¶ … Webster's New American Handy College Dictionary, a "disability" is: "...the incapacity to do something because of a handicap - physical, mental, etc." Meanwhile, the Random House Dictionary of the English Language goes further: "1. Lack of competent power, strength, or physical or mental ability; incapacity; 2. A permanent physical flaw, weakness or handicap." Those dry facts do not come close to describing the genuine compassion and bond a loving parent feels for a child with disabilities. And parents too, likely are not concerned with the operative "political correctness" of not using the word "disabled" - since now, a new set of words has come into play in the professional ranks. Is the child a "challenged" child - physically challenged, emotionally challenged, and mentally challenged? For the purposes of this study, the word "disability" will be emphasized
Parents of children with learning disabilities, who have been in special education programs (there are approximately five million such children with varying disabilities currently in public and private schools in the U.S.), have options, and they very likely know those options well. First, parents have been previously informed of their rights and alternatives, because the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, requires school districts to make that law clear to parents. That law, passed in 1975, guarantees that every child with a disability has access to a publicly supported education, be served appropriately, and be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Questions to be Asked by Parents and School
Prior to Mainstreaming, and before Launching Study:
Have these students gone through the evaluation phase that IDEA provides for?
Initially an assessment must be made as to the disability itself, of course, and there are continuing assessments which must be made of the student's progress in the original class prior to any discussions of moving the child into "regular" school classrooms. Prior to moving children, questions need to be raised regarding laws for disabled children beyond IDEA; such as, have provisions of the federal law of 1990, ADA, been addressed? (2.1of ADA: Provisions for Adults and Children. The specifications in these guidelines are based upon adult dimensions and anthropometrics. These guidelines also contain alternate specifications based on children's dimensions and anthropometrics for drinking fountains, water closets, toilet stalls, lavatories, sinks, and fixed or built-in seating and tables.) Is the new classroom environment - and the rest room facilities and other physical services - within the federal guidelines in terms of providing human needs for each child? (3.5 of ADA: Definitions: Adaptability. The ability of certain building spaces and elements, such as kitchen counters, sinks, and grab bars, to be added or altered so as to accommodate the needs of individuals with or without disabilities or to accommodate the needs of persons with different types or degrees of disability.) And are representatives of any appropriate non-educational public agencies required to be participants in individualized educational program (IEP) meetings? In some states, some related services, such as mental health services, are in the hands of non-educational professionals.
In formal discussions between parents of disabled children and school officials, i.e., IEP planning, parents may - and in most cases should - play a lead role in determining the agenda: goals and objectives of the meeting; related services connected to programs and placement; curricula, methodology. Has the school shown good faith in considering strategies to assist the child in assessing the new conditions and realities of the mainstreaming move?
Has the appropriateness of the new "instructional setting" been fully thought out by both the school and the families of the disabled students? For example, IDEA provides that the school district offer a continuum of placement options to the parents. Is this to be a regular class? Is this to be a special "day class" environment?
Does the family understand that the law requires the child be placed in the "least restrictive" environment? This means that, to the maximum extend possible, the children with disabilities being mainstreamed are to be educated with children who are "non-disabled." The "least restrictive environment" also means that the child has a right to be...
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