ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

My heart goes to ALL children. Most remarks given by parent on children with intellectually challenged, how about those with physical and sensorial challenged (visual and hearing impaired)? Please share some ideas, issues and barriers faced by them or teachers and parent in your next article.

It is timely that this article should show up in my email! At out last mentor meeting we had a panel of parents who spoke to this issue as part of their presentation to mentors. Some of their comments were the same "LISTEN TO MY THOUGHTS ON MY CHILD" and an underlying comment was "I NEED TO BE HEARD" It is important we connect with our parents on a daily basis, listen to them--they are the experts on their children's needs. There are many ways to accomodate special needs without scrapping your lesson plan. Allow tape recorders, send home a lesson plan for the week on paper or by email--most everyone has email now days--We need to connect and work together with families as we both wants what's best for the children.
I also think we should be gearing up to make learning developmentally appropriate too and loose the testing, it doesn't serve any child's needs and doesn't address different learning styles!

This article does shed light on the fight many have had to make for thier children. There are many children out there that have a condition that makes them different from the norm, yet they do not need to be in a "special ed" class, as some say should be done. If all teachers and administators were properly educated solutions could be found. They may be surprised at how simple these solutions can be if everyone was willing to put forth the effort and not just label everyone who doesn't fit the "norm" and send them off to someone else. Yes, teachers are human but so are these kids!

Wow! I feel so validated. I have a 19-year-old highly intelligent child with dysgraphia and ADD whose determination to graduate high school has been tested sorely by our District's reluctance to admit that dysgraphia is real and as great an impediment to learning as other more well-known difficulties. We've had to fight tremendous battles to educate teachers and administrators about dysgraphia and convince them he's not just lazy. I have become the epitomy of "Dragon Mom" fighting for my son's right to an education which benefits him and not just the school system. Every year -- and twice a year in high school -- we've had to fight the same battle as teachers and administrators changed. My son, who consistently scores in the top percentiles of his class on EOG's and PSAT's, has developed tremendous coping skills through these battles, but few friends. . . an intimate knowledge of his own strengths and limitations, but little respect for educators or education systems. My children attend one of the most respected school systems in the nation, and a high school recognized multiple times as one of the top 10 in our nation; how sad that this "quality education" he's receiving hasn't met his needs, but instead batters his self-worth on a regular basis. I respect the job that teachers must perform in overcrowded classrooms with inadequate supplies. I grieve for all those children who don't fit the definition of 'student' our education systems use, and especially those without Dragon Moms to fiercely advocate for them.

Well educated teachers know that differentiation can be built into any program and is neither time consuming nor takes anything away from anyone. These requests are basic to a wide number of disabilities. Teachers know what they are going to write on a board - and what they are going to assign. A syllabus and a quick study guide for all students can be printed ahead and handed out or made available to only those students and families who need one. If schools invested in technology, The teacher who learns to use adaptive equipment is able to meet the needs of all students. No one needs to copy notes for a child if other methods are used. Speech to text, smart board type technology, and text-to-speech type readers such as Kurzweil, make this a seamless process from which all can benefit and takes no more time than the old style processes. This is a far better investment than separate classes and teachers for each disability.

This article just reinforces to me that children with special needs are just that, children with "special needs." These children should not be mainstreamed with 30 non-special needs children in a classroom with one teacher. It may not seem like this parent is asking for much, but multiply that simple request by 30 and suddenly it becomes an overwhelming task. Each child has their own "special needs", but when a childs needs exeed what is considered "normal", that child needs "special" help. Parents of these children need to consider the benifits and the detriments to their own child and the other children in the class before they insist on "mainstreaming". Public schools are simply too overtaxed as it is with behavior issues and test score pressures. Teachers are only human.