What are the biggest problems that we face as a country in order to make is easier for children with disabilities to attend public schools?

In my opinion, having staff at the public school level understand the student's rights to receive a free and appropriate public education is one of the biggest problems that we face. Many staff members are not well informed of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Because the practices of inclusion and integration are unfamiliar or new to many teachers, this creates frustration on the part of the student or the parent in securing an appropriate education for their child.

Who should be involved with the strategic planning of a disabled child's education, especially if a child attends a regular, public school?

A child attending a public school who has not been identified with a disability should receive a comprehensive evaluation either through their regional special education cooperative in their state or an independent evaluation through a private facility. The public school staff, including appropriate members as indicated by the evaluation results, should then consider results of this evaluation. This might include a psychologist, speech language pathologist, occupational and physical therapist, an educator, special education consultant, audiologist, nurse and building administrator. If a student is already considered eligible for special education services, the team in the local school should include members as indicated above appropriate to the child's disability.

In the majority of cases, is it better to mainstream children with disabilities with other children?

What is your opinion of inclusion?

This answer will address the concept of mainstreaming and also guest 4 question related to inclusion. Mainstreaming, or including children with disabilities with other children in the education program, has many benefits, yet also presents many challenges. Students with disabilities benefit from the opportunities to interact with peers. The peers serve as appropriate language, social, and behavior models. The students in the general education program benefit from opportunities to interact with students with disabilities and gain a better understanding of disabilities, in general and acceptance of differences among people. The inclusion model presents many challenges for an education team. It necessitates administrative support to allow the staff to work as a team and collaborate together to ensure a successful experience for the student with the disability. Adequate resources and supports must be identified as part of the child's Individualized Education Program (IEP). Close monitoring must occur to ensure the student is making progress in the setting and meeting the specified goals and objectives.

Do you feel kids that being overmedicated for ADD/ADHD with Ritalin?

Today's topic is not intended to address the use of Ritalin with students having ADD/ADHD, yet I will comment that students behavior, attention, and level of distractibility needs to be at an optimal level to ensure their learning. All behavioral strategies and changes in the environment should be attempted prior to considering the use of medication. The team should document all interventions.

What disabilities are most commonly found in the school system?

Disabilities that are most commonly found in the school system are often disabilities that are not visible. Students with learning disabilities present themselves as a typical student in the public school system. Their disabilities do not present themselves physically yet often create difficulties in their learning which might present themselves as a behavior difficulty, attention concerns, or social/emotional concerns. Learning disabilities are often the most misunderstood disability by educators. These disabilities are often not identified at an early stage, compared to other disabilities, which are visible or present themselves at a very young age (students with cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities, students with Down syndrome).

What can parents do to help make the school learning experience a positive one?

It has been our experience in working with parents of students with disabilities that their involvement in the educational process and programming of their child helps make the school experience for their child a positive one. Parents need to serve as an integral part of the student's IEP team and inform themselves of the rights their student has to an education program. Many parents collaborate and receive support from other parents of students with disabilities. In addition, there are many statewide conferences and in-services to assist parents in the skills and knowledge they need to be a member of their child's education team.

What is the best resource for finding a special school for your child's LD needs?

Because many strategies for working with students with learning disabilities are not known by general education teachers, many students with learning disabilities have an unsuccessful school experience. Resources in the public school system should be pursued first. Many students with learning disabilities benefit from teaching strategies and interventions, which can be implemented by educators with specialized training.

Often times, this occurs outside of the general education classroom, for example, in a resource room setting or through a collaborative consultative model in which a teacher with a special education background consult with the general education teacher. Many students with learning disabilities also benefit from use of the computer as a writing aid, by using specialized software available to them. They might also use a computer system, which has a scanner, screen reader, and voice recognition or speech-to-text software. If, after pursuing all of the resources in the public school system, a student's needs are not adequately being met, some parents might pursue a private school education for their students in a setting where students with disabilities attend. State to state, finding out about these particular schools will vary. Working with members of your local school team or contacting your state Department of Education might be some resources.

How do the learning styles differ with some of the children with disabilities?

Students with disabilities have many different learning styles. It is imperative that before determining the strategies for a particular student's learning needs, that the student undergo a comprehensive team evaluation to identify their learning strengths and needs. For example, some students have stronger auditory than visual memory skills and this would assist the team in determining the best way to present information to the student. Another example would be looking at the student's listening comprehension abilities if this is a strength for them, strategies such as use of books on tape or specialized software which provides text-to-speech or voice output might be considered. Prior to incorporating any learning strategy, it will be important to understand the student's particular abilities in processing information also, their hearing status, fine motor or visual motor skills. Many times, school teams do not look at the complete picture and common strategies, which are successful for many students, yet might not benefit a particular student because of their individual abilities and needs.

