Bordas 1

Marcella Bordas

Professor Madden

English 1201

26 July 2019

Special Education in Public Schools

What image come to your head when you think of Special Education? You might be

picturing lots of children with disabilities spending most of the school day in special classroom

separated from other peers. You’re not wrong while this has been the norm for children with

disabilities. However, there is now a controversary as to whether children with disabilities should

be in these special classrooms or included alongside their fellow peers in a normal setting.

Although most public schools offer special education classrooms, studies have shown that

inclusion alongside their fellow peers is more beneficial to the child’s social, educational,

vocational, and emotional development.

Special Education and the wellbeing of children with disabilities is a topic that hits close

to home for me. Growing up I had several close family members and friends who were born

with disabilities. Having a disability makes them special and unique in their own way. My

cousin was born with down syndrome and watching him grow up and not have what he needed

to succeed or having people comment about his disability is just heartbreaking. He was not able

to get resources to Speech Therapy, or even education because of his behavioral skills. It was just

sad that no one wanted to work with him because of his disabilities. This is part of the reason

that I have been a huge advocate for Special Needs and Special Education. Volunteering
 Bordas 2

frequently with these children puts a smile on my face and warms my heart in a way I cannot

explain.

Special Education can be defined as services to children with disabilities that can be

provided differently (“What is Special Education”). For example, in a different setting that may

be quieter or in a different way that makes it easier for them to learn the information. Special

Education also identifies the children with unusual needs and aids them in these needs. The

overall goal of special education is to help children with disabilities learn and be able to have the

social, emotional, educational and independent living skills to help them succeed in the world.

In the year 1990 Congress passed a law to help any and all children with disabilities have

a right to a free public, appropriate education. This Law passed was called the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA is a law developed to help define and regulate Special

Education in Public School Systems. This law states that “children with disabilities have the

right to free appropriate public education (About IDEA).” With IDEA there are four parts A, B,

C and D (“Statute and Regulations”). Part A consists of the general ideas and the overall whole

purpose of the law. Part B is for children with disabilities aged 3-21 years old the right to free

appropriate education. Under Part C it grants children birth to 2 years old with disabilities to

early intervention services. Lastly Part D consists of grants to support state personal, teaching

services and parenting classes under federal observation. Having passed this law in 1990 over

6.5 million kids have been or are eligible for Special Education (About IDEA). Overall, having

such a law in place is good for individuals with disabilities so they are able to get the education

they need to be successful in life.

Under IDEA law there are 13 different conditions that make a child eligible for Special

Education in the public-school system (Lee). The 13 conditions are; specific learning
 Bordas 3

disabilities, Other health impairment, autism spectrum disorder, emotional disturbance, speech

and language impairment, visual impairment/blindness, deafness, hearing impairment, deaf-

blindness, orthopedic disability, intellectual disability, traumatic brain injury, and multiple

disabilities (About IDEA). Although for these children with disabilities to be fully eligible for

one of these conditions, there are a few characteristics. For a learning disability the child needs

to have difficulty generalizing skills in new situations, poor communication skills, difficulty

taking criticism, bizarre behaviors, and five to ten times more practice to obtain a skill (Rapp).

On the other hand, to be considered for an intellectual disability you must have an IQ lower than

70 and lower adaptive behavior (Rapp). For all other conditions they must be specially

diagnosed by a doctor.

There are several strategies to help a child with disabilities (Special Education in the

Schools). The first strategy is with assistive technology. For example, a laptop to help take

notes or an iPad to help them communicate. The next two are not to be confused,

accommodations verses modifications. Accommodations are changes in how a student learns the

material. For example, a child with dyslexia could have the opportunity to listen to an audio

book of the same book the other children are reading instead of reading the actual hard copy of

the book. While on the other hand, modifications are changes in what the student is taught by

the teacher or what they are expected to learn. An example would be shortening a reading

assignment for that child. Lastly there are paraprofessionals, which are teachers aids, to help the

child succeed in the classroom. These individuals are highly trained workers who specialize in

helping individuals with disabilities succeed in the classrooms.

