On Special Education

I have to admit that the connection to special education is pretty tenuous, but I was transfixed by a story on NPR Wednesday about two families coping with transgendered young sons. One family decided to let their child live as a girl while another family is trying to make their son feel more comfortable in his biological gender, including taking away his "girlish" toys. Now, the child's mother says, her son has some friends who are boys and is no longer saying that he's a girl...but she senses that he's leading a double life. At school he plays with girls; at home, he knows that behavior is not acceptable. It's a compelling tale.

(The second part of the series, about a family that is considering hormone therapy to delay puberty for their transgendered son, is available here.)

Though the school/education angle was only a small part of the NPR stories, a quick Google search shows that this is hardly the first time that schools have had to make accommodations for transgendered youth. This article, which ran Saturday in the Philadelphia Inquirer, talks about the controversy that erupted when a 9-year-old third grader planned to transition into life as a girl. The school held an assembly for students to explain the situation. That didn't go over well with some parents.

"I did not think that the letter needed to go out," said Valerie Huff, whose daughter is a friend of the transgender student. "The kids don't make any big deal about it at all."

Mary Beth Lauer, district director of community relations, said there were no easy answers for school officials.

"This is something that was going to come out," Lauer said. "Isn't it better to be proactive, and let people know what is happening and how we're dealing with it?"

Does anyone have personal stories about schools and transgendered youth?

Posted by Christina Samuels at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I scoured the Internet to find other blog posts on the Council for Exceptional Children convention, which wrapped up last week.

Christine Southard's Blogspot delved into assistive technology and co-teaching.

Daniel McNulty, blogging on behalf of an assistive technology project in Indiana, talked about his own presentation on using iPods in the classroom.

Dorophoria found some sessions she liked, but complained that the titles of some presentations didn't match the actual content. Pat at Successful Teaching offers to share some of her notes on multicultural education of students with different learning needs, and reveals her sweet crush on "The Fonz"—actor Henry Winkler, who has dyslexia, was the keynote speaker this year.

Kate at Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs found a few sessions that interested her, but struggled to find relevance in the conference to the children she teaches, who have severe and profound disabilities.

I understand those concerns. This is the third CEC convention I've attended, and I always find it a rich source of story ideas. However, I'm not attending with a teacher's mindset. I understand how easy it would be to be overwhelmed if I went there looking for specific guidance on one small area of the special education world. Six thousand attendees, hundreds of sessions ... it's a lot.

I'm also surprised that the CEC itself didn't ask a squadron of attendees to produce a blog. The organization already has a blog; it would have been a great resource for the many teachers who can't afford to spend the time or the money to attend the event in person. Maybe next year?

If there are other blogs that I missed, or if you just want to share your own impressions of the conference, please add a note or link in the comments section.

Posted by Christina Samuels at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Part of life is fun and games, but too few children with disabilities are getting that in the classroom.

Two professors presented compelling—and sad—research during their Friday afternoon session at the CEC convention showing that children with disabilities have only the barest of interactions with their typically developing peers in many classrooms, even when they are in "inclusion" settings. The few interactions they do have are negative, or completely task-oriented. The trend persists even in elective classes, where students with disabilities are often placed on the assumption that non-academic classes promote more personal interaction.

The only way to break down barriers is if teachers take an active role in facilitating connections among students, both of the presenters said.

Tina Stanton-Chapman of the University of Virginia talked about work that she has done with preschool students, where they act out stories that allow children with disabilities an opportunity to learn such skills as taking turns, listening, and using names to get the attention of friends. After those interactions, the children tend to play together more.

Erik W. Carter, at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, talked about a “peer buddy” program that a district has started between students with severe disabilities and a few of their typically developing peers. Having peer buddies leads to far more interaction among students than using a full-time paraprofessional, he said. Carter is the co-author of a book on this program, which you can read about here.

Posted by Christina Samuels at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)