A Speech On Special Needs

Special education has been a very important topic through the years since the beginning of the education program in the United States because of its philosophy on inclusion and educating individuals no matter their condition, context or cultural status. The purpose of Schooling students with special need is basic and fundamental for the growth of our Nation, is to identify children with unusual needs and help them fulfill those needs

I am committed to working with all persons of diverse backgrounds, disabilities and other special needs. Every student should have the experience and ability of working with quality and caring teachers who care enough to take the time to make sure that they are given the tools they need to succeed. My life experiences have shown me how to be a better person and teacher for my students.

“The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.”, Buddha

There are many stereotypes regarding those with intellectual disabilities. This may be because these individuals range in cognitive ability, receptive and expressive language, and physical need. While it may be assumed that those with disabilities are not able to process the world around them, they are not immune to mental health disorders and the, sometimes tragic, events that take place throughout a lifetime. Someone without an intellectual disability may find solace in a friend, partner, or family member. If the event is impactful enough, they may even turn to a mental health professional that is trained to help those going through a tough time. Unfortunately, individuals with disabilities do not always have that same network of support.

There are many different reasons that students may need additional assistance to be successful academically. Students may have a difficulty reading, or English may not be their primary language. They may have suffered a traumatic brain injury or may have been born with Autism. Students might even have difficulty socially interacting with teachers and peers or due to some physiological impact in their young lives might have other emotional impairments. No matter what the cause for the disability, special education services and interventions are vital to success of these special students.

The special education coordinator noted that “[the principal] really understands what it means to have a well-designed learning environment for our special education students.” She facilitates the development of appropriate student placements and specialist assignments that represent classroom support needs. She is also involved in the IEP process, coordinates with the special education department chair and coordinator, promotes instructional practices responsive to student needs, and implements professional development requirements. Her most important functions in an Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting are to commit resources and ensure the services set out in the ARD meeting will actually be provided. These efforts are documented and placed in the student record (J. Harrison, D. Gibson, personal communication, February 27,

Despite many crucial developments surrounding acceptance of others there is still a long and arduous path ahead of our society. People with disabilities, whatever a given disability may be and mean for the individual, are frequently stigmatized. They are not always offered equal opportunities, nor are they always offered the proper support to fortify their capabilities so that the individual may be the best they can be. Because of this there are many people who never go or return to college, are unemployed, or are isolated from the community.

Each Exceptional student is assigned a case manager. These case managers meet with their student’s as often as needed, whether daily or monthly, to help watch their progress and help them with anything they need. Other programs and accommodations used to assist Exceptional students are language/speech therapists, behavioral specialists, occupational/physical therapies, deaf or hard of hearing services, and translators. A new change in the school policy to accommodate these students is that they can now be at the school until they are twenty-two years old, up from eighteen. Also, up to twenty-two, if students need additional help outside of school, students can go into the Transitioning youth with disabilities into Real vocational opportunities through Action planning and Individualized Learning, TRAIL, Program. This program helps disabled students transition into society and get jobs.

After one year's work experience as a case manager, I want to return to academic study and undertake my graduate degree with The University of Texas- Pan American Master of Education in Special Education. As stated above, I work as a case manager with Aim, LLC, providing case management and mentoring by using intensive supervision services incorporating GPS monitoring to keep at-risk youth in school within the San Antonio and Judson Independent School Districts. Working with at-risk youth has made me come to the realization of a rapidly growing population, the special needs students. Many students with learning disabilities who lack proper evaluation skip school or at times even drop out due to not receiving the help they need to stay in school.

Before commencing service learning, I had a number of misconceptions towards people with disabilities. Before volunteering, I had a lack of understanding, viewing people with disabilities as dependent and in need of constant help. Another misconception towards people with disabilities was focusing on the person’s lack of ability rather than the individual which consequently resulted in a one-dimensional outlook towards people with disabilities. Reflecting upon these views, I am appalled with these naive and prejudice

The Individualized Education Program (IEP) assignment for EDUU 601 included two goals with objectives and an IEP for the student. An IEP is developed for an individual student who has been determined to be eligible for special education. The persons involved with the development of an IEP include the parents, teacher, psychologist, service providers if needed, the student if able, and any other individuals from the school or district that are appropriate. The services provided could include, behavioral services, speech therapy, assisted technology, adapted physical education, or occupational therapy.

Each school, because of government mandate, has to provide services for exceptional students. The textbook Human Diversity in Education defines exceptional students as “those eligible for special educational services” (Cushner, McClelland & Safford, 2011). There are several categories for exceptional student but they all fall under the Ability/Disability continuum. Some of the categories for exceptional students are the: intellectually gifted, specific learning disability, emotionally handicapped, hearing impaired, visually impaired, mentally handicapped, and physically handicapped. In this paper the specific type of students that will be discussed, fall under the disabled side of the continuum. As one can see from the list above there

From the first day a child is born, parents are there to nurture their child, to support them as they grow and develop. There is a lot to learn about raising a child under normal circumstances, but when a child has special needs parents must learn this whole new language of medical and special education terms (Overton, 2005). Parents enter this new world where navigating for the best interest of their child is riddled with challenges and obstacles that they need to somehow overcome. This is especially true when parents are dealing with the special education program in their child’s school.

For Psychology of Exceptional Learners, I was given the opportunity to observe in Bishop Dunn Memorial School. This parochial school conveniently located on MSMC’s campus was a huge learning experience for me. I was able to sit in on a first grade general education class. It was a pleasure to get to watch co-teaching in action! The first day posed to be a little difficult because of not knowing which student had a disability so, I was unsure where to focus my attention. Due to FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the teacher was unable to disclose any information of which student has a disability or what disability that student faces. I was unable to see any work produce by the student, also. I was left to solely depend on my observations.

In 1993 the report of the Special Education Review Committee (SERC) was published. This report dealt comprehensively with the educational implications of special needs. It provided a definition of special needs which included those with severe and profound difficulties through to those who were exceptionally able and included both physical and mental disabilities. It recognized that the desire of the majority of parents of children with