Special Needs Education: What is Learned and Where?
 |  | As in the regular school system, the special schools are composed of different grades and types of classes. The classes are formed according to the type of handicap. Children and young people of different ages may attend the same class. Various divisions may be distinguished: elementary division (grades 1 to 3), middle school division (grades 4 to 6) and upper school division (grades 7 to 9), whose classes are often referred to as practical classes. |
Curricula
Special needs teaching curricula are based on the curricula of the cantons concerned. The teaching dedicates particular attention to the aspects of motor function, perception, language development, and emotional and social development.
Special teaching for handicapped children and adolescents, as defined by invalidity insurance, is targeted to the individual: if appropriate, supplementary treatment measures are proposed (individual course, speech therapy, physiotherapy, etc.). What is necessary, above all, is to encourage the development of the personality and autonomy of handicapped people. Some children learn to read and to count, while others learn just the bare necessities of daily life (e.g., dressing themselves or eating on their own).
Learning Objectives and Content
Learning objectives and content are increasingly determined in the context of individual teaching projects designed for each pupil. This requires planning of the individualized measures capable of ensuring the adequate progress of a pupil and close collaboration between all the partners involved in providing teaching and treatment to the handicapped pupil (regular schoolteachers, specialized support teachers, and other teaching and treatment personnel.
Individual teaching projects are being increasingly offered in both special schools and special classes, as well as forms of integrative schooling.
Special needs teaching curricula are based on the curricula of the cantons concerned. The teaching dedicates particular attention to the aspects of motor function, perception, language development, and emotional and social development.
Special teaching for handicapped children and adolescents, as defined by invalidity insurance, is targeted to the individual: if appropriate, supplementary treatment measures are proposed (individual course, speech therapy, physiotherapy, etc.). What is necessary, above all, is to encourage the development of the personality and autonomy of handicapped people. Some children learn to read and to count, while others learn just the bare necessities of daily life (e.g., dressing themselves or eating on their own).
Learning Objectives and Content
Learning objectives and content are increasingly determined in the context of individual teaching projects designed for each pupil. This requires planning of the individualized measures capable of ensuring the adequate progress of a pupil and close collaboration between all the partners involved in providing teaching and treatment to the handicapped pupil (regular schoolteachers, specialized support teachers, and other teaching and treatment personnel.
Individual teaching projects are being increasingly offered in both special schools and special classes, as well as forms of integrative schooling.
