To what extent do children with SEN or disabilities have a voice within a school setting?
548621
It depends on what age level you are talking about. In the United States, officially, kids with Special Education Needs have the same voice as everyone else (that's the whole point behind IDEA). Parents control a child's educational programming until the age of 14, when the child is officially recognized as having a voice during IEP meetings (but not control). At the age of 18 (unless so severe/profound that the state grants parents extended guardianship) the child becomes the one controlling the educational programming.\n\nAll parents have a lot more control over things than they realize... choice of teacher, of school and program, how discipline will be administered, etc. Parents of kids with SEN also have a strong voice (if they choose to use it) in the IEP meetings to help define their child's program.
354382
I have a student with hearing loss, and I can tell you easily that a day in the life of a hearing impaired person is just like the day in the life of anyone else, except...\n\nAlways sitting up front in class to be able to see the teacher's lips, or watching the sign language interpreter (how would you feel almost always having a grown up hang out right next to you?).\nDifficulty with spelling.\nMissing the cool things that happen behind you because you don't hear the sounds that tell everyone else something cool is happening... and only catching it if you happen to see other people orienting on it.\nMissing out on the true beauty of music, bird song, etc.\nHeightened awareness and appreciation of visual, tactile, and other non-auditory sensory information.\nIncreased impatience from the people around you, who quickly learn to see you as YOU, who then pretty much forget you have hearing loss (after all, it is not something visible), and then get upset when you didn't hear them talking, giving instructions, etc. (teachers, hopefully, are professional enough not to get impatient and to always be concentrating on orienting themselves to face a student with hearing impairments so that he/she can lip read effectively).\n\nIf you really want to know, get earplugs and walk around with them in all day for about a week.
366590
sometimes there are clubs designed specifically for children with special needs...in england we have a theatre group called "SHED" i think which works mainly with special needs children...i duno if you are in england but ifnot you might have something similar in your area...that way you get free time to study and your kid gets to do something they might enjoy.
474110
Are you referring to Mainstream?\nWhich age group?Which level of education?\nWhat is the Special need? Learning/behaviour/physical?\nWhich Country?
251186
Special Education refers to the provision of services to kids with disabilities. You might have more success with your question under a different category.
298934
I am the parent of a child in special education.  A very useful website for laws about inclusive education is www.wrightslaw.com they have a lot of information.
249519
NO.  Students with disabilities do fall under a different "system" of sorts.  But they still get punished and know what is wrong from right.
241636
ISP's much like the IEP's that LD students receive, are usually done with the help of a support specialist. These people usually work out of the Disability Resource offices of the state government.Disability Services are really the best people to ask about this, as they know disability rights for working adults. Be aware though that most of these deal with Physical Disabilities and Retardation, but not alot on learning disabilities ( I have found that I simply had to compensate as best I could when in the work environment as I have a Non-Verbal LD.\n\nHere's an IEP guide.. some of it might be helpful to you though:\n\nwww.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/ \n\nAs for examples of Individual(ized) Support Plans:\n\nhttp://www.dpw.state.pa.us/General/FormsPub/MentalRetardationPublications/003671448.htm \n\nThis one is is for persons with Mental retardation, not LD.\n\nHope this helps and good luck!
182592
My best friend is an itinerant teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing.  She had to complete a masters degree after her undergraduate degree and her teaching degree, so she has three degrees.  Her masters is one with a dual focus - visual impairment and hearing impairment, but her primary focus is hearing impairment.  YOu will need to learn ASL, as well as the different theories related to education of the deaf - the "deaf culture" perspective, the "assimilation into hearing society" perspective, the controversies around cochlear implants, and so on.\n\nMany school boards hire teachers for the deaf to travel from school to school spending a half day or a day a week in each school supporting classroom teachers and special education teachers who work with kids with hearing impairment (which is what my friend does). These "itinerant" teachers also work some of the time with the kids who have hearing impairment.  \n\nThere are still a few residential schools for kids who have severe hearing impairment, but not many anymore. \n\nI have attached a couple of websites that will give you some information about teaching kids who are deaf or hard of hearing.  I hope this helps.  I wish you luck in your career.
