User:Dgiovag/sandbox/Illinois State University Department of Special Education

Illinois State University Department of Special Education

The Department of Special Education at Illinois State University is one of the most respected and largest special education programs in the country. Special Education Department is part of the Illinois State University College of Education. Illinois State University offers programs at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. The three fields in which you can specify from are Learning and Behavior Specialist, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Low Vision and Blindness. The Special Education Department also has many clubs and organizations on campus like Braille Redbirds, Deaf Redbirds, Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC), Students Supporting Individuals with Disabilities (SSID), Students United for Integrating Technology in Education (SUITE), Autism Speaks U, and Best Buddies.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH)
At Illinois State University Deaf and Hard of Hearing majors are prepared to teach students ages 3-21 in public, private, and residential programs. Courses these students have to take include language, literacy, speech pathology, audiology, and sign language. Illinois State is one of three schools with such programs in the state to offer this specialty. Illinois State is known for it's quality clinical experiences. Illinois State is one of the top five producers of certified DHH teachers in the United States It is also the only state-university training program and largest of the three programs in Illinois. Students have to go through more than 250 hours of clinical experiences in Pre-K to high school placements to prepare for professional teaching roles.

Learning and Behavior Specialist (LBS)
As the largest specialty program the Learning and Behavior Specialist prepares students to teach in public special education classrooms. Specialists in Learning and Behavior teach children with learning, emotional, or cognitive disabilities, orthopedic impairments, Autism Spectrum, multiple disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, or other heath impairments. The Illinois State LBS program is a highly respected special education preparation program in the state and one of the largest in the nation. Students must go through more than 600 hours in two full semesters of clinical experience prior to student teaching. Illinois State LBS students have hands-on experiences with technology skills in the Special Education Assistive Technology (SEAT) Center.

Low Vision and Blindness (LVB)
Students in this program will work with children with visual impairments work with learners who are blind or who have low vision, from preschool through high school. Training in this field includes courses in braille reading and writing, assistive technology for individuals with visual impairments, and fieldwork in clinical experiences. There is a severe shortage of teachers in this area and many of Illinois State LVB students do not have difficulty finding a job after they graduate. Illinois State's LVB program is one of 35 programs in visual impairment in the U.S. and one of the only undergraduate LVB programs in the country.

Careers
Students that pursue a degree in any of the special education programs can get jobs like Adult Education Teacher, Agency Director, Assistant Principal, Athletic Coach, Athletic Director, Case Worker, Child Life Specialist, Educational Administrator, Educational Therapist, Elementary Teacher, Orientation and Mobility Instructor,Resource Teacher School, School Superintendent

Student Organizations
There are many different organizations on the Illinois State University campus that are connected to the special education department. The organizations include Autism Speaks, Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC), Student Ending Mental Illness Stigmas (SEMIS), Best Buddies, Students Supporting Individuals with Disabilities (SSID), Students Using & Integrating Technology in Education (SUITE), Deaf Redbirds Association, Braille Birds, College Mentors for Kids, Future Educators Association, Kappa Delta Epsilon, Kappa Delta Pi, Male Educators, Student Education Association, Urban Needs in Teacher Education (UNITE)