Including Students With Special Needs: A Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers

This single most-adopted Inclusion text worldwide continues to provide the best source of practical strategies for teaching students with special needs in inclusive settings.  Filled with examples and vignettes, the emphasis is always on teaching methods that promote student independence at all education levels.  Its non-categorical approach helps teachers ensure all students’ success regardless of their specific categories of exceptionality. 

The new edition provides significantly updated information about IDEA and NCLB, including their impact on IEPs, and the latest ideas and information about inclusive practices in the context of contemporary public education, and the dilemmas that teachers often face in appropriately educating students with disabilities in general education settings. Unique topics include the rights of general education teachers, comprehensive treatment of assessment and evaluation, examples of accommodations for students with significant disabilities, information about gifted underachievers, functional behavior assessment and behavior plans, and how to be proactive in dealing with student behavior.

This bestselling Inclusion text continues to provide the best source of practical strategies for teaching students with special needs in inclusive settings. Filled with examples and vignettes, the emphasis is always on teaching methods that promote student independence at all education levels. Its non-categorical approach helps teachers ensure all students success regardless of their specific categories of exceptionality.

Highlights of the Fifth Edition

• Updated discussion of NCLB and IDEA 2004.
• NEW coverage of students with Asperger Syndrome and more prominent and detailed coverage of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
• New coverage of Response to Intervention (RTI) as an option for identifying students who may have learning disabilities, and relevant new information about Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA).
• IDEA 2004 changes beyond RTI, especially as they affect the possibility of 3-year IEPs, the potential dropping of short-term IEP objectives, procedures for resolving disagreements between parents and school districts, and how social skills are being addressed on IEPs in this era of school reform and accountability for academic achievement.

Integrated Multimedia Resources

MyEducationLab is a research-based learning tool that brings special education teaching to life. Through authentic in-class video footage, interactive simulations, rich case studies, and more, MyEducationLab prepares you for your teaching career by showing you what quality special education instruction looks like, providing examples of authentic teacher and student work, and much more. What s more, MyEducationLab is easy to use.

In the Friend & Bursuck textbook, look for the MyEducationLab logo in the margins of the text and follow the simple link instructions to access the MyEducationLab video or activity that corresponds with the chapter content. For more information, go to www.myeducationlab.com.

See what Readers have to say

The information in this text is all valuable and important for the students we teach. Friend and Bursuck have done a comprehensive job in covering the very topics that educators should be aware of, know something about, or master. I commend the authors for such a fine job pulling together this very critical material.

- Janetta Fleming Bradley, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

The style of writing is user-friendly. It feels like a conversation between a mentor and teacher is taking place.

- Melina Alexander, Weber State University

The use of student examples woven throughout the chapters makes the book very clear and realistic for future teachers who are coming to grips with the idea of inclusion. There are many practical and understandable real-life examples throughout the book.

- Dr. Genevieve Howe Hay, College of Charleston