Aly Bain ISP220 Multiple Environment Analysis

The least restrictive environment (LRE) for learners is a key component when designing and
planning an individuals special education. LRE is relative to each student, not determined by the
disability category, and may change over time. The law IDEIA states that students should only be
removed from the regular classroom environment if educational progress is unsatisfactory even
after introducing supplementary aids and services. This means that when considering LRE a
general education classroom with typical peers is the preferred environment for every child,
accommodations and modifications may be necessary, and only if this is considered unsuitable by
the IEP (Individual Education Plan) team should a more restrictive environment be considered.
This essay will discuss a variety of educational environments, the learners within those
environments, and the type of instruction they receive. A comparison will then be drawn using age
group as an identifier, showing the correlation between environment and severity of the disability.

The general education classroom will always have a variety of different learners within it. Students
learn in different ways and use different strategies. Some are more analytical in their approach,
others more creative, and ability may range from gifted and talented to those that may find learning
more of a challenge. Differentiation within such a diverse range of learners can be challenging to
ensure all get the most from the lesson and access all the information and understanding to succeed.
When students with disabilities are added to this already diverse learning environment, measures
must be taken to ensure these students also achieve to the best of their ability. Accommodations
and modifications can assist the student achieve in this environment such as allowing a visually
impaired student an audio version of text, or larger print text. It is not uncommon to see children
with AD and ADHD in a general education classroom, these students succeed well with
accommodations such as guided notes, specific seating arrangements and behavior contracts. Some
students with disabilities along the Autism spectrum with strengths in some academic areas are also
successful with typical peers, they may require headphones or ear plugs to de-sensitize sound, and
benefit from a firm structure with visual and verbal stimuli. The addition of a teaching aide in the
classroom as a learning support assistant can also greatly improve the students success, and peer
support and encouragement has been seen as a powerful motivator both academically and socially.
Related services visit the school and may either remove the student from the classroom or assist
within it, the latter being preferable where possible to aid the teaching staff to assist the student
appropriately to meet the individual needs and goals. Typical technology in this setting includes the
use of an interactive board, IPads or tablets, desktop computers and IPods, with software and apps
at the appropriate level for each student. Interactivity greatly assists both typical and atypical
students, and when it is utilized well it can be difficult to identify the students with disabilities from
their typical peers as all are engaged in learning individually.
As numbers of students with disabilities increase in the general education classroom, so does the
amount of support required for success. It is common to observe co-teaching in every age group,
elementary age classes tend to have an intervention specialist assigned to the classroom, where as
high school age classes appear to prefer subject specific intervention specialists to assist the
students with disabilities in a general education environment. Co-teaching can take various forms,
from one teach and one assist, common in all age groups, parallel teaching observed in elementary
schools where the same lesson is differentiated and taught simultaneously, and one teach one
observe seen in schools where information is needed to inform progress and suitability of the
environment. These approaches are common when the ratio of students with disabilities is above
five or six in a class of typical peers.

Aly Bain ISP220 Multiple Environment Analysis

Some students are more suited to a resource room within the school for some lessons, accessing the
general education classes in areas of academic strength where appropriate. Students with a specific
learning disability may only require additional support in the area of the disability and nothing
more. Depending on the severity of the disability they can be supported with typical peers or may
need to be given targeted instruction in a different environment for that specific academic subject.
A resource room may be appropriate for students with a specific learning disability or a smaller
group led by a subject specific intervention specialist may be the best environment for the student.
Students with a specific learning disability will only have a deficit in the identified area, and will
receive tiered intervention to achieve success. Some students with more severe or multiple
disabilities may be in the resource room for the entire day, as this may be the most appropriate and
least restrictive environment for them. For instance a student with an orthopedic disability who also
has an intellectual disability would be well placed to spend the day accessing education in that
environment. Students whose intellectual disabilities are considered either moderate, severe or
profound would be best suited there as the gap is too large to be filled in a general education room,
and the student would undoubtedly feel more comfortable learning with peers at a similar level in a
smaller group setting. Related services may be accessed either within class or in a separate room
depending on need, and would be more regular as the individuals needs would be greater.
Technology in a resource room is relied upon for visual and audial assistance, smart boards are
utilized to a greater degree and software such as iready and razzkidz provide individual and
differentiated learning that can be monitored closely by the teacher and manipulated to ensure
specific goals are targeted and reached. Some resource rooms have integrated functional cooking
spaces within them to enable the teaching of adaptive behavior and life skills in an appropriate
setting. Processes can be taught from hand washing, basic food preparation and cooking to washing
up plates and cutlery and safe storage. Invaluable skills that students with disabilities, particularly
ID, require greater opportunities to practice.
As a students disabilities become more profound, access to a general education school may not be
in the best interest of the child. In this instance education in a Board of Developmental Disabilities
school would be the least restrictive environment for the child. Related services such as
occupational, physiotherapy, speech and language, hearing, visual and many other professionals
either visit frequently or are stationed at the school. The class sizes are very small, usually no
greater than ten, and the staff to pupil ratio is increased to approximately eight adults to ten
students, depending on their individual needs. Some pupils may have their regular nurse with them
in school to perform medical procedures that educational staff are untrained to do. Curriculum may
be greatly adapted and the expected performance and attainment of these students is markedly
lower. Goals and expected achievements are still recorded on the IEP of each student, relative to
their abilities. Most students in such an establishment have multiple profound disabilities, and
require the greatest support from their educational environment. Technology is used but to a lesser
degree. Interactive white boards are used to assist with group activities, and encourage movement,
speech and social interaction within the class, but every activity takes a very long time. Computers
and moving toys are adapted to be used by students who have severe disabilities limiting motor
function, such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida and multiple sclerosis. Push buttons are used to make
something move, and word cards are used to spell out words. The classroom in this setting is more
sensory, and has far more visual devices such as velcro pictures depicting a routine, or a
requirement. Teaching staff and aides are responsible for toileting and feeding students as required,
and ensuring the students are not in one position for too long, either supported standing or sitting.

