Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN: © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. CHAPTER ONE SUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS IN THE GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 Inclusion in Today’s Classrooms “MAINSTREAMING” versus “INCLUSION” MAINSTREAMING: Refers to the inclusion of students with special needs in the general education process. INCLUSION: The term most often used today to describe the placement of students with special needs in general education.

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 Inclusion “Inclusion is a more modern term than mainstreaming but, unfortunately, its meaning is imprecise.” *It is important to determine what each speaker or writer means by the term inclusion because there are basic philosophical differences between the approaches of full inclusion and mainstreaming.

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 Students With Special Needs Students who have a disability that negatively affects their school performance are served by special education, and federal laws uphold their right to a free, appropriate public education. Other groups with learning needs significant enough to warrant special consideration: Gifted and talented students Culturally and linguistically diverse students Students at risk of school failure

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act According to IDEA 2004, students with disabilities include those with: Mental retardation Hearing impairment (including deafness) Speech or language impairment Visual impairment (including blindness) Serious emotional disturbance (cont’d)

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 Students with Disabilities (cont’d) Orthopedic impairment Autism Traumatic brain injury Other health impairment Specific learning disability Deaf/blindness Multiple disabilities (ADD and ADHD are covered under other federal legislation and as types of other health impairments under IDEA.)

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 Historical Perspectives And Current Practices THE PAST: Students with special needs were placed in general education classes because this was the only placement available. THE PRESENT: Approximately 96% of students with disabilities are educated in regular schools. (U.S. Department of Education, 2009)

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 Landmark Legislation for Persons with Disabilities Legislation Related to Education: Public Law , the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 Public Law , the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 Public Law , the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 Civil Rights Legislation: Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Public Law , the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 Benefits of Including Students with Special Needs Students remain with their typical peers; they are not segregated from the normal activities of the school. Labeling is de-emphasized. Students leave the classroom for special help, not to see the teacher of students with intellectual disabilities or emotional disturbance.

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 Benefits of Including Students with Special Needs (cont’d) Research indicates that students with disabilities can achieve academic success in mainstream classrooms. General education students benefit from association with their peers with special needs (realistic introduction to U.S. society). Teachers and specialist also gain when students with special needs are included.

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 The Role of Special Education According to federal laws, special education is instruction specially designed to meet the unique needs of students. Settings: Classrooms Homes Hospitals Includes instruction in physical education.

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 Definition of Special Education (Heward, 2003) “Special education is individually planned, specialized, intensive, goal- directed instruction … Special education is also characterized by the use of research-based teaching methods, the application of which is guided by direct and frequent measures of student performance.”

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 Related Services Psychological services for assessment and counseling Transportation Speech and language services Special physical education Rehabilitation counseling Physical and occupational therapy

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES These are supports provided to the students with special needs to help them succeed in general education classes and other settings, i.e. taped textbooks, equipment such as computer adaptations, and services such as peer tutoring.

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP) IEP TEAM: Student’s classroom teacher(s) Any specialists who work with student Parents Student (when appropriate) One of team’s functions: To plan the student’s educational program.

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 16 LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT (LRE) In selecting placements for students with special needs, it is necessary to follow the principle of Least Restrictive Environment. The LRE for a student with disabilities is believed to be the appropriate placement closest to the general education classroom. (See law  )

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 17 LRE Federal Special Education Law “To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities … are educated with children who are non-disabled, and separate classes, special schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.” (IDEA 2004 Final Regulations)

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 LRE Placement Least Restrictive (Full-day regular class placement)  Most Restrictive (Home or hospital placement)

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 19 CURRENT ISSUES & TRENDS Goals 2000 Standards movement No Child Left Behind Act

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 20 GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Classroom teacher: often the first professional to identify the specials needs of students and to initiate the referral process source of valuable information about current school performance participates in planning the student’s educational program and in developing the IEP

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 21 THINGS TO REMEMBER Most students with special needs can succeed in general education classrooms. Inclusion is the meaningful participation of students with special needs in the general educational process. Students with special needs include those with disabilities (learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, mental retardation/intellectual disabilities, speech and language impairments, autism spectrum disorder, physical and health impairments, … (cont’d)

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 22 THINGS TO REMEMBER (cont’d) …traumatic brain injury, and visual and hearing impairments), gifted and talented students, culturally and linguistically diverse students, and students at risk for school failure. Inclusion in general education allows students with special needs to interact with typical peers. It also reduces the effects of labeling. Most students with special needs receive the majority of their education in general education classrooms. These students and their … (cont’d)

Teaching Students with Special Needs in General Education Classrooms, 8e Lewis/Doorlag ISBN # © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 23 THINGS TO REMEMBER (cont’d) … teachers are provided with aid and assistance to ensure their success. The general education teacher contributes to the success of students with special needs by participating in assessment, program planning and IEP development, placement decisions, and, most important, implementation of students’ general education programs.