tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/special-education-18910/articlesSpecial education – The Conversation2024-03-03T14:27:50Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224652024-03-03T14:27:50Z2024-03-03T14:27:50ZNavigating special education labels is complex, and it matters for education equity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578488/original/file-20240228-24-s7p4c5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C87%2C3631%2C2583&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Racialized immigrant parents in a study had to find ways to navigate the education system as newcomers, while also addressing intended and unintended effects of special education programs for their children.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Mche Lee/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Ontario Ministry of Education’s <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/edu-special-education-policy-resource-guide-en-2022-05-30.pdf">special education policy and resource guide</a> provides instructions <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/special-education-ontario-policy-and-resource-guide-kindergarten-grade-12">to school boards and schools</a> on administering special education programs. </p>
<p>It also emphasizes the importance of education equity, and involving parents in special education designations. </p>
<p>As researchers, we explored the rights of Latin American and Black Caribbean youth when it comes to special education in our project: the <a href="https://rcypartnership.org/en/">Rights for Children and Youth Partnership</a>. </p>
<p>To better understand newcomer experiences, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2023.2255837">we interviewed</a> 32 parents, 12 of whom indicated having a first-hand experience with special education in Ontario schools.</p>
<p>We learned that despite the special education policy’s commitment to involving parents, many parents felt excluded from decision-making processes surrounding assessments for their child’s learning needs, and faced language barriers. </p>
<h2>Identifying need for special education</h2>
<p>In Ontario, students presenting learning needs may be identified as exceptional within one or more special education categories. These categories are intended to address conditions affecting their learning. </p>
<p>Special education can benefit students to ensure an equitable educational experience. However, <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1277996.pdf">researchers have also raised concerns</a> about the efficacy of special education programs for equitable learning because of how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2016.1248821">social factors such as racism and classism result in discriminatory framings of disability and the perception of special needs</a>.</p>
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<p>In Ontario’s largest school boards, Black and Latin American youth have been disproportionately <a href="https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/research/docs/reports/Intersection%20of%20Disability%20Achievement%20and%20Equity.pdf">placed in special education programs</a>, compared to students in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904818813303">other racial-ethnic groupings</a>. </p>
<p>Research from the Peel District School board, serving the western Greater Toronto Area, reports <a href="https://www.peelschools.org/documents/16.2b_Directive9-EquityAccountabilityReportCard-UnderstandingtheEquityGapinSpecialEducation.pdf/16.2b_Directive9-EquityAccountabilityReportCard-UnderstandingtheEquityGapinSpecialEducation.pdf">Black students are three times more likely to be identified with a behavioural exceptionality</a> and streamed into special education programming. </p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/i-was-very-isolated-report-documents-hispanic-students-alienation-in-ontario/article_21d6d9fd-1b13-57c3-8f26-94d545a80556.html">Latin American youth have reported arbitrarily being placed in English as a Second Language courses</a> and labelled with communicational exceptionalities, despite proficiency in English. These labels carry <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904818812772">long-lasting impacts on their educational journey</a>.</p>
<h2>Complex special education processes</h2>
<p>In Ontario, the special education placement process is complex and can include many parties (like teachers, principals, special education staff, school board officers, parents or guardians and, if requested, interpreters).</p>
<p>These parties engage in consultations to evaluate the student’s learning needs. Assessments are then reviewed by a board’s <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/identifying-students-special-education-needs">Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC)</a>, consisting of at least three members, one of whom must be a principal or supervisory officer of the school board.</p>
<p>According to the guide, educators should encourage and invite parents to participate throughout this evaluation process and the IPRC meeting, though their attendance isn’t required. </p>
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<img alt="A blurred person seen in a corridor of file folders and records on shelves." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574794/original/file-20240211-26-iklod6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574794/original/file-20240211-26-iklod6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574794/original/file-20240211-26-iklod6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574794/original/file-20240211-26-iklod6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574794/original/file-20240211-26-iklod6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574794/original/file-20240211-26-iklod6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574794/original/file-20240211-26-iklod6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Special education labels and categorizations are documented in student records.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Redd F)</span></span>
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<h2>Lack of required parental input</h2>
<p>Parents are, however, required to sign and agree to the IPRC’s statement of decision. They have a right to appeal the findings, and are given 30 days. If parents don’t appeal, the board instructs the principal to implement the committee’s decision, including <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/individual-education-plans">individual education plans (IEP)</a>. </p>
<p>The child’s provincial student record documents the outcomes of the decision, including the various labels, or “exceptionalities” identified, and the IEP. These records follow students throughout primary and secondary education.</p>
<p>Lack of required parental input throughout the process indicates that early on, educators alone can make decisions involving a child. </p>
