Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) face these challenges unique to them everywhere else in the world and have the potential to hinder their educational progress. These students tend to have inferior educational outcomes compared to those of their peers, and this unfortunately widens the existing gap. Although high-quality teaching strategies benefit all students, such as giving clear, step instructions, students with SEND often require further, much more focused support to boost their success rates at school.

So, what are these targeted interventions, and how might they be used efficiently?
Targeted interventions are basically the specialized-focused strategies designed to cater for those students who need a little bit of extra help with something. This could take place in small groups to one-on-one sessions, and it would address specific areas like literacy, numeracy, social skills, or even behavior.
A wide variety of targeted interventions are found across the different schools, including some known strategies like Lego Therapy, Colour Semantics, Catch Up Literacy or Numeracy. These are targeted to specific needs for example a communication difficulty or even added support for basic literacy. However, not all are evidenced based, and some do not seem to be effective at all.
A new study, for instance, reported that out of 138 interventions across 10 schools in Wales, 67% were not supported by any published research on their effectiveness. They all left educators confused about what these interventions would likely work best. Being spoilt for choice, teachers often wonder: Which interventions are proven effective? How could I ascertain whether it’s really going to work for my students?
At the moment, while teachers differ in opinion on whether the interventions have made a difference, that difference is still a major gap in decision-making regarding which were the best for the different student groups that made this gap.
Challenge for Educators
Targeted added intervention, indeed, has something significant to offer in improving educational results for students that have SEND but still poses a great deal of uncertainty regarding its effectiveness. Some random ones had been examined, such as specific interventions like should Lego Therapy work for students with autism or whether or not Catch-Up Literacy benefits students with dyslexia. Related research questions corresponding to analyzing some test of effectiveness of the intervention have not generally been addressed, like for which of learning outcome-db areas (reading, writing, maths, etc.) an intervention is meant to be improving or whether specific interventions are most effective for specific groups-for example, students with ADHD or those with dyslexia.
Sadly, research has become less accessible for many teachers who cannot seem to find adequate time within which to read the latest studies. Their access to academic research articles seems lacking as well. This would lead to ill-informed decisions on the interventions they implement for their classrooms. With this, they may even end up using types of interventions that are not evidence-based or suitable for the purposes of their students without proper guidance or knowledge.
Tackling Those Challenges: The MetaSENse Database
This was one of several problems we had teams of educators and researchers, including myself, work to address in developing a solution. We reviewed the research that was available around targeted interventions and spoke with practitioners about the implementation issues that interrupted the successful implementation of evidence-based interventions. Our efforts culminated in the creation of MetaSENse, a comprehensive, searchable database that would inform educators and parents as to what types of interventions are right for them.
MetaSENse is fully open and brings a wealth of information on a wide variety of interventions: what it can achieve for whom, and, most importantly, what science says about it in terms of its efficacy. This online tool enables teachers and caregivers to find evidence-based, subject-specific interventions for a wide range of age groups and needs. Whether a teacher is searching for strategies to support students with autism, dyslexia, or ADHD, MetaSENse offers a complete library of reviewed and rigorously examined interventions for efficacy.
What Difference do Targeted Interventions Make?
In total, our research identified 467 studies analysing the impact of targeted interventions in students with SEND aged between 4 and 25 years. The research covered a number of educational outcomes like reading, writing, maths, science, attainment, etc. The outcome was quite encouraging since on average the targeted interventions improved the outcomes for students with SEND by five months over a typical control group that had not received any of these interventions.
Average results found that some interventions were not just the same in their every effect on students. Delivery style, whether individual, small group or whole class, seemed not to make much difference in their effectiveness. In the same way, it was found that whether the intervention was by a specialist or classroom teacher did not appear to have a significant impact on outcomes. It could mean that the person or the method of delivering the intervention had very little to do with what would end up being the most important factor for success since it is how much the intervention matched the particular needs of the student whereby interventions find relevance.
Indeed, in all manner, some did not yield good results for the different target groups among students who had SEND. Hence the argument for a more customizable approach to selection concerning the individual student’s requirement is reinforced.
Empowering Educators and Parents through Evidence-Based Tools.
Some of the major problems teachers have is to know what interventions are research-supported and which ones are not. To close this gap, MetaSENse really clarifies what a particular intervention is effective for; through this resource, it becomes accessible by educators and parents to link the intervention to research that has accepted and how it was piloted, besides whom it benefits and which specific educational outcomes are addressed.
It lists all the manuals and guidelines for every intervention-these are provided either free of charge or at a small price. This assures that educators are left with the right practical instruments for confidently carrying out the intervention. The functionality is that one can search for the intervention based on the subject, age group, or even diagnosis required making it easier for the educator to choose the most applicable intervention and use it within the classroom.
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Moving On: Provides Support That Enables All Students to Be Successful
This is even more true without hesitation from the onset of changing times in the educational settings-with always making sure that even students, in whatever degree of the individual problems, emergent, shall avail for the best support. With targeted interventions it can prove valuable in students with SEND, but decisions must be based on evidence and research. Using MetaSENse, the educator chooses the exact one that best fits their students’ individualized needs and eventually improves educational outcome for all.
By embracing research-informed practices and providing the tools needed for making informed decisions, every child can be ensured to thrive in the classroom. It will not matter whether the student has any abilities or disabilities.