There are a variety of classrooms that a child with disabilities can be placed. The most

common classroom for a child with disabilities is the self-contained classroom. This is a
 Bordas 4

classroom only and specially designed for children with disabilities. The teacher is a trained

special education teacher and the class size is smaller for more one on one training. This is what

is considered to be the norm of special education in the public-school systems. The other

common classroom used for special education is the placement of the child in an out of district

program. This means they are sent off to another public school, a private day school specifically

for children with disabilities and or boarding school with in house living. This typically happens

when the child is just completely unable to handle public schools or when the school system is

tired of working with the individual and forces them to leave due to their disability. In the

Special Education community being forced out of a public school is completely heartbreaking

for the child and family and not to mention completely unethical. This raises the issue of are our

public schools following the special education laws and is the state doing anything to enforce

these laws. Unfortunately, the state tends to do nothing about these situations which makes it

completely frustrating for the families involved. Separating these individuals with disabilities in

the school does nothing but isolate them from their fellow peers. With them being in separate

classrooms, theses individuals with disabilities are not learning social or communication with

their non-disabled peer. So how are they to react when they go out in public after school with no

social or communication skills. They are going to struggle and be the picture of what everyone

thinks of when they think of a child with disabilities. This so-called picture is a huge stigma

surrounding special education and individuals with disabilities. However, in our society today it

is important that we see a need to change this stigma from a negative viewpoint to a positive

viewpoint. Figure 1 as shown below, shows the interaction between a child with disabilities and

his special education teacher. The figure shows more of the child’s face then the teachers to

show you the success the child is feeling with the simple task put in front of him. However, it
 Bordas 5

also shows that the teacher is genuinely excited for the kid at his accomplishment. Being excited

about their accomplishments help raise confidence in the child’s work and helps them succeed

and move on to bigger and better things. The picture really appeals to your emotions by showing

the excitement in both the child’s and teachers facial features. The figure below also shows us

that Special Education Classrooms have been around for many years and shows that they are

genuinely successful. So, with them being so successful it is hard for others to look at an

inclusive classroom being any better than their own special education ones. This so-called

picture is a huge stigma surrounding special education and individuals with disabilities.

However, in our society today it is important that we see a need to change this stigma from a

negative viewpoint to a positive viewpoint.

Fig 1. Special Education Classroom (“Special Education”)

There is a story of a little girl named Lilly (name changed for the purpose of this paper).

She was 7 years old, smart as can be and an individual with a disability. She lived in the State of

Oregon with her mother and father. With Lilly having a disability her parents were nervous

about placing her in school. They didn’t want her to be isolated from her fellow peers, while she

was just like the rest of them. Her parents were huge advocates for inclusion in the classroom
 Bordas 6

and wanted what was best for their daughter. Upon arriving at the school, the members of the

school told them Lilly would not be able to be included in a normal classroom instead she would

have to be placed in the Special Education classroom because of her disability. This was

heartbreaking news for both Lilly and her parents to hear just because she was different then her

peers didn’t mean she shouldn’t be treated the same as them. Her parents had no other choice

but to do as they said, however that wasn’t going to stop them from fighting the school on

inclusion for their daughter in the classroom. So, every day they walked Lilly to school and

dropped her off in the special education classroom and every day Lilly would scream and throw

a fit to enter the classroom. This was strange to her parents while before Lilly loved school so

they were confused as to why she would be acting this way. It took a while before they realized

that the teachers were not treating the special education kids well at all. They would constantly

yell at them for things far out of their own control. It just seemed the teachers didn’t know how

to be around these individuals. Therefore, her parents continued to fight for inclusion in the

classroom. With no success Lilly and her parents moved here to Ohio in hopes of better luck.

Lucky for them they found a school here that was willing to work with Lilly and include her in

the normal classrooms. Now Lilly loves school more than ever, she runs into the classroom

every morning giving her teacher a big hug and saying hi to all her fellow classmates. Although

she is now in a normal classroom there is a paraprofessional working by Lilly’s side all day in

the classroom. This was a huge success for Lilly and her family. I got to meet this little gem of

a girl Lilly a couple weeks ago at our local Church. She was one of the sweetest, outgoing little

girls I have had the pleasure of working with. The church is now starting a special needs

ministry to help to include those in a heavenly walk to Christ. However, most families with

children with disabilities are not as lucky as Lilly and her family. It is a struggle to find schools
 Bordas 7

willing to include individuals with disabilities in normal classrooms. However, as shown by

Lilly and recent studies children with disabilities are succeeding in normal classrooms and are

better off then inside a special education classroom.

