Clinger 1

Kieren Clinger

Dr Cassel

Eng 1201-2V3

10 April 2022

How are the lives of children with special needs affected by the school system?

Children with special needs in the United States are continually put through a lot just to

acquire what they need. Many children are often misdiagnosed and treated for a disability that

they don’t have, this makes teachers assume they’re getting nowhere with the child.

Many assume that children with special needs must be segregated from the general

education classroom in order to achieve and obtain information; however, this is not always true.

When I was a child, I was told that because of my disability, I would never be able to

walk, talk, or do any other normal human activities and that I would be reduced to the status of a

living vegetable. They stated that even if I were to achieve mobility and communication, they

were unsure if I would be able to maintain them. Nonetheless, defying all odds Because I am

integrated with my peers and am utilizing the support system provided by an IEP and

accommodations, I was able to graduate from high school and continue to college. When I was in

high school, I was bullied a lot because I was different, but I had friends, and it's important to

have friends, especially when you have special needs and are different. Instructors treated me

differently when I was in high school as well. One of my many teachers did not want to deal with

the paperwork or me, so they changed me to eight "special Ed science," where we did almost

nothing and there were only four other students in the class. This is why it is necessary to

examine how the school system treats special needs children and how they are affected as a
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result of this treatment. When it relates to special needs children, we must examine and identify

the severity of their handicap and their ability to succeed academically. Which environment is

the least restrictive for them? A least restrictive environment, or LRE, is a relative notion that is

determined separately for each student, based on the principle that each person should be

educated with typical classmates to the maximum extent possible. To do this, you would form a

board of directors comprised of physicians, teachers, parents, and possibly even psychologists

and psychiatrists. This enables us to gain a better understanding of the child's requirements and

how we can best assist them in the educational system. The majority of individuals think about

special needs. Beings are a burden, and some school districts lack the means or simply do not

care about the education and care that these human children with special needs receive. This can

create a truly ethical, legal, or moral dilemma. The majority of the time, these individuals are

looked over, which is why we have the board to aid us in assisting these persons with unique

needs.

One of these individuals may be a speech-language pathologist, as the majority of

students with disabilities have speech difficulties. Maria, the primary speech-language

pathologist at a suburban school district of moderate size, works to resolve any challenges that

students with special needs may encounter.

According to an article titled "Ethical Challenges in Special Education and a Resolution

Approach," there is a five-step decision-making process that incorporates contemplation. This

process comprises the following: first Carefully examine the issue at hand, then determine if the

issue is an ethical, legal, and or moral one. After that consult resources whether that’s documents

or individuals. After one has looked through resources then one would brainstorm solutions for

the problem at hand. Finally evaluate solutions, Which is in one’s control? And select solution
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it is then concluded that after this process you would reflect after some time and chose the best

route.

Some individuals believe that separate classrooms, as previously said, are the greatest

option, albeit this is not always the case. Including this option would be beneficial because it will

assist the youngster in becoming used to learning in a traditional school atmosphere. Students

who are pulled out of class to receive occupational

therapy or speech therapy at their school, or who

are pulled out of their regular class to visit a

resource room for assistance, can be shown

thriving in the image below. Inclusion is extremely

important since it aids in the understanding of

social cues and interpersonal relationships.

Teaching special needs children in the classroom

Figure 1 shows the percentage of IDEA students Ages 6-
21
can be challenging, but most teachers who have

special needs children who are on the higher end of the spectrum and require more assistance but

are not yet at the point of needing to be placed in separate schools because their parents did not

want them to be placed in separate schools will most likely hire a helper, such as another teacher

or an Aide, to assist them in the classroom. Most people would refer to this as "teacher

collaboration." According to Lederer (2000), "Teacher collaboration is an approach that has

shown beneficial in a variety of classes." Teachers' collaboration is not a novel strategy for

instruction in the field of education, particularly in special-needs classrooms, as far as we are

aware. However, we have discovered that it is more effective in an inclusive setting rather than a

reclusive one. Collaboration allows the teacher to spend more one-on-one time with the child in
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question, allowing the instructor to provide the greatest possible assistance to the youngster.

Although it is difficult to not label a disabled person when they are seen by the general public, it

is the teacher's responsibility to focus on the child's abilities rather than on their faults. This is

especially true for students with special needs; the goal of the instructor in a special-needs

classroom is to assist the pupils in learning as much as they possibly can to the best of their

abilities. According to the school system, it was only lately, in the 1960s, that we began to care

more about the education of our children with special needs. Because special needs do not have a

single origin or a single diagnosis, there is a wide range of possible causes and diagnoses. As a

result, everything in the special-needs community is on a spectrum of abilities and needs.

Let's look at a random disorder like ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder. We see a range

of quirks and personalities that make up the spectrum. In recent years, the number of children

diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen dramatically. This increase has been

observed in both the general population through medical diagnoses and in schools through

special education qualifications for services classified as autism. According to the most recent

report from the CDC, which is based on 2014 data, “ASD is diagnosed in roughly one in every

59 eight-year-old American children. Just in the last 15 years, these figures have risen

significantly. For example, in 2002, 1 in 150 children of this age were diagnosed, while in 2010,

1 in 68 children were diagnosed. Between 2002 and 2018, this represents a roughly 150 percent

increase in ASD diagnoses. (Safer-Lichtenstein)” There is a spectrum to everything in special

needs, as previously said, and these are only a few of the statistics. You can have autistic

children who live normal lives and go about their daily activities with minor quirks here and

there that don't even show up half of the time, or you can have children who are severely autistic,

who are nonverbal hyperactive, or you can have children who are the polar opposite of these two
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situations. Individuals with ASD who are presented with outstanding abilities and capabilities in

areas such as arithmetic, reading, science, memory, art, and music make up 10% of the

population. In addition, their IQ is a little higher than the average. The majority of children with

ASD have difficulty digesting information. different thoughts plans and emotions and

perspectives of their own in other words it’s hard for them to initiate or think something without

help.