What are some creative ways that children with mobility related disabilities can be involved in physical education as well as recess games and activities?

A physical therapist might be better able to address this, yet from an educator's point of view, involvement from an adaptive PE teacher would be helpful. It will be important to involve the student with the disability with their peers as much as possible and for the school to provide adaptive equipment, which encourages all students to interact together.

Are you able to comment on students with Down Syndrome? What kind of educational environment do they most benefit from?

Students with Down's syndrome have a variety of learning needs and some students with Down Syndrome present more capabilities than others. However, particularly in the early childhood years, students with Down Syndrome benefit from a language-rich environment to encourage their learning. Interacting with same-age peers provides them with appropriate speech, language, and behavior model. Predictability, structure, and routine are also components of an education program that lend well to students with Down Syndrome. Opportunities to practice skills in real life settings and for generalization should also occur. In addition, many students with Down Syndrome also are receiving various therapies such as speech/language therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy. It is important to incorporate the strategies recommended by these therapists across the school day.

What if the public school system can't help with your child's needs?

We encourage parents to understand their rights and the students rights to a free appropriate public education under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the state rules of special education for their particular state. These can be obtained through their state Department of Education. If, after following the procedures as specified in IDEA, parents of students with a disability are dissatisfied with the public school's response to their child's needs, a due process procedure can be initiated. This is described in the resources indicated above, specifically IDEA.

What are some of the disadvantages of inclusion?

If the student's IEP goals are not being met and progress is minimal, the team might consider providing specific intervention to the students in a more individualized manner. This could be in a special education setting or in a general education setting through a consultation or collaboration model.

Doing homework with our LD child is such a struggle, what can be done?

It will be important that the local team has identified appropriate strategies and modifications for the student with the learning disability rather than expecting them to complete homework in a typical way as his/her peers are doing. Accommodations or adaptations might include a reduced load, dictating answers to a scribe, use of the computer with specialized software, or providing them auditory input for reading comprehension for example. Whatever strategies are currently being used at the school should be incorporated at home to ensure consistency. If this being done, we would suggest further evaluation of the students needs to determine more specific strategies which would ensure their success.

Do you have suggestions on summer camp programs to get involved with?

The resources will vary between states yet contacting an agency such as Easter Seals or the University Affiliated Program (UAP) in your state could serve as a good resource. In addition, contacting your regional special education cooperative in your state or other parents of students with disabilities might also be helpful.

What is your opinion of sending a child to a "resource room" for part of the school day? Is it beneficial?

A variety of service delivery models are used to provide interventions for students with disabilities. It is important for the team to consider the least restrictive environment when determining how services will be delivered. If the student's needs can be met through consultation or collaboration in the general education setting, this would be considered a least-restrictive environment rather than a resource room setting for use as a pullout model. However, if the student's particular abilities and needs require a more intense or one-to-one instructional model, or if the student's level of distractibility or inattention provides problems with instruction in the general classroom setting, then consideration for a more restrictive placement or resource room model might be given.

What can parent do to support their children with learning disabilities?

Parents of students with learning disabilities should be well informed of their child's individual strengths and needs. It will be important for the student themselves to also understand what tasks they will find easy to complete and which ones might provide more of a challenge. Counseling or informing the child about their learning disability should occur. The parents or someone can either do this from the local school team. Parents should actively be involved in their child's education and communicate closely with other parents of students with disabilities for support.

What are your thoughts on having an assistant assigned to the child in a regular classroom?

As part of the IEP process, school teams determine what supports and resources are necessary for the student to be successful in their education program. Some students, depending on the intensity of their physical needs, behavioral needs, or learning needs benefit from the provision of an individual assistant in the classroom. Many students benefit from this, yet others might rely too much on this assistance. It is important that the IEP team determine what the expectations for the associate or assistant are. The teacher and special educator or consultant along with the therapist need to provide the associate or assistant direction in implementing strategies that have been defined by the team. Occasionally, we see an associate or assistant who is left with the responsibility of determining the instructional techniques and adaptations for the student. Many times, the child is not being appropriate programmed for because of the lack of full team involvement. For students who have speech and language difficulties, it is important that the assistant is encouraging or facilitating their communication rather than answering for them. Many students who are fully included with their general education peers have full-time assistance. We have seen this beneficial for many and this individual is able to create instructional adaptations after receiving instruction from the therapist and the teacher.

My 7 year old daughter (Down syndrome) has a full time assistant assigned to her (2nd year, same assistant). That way my child is fully included all day long. It has been a wonderful experience.

Thank you for sharing that. Many times students who have a consistent associate assigned to them as they move grade to grade have the best learning opportunity. The administrative support and teamwork at the building level allow the success to happen.