“One of the problems today is for a kid to get any special services, they have to have a

label (Temple Gradin).” Why does society need have a label for everything? Individuals with

disabilities go through enough hardship in their lives, they don’t need a school to label them and

make them stand out against their fellow peers. These labels make them more venerable to

bullying in the school system. This is exactly why the idea of inclusion in classrooms in the

public-school systems is such a good idea. Studies have shown that inclusion in the classroom

improves their communication skills, learning skills, behavioral skills and independence skills

(Idol). First, it will make the individuals with disabilities feel more widely accepted. This is

because they will be surrounded by other kids their own age and learning the same materials that

they are so that they are on an equal playing field. With this the individuals without a disability

are able to communicate with the individual with a disability thus breaking the stigma

surrounding the two demographics. This not only helps improve the communication skills of the

individuals with disabilities, but it also helps the individuals without disabilities see these

individual’s as people just like them. With being in an included classroom individual with

disabilities are able to learn the same material as their peers their own age. “I am different, not

less (Temple Grandin).” Just because these individuals have a disability it doesn’t mean that

they are any less smart than their fellow peers. Some of the greatest inventors, scientists, father

figures of the world had some type of disability but that didn’t stop them from creating their own

future. Having these classrooms shows the kids that they are able to do anything they put their

mind too just like their peers. Another advantage to inclusion classrooms is that the individuals
 Bordas 8

with disabilities behavior seems to change. Most individuals with disabilities have some sort of

behavior issue caused by their disability. Behaviors can include anything from screaming,

throwing things, hitting, and so much more. Just because they are in these classrooms doesn’t

meant that their behavior will stop altogether. However, it does decrease the number of

outbreaks one may experience throughout the school day. For example, if a child has about 5

outbreaks a day it may be limited to 2-3 outbreaks a day. This is extremely successful for

individuals with disabilities. A reason that this is so successful is because they are able to watch

and observe the other peers on their behavior patterns and how they act around other peers in the

classroom. Another major success of inclusive classrooms is learning independent life skills.

With being in an inclusive classroom these children are able to gain lifelong skills just like the

other kids in the classroom. They learn how to interact with their fellow peers, how to do their

own work, how to dress and eat for themselves and overall how to clean up after themselves in

and out of the classroom. Overall, it is better to have individuals with disabilities places in

inclusive classrooms rather than a boarding school or self-contained classroom in which they are

isolated away from society.

Another great example of an individual with disabilities, defying the odds while being in

an included classroom lifestyle is Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin was born a little different

than most children. She was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in her early childhood

days. She was unable to communicate until the age of four with help of extensive speech therapy

regiments from age two to four. Growing up Temple Grandin had huge academic success. She

was able to obtain a degree in Psychology from the Franklin Pierce College in 1970. After that

she then proceeded to attend the Arizona State University to obtain a master’s in animal science

(Jackson). After completely both her bachelors and master’s degree she decided to get a
 Bordas 9

doctorate in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Although she

had huge success in academics, she definitely had struggles with social interactions of her peers.

She was looked upon differently than other but that didn’t stop her from pursueinh what she

loved. With her huge academic success as an autistic woman she was the leading hero in the

humane tolerance of animal treatment in slaughter houses. Her creative inventions in this field

of study helped create a more positive treatment of cattle. This Just goes to show that no matter

your disability or what you are labeled as you can do anything you put your mind to. She created

something that shows any autistic child they are capable of doing incredible things and not to let

the judgment and hate stop from doing what you love in life. Temple Grandin is now a huge

advocate within the Autistic Community. She wrote various books and does several conferences

around the world to improve the way of life for individuals with disabilities.

Not everyone will agree that individuals with disabilities deserve to be included in

normal classrooms. There are several reasons that they said this could be a problem. The main

reason that they do not want individuals with disabilities in the classroom is because of

distractions. They believe that having these individuals with disabilities will take away from the

learning environment of their nondisabled peers. They think this way due to the fact of common

stereotypes with individuals with disabilities. These indivisibles with disabilities tend to run

away, scream, throw things or have random outbursts, which is true. Therefore, these behaviors

can and will be distracting for these other children in the classroom. However, what people do

not think about is how adaptive children are in the classroom. After spending a few weeks in the

classroom with individuals with disabilities, the distraction they cause does not tend to affect the

other children in the classroom while they learn to tune it out. Including children with disabilities

adds diversity to the classroom, enriching our lives. Imagine how boring life would be if we
 Bordas 10

were all the same and everyone acted just like the next. It would be a pretty non exciting life.

