Issues in Special Education

One of the luxuries I've had the last year while student teaching or substituting in several schools is to try different approaches to handling discipline problems.  Most of you are really good at handling disruptions in class and I feel that I've done a fair job given what my responsibilities are.  I've found out that writing a name on the board or pulling a card will only work so long.  Some kids could care less about a sticker or a piece of candy at the end of the day.  The kids that I had the most problems with were typically the ones that were part of inclusion.  I tried to think of different approaches that would enable these kids to engage in learning and I think I've found a way, at least temporarily, to get them involved in positive behavior.
When I was in my first session of student teaching, I was working with first graders.  Some of these kids were nuts!  One student in particular had a habit of disrupting class throughout the day.  I started wondering "what's this kid going to turn out like in a few years when all he knows is how to disrupt class and become defeated when he finds out that everything he does is wrong? How will he prosper in learning when the next teacher knows what he acts like and will have a tight leash on him?" 
At the end of every school day the kids line up in the hallway to wait on the bus to take them home.  The teachers monitor the students to make sure they're quiet since the PA system is hard to hear.  Many of the kids become restless and get into trouble.  As you can guess, the student in my class was the ring leader.  One day I wondered how he would react if I gave him a leadership role in helping keep the kids quiet in the hallway.  I asked him to patrol the hallway and advise the ones who were loud to be quiet.  This student took to this responsiblilty like a greyhound after a rabbit.  The kids responded to him very well and he didn't abuse the responsibility once given.  After a couple of days, the other rowdy kids wanted to share in the responsiblity.  I let them take turns so that they could give and accept directions.  The only bad thing about this is that I left a month later and didn't see how well their behavior improved, or if they were allowed to monitor the hallways.
As a substitute, I use the same tactic.  Most of the busy work that the teachers assign the students is finished way before class is over. I've found that using some of the differentiated instruction techniques, such as storyboard writing or song making using key words from the lesson, to end the class can hold the students' attention for an extended amount of time.  After finding out who the rowdy ones are, I ask them to be my assistant to write down the words or give suggestions regarding presentation.
Giving these kids responsibilities has enabled them to follow directions and comply with rules.  This isn't a bulletproof tactic, nor is it proven over time. Just thought I'd share one of the things that I've been working on that seems to have a positive effect for a brief amount of time.