<h2>Language barriers</h2>
<p>In our study, one parent, Mariela, described the challenges of learning a new educational system. This was compounded by the technical language educators used: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The language that is used is very strategic. It’s language that doesn’t welcome parents’ feedback [and] parents don’t know they have the option to say no. […] It’s like, ‘This is what happens; this is what we do. We need you to sign this.’ And that’s the language; it isn’t welcoming for parents to ask [questions].”</p>
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<h2>Specialized language</h2>
<p>Parents also recognized that a sense of pressure to accept educators’ decisions was discriminatory based on their limited abilities to keep up with the discourse and to have input in decision-making. Scarlett described feeling intimidated:</p>
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<p>“It was always so traumatic and intimidating dealing with the school; it would be me and five school officials, you know? […] It’s like, you’re coming into this space, and decisions may already have been made.”</p>
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<p>Scarlett’s son was identified as having behavioural issues as early as Grade 2. She insisted her son be tested for gifted learning, recognizing that he was experiencing behaviour difficulties because he was bored and not being academically challenged. </p>
<p>Her son was not placed in a gifted class until Grade 7. During what she called “lost time,” the school involved the police in instances when he was “acting out,” and recommended her son be sent to a treatment facility for high-risk youth.</p>
<h2>Pressure to accept decisions</h2>
<p>Special education meetings also illuminated imbalances we observed in our study between parents who understood they had the right to ask for an interpreter or bring a representative — and parents who were unaware of this. </p>
<p>Claudia voiced concern about a special education label for her son in elementary school, saying educators had mistaken his speech difficulties for low intelligence. She was told her son’s speech delay would impact his ability to go to college or university.</p>
<p>She later recalled learning about her right to bring someone with her to IPRC meetings. She detailed the impact of having her son’s daycare supervisor there with her, saying: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I wanted to bring that person to support [me], probably for emotional support, for the English support, for the systematic barrier that I knew that I could face.” </p>
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<p>With the support of someone who educators also considered an “expert,” Claudia withdrew her son from special education programs — and instead sought additional support outside the school system.</p>
<p>Notably, only a few parents mentioned knowing their right to bring someone to the meetings, and all said the information came from sources outside the education system.</p>
<h2>Lack of guidance</h2>
<p>The Toronto District School Board has made the effort to increase access to parents’ rights to special education, offering the <a href="https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Learning-Equity-and-Well-Being/Special-Education-and-Inclusion/Parent-Guides-to-Special-Education-and-Inclusion"><em>Guide to Special Education and Inclusion for Parents/Caregivers/Guardians</em></a> in various languages.</p>
<p>However, for immigrant parents in our study who had no prior experience in Ontario’s schooling system, the lack of concrete information about their rights was a barrier to them being true participants in decision-making. </p>
<p>System accountability is needed to ensure immigrant racialized students and families are effectively provided support and understand the special education process. This support must be tailored to better address the needs of parents, so that their children are equitably positioned for successful academic pathways.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry Parada: This study received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC- 895-2015-1014). Toronto Metropolitan University Ethics Committee approved this study (2018-200).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Perez Gonzalez and Veronica Escobar Olivo do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A study of newcomer Latin American and Black Caribbean parents in Ontario schools found many parents felt excluded from processes surrounding assessments for their child’s learning needs.Laura Perez Gonzalez, Research Assistant, School of Social Work, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityHenry Parada, Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Social Work and the Immigration and Settlement (ISS) Graduate Program and Graduate Program Director, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityVeronica Escobar Olivo, Research Associate, School of Social Work, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2063602024-01-30T20:15:08Z2024-01-30T20:15:08ZSchools have a long way to go to offer equitable learning opportunities, especially in French immersion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537617/original/file-20230716-25-rv538b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C89%2C6000%2C3538&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In a research study on the accessibility of French immersion, one parent was told she faced a three-year wait to access reading supports for her child. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Andrew Ebrahim/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/schools-have-a-long-way-to-go-to-offer-equitable-learning-opportunities-especially-in-french-immersion" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report">Right to Read report</a>, published last February, called for changes in the province’s educational system. The commission found shortcomings in how schools support students with special education needs. </p>
<p>We found similar trends in our <a href="https://uottawa.scholarsportal.info/ottawa/index.php/ILOB-OLBI/article/view/6618/5553">interview-based study</a> on the accessibility of French immersion for students with special education needs from low-income communities in Toronto. We interviewed eight mothers with diverse socio-economic status, home language and immigration backgrounds on their experiences with the French immersion program. </p>
<p>According to the Right to Read report’s <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/appendix-1-list-recommendations">recommendations</a>, children need accessible, effective learning assessments, as well as evidence-based interventions that occur in a timely manner. </p>
