Supporting Children with Special Needs through Montessori Principles

Alicia Taylor, M.Ed. Candidate, Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, Rosenthal Montessori Elementary School 

Michelle Fazio Brunson, Northwestern State University of Louisiana

The world of early childhood special education is complex and dynamic, and many teachers struggle with meeting the various needs of exceptional children particularly when ability levels have broad ranges. With the ever-growing pressures of parenting and teaching, parents and educators alike can benefit from strategies such as those espoused by the Montessori method that meet children’s varied abilities, interests, and skill levels.  The Montessori philosophy is currently experiencing a surge in interest in the US, likely based on its child-led and independent learning style (Lilliard, 2025). As a certified Montessori instructor and an early childhood special education (ECSE) teacher, I have spent the last two years putting my Montessori training to use in my ECSE classroom. In this blog, I will share a brief history of Montessori education and five principles of Montessori I find essential for teaching young children with special needs.

Montessori History in Special Education

The Montessori method (Montessori, 1964) is a child-centered approach to learning that allows children to explore their natural curiosity, learn through carefully cultivated hands-on materials, and foster independence developed in 1907 by Dr. Maria Montessori. Dr. Montessori was one of the first female physicians in Italy and worked with children who had intellectual disabilities in the 1890’s. At the time, society labeled these children as ‘unteachable’. Through her observations, she noticed that they craved mental stimulation. Realizing their interest in exploring their environments, she began systematically designing hands-on materials for these children and documented their ability to learn through carefully cultivated environments. The children thrived under Dr. Montessori’s guidance, and children in Montessori classrooms today continue to thrive with the same materials and principles she utilized in her first school. 

Montessori Principles

Whether they know it or not, educators across the world utilize Montessori principles in their classrooms. While being considered a Montessori teacher takes special certification, all teachers and parents can use Montessori principles. Examples are provided in the sections that follow.

Art Shelf in Primary Montessori Classroom

Principle 1: Provide an Environment that Encourages Independence and Allows them to Explore their own Path

The first Montessori principle I use in my classroom is to design the environment to promote independence and exploration. With this principle in mind, teachers and parents consciously create workspaces designed for children to work and learn independently. Furniture should be child-sized, and children should be able to carry and move items on their own when possible. The area should be kept neat, and every object should have a dedicated space. Shelves, bookshelves, and supply areas should not be overly crowded with materials. This is especially important for students with sensory needs, as a calm and organized environment will help keep them from becoming overly stimulated, help them stay on task, and support them as they follow expectations of keeping a learning area clean and tidy.

4-year-old and 5-year-old students writing words with a Movable Alphabet

Principle 2: Create a Diverse Learning Community

The second Montessori principle I use is creating a diverse learning community. In a Montessori classroom, this includes mixed age levels within three years of age from each other. For example, the Montessori Early Childhood classroom would have children ages 3-6 years. Not only are they learning side by side, but they are encouraged to cooperate and interact in learning tasks together. One example of this principle is creating inclusion classrooms or more inclusion opportunities during work time for children with special rights. Parents might use this principle at home by seeking opportunities for their children to play with peers in a similar age group.  Inclusion opportunities help support children’s social-emotional development by creating mutual respect between children and giving children with developmental delays role models with neurotypical behaviors for modeling (Roldan et al., 2021). Inclusion classrooms can also support academic growth for all students. Children with disabilities also show stronger academic performance when placed in classrooms with typically developing peers. 

Color Shade Grading Activity (Color Box 3)

Principle 3: Help the Child Cultivate Concentration

The third principle I use in my classroom is helping children build concentration skills. The Montessori philosophy holds that can only learn through periods of uninterrupted concentration. When we cultivate concentration, we support children’s goals related to task attention, task completion, and working independently. To cultivate concentration in your classroom or home, you want to respect when your child is showing moments of focus. Giving your child praise during a period of focus or telling them to continue when they have paused a task can break this valuable and delicate period of concentration. Even if a child is completing a task incorrectly, they are still learning from the experience. In Montessori, we only break a child’s focus if they are being destructive to themselves, others, the material, or the learning area.

Principle 4: Provide Freedom of Movement

The fourth principle I use in my Montessori classroom relates to freedom of movement. All children, especially those with special rights, need freedom of movement. In the Montessori classroom, this is done by giving children expectations for how they can work (e.g., materials must be kept in their work space, they must be respectful to others’ work, etc.,) and then allowing them to choose where they work in the classroom. We can further support children with special rights by offering various sitting options such as beanbag chairs, cushions, sensory tools, chair bands, rocking chairs, floor work space, table work space, etc. These strategies support children’s sensory needs while helping them develop concentration skills. 

Principle 5: Observe the Children to Assess their Understanding and their Needs through their Work

The Montessori philosophy embraces teachers as facilitators of learning, and observing is one of their most powerful tools. When a child is focused on a task and can function independently in a learning space, their artifacts and conversations make their learning visible. By simply observing children as they work and play, we can assess their skill progression, their interests, their learning preferences, and whether their needs are being met. Observation notes and anecdotal records can be recorded in notebooks, on index cards or sticky notes, or electronic devices and then transferred later to children’s portfolios. These notes are helpful for informing instruction at school and for family support in the home environment.

Summary

Montessori practices can support the diverse developmental, sensory, social-emotional, and learning needs of young children with disabilities. Using the five Montessori principles  highlighted in this article: creating an organized environment that promotes independence, developing a diverse and inclusive learning community, supporting children’s concentration, providing freedom of movement, and using observation to assess children’s learning and individual needs, educators and parents can carefully prepare environments and create opportunities for peer interaction, uninterrupted engagement, and flexible movement to promote children’s independence, participation, concentration, and skill development. These practical strategies help create responsive and inclusive learning environments that recognize and accommodate the varied abilities, interests, and needs of young children with special needs, helping them thrive as they experience joy in learning.

References

Lillard, A. S., Loeb, D., Berg, J., Escueta, M., Manship, K., Hauser, A., & Daggett, E. D. (2025). A national randomized controlled trial of the impact of public Montessori preschool at the end of kindergarten. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(43), e2506130122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2506130122

Montessori, M. (1964). The Montessori method. Schocken Books.

Roldán, S. M., Portell, M., Torres, A., & Flecha, R. (2021). How inclusive interactive learning environments benefit students without special needs. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 661427. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661427

Alicia Foy, M.Ed. Candidate, can be contacted at  afoy705@gmail.com

Dr. Michelle Brunson directs the graduate programs in Early Childhood Education at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. She is passionate about helping her husband, the former Natchitoches District Defender, remap the Cradle to Prison Pipeline to a Cradle to College Pipeline in Louisiana. She can be contacted at faziom@nsula.edu.