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Teachers want to educate all of the students in their classroom. Unfortunately, not all students arrive to class with the same knowledge, abilities, or skills. In most public schools' general education classes, there are several students that have been identified as requiring special education services. The majority of students enrolled in special education services are identified in a few categories of disabilities. These categories as described by the Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 1997) are learning disabilities, mental retardation, behavior disorders, and communication disorders. The prevalence of school-age students in the United States who have high incidence disabilities were (1999-2000):
Students with attention deficit disorder are another concern of many teachers since it is the most commonly identified childhood disorder. Though students with attention deficit disorder are often not identified as needing special education services, their inattentive behaviors require interventions from general and special education teachers. Gifted and talented students are included under special education in many states. Though there is no federal funding for gifted programs, most states do provide special services to students who are identified as gifted and/or talented. The author's intent in this chapter is to give teachers a brief overview of the high incidence exceptionalities they will encounter in their classroom. It will also supply links for more information as well as strategies and methods to teach students who may not always learn through traditional education. Though at first glance students with exceptionalities may seem difficult to educate, these children have more in common with typical students (who are themselves quite diverse) than they are different. With training and practice, general and special education teachers can learn to successfully educate students with high incidence exceptionalities.
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