--- title: Special Education description: This field focuses on the educational practices, legal frameworks, and instructional strategies designed for students with diverse learning needs. You will understand how to develop individualized education programs and implement accommodations in inclusive classrooms. category: personal-development subcategory: education difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/special-education --- # Special Education This field focuses on the educational practices, legal frameworks, and instructional strategies designed for students with diverse learning needs. You will understand how to develop individualized education programs and implement accommodations in inclusive classrooms. ## Available Resources 3 Books • 5 Websites ## Websites ### 1. Wrightslaw.com Special education law site run by attorney Pete Wright and Pam Wright, with articles, case law summaries, and IDEA/504 explanations. Parents use it to understand their child's legal rights and prepare for IEP meetings and due process. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.wrightslaw.com/ **Tags:** special-education, iep, disability-law, parent-advocacy ### 2. Do2Learn Free printable picture cards, worksheets, social-skills lessons, and behavior-management activities for students with autism and developmental disabilities. Started under an NIH research grant; teachers and parents can assemble visual schedules, communication boards, and transition materials. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://do2learn.com **Tags:** autism, visual-supports, social-skills, printable-resources, behavior-management ### 3. Intervention Central Free tools for response-to-intervention work: generators for curriculum-based reading, math, and writing probes, behavior report cards, and the ChartDog progress grapher, alongside scripted academic and behavioral intervention plans teachers can run in a general-education classroom. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.interventioncentral.org **Tags:** rti, mtss, progress-monitoring, classroom-interventions, assessment-tools ### 4. understood.org Understood.org is a resource hub for families and educators on learning and attention issues, offering expert articles, tools, and practical guides on ADHD, dyslexia, IEPs/504 plans, accommodations, and executive function. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://understood.org **Tags:** websites, education-teaching, education ### 5. cast.org CAST.org is the Center for Applied Special Technology, a nonprofit dedicated to inclusive education through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). It offers research-based resources, guidelines, and tools for educators and families—including UDL frameworks, lesson ideas, professional development, and articles to support learners with disabilities and diverse needs. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://cast.org **Tags:** websites, education-teaching, education ## Podcasts ### 1. The Special Ed Podcast **Author:** The Noodler- Ayo Jones Welcome to The Teacher Nook with Ayo Jones of NoodleNook.Net, where we break down strategies, tools, and resources to help self-contained educators teaching students with significant disabilities including Autism. Learn tips and tricks to manage behavior, improve communication, and build vocational skills in less time and with less stress. Work smarter, not harder. Ayo Jones has coached hundreds of teachers, trained thousands of educators, and her blog has reached over a million readers. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://noodlenook.podbean.com **Tags:** special-education, autism, behavior-management, classroom-strategies, teaching-podcast ### 2. Think Inclusive **Author:** Tim Villegas Think Inclusive brings you real conversations about building schools where every learner belongs. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://rss.com/podcasts/think-inclusive-pod **Tags:** inclusive-education, disability-rights, special-education, school-inclusion, teaching-podcast ## Books ### 1. The Inclusive Classroom **Author:** Margo A. Mastropieri, Thomas E. Scruggs Textbook on teaching students with disabilities in general-education settings, organized around specific instructional and behavioral strategies. Covers differentiation, co-teaching, IEP implementation, and content-area adaptations, giving teachers concrete routines to apply across reading, math, and science lessons. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0131397990?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, education-teaching, education ### 2. Neurodiversity in the Classroom **Author:** Thomas Armstrong Argues that ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other diagnoses represent natural cognitive variation, then maps strength-based supports for each. Teachers finish with positive niche construction strategies: matching environment, technology, and role to a student's actual capabilities. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416614834?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, education-teaching, education ### 3. Special Education **Author:** Richard M. Gargiulo Survey textbook covering each IDEA disability category alongside the legal history, assessment procedures, and family and cultural context of American special education. Prepares readers to understand eligibility, the IEP process, and placement decisions across the full range of exceptionalities. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1412996953?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, education-teaching, education --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/special-education