University of Virginia professor and friend-of-the-blog John Wills Lloyd has a thoughtful entry on his own blog about the difference between pursuing "access" for people with disabilities, as opposed to "success." He explains it would be a "cruel irony" if the focus on access for students with disabilities -- for example, "talking books" or use of scribes -- overshadowed the pursuit of genuine academic achievement for students in special education.
Project Forum, a federally-funded project under the auspices of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, has released reports on several areas, including special education and homeless students, resolution meetings with parents, and support for students with disabilities in private schools.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as well as the McKinney-Vento Act, call for educational services for students who are homeless. Unfortunately, there are many barriers to getting these students the help they are entitled to, as we saw during Hurricane Katrina, for example.
This report outlines the problems and offers some potential solutions: for example, having administrators who oversee McKinney-Vento working directly with administrators who oversee special education could help ease some service delays, it says.
The full report (pdf) is available here.
The report on dispute resolution offers a snapshot of the process states and parents go through to fix problems before they result in due process hearings. IDEA 2004 required that such hearings be held within 15 days of a parent filing a request for due process. In some states, the availability of mediation is affecting the use of these "resolution hearings," because parents want a neutral third party involved in the process. The full report (pdf) is found here.
Finally, Project Forum released a short document on how districts provide services to students with disabilities who are enrolled in private school by their parents. Though those children have no individual right to services like those enrolled in public school, a certain amount of federal dollars must be set aside to provide some services to those students. The full report (pdf) is here.
The Burlington Free Press ran an article today about a public school program for children with behavioral and emotional disabilities. Coming on the heels of last week's CNN.com piece about the overuse of "time-out" rooms, this is a welcome shift:
So two years ago she established a program that offers students counseling, mentoring, tutoring and a place to calm down in their own school. She stopped sending students to private schools and did without at least five one-to-one aides. The savings: About $220,000 a year, Scheffert estimates.Equally important, she said, children who walk in the door defiantly are learning to control their behavior and feel connected to school for the first time. “They have to feel like they belong,” Scheffert said.
I note that the story does say this school has an "intervention room," and a therapist on staff trained to use physical restraint "if needed." I'd like to know what kind of physical restraint, and how often it may be needed. I'd also like to hear from some parents and students. But based on the article, It does sound like a more comprehensive set of behavior modification methods are available to students in this program than just banishment to a time-out room.
Like many stories on a newspaper websites, the reader comments are illustrative. To put it gently, there seems to be some disagreement as to whether children with behavioral issues belong in public school at all.
For those who are interested more in the seclusion issue, Liz Ditz at the I Speak of Dreams blog has compiled a good set of links.
Catalyst Chicago, an independent news magazine that reports on Chicago Public Schools, has produced an article that outlines Secretary of Education-designate Arne Duncan's role in special education.
The reporters of the piece say that special education in Chicago is "dismal." Unfortunately, I have to say that it is not surprising to me that an urban district would be having severe problems providing appropriate services for its students in special education. The question, of course, is what Duncan tried to do to fix the situation, or if he instituted policies that have made things worse. Based on the information presented in the article, it appears that the gap between special education students and general education students has widened over Duncan's 7-year-tenure.
After my post asking for information about Duncan and special education, I've gotten a few emails that have suggested some people in Chicago I should contact for further information. I look forward to doing so and will be posting what I learn, so stay tuned...
Not much, at least as it relates to special education. I've been scouring the web and have come up empty, so I'm throwing this out to readers, particularly those of you in Chicago. Are there any clues we can glean from Duncan's tenure that would be useful to know for parents and special education teachers?
Share your thoughts in the comments section.
CNN has an excellent article on its website about the use of seclusion rooms in schools; it's a must-read. It starts with an anecdote about a 13-year-old with behavior problems and ADHD who hanged himself after being put in a seclusion room. It also explores what is known--and not known--about the use of seclusion or "time out" rooms across the country.
Dr. Veronica Garcia, New Mexico's education secretary, said her state had found more sophisticated and better ways to solve behavior problems. Garcia, whose brother is autistic, said, "The idea of confining a child in a room repeatedly and as punishment, that's an ethics violation I would never tolerate."But researchers say that the rooms, in some cases, are being misused and that children are suffering.
Public schools in the United States are now educating more than half a million more students with disabilities than they did a decade ago, according to the National Education Association.
