Special education

Educational Psychology: Assessment · Issues · Theory & research · Techniques · Techniques X subject · Special Ed. · Pastoral

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"Special Needs" redirects here. For other uses, see Special Needs (disambiguation).

Special education, describes an educational alternative that focuses on the teaching of students with academic, behavioral, health, or physical needs that cannot sufficiently be met using traditional educational programs or techniques.

This article will focus mainly on the teaching of students with disabilities; see Gifted education for more information on that subject.

History

Children with disabilities have always been part of our communities. In the past, some “special” education was provided to individual children on a one to one basis, such as Jean Itard’s work with Victor, the “wild child of Averyon”. As formal education became established, welfare or religious groups for the care of children with disabilities often became involved in their education. Government provision of special education services generally followed after voluntary groups had shown what could be done.

Progress in Special Education saw a major reversal as the eugenics movement took hold. Under this theory, it was irresponsible to care for and educate people with disabilities as it would “weaken society”. The more scientific approaches, such as behaviourism, to studying disability, led to a new understanding of special education and the vision that all children could learn,^{[citation needed]} no matter what diagnosis they were given.

Initially education was provided to children of school age – about six or seven. In the 1970’s research into Early Childhood Intervention, the provision of special education from birth or first diagnosis, showed that the earlier special education was provided, the better the outcome for the child and the entire family.^{[citation needed]}

Special Education changed with Wolfensburger's theory of Normalisation - that all people with disabilities have the right to lead "normal" lives, including being part of a family, attending a local school, and holding a job in the community. This theory led to the concept of Inclusive Education, where schools no longer provide "regular education" and "special education" but provide a service which includes every child, no matter what he or she needs at the time.

Special Education services now extend past school-age into adulthood, as a better understanding of life-long learning has been gained. It includes school-based activities as well as family and community activities, and has become a major testing ground for better teaching for all children,^{[citation needed]} not simply children with disabilities.

Special Education has a different quality in different countries. The political, economic and social pressures in each country has led to a different form of Special Education, with different sets of policies and practises.

United States

Special education programs in the United States were made mandatory in 1975 when Congress passed the Education for the Handicapped Act (EHA) in response to discriminatory treatment by public educational agencies against students with disabilities. The EHA was later modified to strengthen protections to disabled pupils and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The two most basic rights ensured by the IDEA is that every disabled student is entitled to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). To ensure a FAPE, a team of professionals and parents meet to determine the student's unique educational needs, develop annual goals for the student, and determine the placement, program modification, testing accommodations, counseling, and other special services that the student needs through the development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The educational agency is required to develop and implement an IEP that meets the standards of federal and state educational agencies.

The LRE mandate requires that all students' educations be with their nondisabled peers to the greatest extent possible, while still providing a FAPE. The LRE requirement is intended to prevent unnecessary segregation of the disabled. Some special education services (such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc) may be provided within the mainstream class and these services are outlined in each child's IEP. Students in Special Education will also need a transition plan, focusing on their life after school.

The article Special Education in the United States deals with the full system of review and implementation in more detail.

England and Wales

The education systems of the United Kingdom vary greatly between the four nation states. In schools in England and Wales, special education is referred to as SEN (Special Educational Needs.) Each school is required to have a Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator, or SENCO, whose responsibility it is to ensure all pupils in the school with SEN receive the appropriate support to facilitate their successful education. According to Teachernet, a UK government website set up to aid teaching staff, the current SEN Code of Practice came into force at the beginning of January 2002, replacing the original version dating to 1994.

To qualify as having SEN, a student must be assessed by a professional, usually an Educational Psychologist, Doctor or Psychiatrist. If a disability or difficulty is identified which it is considered, presents a significant challenge to what is considered normal learning patterns, and education, a recommendation or application can be made for the issue of a Statement of Educational Need, which entitles the student to the appropriate learning support.

