I have been a Special Education teacher working with visually impaired and multiply impaired children for over 12 years. For the last eight years I taught primary visually handicapped children, grades kindergarten through 3rd, in Anaheim, California. As a teacher, I can attest to the fact that volunteering can be very important to the special education classroom if done properly. I have had volunteers who became as much a part of the classroom as any other professional, and I began to depend very much on their assistance.

In other cases, when volunteers are simply brought by the class and "dropped off" by the principal, they can become something that adds an extra responsibility to the already overburdened teacher. Here is a list of suggestions if you are thinking about volunteering in a special education classroom that will help ensure that your volunteer experience will be positive and beneficial. Special Education can be an extremely rewarding opportunity if approached with an understanding of what it entails.

1. Do some research on the handicapping conditions of the students in the classroom. There are many different special education programs and the students are different in each one. In my class, I had primarily totally blind students. Teaching blind children requires special techniques, even for the most basic of tasks. Be prepared and go in with some understanding of the type of children you will be working with.

2. Make an appointment to talk to the teacher and discuss volunteering with her. Usually after school is the best time for this. She will be able to share with you the kinds of things you would be doing and tell you more about the specific children in the class and their needs. Chances are you won't learn everything in one day, but it will give you both an opportunity to see if volunteering is for you.

3. Ask the teacher about her philosophy in teaching special education children, what she expects from them, class rules, and behavior policies. This is crucial! Many times volunteers come into the class with an immediate reaction to feel sorry for the students or to over accomodate for their disabilities.

If this is your reaction, don't volunteer in a special education room. Most teachers, myself included, believe that with the appropriate adaptations, our students can participate in everything that the other students do. My job as a teacher was to facilitate independence not dependence. The students were also expected to abide by the same school rules as the children in the regular education classes.

4. Find out about any specific behaviors that the students in the class may have and how you should deal with them should they arise. This one may kill your desire to volunteer, but it is something you need to be aware of. Many special education students have multiple problems and as a result, can have some behaviors that may require restraining or behavior modification techniques. As a volunteer, you would probably never be responsible for this but you should be aware of it so you can get the teacher or assistant to help.

5. In addition to the behaviors there may be special diets or other things required for certain students. Just ask the teacher or assistant if you are unsure of anything. Sometimes we as teachers forget to tell you everything, some of it you will figure out with time otherwise, always ask. The teaching assistant can be a valuable resource as well, if the teacher is unavailable.

6. Let the teacher know if your volunteer schedule needs to change. As I stated previously, once you know the ropes, you will become integral to that classrooms daily routine. The teacher will plan on you to be there. However, let's say you suffered a panic attack of the "Oh no I have over committed myself" variety, tell the teacher that you need to cut back on your hours or days as soon as you know so she can reassign your duties to someone else. This also applies if you have just decided that the special education class is not for you, tell her, she will understand. Special education is not for everyone.

7. Each teacher will have their own ideas about using volunteers. I can tell you what I used them for in my class. I often had them read to the students, this gave me a chance to get other things done. Reading to visually impaired children does involve more explanation than reading to sighted children, and pictures are described not viewed. Other times I would ask them to help the children who were mainstreamed into the regular education classroom during parts of the day. The volunteers would help students with organizing their work, describing what the teacher is doing, help with assignments, art projects or experiments. Naturally, you would not be expected to know braille so don't panic, all teaching materials are also in print. I also had volunteers help with field trips. For this you would be required to know how to sight guide the students as well as other issues related to mobility and safety. The teacher will prepare you for this ahead of time.

Volunteering can be a very valuable and rewarding experience. Special education can also be rewarding, but it does have it's own challenges. When I worked at the Foundation for The Junior Blind in Los Angeles, I had volunteers from a "Grandparent's Program" who came in to help with the students. Most of them had been there longer than me and knew the students better than I did. They became an invaluable resource to me and they were totally dedicated. They came everyday unceasingly, even when most were taking buses. As a beginning teacher, I appreciated their devotion and expertise.

Remember, if you decide to accept the challenge of a special education class, you can become a significant contributor to that teacher and to those students as they learn to become independent, contributing members of society.