15/08/2012
DESCRIPTORS: definitions in special education, 13 categories of disability, prevalence of individuals with disability, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, continuum of placements, educational exchange, RTI, inclusion, universal design for learning.
SYNOPSIS: The author describes the field of special education in the past 20 years in the United States and shows how dramatically it has changed. Recent laws advocating for individuals with disabilities have made a significant impact on their access to education. The authors gives definitions of main terms in Special Education and illustrates them with examples.
Definitions in Special Education
According to Huefner (2006), the term special education means specially designed instruction that meets the unusual needs of an exceptional student and that might require specific materials, techniques, interventions and/or equipment. General education cannot replace special education as special education is precisely controlled by many factors including intensity, pacing of instruction, structure, reinforcement, teacher pupil ratio, curriculum, and assessment (Kaufman & Landrum, 2007).
The 13 categories of disability according to Hallahan, Kauffman, and Pullen (2012) are the following: autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury and visual impairment. Definitions are as follows:
Prevalence of Individuals with Disabilities
The percentage of the population that has a disability is referred to as prevalence. In the United States, estimating the prevalence of specific disabilities is difficult and often a source of controversy due to several factors. Varying and vague definitions, rates of identification, and the roles of the school in the identification all affect the accuracy of the prevalence data. The best estimates are as follows: (1) 10 out of every 100 students in the United States receive special education services, (2) 2.3% of the population is identified as having an intellectual disability, and (3) the identification of individuals with autism or autism spectrum disorder continues to rise.
The following table details the percentage of special education enrollment in 2010 by disability category in the state of California.
California | Percent |
---|---|
Autism |
8.8% |
Deaf |
0.6% |
Deaf-Blindness |
0.0% |
Emotional Disturbance |
4.0% |
Hard of Hearing |
1.4% |
Learning Disability |
42.3% |
Mental Retardation |
6.3% |
Multiple Disability |
0.8% |
Orthopedic Impairment |
2.3% |
Other Health Impairment |
7.9% |
Speech or Language Impairment |
24.7% |
Traumatic Brain Injury |
0.3% |
Visual Impairment |
0.7% |
The Intent of Special Education Law
The progress in meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities is directly related to laws requiring states to include students with disabilities in the public education system (Bateman, 2011). The landmark federal law for educating children with disabilities passed in 1975 as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, commonly known as PL 94-142. This law was eventually amended to become the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990, 1997, and 2004.
Major provisions of IDEA include the following (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2012):
The key components addressed most frequently in American education are the individualized education plan and least restrictive environment.
Continuum of Placements
The education of students with disabilities depends on two factors: (1) how and how much the student differs from typical students and (2) what resources are available in the school and community (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2012). The continuum of placements from the least separate or least specialized to the most separate or most specialized is as follows:
General Education Class Only |
General Education Class with Consultation or Co-Teaching |
Itinerant Teacher |
Resource Teacher |
Self-Contained Special Class |
Special Day School |
Homebound or Hospital Instruction |
Residential School |
Recent Progress of Special Education in the United States
Response to Intervention
Identifying individuals as having learning disabilities was previously determined by an intelligence test which would be used to examine the discrepancy between the current achievement of the learner and the potential achievement. Response to Intervention (RTI) has now replaced this method of identification of learning disabilities. RTI refers to a student’s change (or lack of change) in academic performance or behavior as a result of instruction (Duhon, Messmer, Atkins, Greguson, & Olinger, 2009). Typically, the RTI model is a three-tiered intervention model. In the first tier, all students are screened while receiving evidence-based best practices. Any student who is determined to be at risk for school failure will be monitored weekly and screened at least every quarter. Those unresponsive to the instruction in the first tier will move onto the second tier where greater intensity of instruction and intervention in small groups are utilized. Students remain in the general education setting with frequent monitoring. Students who continue to be at risk for school failure are reviewed by a multidisciplinary team. The team conducts a full evaluation and writes an individualized education plan that will be used in tier three. In tier three, students will receive the most intensive intervention by special education professionals with frequent progress monitoring.
Inclusion
Inclusion of students with disabilities educated with their typical peers in the same schools and classrooms has increased in recent years. While many educators strongly advocate for a variety of placement options, overall beliefs are that students with disabilities should be fully included with appropriate and comprehensive supports. One avenue of supporting students with disabilities is co-teaching. Both a general education and special education teacher share a classroom and support all students in the class. The most common form of co-teaching is when one teacher instructs and the second teacher assists. Although the level of success depends on the co-teaching team, co-teaching has become more prevalent in recent years.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Making learning accessible for all learners is the core principle of UDL. More students can be included in instruction if teachers modify materials, modes of communication, and how students can respond to curriculum. Teacher education programs focus on training teachers to best meet the needs of all students in their general education classrooms.
Conclusion
Special education in the United States has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. Laws and legislation advocating for individuals with disabilities has made a significant impact on education and access to education. Increasing numbers of individuals with disabilities in general education classrooms has changed the likelihood that more people will accept individuals with disabilities in society in general. When people are educated together, they are more likely to be friends and have a greater level of comfort about the differences.
References
1 Melinda R. Pierson, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Special Education, California State University, Fullerton, CA, USA.
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