Preparing School Counselor Trainees to Work With Students With Exceptionalities

Professional school counselors play an important role in the education of all students. As a result, school counselor trainees need to be properly prepared to work with students with exceptionalities. This paper reviews laws impacting students with exceptionalities, discusses various roles of school counselors in the education of students with exceptionalities, and focuses on several educational strategies utilized by one professor in order to better prepare school counselor trainees for working with students with special needs. Examples of in-class activities, assignments, and field experiences are provided to help counseling faculty members improve the preparation of the school counselor trainee when working with students with exceptionalities.