"Teachers aren't trained to handle that," said Dr. Roger Pierangelo, executive director of the National Association of Special Education Teachers.
"When you have an out-of-control student threatening your class -- it's not right and it can be very damaging -- but seclusion is used as a 'quick fix' in many cases."
Former Rhode Island special education superintendent Leslie Ryan told CNN that she thought she was helping a disabled fifth-grader by keeping him in a "chill room" in the basement of a public elementary school that was later deemed a fire hazard.
"All I know is I tried to help this boy, and I had very few options," Ryan said. After the public learned of the room, she resigned from her post with the department but remains with the school.
Thirteen/WNET, the flagship public television station in New York, has recently published an article on Temple Grandin, a well-known autism advocate. Grandin, who has Asperger's syndrome, talks about what she believes schools can do to better educate children like her.
Autism is a disorder characterized by repetitive behavior and impaired social interaction and communication; Asperger's syndrome is a milder form. Grandin became well-known when she was featured in Oliver Sacks' book An Anthropologist on Mars. Grandin has also written her own book, Thinking In Pictures.
An excerpt::
“Teachers tend to focus on the disability,” Grandin said. Ironically, the autism diagnosis which forms a basis for special attention and assistance may further distance the autistic child from his or peer group and create more isolation and alienation......She is concerned today that the American education system often works to the disadvantage of children with mild forms of autism, in ways that are not at all obvious.
For example, according to Grandin, requiring children to wear uniforms would benefit autistic children, who invariably dress out of fashion and are ridiculed by other kids. She’s observed first-hand that even in poorer countries, such as the Philippines, the uniform requirement really helps autistic kids.
Edited: a reader contacted me to say that Grandin does not have Asperger's syndrome, but autism. Though the WNET piece says that she has Asperger's, this synopsis of another of Grandin's books--Emergence:Labeled Autistic--leads me to believe autism is the characterization Grandin uses for herself.
A voucher program that would have given up to $20,000 a year to Ohio special education students to help pay for private school tuition failed in the state's House of Representatives yesterday -- its second, and possibly last, defeat.
Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, vetoed a similar expansion bill that made it to his desk last year. But the measure was reintroduced as Senate Bill 57, passed the Ohio Senate in May on a party-line vote of 17 to 15, and was brought to the House on Wednesday. There, the vote was 49 to 44 for the measure. However, to pass, the bill would have required 50 lawmakers to support it.
Ohio already has a voucher program specifically for children diagnosed with autism. This bill would have expanded the program to children with other kinds of disabilities.
One Republican legislator, Rep. W.Scott Oelslager, crossed party lines to vote against the bill. The Democrats in the House were uniform in their opposition.
The bill would have provided for a five-year pilot program for up to 7,500 students in special education, which is equal to about three percent of the state's 250,000-student special-education enrollment, according to an article on the measure published earlier this year in The Columbus Dispatch.
Sen. Kevin Coughlin, a Republican and the bill's sponsor, is term-limited and will be leaving office in 2010. Also, after the recent elections, the new makeup of Ohio House will tilt to the Democrats, with 53 Democrats and 46 Republicans. That makes it less likely that a similar bill will find 50 House members to support it.
Other voucher programs for students with disabilities currently exist in Florida and Utah. A voucher program for students with disabilities in Arizona is currently tied up in legal challenges and is being heard by the state Supreme Court.
Bill Knudsen, the acting director of the federal office of special education programs, earned applause this week when he told a group of early childhood educators that Obama's education transition team has early childhood education as one of its top priorities.
"They are great, intelligent folks who have a great outlook," Knudsen said to the 500 people gathered for this week's National Early Childhood Conference, sponsored by the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center. These are the people who implement Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which deals with infants and toddlers, and Section 619 of the IDEA, which provides funding to preschools for students with disabilities.
"One of the great things about disability policy is that it's really a bipartisan issue," Knudsen told the group. The transition team has presented Patricia Guard, the deputy director of OSEP, with pages of questions, Mr. Knudsen said Tuesday. But the department's professionals don't mind the extra work.
"It is our goal to make this transition as seamless as possible," he said. Even though there may not be a permanent leaders of the federal departments that oversee special education for several months, "as we pass the baton, we're working hand in glove" with the transition team, he said. "We have a seasoned group of folks, and we've done this before."
That was the question posed to participants in a session held this week as part of the National Early Childhood Conference, sponsored by NECTAC -- the federally funded National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center.
