1. A Few Famous People With Disabilities

2. Dr. Stephen Hawking

3. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease)

4. James Earl Jones

5. Virtually mute as a child … Stuttered for most of his childhood …

6. Tom Cruise

7. Severe dyslexia Calls himself “functionally illiterate”

8. Dr. Albert Einstein

9. Didn’t speak until after age 3; but rumors of his various disabilities seem to be just rumors …

10. Itzhak Perlman

11. Permanently paralyzed by polio at age 4

12. Christopher Reeve

13. Paralyzed by a throw from his horse – unable to use limbs or breathe on his own (quadriplegia)

14. Ludwig van Beethoven

15. Hearing impairment, deafness

16. Harriet Tubman

17. Traumatic brain injury; epilepsy

18. Alice Cooper

19. asthma

20. Chris Burke

21. Down Syndrome

22. Michael J. Fox

23. Diagnosed at age 30 with Parkinson’s Disease

24. Drummer from Def Leppard (Rick Allen)

25. Orthopedic Impairment

26. Patty Duke

27. Manic- Depressive Disorder

28. Geri Jewell

29. Cerebral Palsy

30. Marlee Matlin

31. Had Roseola Infantum as an infant which resulted in Deafness

32. Richard Pryor

33. Multiple Sclerosis

34. Stevie Wonder

35. Blind

36. James Brady

37. Shot in the head Traumatic Brain Injury

38. John Cougar Mellencamp

39. Spina Bifida

40. Special education is not a place … It is not a classroom … It is not a school … It is a SERVICE

41. LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and that special 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 is such that the education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

42. Educational Service Options for Students with Disabilities GENERAL EDUCATION has primary responsibility for student’s educational program. Special education is a support service designed to facilitate student’s success in the educational mainstream. (Levels 1 – 3)

43. LEVEL ONE MOST inclusive – MOST number of students – Student placed in general classroom, no additional or specialized service.

44. LEVEL 2 Student placed in general classroom; the special education teacher in a consultative role provides assistance to classroom teacher. Number of students lower than level 1. Second most inclusive.

45. LEVEL 3 Student placed in general classroom for majority of the school day; attends special education resource room for specialized instruction in areas of need. Number of children in programs declining still.

46. Educational Service Options for Students with Disabilities SPECIAL EDUCATION has primary responsibility for student’s educational program. Levels 4 – 7 Inclusion declining; numbers of pupils declining as levels progress. Level 7 – Most restrictive

47. LEVEL 4 Student placed in special education class for majority of the school day; attends general class in subject areas consonant with capabilities.

48. LEVEL 5 Student placed in full-time special education class in general education school.

49. LEVEL 6 Student placed in separate school for children with special needs.

50. LEVEL 7 MOST RESTRICTIVE LEAST NUMBER OF STUDENTS Student educated through homebound or hospital instructional program.

51. TIME. Teachers need 1 hour more a day to plan for students with disabilities. TRAINING. Teachers need systematic, intensive training, either as part of their certification programs or as an ongoing process with consultants. Perspectives from general education teachers on inclusion …

52. more perspectives … PERSONAL RESOURCES. Teachers need additional personnel assistance to carry out inclusive objectives. This could include a part-time aide and daily contact with special education teachers. MATERIAL RESOURCES. Teachers need adequate curriculum materials and other classroom equipment appropriate to the needs of students with disabilities.

53. More perspectives … CLASS SIZE. Teachers agree that their class size should be reduced to fewer than 20 students if students with disabilities are included in their general classrooms. CONSIDERATION OF SEVERITY OF DISABILITY. Teachers are more willing to include students with mild disabilities than students with more severe disabilities, apparently because teachers’ perceived ability to carry on their teaching mission for the classroom. By implication, the more severe the disabilities represented in the inclusive setting, the more the previously mentioned sources of support would be needed.

54. SCHOOL-WIDE ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER — coordinates the student’s IEP; assessments; record keeper; communicates PARENTS – inform team; reinforce learning at home SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST – select, administer, and interpret assessments; observe; communicates SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR – responsible to school board; communicates

55. schoolwide assistance … GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHER – provide appropriate educational experiences; communicates ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER – provide appropriate supports; communicates RELATED SERVICES SPECIALIST – speech/language; PT; OT; counselor; nurse; juvenile court authority; physician; technology specialist; social worker; provides needed appropriate services, communicates

56. ROSS, age 11 Ross has achondroplasia, a skeletal disorder than causes short limbs and orthopedic problems. The bones of his head and face do not develop normally and this has left him with a small amount of permanent hearing loss necessitating the use of hearing aids. Ross, who also has a learning disability, attends Public School 234 in Lower Manhattan.

57. YVONNE, just born to age 3 Yvonne was the second of twins: her sister was born first and without difficulty. However, Yvonne was not as lucky. There was something different about her; it became obvious almost immediately after the birth. She didn’t have good muscle tone. Within days, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Her head and left side were the most affected. The doctor told her parents that she would most likely have physical and learning problems throughout her life. She was placed in an early intervention program, and then a preschool program when she was 3. The preschool population was made up of children without disabilities.

58. MATT, age 4 and upward One day, 4-year-old Matt was playing across the street from his house. As he crossed the street to return home, he was hit by a car. Matt suffered severe trauma and was in a coma for 2 months. Matt wears a helmet to protect his head, and he uses a walker in his general education kindergarten class. He is working on his fine motor skills and speech skills so that he can write again. He is working on his alphabet, counting, and number recognition. He receives speech therapy. He is well-liked by his classmates. His teacher enjoys seeing his progress.

59. LANCE, age 16 Lance is a very troubled kid. At school, he picked fights with students, spit in their food, threatened to kill his teacher and his classmates, and cursed at the principal. The final straw came on a bus full of children. When Lance erupted and threatened to cause a crash, a teacher’s aide had to restrain him. Lance hit and kicked the aide. Because Lance is disabled and protected under IDEA, strict discipline measures were forbidden.

60. QUESTIONS to PONDER What is the solution to inclusion when there are severe disabilities that interfere with the other students’ learning? Why is it so important to provide early intervention as early as possible? What is your opinion about pulling children from general education classes for special education services? How can teachers be everything to everyone? How can parents get teachers who are everything to their child?