Being a special education teacher is a role like no other. It’s rewarding, challenging, heart-filling, and—at times—completely overwhelming. While many go into the field with a general sense of what to expect, there are countless unexpected moments, tasks, and emotions that come with the job.
Here are more than 50 things no one quite prepares you for when you become a special education teacher.
The Things You Don’t Expect in Special Ed
Paperwork Beyond IEPs
IEPs are just the beginning. From data collection and progress monitoring to behavior plans, communication logs, and parent documentation, the paperwork never ends.
Lack of Support from General Ed Teachers
Not every colleague understands or supports inclusion. Some resist accommodations or avoid including your students in classroom activities entirely.
The Amount of Velcro You Use
Velcro becomes a classroom staple—used for visuals, communication boards, adapted books, and basically everything else.
Forming Lifelong Bonds
Many students and their families become a permanent part of your life. The love and connection don’t end when the school year does.
Constant Exhaustion
You’re not just tired from teaching—you’re drained from managing behaviors, paperwork, meetings, and emotional labor.
Parents Expecting Miracles
There’s a misconception that special ed teachers can “fix” everything. The pressure can be intense when parents expect instant progress.
Admin Expecting Perfection
Despite limited resources and time, the expectation is often to get everything right, every time.
No Real Breaks
Planning time, lunch, even bathroom breaks? Often skipped or used to manage crises or supervise students.
Loving the Job More Than You Thought
Many are warned about burnout—but instead, they fall deeper in love with the work, year after year.
Being Overlooked
Special education often feels like an afterthought in school planning, budgeting, and even appreciation events.
Being Called “Mom”
It happens—frequently. And it says a lot about how safe and loved students feel in your presence.
Endless Steps
Between servicing kids in different locations, attending meetings, and chasing elopers, you cover miles each day.
Students Who Stay in Your Heart Forever
Some students make such a lasting impression that years later, you’re still cheering for them.
Solving the Puzzle
There’s unmatched joy when you figure out exactly what a student needs and start seeing real progress.
Constantly Changing Requirements
IEP systems, formats, and compliance rules seem to shift constantly—just when you’ve mastered the last update.
Wearing All the Hats
You’re a teacher, counselor, therapist, nurse, coach, case manager, and sometimes even custodian.
Random Hair Pulling
Sensory-seeking behaviors come with surprises—including impromptu hair grabs.
Daily Injuries
Scratches, bruises, and bites are all part of the job, even when safety plans are in place.
Caring for Students Like They’re Your Own
The level of care, commitment, and love you feel for students runs deep.
Becoming an Honorary Therapist
When support providers are absent, you’re the stand-in for speech, OT, PT, and more—often all in one day.
Loving Through the Paperwork
You do the forms and documentation because each one represents a student you genuinely care about.
Being a School Mom
With some students for multiple years, you become a consistent presence—a caregiver, advocate, and cheerleader.
A Heart That Keeps Growing
You don’t know how big your heart can be until it’s stretched by a room full of students who need you.
Endless Forms
If you thought you knew about paperwork, special ed will show you new levels.
Running on Love
When the stress is high, the love for your students keeps you coming back.
Students with High Behavioral Needs
Aggression, elopement, spitting, and destruction can be daily realities—but so is the chance for growth and healing.
Bringing Work Home
IEP writing, planning, data tracking—it doesn’t all fit into your contract hours.
Feeling Dismissed
It stings when your work is seen as “less than” or your students are labeled as “not your problem.”
How Much Fun It Really Is
Despite the challenges, there is so much laughter, silliness, and joy in every day.
Becoming Friends with Parents
When trust is built, families can become allies—and sometimes true friends.
Being the Catch-All for Other Teachers
Some teachers neglect to communicate with families and leave it all on your shoulders.
Lack of Gratitude
You’re doing everything you can, but still hear demands instead of appreciation. It wears on you.
The Things You Say
“I need you to take the crayon out of your nose” becomes completely normal dialogue.
Being Excluded from Schoolwide Events
Sometimes your students are unintentionally left out of events they deserve to be part of.
Teaching with Passion
Even in self-contained settings, the love and energy you bring to teaching is unmatched.
Knowing You’re Making a Difference
Watching a nonverbal student write their name or use a communication device for the first time? Life-changing.
Preferring IEP Writing
Some find calm and creativity in crafting strong, student-centered IEPs.
Exhaustion on Every Level
You’re constantly “on,” juggling everything all day with little to no downtime.
Lack of Resources
Too many schools don’t prioritize special education needs when it comes to supplies and staffing.
Training Gaps
Gen ed teachers may not be equipped to support IEP students—which puts even more responsibility on you.
No Caseload Cap
Some classrooms keep growing without any clear limits, despite major differences in student needs.
“Just Add Them In” Mentality
Your classroom is treated like a catch-all, as if smaller group size solves everything.
Disconnect Between Gen Ed and SPED
There’s often little collaboration between departments, which creates silos and misunderstanding.
Funny Moments Every Day
There’s always something unpredictable that brings a smile, a laugh, or a memorable moment.
Doing More for the Same Pay
You manage more roles and more students for the same salary as your gen ed peers.
Deep Emotional Investment
You don’t just work with your students—you love them.
Long Hours
To do the job well, many work far beyond the contract day, even into weekends.
Lack of Inclusion
In many districts, true inclusion is still a dream rather than a practice.
Potty Training
You do everything—including teaching toileting skills—and few outside your classroom even realize it.
Loving Misunderstood Kids
You see the magic in students that others often overlook.
Physical Risk
From violence to accidents, many special educators endure injuries that others never see.
Magical IEP Meetings
Sometimes a meeting with a parent ends in happy tears because they finally feel heard and supported.
Random Phrases That Become Routine
“Please don’t lick the window” becomes something you hear yourself say… without blinking.
What You Do Matters
Being a special education teacher means constantly learning, adapting, advocating, and loving. It means doing a job that few understand, with challenges that most will never see. But it also means changing lives—one student, one IEP, one small victory at a time.
If you’re in the trenches right now, just know: what you do matters more than words can say.
