Distance learning
for special education:
How to deliver
better remote
learning outcomes

The U.S. Census Bureau found that 93% of households with school-age children reported their children engaged in some form of "distance learning" from home during the pandemic.

Following an Executive Order from President Biden, the Department of Education released a report on the impact of COVID-19 on students (both K-12 and higher education). The report outlines both impacts on all students, as well as certain groups. "Observation 4" specifically dealt with how COVID-19 affected distance learning for special education. It found "COVID-19 has significantly disrupted the education and related aids and services needed to support their academic progress and prevent regression. And there are signs that those disruptions may be exacerbating longstanding disability-based disparities in academic achievement."

Educators, parents and students understand that remote learning for special education comes with its own set of challenges that require a multi-faceted approach to ensure these students have the best learning experiences possible.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 14% of all public school students receive some form of special education services.

A 2021 report from the New York State Comptroller Office found that students with disabilities who participated in remote learning in 2020 likely fell behind. It was difficult for many schools to effectively implement individualized education programs (IEPs) in a remote environment, especially when considering most parents were likely juggling remote work and child care issues with their child's distance learning special education needs. The report also found:

• Forty-six percent of special education students received none or only half of the services included in their individualized education programs (IEP).
• As of January 2021, 13% of special education students weren't receiving or were only partially receiving related services, such as occupational and physical therapy, speech or counseling services.

Separate reports also indicate a lack of opportunities for students to develop key social and fine motor skills, and failure to reach the same developmental milestones are results of COVID-19 distance learning for special education.

Though many educators worked admirably to try and maintain learning continuity for special education students, it is difficult to foster the same level of educational engagement in a virtual environment as it is in a traditional classroom. Special education services are typically delivered in specialized classrooms in small groups with specialized educators, and providers often deliver related support services face-to-face using specialized equipment and hands-on activities. However, in a distance learning environment, these services aren't always delivered as effectively. The New York State study found parents of special needs children were more than twice as likely to say distance learning wasn't going well, compared to parents whose children didn't receive special education services.

In some cases, schools adopt hybrid technologies, schedules and arrangements that allow students to learn in person. However, schools have had to set up distance learning infrastructure rapidly—it takes time, resources and significant investments in training to help teachers learn and apply best practices for improving learning effectiveness in remote environments.

The Council for Exceptional Children suggests the following strategies for distance learning for special education:

• Create a supportive learning environment with regular touchpoints that demonstrate consistency and reliability. Ongoing collaboration between student and teacher is critical to implementing an engaging and supportive online learning environment.
• Use a mix of learning tools that are readily available for better engagement, including videos, online games, websites and worksheets.
• Break learning into smaller chunks to establish a pattern of activity and due dates.
• Use breakouts for individual and group projects.

Implementing the right technologies—those that are easy to use and that require fewer resources—with remote learning for special education can help mitigate many of the difficulties mentioned above while also implementing the suggested strategies. Involvement from parents and caregivers is crucial to success with distance learning for special education students. According to a special report from EdWeek, Bridging Distance for Learners With Special Needs, it's essential to proactively reach out to families for their input and perspective about their goals for distance learning and which technologies will best support their children's specific needs.

The best video collaboration tools can provide secure opportunities for students, teachers and parents to communicate, including as small groups in separate virtual rooms. Useful features include shareable whiteboards and in-app intelligence to capture the most important discussion points, assign action items and replay meeting highlights to help reinforce key educational objectives.

The key is to maximize the different features these tools offer to engage students in different ways. For example, teachers can use screen sharing to host interactive activities with students, such as different learning, card or memory games students can play to earn badges and awards. Teachers can also use these platforms to conduct virtual scavenger hunts, calling on students to find something in their home or their immediate surroundings based on a specific item the teacher says out loud or lists on the screen. This is a great way to bridge the gap between students' online and offline worlds and get them more engaged.

Modern collaboration tools should be able to provide accessible features such as automatic closed captioning, keyboard accessibility, high-contrast user elements and support for common screen readers.

When it comes to distance learning for special education, teachers and support providers can use virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) tools for activities such as speech therapy, leveraging these tools' voice and speech recognition capabilities to help with tasks like pronunciation. They also can use these tools to bring simulated environments to online classrooms, such as virtual science labs for students.

VR and AR apps also can help teachers make individualized teaching plans more accessible to students and create experiential-based learning tailored to each student's particular learning style, such as converting text to audio experiences for students with visual impairments or using visuals for those with hearing challenges. Schools can use assistive technology capabilities within digital collaboration platforms in other ways, as well, such as speech-to-text features that allow students with mobility challenges to communicate. Additionally, teachers can use these platforms to voice or video record content for students, which may provide more flexibility for parents who are supporting IEP plans from home.

VR gives students with disabilities, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder, the opportunity to practice every day "real world" skills in a safe environment. One of the biggest benefits of training students in this way is that students can learn from realistic scenarios without the risk of practicing an unfamiliar skill in an uncontrolled real-life situation.