You can also offer your thoughts on the issue here, on the Web site of the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion, based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The researchers there have created a draft document and a survey to gather responses, and the goal is to get responses from as many stakeholders as possible.
Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which deals with school-aged children, gets the lion's share of attention (and most of the federal funding for special education). But there's another part of the law, Part C, which relates to early intervention programs for infants and toddlers. And yet another section of the special education law, Section 619, provides grants for preschool programs for children with disabilities aged 3 to 5. This week's conference brings together coordinators of these various programs, parents, and other people involved in early childhood education.
According to the professional development center, the number of children ages 3 to 5 with disabilities in regular classrooms is increasing. Early intervention is key to keeping these children from slipping far behind their peers. Professional development for early childhood educators, however, has not kept up. According to the inclusion center:
... while early intervention and special education is part of the mission of many programs, coursework and training often fall short. The majority of early childhood personnel are not adequately prepared to modify teaching methods and curriculum to ensure full participation of children with disabilities.There is a national need for an integrated, cross-sector system of professional development to define what is meant by highly qualified personnel in inclusive settings.
Early childhood educators can find a lot of information on the Web site of the early childhood inclusion center, including multimedia presentations, handouts and research summaries.
Courtesy Brad Cohen
It wouldn't have surprised anyone if Brad Cohen never considered coming near a school, after his experiences as a child growing up with Tourette's Syndrome. In one notable story, Brad says that a teacher made him get up in front of his class and apologize to his classmates for making noises and jerking motions -- all features of the disorder that were beyond his control.But instead, Brad decided he wanted to be the teacher that he never had, and after 25 interviews, he landed a position as an elementary school teacher in Cobb County, Ga. He also wrote a book about his experiences, Front of the Class, that has been made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie scheduled to air at 9 p.m. EST Dec. 7 on CBS.
Brad, who now works in staff development for the 106,000-student district, talked with me recently about his experiences being the subject of a film. He had nothing but the highest praise for the producers and actors, who took time to find out what really makes him, well, tick. For example, they recorded him speaking so that they could create a "tic script" for the actors -- people with Tourette's do not just tic randomly, and contrary to popular belief, shouting obscenities are not a common feature of the disorder. "They really understood it wasn't a noise here and a noise there," Brad told me."They were amazing."
To read more about Brad, check out his website, which includes a video clip of his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He also took time to answer some questions for On Special Education:
Your book spends quite a lot of time talking about the insensitivity that some educators had to Tourette's when you were younger. What led you to the teaching profession?
I knew I wanted to be a teacher since middle school. I wanted to be that teacher who I never had. I wanted to be a teacher who focused on kids' strengths and not their weaknesses. All I ever wanted to was to be like everyone else. I know what it's like to be the kid in the corner and I just felt like I had the gift to make all children feel appreciated. I wanted to be a teacher for all those kids out there who didn't feel like they had a chance...I'm here to say, "yes you do!"
Could you talk a little bit about how you explained Tourette's Syndrome to your students? Did you find that they were immediately understanding, or did it take some time?
I put it into kid language and I say, I have Tourette's Syndrome. Tourette's Syndrome means that there is something in my brain that tells me to make noises and funny faces all day long. I explain how I can't help it because it is a medical condition. I compare it to blinking your eyes. Just like your brain tells you to blink your eyes, my brain tells me to blink my eyes and make my noises. The kids are very understanding once they know. It's the fear of the unknown that confuses them.
Courtesy Jon Farmer/HHF This photo shows Brad, in the middle, with actors Jimmy Wolk, left, and Dominic Scott Kay, right, who depict him at different ages.
What about the reaction of parents and coworkers? Was it easy to explain to them as well?
Parents usually have a more difficult time with the Tourette's than the kids do. Once kids know, they are fine. When the parent see that their children don't have issues, they they don't either. But at first, many parents are hesitant because it is so different.
You mentioned that you've had students with special education needs in your classroom. How was that experience? Do you feel that your experience with Tourette's helped you understand more what your students with special needs may have been going through?
Absolutely! I've been in their seats wondering "why am I different and how can I be like everyone else?" What I want kids to realize is they don't need to be like anyone else. Each child has a gift. They have strengths that they need to follow and enjoy the things they are good
at, rather than always be reminded what their weaknesses are. I've always enjoyed teaching in an inclusion classroom because I am a walking role model showing them that anything is possible with a positive attitude and a little support!