Disabilities that may merit the issue of a statement include, Physical disbility, e.g. the lack of functioning or loss of limbs or movement, Motor or fine motor disability, Learning difficulties or disabilities, developmental disorders, mental illness or incapacity, or behavioural difficulties. With the correct support, many students with SEN have the potential to develop into productive, successful and fully integrated members of society,^{[citation needed]} as has been proved the case on numerous occasions.^{[citation needed]}

Scotland

In Scotland the term SEN (Special Educational Needs) was in use until very recently when it was replaced with the term addition support needs (ASN) in 2005. The new concept of 'additional support needs', introduced by the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, refers to any child or young person who, for whatever reason, requires additional support for learning. Additional support needs can arise from any factor which causes a barrier to learning, whether that factor relates to social, emotional, cognitive, linguistic, disability, or family and care circumstances. For instance, additional support may be required for a child or young person who is being bullied; has behavioural difficulties; has learning difficulties; is a parent; has a sensory or mobility impairment; is at risk; or is bereaved.

There will be many other examples besides these. Some additional support needs will be long term while others will be short term. The effect they have will vary from person to person. In all cases though, it is how these factors impact on the individual persons' learning that is important and this will determine the level of support required. [1]

Australia

The model of Special Education in Australia followed British patterns quite closely. "Asylums" and "Schools" for children were begun in the late 1800s by charitable organisations. The government began to provide special classes from the 1920s, but it was not until the 1980s that a comprehensive system for educating all children, no matter their disability, was taken on as a government responsibility. This initially meant supporting children in Special Schools or separate classes.

Newcastle and Macquarie Universities were two influential universities in promoting Early Childhood Intervention and Inclusive Education from the 1970s until today. Special Education teachers are still trained at those institutions.

In 1996 an influential report by David McRae, known as the McRae report, found that the way children with disabilities had been catered for had changed very little over the years. He proposed government funding be tied to the child rather than the setting in order to encourage more inclusive education. While not all of his recommendations have been heard, this report resulted in a change in funding and an increase in the number of children with disabilities being included in their local schools. Today most children with disabilities are educated in their local schools, although the majority have mild disabilities. There are also small special classes attached to local schools, and special schools, which accept children who have moderate, severe, or profound disabilities. The Distance Education unit also provides special education to students who live in isolated regions.

To gain Special Education support, children need to have a diagnosis provided by a paediatrician or a psychologist. Families have the right to choose their own placement - special school, special class, or local school - dependent on places available. It is a requirement that an IEP (Individual Education Plan) be written with the family at least once a year so that goals for individual children are agreed upon by all those working with the child. Provisions differ enormously state by state - for example, NSW is the only state which does not provide therapists (speech, physio) for students. Western Australia has Education Support teachers working to support students in school, while Victoria relies a great deal on untrained integration aides.

Link title==Acronyms== The following is a list of commonly used acronyms in the field of Special Education.