496046
Inclusion is when students with a need for individiualized instruction are included in the regular classroom and receive the services they need within the classroom setting.  This may be for some or all classes.\n\nStudents who are mainstreamed are most often students with mild to moderate learning or emotional disabilities.  They will have an invoiivualized education plan (IEP) written by a team of people concerned about his/her educational progress.  That team generally incudes special education teacher, regular education teachers, specialists such as speech therapists, parents and representatives from any community service providing agencies.\n\nThe IEP will include modifications and accomodations that may be made within the general education setting to allow the student to thrive.  These may be as simple as untimed tests and seating near the teacher, to having the teacher wear a special sound ampligfication device, among others.\n\nDoes inclusion work?  Well, that depends on the school district's commitment to inclduing kids in the regular classroom, on the students (and parents') willingness to meet some general classroom expectations, and upon the skill of the classroom teacher.  If everyone works together and expects success, it generally happens.  If any member of the instructional team doubts the child's ability to succedd, it usually becomes a self-fulfilling prohecy, and the child may end up back in a separate special education setting. This special environment is viewed as being a more restictive environment, whereas the incluusion class is viewed as a less restrictive environment, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).\n\nMy third grader has surprised some naysayers and has been included in regular education for math and special subjects for two years now.  I also enjoy helping students reach their academic goals.\n\nI hope this answers your question.
81871
Yes we're equal in every way. Being handicapped does not make a person different. So what if they can't hear us? We can still communicate with them via sign language and letters and words. Not an issue. We are still humans, still the same - it's just that the way we communicate may differ due to the barrier of sound. We still have the needs to communicate with another human being.
1091558
Do you mean mild/moderate learning disability, or mild/moderate mental retardation? Also, are you a parent or a teacher? I am writing the rest of this response as if to a new teacher who may be teaching special education on a waiver and hasn't had the methods courses that a special ed teacher would get in a good training program. Or someone with a sped degree from an, ahem, not-so-good sped teacher prep program.\n\nIf you are a parent, talk with your child's special ed teacher about home activities to support the skills being worked on in class.\n\nAcademics:\n\nFor mild/moderate Learning Disabilities (NOT MR), remember that these kids have normal smarts. Actual content instruction should be at grade level, especially for science and social studies. Content should be presented with lots of small-group hands-on activities, videos, interactive computer, and read alouds (you do the reading). For math, task analyze computation skills and take them through step by step until they master each skill; use manipulatives whenever possible. To task analyze, break each skill down into it's most basic steps, and don't teach the next step until the first is completely mastered (unlike regular ed, where a partial understanding is sufficient because full comprehension is expected to develop from repeated use in learning more advanced steps). To deal with their language disability interference in problem solving, do word problems out loud together.\n\n If their LD is language-related, you need to do a phonics-based approach using short passages to build comprehension. Don't stop after the basic phonics.... also include rules like "empty e," where the e doesn't do anything and the other vowel is short (have, give, etc.), the 5 double vowel expectations (boat, bread, great, country, oil), the 4 sounds of "y," and so on.\n\nSite to Start: http://www.interdys.org/\n\nFor nonverbal LD, work on simple patterning, organization, and memory skills, using content area materials.\n\nSite to Start: http://www.nldline.com/\n\nFor mild/moderate MR students, work academics at their developmental level, with activities incorporating simpler elements of grade-level standards. Assess and develop hands-on activities for life skills and communication, using task analysis to break things down into the most basic steps, building mastery a step at a time. MR students also don't generalize independently, so once you teach something in one place (e.g. handwashing at your classroom sink), take it to other locations (e.g. the sink in the bathroom, another classroom, etc.).\n\nSite to Start: http://ericec.org/faq/mr-lifsk.html\n\n\nBehaviors:\n\nFor any kid, you need to determine where he/she is along Piaget's and Erikson's models. That will help you determine your approach. You should provide clear and simple rules (no more than 3 or 4), a set list of consequences and rewards, and consistent application of those consequences and rewards. A child with more severe behaviors or a need for serious social skills instruction requires a Behavior Intervention Plan, and your school psychologist can help you with that, especially as a member of your IEP team.\n\nPiaget: http://www.funderstanding.com/piaget.cfm\n\nErikson: http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/ERIK/sum.HTML\n\nBehavior Intervention Plan: http://www.mpf.org/SPIN/FAQ%20Sheets/BehInterPlans.html\nhttp://www.resa.net/behavior_intervention/
813689
We need a little more information in order to help you.  What is the nature of the special need?  For example, does the child have a hearing impairment, or a learning disability, or a physical disability?  How you do the adaptation depends on the disability and the child's strengths and needs.  Possibly if you can add details you may get several good suggestions.