<p>These interventions include explicit, systematic programs that focus on <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/phonics-and-decoding">phonics (teaching the relationships between letters and the sounds of spoken language) and decoding (applying knowledge of letter-sound relationships to written words, or “sounding out”)</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/metalinguistic-awareness">metalinguistic awareness</a> (a larger awareness of language, including an ability to reflect on it) and other skills <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.99">that support reading accuracy and fluency</a>). </p>
<p>Research has highlighted difficulties accessing support for students with special education needs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.20012.kay">in French immersion programs</a>. As we also heard in our study, parents of children with students with special education needs from low-income communities in Toronto faced barriers accessing resources for their children.</p>
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Read more:
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<img alt="A school building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571939/original/file-20240129-21-apeyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571939/original/file-20240129-21-apeyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571939/original/file-20240129-21-apeyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571939/original/file-20240129-21-apeyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571939/original/file-20240129-21-apeyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571939/original/file-20240129-21-apeyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571939/original/file-20240129-21-apeyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A report published by the TDSB found students without special needs represent 90 per cent of students in French immersion and 78 per cent of students in the board overall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Marginalized students underrepresented</h2>
<p>French immersion programs have become increasingly popular <a href="https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cjnse/article/view/74139">across Canada</a>, since students who learn both English and French in school may <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/228709/pdf">benefit from increased intercultural awareness</a>, easier travel throughout Canada, better access to bilingual jobs as well as potential <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.63.5.605">developmental and social benefits</a>.</p>
<p>There is a <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4922887/french-immersion-school-canada-demand-teachers/">high demand</a> for French immersion in Canada, and the program is often perceived as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1865988">an elitist system</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/french-immersion-and-other-regional-learning-programs-smart-choice-for-your-kids-or-do-they-fuel-inequity-195184">French immersion and other regional learning programs: Smart choice for your kids, or do they fuel inequity?</a>
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<p>In the <a href="https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/docs/TDSB%20French%20Programs%20Review%20Mar082019.pdf">Toronto District School board (TDSB) French immersion report released in 2019</a>, marginalized students are underrepresented in its immersion programs. For example, the report — based on registration and census information — noted that in grades 7-8:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>49 per cent of students identify as white in French immersion and 30 per cent in the board overall;</p></li>
<li><p>students without special needs represent 90 per cent of students in French immersion and 78 per cent of students in the board overall;</p></li>
<li><p>Students whose family income is $100,000 and over represent 66 per cent of students in French immersion and 47 per cent of students in the board overall;</p></li>
<li><p>Children from families who speak English at home represent 63 per cent of French immersion classes and 35 per cent of the board overall.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Reading struggles</h2>
<p>Emily (not her real name) is one of the mothers who participated in our study. She has seen the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77cz9iUeDaY&t=82s">high cost of disability in our school systems</a>. With her permission, we have shared her story below to illustrate her family’s experience in a French immersion program.</p>
<p>Emily enrolled all of her three children in a French immersion program. Emily’s eldest child excelled in immersion, and continued to study French into university. However, Emily’s two youngest were struggling to read in French. The teachers assured her that her children would catch up in time and there was no need to worry. </p>
<p>Shockingly for Emily, once her middle child reached Grade 3, she was suddenly informed that her child was reading at a kindergarten level. </p>
<p>However, the wait to be assessed was approximately three years — meaning this child might be in Grade 6 before they received any formal assessment and intervention support. </p>
<p>At the suggestion of the school’s administration, Emily agreed to pay $3,500 for an external evaluation. She said about the experience:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I’ll never forget it, having that SST (school support team) meeting. I’m in front of the psychologist and all these different people and I literally lost control. The head of special education, she said, ‘It’s okay.’ I’m like, ‘I’m not crying because my daughter has a learning disability. I’ve come to terms with that.’ I said, ‘I’m crying because I had to pay $3,500 dollars …’… How many kids are falling through the cracks?’ That was very disconcerting for me. I was heartbroken.”</p>
</blockquote>
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<img alt="A hand writing on French homework." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540522/original/file-20230801-17-ko6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540522/original/file-20230801-17-ko6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540522/original/file-20230801-17-ko6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540522/original/file-20230801-17-ko6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540522/original/file-20230801-17-ko6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540522/original/file-20230801-17-ko6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/540522/original/file-20230801-17-ko6dda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Schools have a long way to go to offer equitable learning opportunities for all students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Insufficient special education support</h2>
<p>Even after spending an exorbitant amount of money, Emily found out the hard way that there wasn’t sufficient special education support in French immersion for her child. She ended up removing her middle child from the immersion program the next year. Emily’s middle child did get the support she needed in the English program.</p>
