What is Special Education?

Written By Janey Heard

What is Special education

Many Special education teachers have probably experienced the following sentences at least once in their careers:

  • Oh wow you must be so patient!

  • Oh wow you are an angel!

  • OH wow I couldn’t do that!

  • Aww those poor sweet souls….

And if any of my fellow special educators are like me, these kinds of sentences are very frustrating. Personally, I try not to snap back and take these kinds of sentences,but take them with a grain of salt. Reason being is that many people just don’t know. They have not had the exposure to the community I work with enough to understand that my patience is tested everyday. To understand that no i am no angel, that yes my kids are sweet, but can be just as sneak as any other “typical” student. That special education is a service 

With that said I want to make a quick post about what special education is. This post will be more factual in the sense of defining special education and the different special education categories as well as the different rooms and services provided. I will probably make later posts about more specifics as to scenarios that may occur in special education, or about each room/service, or even the different disability categories. And each of those will be more in depth. But todays will be on a more surface level.

To start out, “special education encompasses the programs which serve students with mental, physical, emotional, and behavioral disabilities” ((Riser-Kositsky Special education: Definition, statistics, and Trends). I have met and encountered many people and students who have referred to my students as the “SPED kids” or the “special ed kids.” Or have referred to my classroom as the “special ed room” when I try to explain that special education is a set of services not a place. And that will always be a work in progress. 

The next thing I wanted to address are the different rooms/services that student may receive in a special education classroom. Below is a list of those settings and services. 

  • Self contained

  • Autism

  • Mild- Moderate

  • Affective needs

  • Inclusive classrooms

  • The IEP

  • Push in 

  • Pull outs

  • OT

  • PT

  • O&M

  • SLP

  • Specialty schools

  • Residential programs

    • (Slaughter A detailed look at the different types of special education)

This list is may not encompass EVERYTHING within the world of special education, but I feel that it is a good basic start for those who may not be fully immersed into the world of special education. 

Now, within the realm of special education there are 14 disability categories. I do want to eventually do a series where I write a post about each category, so keep an eye out for that! Below are the 14 different categories as listed on the Colorado Department of Education website. If you go to https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/sd-main there is a link and a person to contact for more information listed under each disability category. 

  1. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

  2. Deaf-Blindness

  3. Developmental Delay

  4. Hearing Impairment, Including Deafness

  5. Infant/Toddler with a Disability

  6. Intellectual Disability

  7. Multiple Disabilities

  8. Orthopedic Impairment

  9. Other Health Impaired (OHI)

  10. Serious Emotional Disability (SED)

  11. Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

  12. Speech or Language Impairment

  13. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

  14. Visual Impairment, Including Blindness

I hope this post helps with the basics of the disability categories and the services that a student that is receiving special education services may receive. I will plan a series on the different disability categories and the different settings and services within special education later on. But for the meantime I hope this helps/ 

References

  • Riser-Kositsky, Maya. “Special Education: Definition, Statistics, and Trends.” Education Week, Education Week, 11 Mar. 2025, www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/special-education-definition-statistics-and-trends/2019/12. 

  • Slaughter, Lesley. “A Detailed Look at the Different Types of Special Education.” Soliant Health, 3 May 2022, www.soliant.com/blog/a-detailed-look-at-the-different-types-of-special-education/. 

  • “Disability Categories.” CDE, www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/sd-main. Accessed 5 May 2025. 


Janey Heard
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