Special Education
Meeting the Needs of Exceptional
Learners
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Schools’ Exceptional Learners
• Exceptional learners run the gamut from very
low IQs with many needs to gifted students with
high IQs.
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Learners With Disabilities
• Federal Legislation
– PL 94-142 (a.k.a. IDEA)
– Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
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Learners With Disabilities
• Legislation states:
– Zero rejects – schools must enroll all students
– Nondiscriminatory testing – multiple indicators to prove
placement
– Appropriate education – Schools must meet needs of all
children
• IEP (Individual Education Plans)
– Least restrictive environment (LRE) – students with
disabilities must be in the setting that meets their needs while
affording them the same opportunities as other learners
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Learners With Disabilities
• Legislation states
– Due process – rights to protect learners and parents
– Parent / guardian participation – parents must be
involved in placement and IEP development
– Mainstreaming vs. Inclusion – schools must go
beyond mainstreaming and adopt inclusion
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Learners With Disabilities
• Varieties of Educational Settings
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Special class
Separate public school facilities
Separate private school facilities
Publicly supported residential facilities
Private residential settings
Hospital / Homebound settings
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Learners With Disabilities
• Preparation of IEPs
– Process – several preliminary steps
– People involved
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Regular ed teacher(s)
Special ed teacher(s)
Parent / guardian
School district representative
LEA rep – typically a Guidance Counselor or ESE School
Specialist
• Student (if appropriate)
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Learners With Disabilities
• Preparation of IEPs
– Once it has been determined that an IEP is warranted, the
following is discussed in the development meeting:
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Present level of performance (PLOP)
Services needed to meet educational development
Learner goals (academic and otherwise)
Evaluation procedures to determine progress toward goals
Identification of LRE that will best meet needs of learner
– IEPs are valid for a maximum of one calendar year, but can
be revisited as needed
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Learners With Disabilities
• Altering Instruction
– Accommodation – a change that will allow a learner
to be successful with the same task as assigned to
others
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Extended time
Reduced amount of work
Task broken into smaller sections
Setting where work is completed
Various acceptable responses
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Learners With Disabilities
• Altering Instruction
– Modification – changes that hold learners to a
different standard
• Reduce the level of work from that of other learners
• Remember – “modify” means to change
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Learners With Disabilities
• Public Reporting of Learner Performance
– Past attitude – schools and districts would withhold
testing scores of students with disabilities
– IDEA & NCLB changed this attitude
• Since students with disabilities will be tested, scores
should be reported
• Since students with disabilities will be tested, they should
be exposed to general curriculum
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Learners With Disabilities
• Inclusion Issues
– Read P. 147-148 on your own
– What research says...
• Students with disabilities taught in inclusive classrooms:
– Performed better on standardized tests
– Improved social and communication skills
– Increased personal knowledge of the world
• Students without disabilities taught in inclusive
classrooms:
– Developed attitudes valuing individual differences
– Enhanced their self-esteem
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Learners With Disabilities
• Characteristics of Learners with Specific Disabilities
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Speech Impairments
Visual Impairments
Hearing Impairments
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD)
Orthopedic Impairments
Emotional Disturbance – EH, EBD
Mental Retardation
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Learners With Disabilities
• Assistive Technology – equipment that helps the
functionality of a learner with a disability
– Low tech
• Pencils with special grips
• Paper with raised lines
• Sign language
– High tech
• Speech devices – converting speech to writing
• Various computer devices
– Assistive technology works for all students
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Learners With Disabilities
• Overrepresentation of Certain Minorities
– History has shown African-American students have
had higher rate of entry into special program
• As a result, entry requirements have changed
– Key national organizations recommend a Prereferral
Intervention Process
• Lake County – RTI (Response to Intervention)
– Team approach
– Multi-step system
– Testing for programs is not guarantee
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Bell Curve
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Gifted Learners
• PL 91-230
– Gifted learners are children who have outstanding
intellectual ability or creative talent, the development
of which requires special activities or services not
ordinarily provided by local education agencies.
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Gifted Learners
• The Selection Issue
– Back to the bell curve
• Different entry requirements in different states
– Designed for a small, select group of learners
– Catch 22 for districts
• Gifted programs require funding
• Funding is taken away from general population
• We want program to increase enrollment, but money may
not allow for needed growth
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Gifted Learners
• Pressures Facing Gifted Learners
– Gifted learners may be pressured to do less to fit in
– Parents feel that teachers pressure gifted learners to
perform flawlessly
– Unrealistic expectations can lead to negative
outcomes and frustrations for gifted learners
– Gifted learners need to understand that they also
have strengths and weaknesses
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Gifted Learners
• Enrichment Programs
– Keep gifted learners with peers and have them work
at their level
– Work for gifted learners must differ from others
– Problems could occur if students are being retaught
– Being gifted could be viewed as a burden if workload
is increased (could be viewed as punishment)
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Gifted Learners
• Acceleration Programs
– Gifted learners move at faster pace than peers and
are not kept with same age group
– Subject matter acceleration
• Taking courses that are designed for older children
– Grade level acceleration
• Learners are permitted to skip an entire grade and are
placed with older learners
– Critics suggest social interference with accelerated
programs
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