We need this diversity to help teach and learn customs of other individuals different than us.

What people don’t know is that individuals with disabilities add new strengths to the classroom.

Unfortunately, we often tend to dwell on the negatives associated with their disabilities that we

often miss these strengths. Some of these strengths include; high spatial ability, personal charm,

creating thinking and even systematic capabilities. Including these individuals with disabilities

shows the other children that we all need to work together to help each other out, no matter the

differences between them.

In conclusion, one hopes that after reading this paper they have a different perspective on

individuals with disabilities than before. We have so much to learn from these individuals, that

dwelling on the negatives of their life gets no one anywhere in life. Both non-disabled

individuals and individuals with disabilities can help bring out the best qualities in each other.

Having both in the same classroom brings a whole new level to diversity and well-being to both

parties. We learned that although that public schools’ systems have special education classrooms,

we learned that most schools will not include individuals with disabilities in normal inclusive

classrooms because of the stereotypes and negative surrounding the Special Needs community.

Studies have shown that it is super beneficial for these individuals with disabilities for their

overall benefit of communication skills, behavioral skills, independent living skills, emotional

and educational skills. If we as a society could shift our focus from all the negative stereotypes

facing these individuals, then our society as a whole would improve greatly. However, we still

have a ton of people in our society that are so focused on only the negatives in life. It would be a

challenge to change their perspectives, however with the right resources available it could

happen and in the very near feature. Overall, if we were allowed the inclusion of individuals with
 Bordas 11

disabilities in our classrooms even just partially included it would be a huge step for both public

schools’ systems and the families with individuals with disabilities. Therefore, preventing any

more problems between the individuals with disabilities and their families against the public-

school systems.
 Bordas 12

Works Cited

“About IDEA.” Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/.

Fuchs, Douglas, et al. “A Conservative Approach to Special Education Reform: Mainstreaming

Through Trans environmental Programming and Curriculum-Based Measurement -
Douglas Fuchs, Lynn S. Fuchs, Pamela Fernstrom, 1993.” SAGE Journals,
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/00028312030001149.

Goransson, Kerstin. Professionalism, Governance and Inclusive Education: A Total Population

Study of Swedish Special Needs Educators. Taylor & Francis, 2019.,
eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=a2ea16eb-10b6-465b-8a85-
12e373f1cc01@pdc-v-
sessmgr04&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#AN=edsswe.oai.DiVA.org.uu.342735
&db=edsswe.

Idol, Lorna. “Toward Inclusion of Special Education Students in General Education: A Program
Evaluation of Eight Schools - Lorna Idol, 2006.” SAGE Journals,
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/07419325060270020601.

Jackson, Mick, director. Temple Grandin. Warner Bros., 2010.

Lee, Andrew M I. “13 Conditions Covered Under IDEA.” Understood, Understood, 17 July
2019, www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/special-education-
basics/conditions-covered-under-idea.

Lindsay, Geoff. “Educational Psychology and the Effectiveness of Inclusive

Education/Mainstreaming - Lindsay - 2007 - British Journal of Educational Psychology -
Wiley Online Library.” British Journal of Educational Psychology, John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd (10.1111), 1 Feb. 2011,
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1348/000709906X156881

Rapp, Whitney H., and Katrina L. Arndt. Teaching Everyone: An Introduction to Inclusive
Education. Paul H. Brookes Pub. Co., 2012.

“Statute and Regulations.” Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, sites.ed.gov/idea/statute

regulations/.

“Special Education.” Central Rivers AEA, www.centralriversaea.org/special-education/.

“Special Education in the Schools.” Council for Exceptional Children, www.cec.sped.org/policy-

and-advocacy/cec-professional-policies/special-education-in-the-schools
 Bordas 13

Team, Understood. “The Difference Between Accommodations and

Modifications.” Understood.org, www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-
approaches/educational-strategies/the-difference-between-accommodations-and-modifications.

Team, Understood. “Understanding Special Education.” Understood.org,

www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/special-education-
basics/understanding-special-education.

“What Is Special Education?” Master’s in special education Degree Program Guide,

www.masters-in-special-education.com/what-is-special-education-2/.