Special Education Resources

Special needs students receive their special education witht help of a variety of resources. This includes the use of special education resources such as assistive technology, specially adapted equipment, special needs materials, accessible settings and other educational interventions – all designed keeping in mind the needs of the special needs student.

Special education resources create an optimum performance environment for students by adapting the environment to suit their special education needs. Without the appropriate adaptation for special needs education, these students may not have been able to achieve the high levels of proficiency. Normal school and education settings do not offer a comfortable learning environment for students with special needs.

Government Special Education Provisions

Each country has its own laws and regulations regarding special education. While special needs education is an excellent concept on paper, for many special needs students this is not a reality as they are unable to gain access to educational resources, curriculums and other learning materials adapted specially for their needs.

In the United States, The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) works hard to ensure adults, youth and children with disabilities receive a proper education. The Office provides special education assistance to school and local districts both financially as well as in the form of leadership.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 was enacted into law on December 3, 2004. Approximately 6.8 million children and youth with disabilities are served by IDEA.

As the nation’s special education law, IDEA authorizes formula grants to states, and discretionary grants to institutions of higher education and other non-profit organizations. These grants support special needs education research, demonstrations, technical assistance and dissemination, technology and personnel development and parent-training and information centers.

Special Education For Children

Parents often have a hard time withdrawing their children from regular school and enrolling them in a special needs education program. Many parents believe their child will eventually “Recover” by being surrounded by other “normal” kids. Unfortunately, special education does have a stigma attached to it.

Special education however is not designed to dumb down a special needs child. On the other hands, special education schools design specially fornulated curriculums and learning materials in order to help a disabled child learn better, according to their pace and abilities. Special education is designed to help bring out the best in a child rather than the worst, and this is something many parents refuse to understand.

Special needs education is a luxury many Americans take for granted. In many countries there is little or no provision for special needs education, leaving disabled children to suffer through the rigours of regular school when they actually need special attention.

Education Disability Classifications

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), there are 13 classifications of disability that are eligible to receive special education services. If a child has one of the following disabilities, they are eligible for special needs education services.

1. Autism
   
2. Other Health Impaired
3. Mental Retardation
4. Emotional Disturbance
5. Deafness
6. Hearing Impairment
7. Visual Impairment
8. Deaf-Blindness
9. Specific Learning Disability (LD)
10. Multiple Disabilities
11. Orthopedic Impairment
12. Speech or Language Impairment
13. Traumatic Brain Injury

Parents should take a good look at IDEA’s list of disabilities to determine whether or not their children are eligible for the special education programs. Despite eligibility, many parents choose not to take advantage of the excellent special education services that their child can have access to. This is usually due to a social stigma. However, it is important parents should do what is right for their children. If children suffer from of these 13 disabilities, it is important that parents seriously consider special education services for their children.

References:

The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (2004) – U.S. Department of Education

Understand a Child with Leaning Disability

What is a learning disability? Children with learning disabilities may feel it is a lack of intelligence or brainpower. This is entirely untrue as a number of famous people like Winston Churchill, Walt Disney, Tommy Hilfiger, Orlando Bloom, William Hewlett, Albert Einstein and many others all suffered from learning disabilities while growing up. Learning disabilities are problems with brain receptors that disallow it to receive and process information like regular children. Thus children with learning disabilities become slow learners and find it difficult to focus on material. The complex processes in our brains get mixed up in a learning disability student and he finds it extremely hard to decipher it.

Learning Disability Help: Types of Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities can occur in a number of regions of the brain. Children with learning disabilities are most commonly diagnosed with:

• Dyslexia: Inability to read
• Dyspraxia: Sensory/Motor Disorder
• Dyscalculia: Math reasoning disability
• AD/HD: Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder
• Dysgraphia: Inability to write
• Visual and Auditory
• Communication

Learning Disability Resources & Help For Children

While learning disabilities are permanent and there is no absolute cure for it, there are a number of learning disability services and special education resources that are available to improve one’s condition.

• Recognize a child with learning disability instead of ignoring it and blaming the child.
• Provide a learning disability student with extra help in the form of private tutors, extra classes in school, study programs and any other form of learning disability services that may be available.
• Certain schools offer learning disability students with programs like IEP (Individualized Education Program) which might prove beneficial
• Help children with learning disabilities to adapt to their condition and work around it.
• Medication is available for certain kinds of learning disabilities which makes it easier for a child with learning disability to function normally.
• Self-perseverance and belief from family members goes a long way to improve the condition of children with learning disabilities.

Children with learning disabilities find it hard to cope up with studies and even daily activities of life. However, it must be remembered that these learning disability students are smart and equally capable individuals once they overcome their learning disabilities. Even though a treatment is not possible for most learning disabilities, a number of learning disability services are available for the betterment of these children. With these learning disability resources and the  love and support of people around them, children with learning disabilities can grow up to be successful and confident individuals.

References:

1. Protecting Students With Disabilities – U.S. Department of Education
2. LD Basics – National Center for Learning Disabilities

What is Special Education?

IDEA defines Special Education as “Specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.” A special education school is an environment where disabled children are provided with special education resources that would make it easier for them to learn and receive a proper education. While teaching special education, such schools look into a child’s specific needs and provide them with support. Providing appropriate technologies for children with disabilities can become expensive for parents. Thus, government programs like Individuals with Disabilities Act and No Child Left Behind Special Education Act, have been implemented to provide free and suitable special education schools for such children through the numerous special education funding opportunities.

Special Education Act: IDEA

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is a federal program which provides special education funding to state and local governments and assists in expanding special education resources for the betterment of children with disabilities. States are given this federal aid to set up special education schools to provide “free, appropriate public education” (FAPE) in the “least restrictive environment” to special ed children. IDEA was implemented to provide guidelines and regulations and help local governments set up special education schools so as to provide equal opportunities to children with disabilities. Besides teaching special education, IDEA also provides special education funding for assistive technologies, early intervention and other special education resources. This special education Act is a direct attempt to put special ed children at par with non-disabled people.

Basic Facts about IDEA: Special Education Act

• 13 Eligible Categories: Autism, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Deaf or Blindness, Mental retardation, Learning  Disability, Health Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, Orthopedic Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Developmental Delay, Speech Impairment or Multiple Disabilities.
• Evaluation: The child has the pass eligibility requirements through an evaluation process conducted by trained professionals.
• IEP requirement: Once a disability is identified, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) has to be developed for each special ed child.
• Implementation: The IEP plan is then implemented and the child receives special education resources.
• Free of cost: IDEA sets up special education schools at the State’s expense by the finances provided by the special education funding provision.
• Least restrictive environment: Special education schools are set up as similar to regular schooling environment as possible to avoid disability discrimination. It must include appropriate preschools, elementary schools and secondary special education schools.
• Assistive technologies: Any form of assistive technology required by individuals diagnosed with a disability must be provided through the special education resources so as to help a child succeed in special education schools.

For decades now, the Special Education Act, IDEA, and even the No Child Left Behind Act have provided useful special education resources to improve the lives of many disabled children. Over 6 million special ed children receive special education funding through this federal program and benefit from the numerous nationwide special education schools that have been set up for their betterment. The main aim of implementing IDEA was to provide disabled children with an equal learning opportunity and it shall continue to provide such support by continuously improving its special education resources and teaching special education to interested individuals.
References:

1. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 -  U.S. Department of Education
2. Building the Legacy of IDEA – U.S. Department of Education
3. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – Council for Exceptional Children