AAA Assessment of Adaptive Areas
AAC Augmentative and Assistive Communication (or Augmentative and Alternative Communication device)
AAMR American Association of Mental Retardation
ABA Applied Behavior Analysis
ACES Academic Competence Evaluation Scale
ACT American College Test
ADA [[American with Disabilities Act
ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder]]
ADOS Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale
AFB American Federation for the Blind
AFT American Federation of Teachers
APA American Psychiatric Association
Arc formerly Association for Retarded Citizens
ASD Autism Spectrum Disorders
ASHA American Speech, Language & Hearing Association
ASL American Sign Language
ASR Automatic Speech Recognition
ATA Assistive Technology Act
AYP Adequately Yearly Progress
BES Behavior Evaluation Scale
BIP Behavioral Intervention Plan
BTE Behind the Ear (hearing aids)
CA Chronological Age
CAI Computer Assisted Instruction
CARS Childhood Autism Rating Scale
CBI Community Based Instruction
CBM Curriculum Based Measurement
CCTV Closed Circuit Television
CDC Centers for Disease Control
CDD Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
CDF Children's Defense Fund
CEC international Council for the Education of Exceptional Children
CEI Computer Enhanced Instruction
CES Coalition of Essential Schools
CHAT Checklist for Autism in Toddlers
CIC Completely In the Canal (hearing aids)
CODA Child of Deaf Adult
CMI Computer Managed Instruction
CMV Congenital Cytomegalovirus
CYC Chicago Youth Centers
DATA Developmentally Appropriate Treatment for Autism (as in DATA Project)
dB Decibels
DCDP Deaf Children of Deaf Parents
DSM Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
DSM-IV 4th Edition of the above DSM
EBD Emotional or Behavioral Disorders
EDBD Emotional Disturbances and Behavioral Disorders
EHA Education for All Handicapped Children Act
EI Education International
ELL English Language Learner
EMR Educable Mental Retardation (no longer used)
EPGY Education Program for Gifted Youth (Stanford U)
ERIC Eduational Resources Information Center
ESEA Elementary & Secondary Education Act (or NCLB)
ESL English as a Second Language
FAE Fetal Alcohol Effects
FAPE Free Appropriate Public Education
FAS Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
FBA Functional Behavioral Assessment
FEC Foundation for Exceptional Children
FM Frequency Modulated as in FM transmission devices
IAES Interim Alternative Education Setting
IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IEP Individualized Education Program
IFSP Individualized Family Service Plan
INTASC Interstate Teacher Assessment & Support Consortium
IRC Internet Relay Chat
ITC In The Canal (hearing aids)
ITE In The Ear (hearing aids)
ITEA International Technology Education Association
ITP Individualized Transition Plan
ITPA Illinois Test for Psycholinguistic Abilities
LD Learning Disabilities
LEP Limited English Proficient
LRE Least Restrictive Environment
MA Mental Age (no longer used)
NBPTS National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
NCD National Council on Disability
NCEO National Center for Educational Outcomes
NCLB No Child Left Behind Act (or ESEA)
NEA National Education Association
NASP US National Association of School Psychologists
NICHY US National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
NIDCD US National Institute for Deafness and Communication Disorders
NII US National Information Infrastructure
NIMAS US National Instructional Materials Access Center
NIMH US National Institute of Mental Health
NINDS US National Institute for Neurological Disorders & Stroke
NMHSCE New Mexico High School Compentancy Exam
NMSBA New Mexico Standards, Benchmarks and Assessments
NMTA New Mexico Teacher Assessment
NNER US National Network for Educational Renewal
NTID US National Technical Institute for the Deaf
OAE Otoacoustic Emmissions
OCR Office of Civil Rights
OERI Office of Educational Research and Improvement
OSEP Office of Special Education Programs
OT Occupational Therapist
OTL Opportunity To Learn
PALS Peer Assisted Learning Strategies
PBL Project Based Learning
PBS Positive Behavior Support
PDA Personal Data Assistant
PDD-NOS Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified
PECS Picture Exchange Communication System
PI Physical Impairments
PKU Phenylketonuria
PLT Principles of Learning and Teaching
PT Physical Therapist
ROP Retinopathy of Prematurity
RTC Real Time Captioning
RTI Response to Intervention
RWC Rear Window Captioning
SAT Scholastic Assessment Test
SBE Standards Based Education
SES Socioeconomic Status
SFA Semantic Feature Analysis
SIS Supports Intensity Scale
SLP Speech Language Pathologist
STAT Screening Test for Autism in Two year olds
STORCH Syphilis, Taxoplasmosis, Other, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus & Herpes
SWD Students Without Disabilities
TAEVIS Tactile Access to Education for Visually Impaired Students
TASH formerly the US Association for People with Severe Handicaps
TDD Telecommunications for the Deaf (now TTY)
TBI Traumatic Brain Injury
TEACCH Treatment & Education Of Autistic & Communication of Handicapped Children
TLRBSE Teacher Leaders in Research-Based Science Education
TLC Teaching Learning and Computing
TMR Trainable Mental Retardation (no longer used)
TRS Telecommunications Relay Service
TTY Text Telephone (formerly TDD)
UDL Universal Design for Learning
VCO Voice Carry Over
YAP Young Autism Program

References

Wilmshurst, L, & Brue, A. W. (2005). A parent's guide to special education. New York: AMACOM.

External links

cs:Speciální pedagogika de:Sonderpädagogik es:Educación especial he:חינוך מיוחד ms:Pendidikan khas pt:Educação especial zh:特殊教育

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