Aly Bain ISP220 Multiple Environment Analysis

Education is not restricted to being accessed within a school setting, indeed, young offenders are
still entitled to free and appropriate education, regardless of their setting. Attention centers provide
such education in a remarkable and challenging environment. Teaching staff employed by the local
school are seconded to work in the center, and deliver appropriate education to its young residents.
Residents are usually few in numbers, and although they can be any age, typically tend to be high
school age or older, with academic abilities lower than typical peers. This may be due to a
disability, lack of attendance at school, or both. Youths typically (but not exclusively) present with
disabilities such as emotional disturbance, AD and ADHD, specific learning disability and
intellectual disability, negating the requirement for an intervention specialist at the center.
Classrooms are run by subject specific teachers and classes are usually gender split to help to avoid
any possible disturbances, creating classes containing as few as two or three students. The nature of
the environment does not permit the use of any technology at all, so all the useful modifications
seen in a school environment are not present. Text books and white boards create an old school
feel, teaching is tailored to each student and communications between student and teacher have to
be carefully worded to avoid incident. Access to related services is granted after bail is posted by a
parent or carer, typical related services in this environment would be psychologists and counsellors
as well as other services as required. Students in this environment make good use of library
facilities, which is a valued commodity and has clear advantages educationally. In this respect it
can be said that the lack of technology aids educational attainment through recreational reading to
decrease boredom. Guided notes are useful to keep attention but avoid confrontation, as well as
concentrating on small sections of work at a time, switching subjects more frequently than in school
to allow students to move about.
Drawing comparisons between these environments aside from the obvious afore mentioned
differences, is best represented considering specific age groups. When considering elementary
early education, the general education classroom is fun and inviting, with a general atmosphere of
play and excitement. Tables are arranged in group formations, there are generally stations around
the room for technology, reading, puzzles and imaginative play. The room is airy with plenty of
room for activities. The students are generally engaged and focussed, polite, inquisitive, and eager
to learn. The teacher is either working alone or with an aide, occasionally with an intervention
specialist, and either switches classes for subject specific time or has a contained class for the day.
The teacher uses technology to the greatest extent appropriate, and contact with parents is as
necessary or at conferences. Conversely, the same age group in a board of developmental
disabilities school have an entirely different, although totally appropriate environment. There are
few tables in the class as the room is taken with supported standing devices, wheelchairs, bean bags,
low chairs with detachable tables. There is typically little room to maneuver, a bathroom is either
nearby or has a door adjoining the classroom, and the students comfort is as much of a priority as
their education. There are many more adults in the room, intervention specialists, nursing staff,
aides, and services, almost as many as students, and this may still appear to be insufficient. The
students can be non verbal, communicating using cards or letter prompts and have motor skill
deficiencies due to profound disability. Contact with parents can be daily, or more as any
significant change in behavior or triumph is always worth passing on. Small things can have the
greatest impact.

Aly Bain ISP220 Multiple Environment Analysis

Considering an older age group comparison, students of high school age, the variants are equally
prominent. The general education classroom is filled with single desks in rows facing an interactive
board. The walls are covered with quotes, students work and projects, leaning cues, and bright
colors. The students are engaged for the most part, and the teacher expects independent learning as
well as group work to enhance social skills. There may be an aide or intervention specialist
depending on the pupils in the class. The class is contained in the room for the duration of the
period, then the students move to the next class. The resource room students are there all day, with
a few students in and out depending on their individual needs. Contact with parents is usually
through parent teacher conferences, or if any significant issue arises. A contrasted environment to
the general education school is the attention center. Here students are residential, and have a strict
routine enforced upon them. Their day may include education, court appearances, going to visit
other professionals and visits from family members or legal representatives. Educationally, they
have classrooms that are bleak, nothing on the walls for fear it may get destroyed or the fixings used
destructively, and no technology allowed. The classrooms all have large windows to enable
correctional staff to observe, and the class size is two or three students of the same gender to one
teacher. The students have access to a considerable library, which is utilized a great deal, and
assists greatly educationally. Students in this environment read considerably more than typical
students of the same age, as they have limited free time where they have access to a television,
therefore reading is the only thing available to them. Although students within an attention center
could be considered to have the most restrictive environment, which socially is accurate,
educationally they move around to different classrooms, and areas of the building. It could
therefore be suggested these students are not as restricted as those in a general education resource
room who are contained all day.
In conclusion, it is clear that LRE must be educationally appropriate, and determined by the IEP
team as such for each case. The environment may change as goals are evaluated, and more or less
support required. Students in the appropriate educational environment are more successful than
those struggling in an environment not suited to their needs. The diversity of learners must be
accommodated to achieve a successful outcome, however small those successes may appear to be.