261 (text only version). A complementary print copy is available from the Institute's Publications Office at icipub@umn.edu or 612-624-4512.
• Bilingual Special Education Resources - Eastern Suffolk BOCES offers a number of bilingual special education resources here.
• Bilingual Special Education Resources - This site includes beginner software.
• Considerations When Implementing RTI with ELLs - NYSED’s Special Education Department offers a helpful chart to help with determining difference from disability.
• Day By Day NY - An online virtual calendar created for parents and young children. They also offer a translated Spanish language page.
• ELLs with Special Needs: Instructional Strategies - LD Online is a popular website on learning disabilities. This excellent WETA website offers helpful information about: attention deficit disorder, ADD / ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dysnomia, reading difficulties, and more...
• How to Address Special Education Needs in the ELL Classroom - Colorin Colorado provides articles here about: Initial Assessments, Language Acquisition or Cognitive Difficulty, Academic Interventions, Taking Cultural Factors into Account During Assessments, Special Education Support, and Hot Links.
• How to Distinguish Between Learning Difficulties and Learning Disabilities in Struggling ELLs - This document, created by Audrey Cohan and Andrea Honigsfeld, provides information on how to determine if an ELL student may have a learning disability.
• Is it a Difference or Disability? - In this TESOL International blog, Dr. Nancy Cloud and Tabetha Bernstein discuss ways to determine the true source of a student’s learning struggles
• Needs are Special - Audrey Cohan and Andrea Honigsfeld take a deeper look into the many meanings of LD when applied to ELLs
• Picture Cards - From http://do2learn.com help with learning new words
• Response to Intervention-RTI Resources - Jim Wright’s Intervention Central site offers many RTI resources as well as a blog, strategies, videos and downloads.
• RTI Resources - OCM-BOCES provided an extensive list of resources including a section on ELLs and Special Education at the bottom of the page.
• Some Myths Regarding ELLs and Special Education - This Colorin Colorado article outlines and debunks some common misconceptions regarding ELLs and special education.
• Sparklebox - A large selection of printables including topics like Behavior and ENL is offered here.
• Special Education & English Language Learners - Colorin Colorado offers special articles, blogs, books, guides, tookits and research here
• Teacher Toolbox - Provides materials and strategies which have been effective with special needs students as well as a wide range of other students.
• Twinkle - Listening cards, Handwriting worksheets, and more by grade level for special needs
• Understood - This website offers a Parent Toolkit and much more.
• US Department of Education-Office of Special Education - The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is dedicated to improving learning for individuals with disabilities ages birth through 21.They provide information about current issues in Special Education on their home page.