Are there a few pieces of advice that you might offer to teachers who have a student with Tourette's or other disabilities in their classroom? One thing you mentioned that was really interesting to me was the importance of just asking the child about his or her disability. Can you talk a little bit about why you think that's important?
I learned early in life that education is so important. It is a powerful tool. You should be up front and honest about the disability and educate others. Take the initiative and help the student with special needs explain and education others about the condition. Understand that humor is a survival skill. This is why I tell my students we will never play hide and seek...because I would hide and then they would hear me making my noises and they would find me. And I hate to lose! Help the student see that you are truly willing to give them a chance. Believe in them when nobody else will.
In your book, you talk about how much of a breakthrough it was for you when you were given an opportunity to explain Tourette's to your school classmates. Could you talk a little bit more about the importance of self-advocacy? How can parents and teachers help children be good advocates for themselves?
Stand by their side and support them. Just remember that they will want to be like everyone else. They want hope that some day, people will understand the difficulties they are having. There is no age that is too young to start self-advocating. The sooner the better. Don't be embarrassed, either. In some ways, it is therapeutic for the child as well as the adult. Find good books, movies or articles that can be used as a tool to help educate others. Look for role models who overcame their own issues to find success. And lastly, start small to gain confidence in oneself.
People know more about Tourette's now than they did when you were young, but sometimes parents still have to advocate for their children. You have a unique perspective, as a teacher and as a person with a disability. What would be a good way for parents to approach a teacher if they're concerned that their child may have some needs that aren't being met, or that the teacher or the students aren't as sensitive as they should be?
Be open, up front and honest and build relationships with the teacher. Bring the child in with you when you meet, and help the child articulate the difficulities they are having and come up with strategies together of how to make things different. Please communicate with the child no matter what the age, they are part of this process. Teachers need to be open-minded that they might not have all the answers, and learning new ideas could be beneficial to not only that student, but maybe all the students in the classroom. Just be open-minded to something new.
The new regulations were released Monday and will go into effect Dec. 31. Among the changes:
*Parents have the right to unilaterally stop their child from receiving special education services after those services have begun, if they make a request in writing.
*Non-lawyer advocates can represent either side in a due process hearing UNLESS there's a state law to the contrary. The Education Department specifically referenced a 2000 Delaware Supreme Court case, In re Arons, that was brought by a group of lawyers against Marilyn Arons, a parent advocate. The Delaware high court decided that, though the IDEA allows parents to have expert counsel with them during a hearing, it did not override the state law that prevents non-lawyers from providing the equivalent of legal assistance.
I profiled Arons in a 2006 article about parent advocacy. She also has her own blog, which I encourage readers to check out; here's her post about this particular regulation.
*School districts now have a year from the time they discover a problem to fix any IDEA noncompliance issues. There was no specific timeline in the regulations before.
My article about these changes will be in Education Week Dec. 10. I'll update this post with the link when the story is available online.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday! As befits the season, I'm spinning interesting bits of news here and there into a blog post. I wouldn't call these "leftovers," though...more like yummy tidbits:
J.G. Fabiano, a teacher in York Maine writing for the Portsmouth Herald, says that special education has morphed into an "800 pound gorilla:
I am by no means saying the special education laws protecting our real-special- students should be eliminated. For the past few decades, I have watched wonderful committed educators help children who could not have survived in any secondary environment. The problem I have is too many children are being coded into special education because the school and the parents do not want to take responsibility for the child.
Milwaukee Public Schools has entered the third phase of a class-action lawsuit that claims the district did not properly education students with special education needs:
The latest round in court was focused on what should be done for children who were in the school system from 2000 to 2005, the timeframe the suit addresses. MPS leaders fear that the "compensatory education" that could be ordered by a federal judge would cost additional millions.Disability Rights Wisconsin, the organization whose attorneys represent the class, argues that MPS has done little to correct its flawed system since September 2007, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Aaron Goodstein found that the district had failed to meet the requirements of federal special education law related to identifying and evaluating students suspected to have disabilities.
A new center for family and child research at Chattanooga, Tenn.'s Siskin Children's Institute promises results for students with disabilities.
The Rhode Island School for the Deaf struggles to survive. (See my story on deaf education here.)
Maria Lourdes Angala, a special education teacher in Washington D.C., has a wealth of interesting posts and links on her blog, found here. Be sure to check out her posts describing her quest for national board certification.
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