Mainstreaming Special Needs Children
The Positive Advantages to Mainstreaming Special Needs Children
In an ideal world all children would be born without disabilities. This idea is not possible though and sometimes children are born with special needs. The child could have only one disability or several. A disability can be mild and treated with medication or the disability can be severe and the child will need constant supervision. Once the child becomes of age to attend school, the issue of whether or not to place the child in a regular classroom or special needs classroom arises. This is when mainstreaming comes into place. Mainstreaming special needs children into the regular classroom has been a worldwide controversy; however, there are many advantages to placing these children there. In the past disabled children were always looked upon differently and placed into separate schools or buildings. On November 29, 1975, the separation of regular students and special needs children ended, when President Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, known as Public Law 94-142.This law marked the beginning of mainstreaming. The law was amended in 1983 by Public Law 98-199, which required schools to develop programs for disabled children. The act was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1992 (Giuliano 31). Disabled children are defined as those who are mentally retarded, hard of hearing, deaf, orthopedically impaired, speech and language impaired, visually impaired, seriously emotionally disturbed, and children with specific learning disabilities, or those who require special education and related services (Giuliano 32). Mainstreaming is defined as the integration of children with special needs into ordinary education systems (Williams 126). Integration is divided into three main categories locational, social, and functional integration. With locational integration, the disabled students are taught at the same location as regular students, but in separate
In an ideal world all children would be born without disabilities. This idea is not possible though and sometimes children are born with special needs. The child could have only one disability or several. A disability can be mild and treated with medication or the disability can be severe and the child will need constant supervision. Once the child becomes of age to attend school, the issue of whether or not to place the child in a regular classroom or special needs classroom arises. This is when mainstreaming comes into place. Mainstreaming special needs children into the regular classroom has been a worldwide controversy; however, there are many advantages to placing these children there. In the past disabled children were always looked upon differently and placed into separate schools or buildings. On November 29, 1975, the separation of regular students and special needs children ended, when President Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, known as Public Law 94-142.This law marked the beginning of mainstreaming. The law was amended in 1983 by Public Law 98-199, which required schools to develop programs for disabled children. The act was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1992 (Giuliano 31). Disabled children are defined as those who are mentally retarded, hard of hearing, deaf, orthopedically impaired, speech and language impaired, visually impaired, seriously emotionally disturbed, and children with specific learning disabilities, or those who require special education and related services (Giuliano 32). Mainstreaming is defined as the integration of children with special needs into ordinary education systems (Williams 126). Integration is divided into three main categories locational, social, and functional integration. With locational integration, the disabled students are taught at the same location as regular students, but in separate
References: Flores, K. (2003 January-February). Inclusive education isn’t easy, but it benefits kids with-and- without disabilities Giuliano, G. (2002). Education: Reflecting Our Society? pp.31-34. Farmington Hills, Michigan. Harries, K. (1997 December 19). Retrieved from http://ematusov.soe.udel.edu/final.paper.pub/ _pwfsfp/00000127.htm Into the Mainstream. (1976 November 15). Time pp.94. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center Retrieved from http://find galegroup.com.muncie.libproxy.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy. ivytech.edu/gps/p…(10/19/2010). Lilly, M. (2001). Special Education – A Cooperative Effort. Theory Into Practice , 14 (2) Duluth, Minnasota Kastner, J. (1995). Use of Incentive Structure in Mainstream Classes. The Journal of Educational Research 89.1 Kelly, J. (2010 September 15). Examining the Pros and Cons of Mainstreaming. Retrieved from http://www.brightbulb.com/education/special/articles/87058.aspx Ochiai, M. (2006). Different Croaks for Different Folks. Philadelphia, PA. pp.95 Williams, P