The Education of The Disabled

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The Education of the Disabled As I prepare another book for publication I discovered an article I wrote in my freshman (College) English Class it is a topic I remain passionate about all these years later: Please keep in mind I wrote this article sixteen years ago: The Education of the Disabled A young boy stands assisted with a tilt table. A young girl with Down Syndrome sits struggling to learn to read simple words, a young girl prone to violent seizures, with the mentality of about an eighteen month old sits strapped into a special chair, for her own safety, because she has been known to bolt from the room and run in front of a school bus. Someone has to keep constant guard over her. The rest of the small class sits at their desks working on simple math problems. This was a scene in a Special Education for the severely handicap at the upper elementary level classroom in 1995, the school was not a special school but a public school, where these kids could mingle with peers without disabilities. If we go back to the mid twentieth century we will see the drastic changes that have been made. We now have programs that allow both disabled children and non disabled children to attend the same schools. We no longer believe that disabled children need to be hidden away from society, like we once believed. When I was in highschool I spent time in both the classrooms for the disabled and regular classrooms, and saw the work first hand in both. In one school district, they both received equal pay, though the special education teacher had more expected of her. We have come along way from the begining of the twentieth century when we believed that children with disabilities needed to be locked away in institutions. or safely hidden away at home. Some of the anti-discrimination acts that have changed these views include: “ The Civil Rights act of 1964 which was the first federal statue in the area of anti-discrimination. The American with Disabilites act is the second. It is estimated 25% of the claims currently being filled with the EEOC are disability claims arrising under the ADA” ( The Van Wyhe Group 1 ). That is not to say that there are no rooms for improvement made, because we still are not always fair when it comes to educating the disabled. In elementary school I was in a Special Education class, because of my physical disabilities, and even after my grades in that particular class showed I needed to be in a classa little more advanced, they didn’t mean want to mainstream me, so my cousin , ( who is under a year older than I ), helped me to fight to get in the class I needed to be in. She helped meby working with me with the same work she got, and she was in a regular classroom, and a year ahead of me. I eventually managed to be mainstreamed in to a regular classes, but a stigma was brought with the fact that I was in Special Education, especially amoungst my fellow students. I was often labeled as a “ Retard “ or worse because at one time I was in Special Education. It was assumed ( even by some of the teachers ) that because I spent some time in Special Education it meant I was stupid, which is far from the case in many circumstances. We should not judge a person because they were in Special Education or are disabled, just as we should not judge a person because of the color of their skin or their finacial standing. We need to teach not only our children, but our teachers to look beyond the obvious and judge a person for who they are, not by their outward One arictle I read stated this: “ one of the greatest challlenges facing special education teachers today is to help the students with handicaps move from special education classrooms into less restrictive classrooms “ ( Hunbert, 1982, Reprinted in 1991 In Teaching Exceptional. Children ). I believe this statement to be true , because I feel that it would have been better for me personally if I would have had that transition period, and many others who I have talked to that were in Special Ed and were mainstreamed agree that they would have had a better transition period if they would have had that chance for transition, it would have been good, not only for them, but for their new teachers, and fellow students. I can understand how some people would question the reasons for mainstreaming, and whether or not it did the Child being mainstreamed any good, because in some instances, that is not the best option. Before mainstreaming a child, you need to think of the benefits of mainstreaming children into a “ normal classroom setting “. Educating the disabled goes beyond the classroom though, and goes into every aspect of. life. Watching the news today I saw a piece on a young man who despite the pain and limitations of Cerebral Palsy, was running in Marathons with the rest of his highschool classmates, although he was in pain and lagged behind he stated this about his condition: “ I like to think if ut as a gift I have been given to set an example for other’s. ( Coleman Nov.3.2003) We as a nation and as society in general have come a long way since the days of Helen. Keller, who once said this: “ Work without joy shall be nothing” ( Keller 1905 Page 2 Reprinted. 2003 ) This was from a woman who was once labeled as a “ wild child” . One who at once. people believed was uneducatable. She would prove the people who labelled her wrong, over and over again. There are a variety of disabilities that may put a child in special education, physical disabilities, mental disabilities, and learning disorders. “ Learning disabilities ( LD’S) are often defined by what they are not. They are not due to mental retardation, enviromental deperivation, emotional disturbance, or any sensory ( vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch ) impariment. They may, however, occur concurently with another condition exceptionality, specific learning disabilitiy plus emotional and behavioral disorder. Some children can be both intellectually gifted and learning disabled. “ (Freidberg 92) When I was working as a Teachers aide in highschool in the special education classroom for the severly disabled, I was able to see what these teachers sacrificed to make sure that these students got the care and education they deserved. These students had a variety of serious disabilities, arranging from severe Cerbral Palsy to Mental Retardation, Down Syndrome, and Autism, some of these children were able to go into classes with the rest of the school, for things like P.E, Art, and elective classes, but others needed to much constant supervision, which is the case in many instances. People with disabilities and many of the stigmatizms have come a long way since Helen Keller’s day, we now have the ADA ( Americans with Disabilities act ) ministries for people with disabilities, such as Joni and Friends. ( For more information on Joni and Friends you can go to Or pick up one of her books whose titles include Choices, Changes, Joni, A Step Further, Heaven Your Real Home, and many more. We still do need more improvements though, at some rural schools, the classrooms aren’t even accesible to those in wheelchairs, or who need assistance walking. We have narrow bathroom stalls, and steps that get in the way, and in some places there are no ramps to be found, which definetly make it hard for those with “ handicaps” to have the chance at equal education. I am not necessarily talking about those with mental handicaps, but more those with physical handicaps now, but we still have “ invisble barriers “ that can prove an obstacle in educating those with mental handicaps, obstacles like the lack of teachers poperly trained, and the lack of books geared towards those with mental disabilities. Joni in one of her books gave this as an explanation for starting her minsitry, that helps people with disabilities like herself. ( She wasn’t born disabled but in 1967 at the age of seventeen, while diving into the water, she hit her head on a rock and broke her neck, from that moment to know she lived and lives her life as a quadrapalegic, but still manages to paint,write, and run her ministry. She travels, speaks and advocates for the disabled. “ I am a handicapped person who has experienced the overwhelming love and Grace of God. I have the added advantage of a loving family and friends who cared for me faithfully, whether by lifting my spirits or lifting me into a wheelchair. Out there beyond the pasture and the walls of my cozy home are thousands of men and women and young cildren, who have none of that. “ ( Tada, Choices and Changes 95 ). It is true that in some countries the people with disabilities are treated unfairly, locked away in orphanages, or even hidden away in huts Copyright Michelle R Kidwell November.03.2003