Educating Special Needs Students Narrative Essay

Educating special needs students can be challenging for all individuals involved. Students who may have intellectual disabilities, autism, and severe or multiple disabilities can have many bumps along the road of education. The impact of having a disability as a student can affect not only the student and the parents, but the educators as well. Policies, procedures, and programs are put in place to help these students succeed in the world of education.

Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disability is a general learning disability that appears before adulthood. Some people refer to intellectual disability as mental retardation. To define intellectual disability, it includes both a component relating to mental functioning of individuals and functioning skills in their environment. There are three characteristics of an intellectual disability. One is the intellectual quotation or IQ is between 70 to 75 or below.

Two is the ability to adapt and carry on an everyday lifestyle such as activities, self-care, socialisation, and communication. Three is that the disability occurs prior to the age of 18. Generally the cause of intellectual disability can be caused at birth or during labor; these include temporary oxygen deprivation, premature births, low-birth-weight, and birth injuries. Often times there are a combination of genetics between two people that can form a certain disorder of the gene in their children. A person with a chromosomal disorder, too few or too many chromosomes, can develop an intellectual disability.

Educating Special Needs Students

Autism

Autism is a disorder that impairs social interaction in verbal and non-verbal communication. It affects information that is processed in the brain by altering the nerve cells. Signs of autism are usually noticed within two years of a child’s life and the signs develop over time. Sadly there is no known cure for autism but there have been cases reported of children who have recovered. Medical expert have come to the conclusion that autism in some cases have been caused by premature births, early childhood vaccinations, Fragile X syndrome, Rett syndrome, and Tuberous sclerosis. Severe and Multiple Disabilities

In individual with severe or multiple disabilities is described as a person who has one or more disability. Some causes can be chromosomal abnormalities, premature birth, lack of oxygen, blindness, deafness, poor development of the brain or spinal cord, infections, genetic disorders, or injuries from an accident. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; IDEA made it easier for children between the ages of 3 and 21 to have access to suitable public education. Teachers have found ways to include disabled students in regular classrooms.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; IDEA has found a way to have an impact on classroom settings for disabled students. Inclusion classrooms have been beneficial for disabled children. Recent studies have proved that children have been found doing better on standardized tests and acquiring better social and communication skills to prepare themselves for life’s day-to-day events.

Other Educating Special Needs Students

Students in the classroom have also benefited by being exposed to disabled students. Other students have grown to accept and develop friendships with students who have disabilities. Students with severe disabilities have curriculums in programs that are specifically altered to fit their needs. A curriculum is set up so that students with learning disabilities will have a brighter future and succeed in their education. It is less likely for students to drop out of school and continue their education by having the stability of a curriculum that works in their favor of learning. Having a functional curriculum teaches students the skills that they need to become an independent individual.

When using a curriculum, educators take into consideration what the particular student needs to excel in their course of study and in their classroom. When the educator is aware of what the student needs they will not waste time in their classroom focusing on areas that a disabled student will not benefit from. Educators will also use multiple instruction methods to help disabled students succeed. Audio and visual learning methods are incorporated to help disabled students overcome their weaknesses and find their strengths when learning. Along with the curriculum socialization skills will help disabled students enter at with others.

By developing their socialization skills in the classroom disabled students will become more independent with other members of society. Following a curriculum for disabled students will help them as well as other students except them in the classroom. The benefits of accepting disabled students in the classroom will help them and other students to not segregate them while they are in school learning as well as to teach them the skills they need to interact in life’s day to day events outside of school. Educating Special Needs Students5

Policies and procedures in the local school district concerning students with intellectual disabilities use the program Child Find. According to state and federal special education regulations, School Districts, Intermediate Units, and Charter Schools are required to conduct child find activities for children that are eligible for the services of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This program is to identify all children of school age that might need special education all related services due to problems that may interfere with future development and learning.

From a legal standpoint each school is required to adopt the use of public outreach awareness. Identify children that are eligible for special education within the school district jurisdiction. Early intervention in special education services and programs must be made know to the public. Each school must establish a system to accomplish the necessary initial screening which is to identify and provide a screening of students to identify any academic, social, emotional, or sensory problems concerning vision, hearing, language, or speech difficulties. Teachers and other staff members must assist the students and work effectively with the students in the general curriculum. The child find policies and procedures are used to identify, locate, and evaluate children with disabilities.

As early as possible early identification and an assessment of disabilities will be implemented in a formal plan for the child. The timeline from the initial evaluation must be conducted within 60 days from the parents’ consent for the evaluation. Another program that the school district provides is the Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act. Title I is a financial assisted program that helps schools with high numbers or children with low income families to ensure that their child meets the academic standards of the state. The No Child Left Behind Act supports

Educating Special Needs Students

Standards based education reform based primarily on measuring goals that can improve individual outcomes in a student’s education. All public schools receiving the federal funding that comes along with these programs administer a statewide standardized test to all students each year. These text I also provide the parents a detailed report card on their child’s performance. Based on the knowledge of the child’s results, it will help the educators and the parents in providing the student with the proper help during their learning years. Over all, learning can be challenging for anyone. But a student with severe or multiple disabilities may face a tough road that many of us may not understand. Having the proper guidelines in place and having everyone involved understand their role in a students learning world is essential to having a successful independent student.