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Special education is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual differences, disabilities, and special needs. This involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help individuals with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and in their community, which may not be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills. To receive federal school funding, states had to give these assessments to all students at select grade levels.
People with disabilities in the United States are a significant minority group, making up a fifth of the overall population and over half of Americans older than eighty. There is a complex history underlying the U.S. and its relationship with its disabled population, with great progress being made in the last century to improve the livelihood of disabled citizens through legislation providing protections and benefits. Most notably, the Americans with Disabilities Act is a comprehensive anti-discrimination policy that works to protect Americans with disabilities in public settings and the workplace.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) from 1975 to 1990. In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA. Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as those students who do not have a disability.
An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legal document under United States law that is developed for each public school child in the U.S. who needs special education. It is created through a team of the child's parent(s) and district personnel who are knowledgeable about the child's needs. IEPs must be reviewed every year to keep track of the child's educational progress.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learning environments and learning spaces that can accommodate individual learning differences.
Inclusion in education refers to all students being able to access and gain equal opportunities to education and learning. It arose in the context of special education with an individualized education program or 504 plan, and is built on the notion that it is more effective for students with special needs to have the said mixed experience for them to be more successful in social interactions leading to further success in life. The philosophy behind the implementation of the inclusion model does not prioritize, but still provides for the utilization of special classrooms and special schools for the education of students with disabilities. Inclusive education models are brought into force by educational administrators with the intention of moving away from seclusion models of special education to the fullest extent practical, the idea being that it is to the social benefit of general education students and special education students alike, with the more able students serving as peer models and those less able serving as motivation for general education students to learn empathy.
In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases 9th edition. Special needs can range from people with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, blindness, deafness, ADHD, and cystic fibrosis. They can also include cleft lips and missing limbs. The types of special needs vary in severity, and a student with a special need is classified as being a severe case when the student's IQ is between 20 and 35. These students typically need assistance in school, and have different services provided for them to succeed in a different setting.
Judith Ellen Heumann was an American disability rights activist, known as the "Mother of the Disability Rights Movement". She was recognized internationally as a leader in the disability community. Heumann was a lifelong civil rights advocate for people with disabilities. Her work with governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profits, and various other disability interest groups, produced significant contributions since the 1970s to the development of human rights legislation and policies benefiting children and adults with disabilities. Through her work in the World Bank and the State Department, Heumann led the mainstreaming of disability rights into international development. Her contributions extended the international reach of the independent living movement.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, formerly called the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, is an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups.
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficulty learning in a typical manner", this does not exclude the ability to learn in a different manner. Therefore, some people can be more accurately described as having a "learning difference", thus avoiding any misconception of being disabled with a possible lack of an ability to learn and possible negative stereotyping. In the United Kingdom, the term "learning disability" generally refers to an intellectual disability, while conditions such as dyslexia and dyspraxia are usually referred to as "learning difficulties".
The Arrowsmith School is a private school in Toronto, Ontario, for children in Grades 1 to 12 with learning disabilities. The original Arrowsmith School was founded in Toronto in 1980 by Barbara Arrowsmith Young. A second location was opened in May 2005 in Peterborough, Ontario. The Eaton Arrowsmith School, which is modelled on the Toronto school and founded by Howard Eaton, was opened in 2005 in Vancouver, British Columbia with two further branches established in Canada and one in the United States between 2009 and 2014.
The Austine School for the Deaf, now closed, in Brattleboro, Vermont, was an independent, coeducational day and residential school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children age four to eighteen from New England and New York.
Brehm Preparatory School is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) co-educational college preparatory day and boarding school for students with learning disabilities, founded in 1982. Brehm Preparatory School is located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school enrolls students in grades 6-12+. The average class size is eight in core content classes and 5 in learning cognition classes. Brehm's student-teacher ratio is 6:1.
The term twice exceptional, often abbreviated as 2e, entered educators' lexicons in the mid-1990s and refers to gifted students who have some form of learning or developmental disability. These students are considered exceptional both because of their giftedness and because they are disabled or neurodivergent. Ronksley-Pavia (2015) presents a conceptual model of the co-occurrence of disability and giftedness.
Sexuality and disability is a topic regarding the sexual behavior and practices of people with disabilities. Like the general population, these individuals exhibit a wide range of sexual desires and adopt diverse methods of expressing their sexuality. It is a widespread concern, however, that many people with disabilities do not receive comprehensive sex education, which could otherwise positively contribute to their sexual lives. This roots from the idea that people with disabilities are asexual in nature and are not sexually active. Although some people with disabilities identify as asexual, generalizing this label to all such individuals is a misconception. Many people with disabilities lack rights and privileges that would enable them to have intimacy and relationships. When it comes to sexuality and disability there is a sexual discourse that surrounds it. The intersection of sexuality and disability is often associated with victimization, abuse, and purity.
Tam Elizabeth O'Shaughnessy is an American children's science writer and former professional tennis player who co-founded the science education company Sally Ride Science together with her life partner, astronaut Sally Ride – the first American woman and third woman in space. The company was relaunched as a nonprofit entity, Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego, on October 1, 2015. O'Shaughnessy serves as executive director.
The Gateway School is an independent school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan serving children ages 5–14 with learning disabilities. It currently enrolls approximately 180 students.
Alida Anderson is a professor at the School of Education at American University in Washington, DC.
Alpine Learning Group is a state funding approved private special education school in Paramus, New Jersey, United States. Established in 1988, the school serves students aged 3 to 21 with autism spectrum disorder, and it is known to be a prestigious educational and research facility utilizing applied behavior analysis (ABA) services.
References
- ↑ "Us and Our Education". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ↑ "Us and Our Education - Documentary exploring Learning disabilities in School and Work". Degreed.com. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