38049
I am a special education teacher.  I believe that all people should be given an education to the their own particular abilities and interests.  Very few people are totally helpless, even some people with severe physical disabilities have normal IQ's.  Those with severe mental handicaps should be taught at the very least to bath, feed and toilet themselves.  Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison would all be considered Special Education students today.
252993
Here is an answer I did for a very similar question a few days ago.....\n\nIt always depends upon how the inclusion or mainstreaming is done. It also depends very much upon the needs of the individual and the resources available in the system. There is no easy answer, and unfortunately most people are either strongly pro or strongly con, and often don't see shades of grey. Also are you looking for the information from the perspective of a student, a parent, or a teacher? The perspectives tend to be quite different sometimes.\n\nSome of the postive effcts would be that the student theoretically has the opportunity to make more friends and participate in more activities. This is certainly true if inclusion is done in a careful and caring manner. Students who are mainstreamed have to learn to live by the same rules as other students. Other children become more accepting of students with disabilities. Everyone learns to respect each other's differences, and it should lead to a more tolertant and accepting society overall. Generally in the years since IDEA, students with disabilties have shown improvements in standardized test scores, better social and communication skills, better knowledge of the world and are better prepared for post-school experiences.\n\nSome people say that inclusion lowers standards in the regular classroom. It may not always be possible to meet the needs of students with disabilities in the regular classroom. Classroom teachers do not necessarily have the background or skills to address different disabiities. Some students with disabiities need very specific programming that cannot be delivered effectively in the regular classroom. Some people believe that kids with disabilities fall further behind as a result of mainstreaming because they can't get the amount or quality of attention they need.\n\nThe key is appropriate training of clsssroom teachers, good specific programming for the students with disabilities, and resources to properly support classroom teachers in implementing inclusion. \n\nI've tried to give an overview of both sides. \n\nI hope my thoughts help.
760413
This issue is a common one and is often discussed in schools and by parents and teachers.\n\nIt very much depends upon how the mainstreaming is done. It also depends upon the needs of the individual and the resources available in the system. There is definitive solution to the issue, no easy answer to your question, and unfortunately most people are either strongly pro or strongly con, and often don't see shades of grey. Also are you looking for the information from the perspective of a student, a parent, or a teacher? The perspectives tend to be quite different sometimes.\n\nSome of the postive effcts would be that the student theoretically has the opportunity to make more friends and participate in more activities. This is certainly true if mainstreaming is done in a careful and caring manner. Students who are mainstreamed have to learn to live by the same rules as other students. Other children become more accepting of students with disabilities. Everyone learns to respect each other's differences, and it should lead to a more tolertant and accepting society overall. Generally in the years since IDEA, students with disabilties have shown improvements in standardized test scores, better social and communication skills, better knowledge of the world and are better prepared for post-school experiences.\n\nSome people say that mainstreaming lowers standards in the regular classroom. It may not always be possible to meet the needs of students with disabilities in the regular classroom. Classroom teachers do not necessarily have the background or skills to address different disabiities. Some students with disabilities need very specific programming that cannot be delivered effectively in the regular classroom. Some people believe that kids with disabilities fall further behind as a result of mainstreaming because they can't get the amount or quality of attention they need.\n\nThe key is appropriate training of classroom teachers, good specific programming for the students with disabilities, and resources to properly support classroom teachers in implementing mainstreaming. \n\nI've tried to give an overview of both sides.
678960
Administration is especially responsible for implementing IDEA for the students with special needs in their schools. The IEP is a binding legal document between the parents (or student if over 18) and the school/district. While being written, the student's essential needs must be met to ensure adequate learning and skill-building toward grade-level benchmarks (even the most profound child's goals relate to eventual access to academics). \n\nHere are some sites to help you get started:\n\nhttp://www.wrightslaw.com/\nhttp://www.wrightslaw.com/law/reports/IDEA_Compliance_Index.htm\nhttp://www.thompson.com/libraries/education/idea/index.html\nhttp://www.aasa.org/policy/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2004