When it comes to social interaction in school they can be nonverbal, for example, their

body posture. They also have a failure to develop appropriate peer relationships and a lack

spontaneous sharing with others. Which in a Mainstream classroom this can be difficult. When a

child lacks communication between a student and teacher, especially at a young age When

autism is very prevalent causes a lack of drive and ambition on both sides, especially when the

child is nonverbal. This is why many teachers today Do not want to put the time and effort into

learning how to handle autism and any other special needs disability, simply because they do not

know how and they feel like they are getting nowhere. This is not saying that we cannot teach

our school system and our teachers how to handle as most would call them ‘fits’ that the special

needs kids have. But this takes a lot of time and money and not many School boards or states

have that.

The majority of instructors go through a general education curriculum that does not delve

into depth about special education and needs and instead merely scratches the surface of the

subject matter. It is mandatory in many places that teachers have a license to teach special

education. However, if we already have special education licenses or certificates for teachers,

why can't we just incorporate them into the curriculum for new teachers who are teaching
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general education? In many cases, young teachers are horrified and astonished when an autistic

child loses his or her temper and causes a minor incident to escalate into something more serious.

`Many teachers that teach general education in the mainstream classroom believe it is not their

responsibility to teach these individuals and give them special needs. “ The attitudes of the

general education teacher towards the inclusion of children with disabilities are a critical part of

inclusive education; how educators perceive their ability to teach children with disabilities and

educators’ overreacting attitudes towards inclusion will largely determine the success of the

children. (Gregory) ” stating that the greater the number of teachers in the special education

sector who put out their work, the greater the amount of feedback they would receive from

special needs children There are a variety of elements that influence an educator's positive

attitude toward the inclusion of students who have disabilities. Children with impairments are

capable of realizing their full potential and learning capacity, and instructors must believe this in

the first place. Second, when it comes to teaching challenged children, educators must have a

strong feeling of self-efficacy in their own abilities. The ability to differentiate instruction and

ensure that the curriculum is accessible to all students is enhanced by educators who have a high

sense of self-efficacy. Students with disabilities have a place in classrooms, and they may make

vital contributions to the educational process as a whole. Educators must take this into

consideration. At the end of the day, educators must decide whether or not they are willing to put

the skills and procedures in place to ensure that all students have access to a rigorous academic

program. Teaching special needs children is a difficult task, and special needs students have a lot

of challenges to overcome as well. Teacher preparation programs do not adequately prepare them

for the likelihood that special needs children would outnumber their peers in the general

education classroom. To assess what is best for the child and how they might learn the most
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effectively and efficiently, teachers must consult with parents and guidance counselors in

addition to their own observations.

It is thus the responsibility of the parents to support and inform teachers of the child's

reactions to various situations. What allows them to complete activities more swiftly at home.

Contribute to the teacher's success Understand the pupil in the school setting. This is where an

Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan comes in. These are beneficial. Because

exceptional needs are not characterized by disorder, the school is aware of the child's baseline

requirements for that particular child. Many people believe that giving a child with special needs

a single diagnosis and then treating him or her in the way we know how is the best course of

action. Consider the fact that many individuals mistakenly label or rather misdiagnose

youngsters as having autism when in fact they are suffering from something else entirely. This is

approximately as effective as you believe it to be. Misdiagnosis of a child with the incorrect

handicap can be damaging to their learning since it impacts teachers, therapists, psychologists,

doctors, and other professionals who are responsible for providing a student with what they

require.

If we don't provide special needs children with the resources they require, how can we

expect them to strive for greatness? How do we know that they are unable to live on their own,

drive a car, or perform any other tasks? All because they were misdiagnosed, overlooked, or

pushed to the back of the line. Yes, school systems can assist and comprehend the needs of

students with special needs. However, there are still many people who do not realize that a

child's ability to succeed is not limited by his or her impairment; rather, it is defined by how

much they can achieve.

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Work Cited

Buli-Holmberg, Jorun, and Sujathamalini Jeyaprathaban. “Effective Practice in Inclusive and

Special Needs Education.” International Journal of Special Education, vol. 31, no. 1, Feb.

2016, pp. 119–34. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ehh&AN=116803910&site=eds-live.

Felzer-Kim, Isabella Theresa, et al. “Working With Children With Autism in General Physical

Education: Useful Applied Behavior Analysis Concepts.” JOPERD: The Journal of

Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, vol. 92, no. 9, Nov. 2021, pp. 50-55.

EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=s3h&AN=154497726&site=eds-live.

Gargilulo, Richard, and Emily Bouck. Special Education in Contemporary Society : An

Introduction to Exceptionality 7th. 7th ed., SAGE Publications.

Gregory, Jess. “Not My Responsibility: The Impact of Separate Special Education Systems on

Educators’ Attitudes toward Inclusion.” Educational Policy Analysis and Strategic

Research, vol. 13, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 127–48. EBSCOhost,

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1177139&site=eds-live.

Power-deFur, Lissa. “Ethical Challenges in Special Education? An Approach for Resolution.”

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, vol. 7, no. 1, Feb. 2022, pp. 1–5.

EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_PERSP-21-00210.

Safer-Lichtenstein, Jonathan, and Laura Lee McIntyre. “Comparing Autism Symptom Severity

between Children with a Medical Autism Diagnosis and an Autism Special Education
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Eligibility.” Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, vol. 35, no. 3, Sept.

2020, pp. 186–92. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1262494&site=eds-live.