Challenges and Barriers to Identifying Pain in the Special Education Classroom: A Review

Although special education professionals are primarily responsible for the well-being of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), these professionals often lack training in determining whether a child with IDD is experiencing pain. Pain that is not assessed or managed restricts student access to learning. This systematic review describes potential challenges or barriers to adequate pain assessment in the special education classroom. The review methods yielded 36 sources. Five themes emerged following summative content analysis. These themes point to a critical need to identify special educators’ current practices related to pain. Understanding these practices will inform research and development for a needed training program for special educators related to pain occurrence, identification, and assessment in students with IDD.