<p>This is just one example of the stories we heard in our research study on the accessibility of French immersion. </p>
<p>Emily’s question stayed with us throughout our work: How many students are falling through the cracks? </p>
<p>The truth is, we don’t really know. Based on the attrition rates in French immersion from the TDSB, it must be high. According to a <a href="https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/docs/TDSB%20French%20Programs%20Review%20Mar082019.pdf">2019 report published by the TDSB,</a> from the early French immersion cohort where students start in senior kindergarten, approximately 70 per cent of the students have left the program by Grade 9.</p>
<h2>Need for early intervention</h2>
<p>In our study, one parent was told that her child couldn’t be assessed until Grade 3, which contradicts <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/article/importance-early-intervention">evidence-based best practices</a> that call for early assessment and intervention. </p>
<p>Parents also said they often feel pressure to pay for expensive tutors, French summer camps and other language immersion opportunities so their children don’t fall behind. </p>
<p>They reported spending a lot of time supporting their children’s studies despite not speaking the language of instruction, and this ends up becoming an emotional and financial burden.</p>
<h2>Ensuring changes are implemented equitably</h2>
<p>Following the Right to Read inquiry, the Government of Ontario committed to sweeping change such as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/right-to-read-inquiry-report-literacy-ontario-1.6378408">mandating early literacy screening</a>. We have also seen a huge amount of <a href="https://www.idaontario.com/effective-reading-instruction/">professional learning</a> for teachers. Ensuring that positive change yielded by these approaches are effective in French immersion programs is critical. </p>
<p>We know that individual resilience and community support networks aren’t enough to combat systemic barriers. </p>
<p>We still have a long way to go if we want our school system to be an equitable learning opportunity for all students — particularly in immersion.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206360/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diana Burchell receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Becky Xi Chen receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird has received funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roksana Dobrin-De Grace receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p>Parents in a study about the accessibility of French immersion programs discussed inadequate support for learning to read and feeling pressured to pay for expensive tutors.Diana Burchell, PhD Candidate in Developmental Psychology and Education, University of TorontoBecky Xi Chen, Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of TorontoElizabeth Kay-Raining Bird, Professor Emeritus, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Dalhousie UniversityRoksana Dobrin-De Grace, PhD Student in Developmental Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2102292023-08-15T12:35:07Z2023-08-15T12:35:07ZDaily report cards can decrease disruptions for children with ADHD<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542161/original/file-20230810-23-1fhmc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students with ADHD who get a daily report card had 4.5 fewer rule violations per 30-minute class than those without one, one study found.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/father-looking-very-happy-looking-at-his-daughters-royalty-free-image/1389796720">Hispanolistic/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As another school year approaches, some caregivers, students and teachers may be feeling something new needs to happen to promote success in the classroom. </p>
<p>Daily report cards can be a great starting point.</p>
<p>As a clinical psychologist who studies <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BRXERkMAAAAJ&hl=en">how schools can help students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a>, I know traditional report cards distributed three or four times per year don’t do enough to make a difference for children who are prone to outbursts or other challenging behaviors. </p>
<p>Studies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917706370">conducted by my team</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1087054717734646">and others</a> support the idea that these students are better served by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2010.12087748">daily report cards</a>. </p>
<h2>Track daily progress</h2>
<p>Daily report cards date back at least to the 1960s, when they were used in a study involving children attending a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1970.3-223">special education summer school</a>. </p>
<p>Today they are commonly used for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0014402917706370">children with ADHD</a> in both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-020-09375-w">general education</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2010.12087775">special education</a> classrooms. Daily report cards have also been used for <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED607134.pdf">students with autism</a> without intellectual disability. And one study found that many teachers say they use <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10983007060080030601">versions of a daily report card</a> for brief periods to address behaviors across many different school situations.</p>
<p>A daily report card can be very <a href="https://ccf.fiu.edu/research/_assets/how_to_establish_a_school_drc.pdf">easy for teachers</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2013.785182">create and use</a>, either with <a href="https://mygoalpal.fiu.edu">an app</a> or by developing them on their own. First, the teacher along with others – who may include the parents, principal, school psychologist or counselor, and even the child if appropriate – should meet to establish goals. Goals should be positively phrased, such as: “Completed work within time given” or “Participated in class discussions without interruption.” </p>
<p>Once set up, the daily report card can take just 10 seconds to complete. The time savings are significant when one considers the alternatives typically used in schools, such as repeated redirection or reprimanding, or sending the student to the principal’s office to be monitored.</p>
<p>Daily report cards also work. </p>
<p>A 2010 study evaluated children with ADHD where half had a daily report card and half did not. Those with the daily report card had an average of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2010.12087775">4.5 fewer rule violations</a> per 30-minute class than those without one. Extrapolating across a school day, that is 54 fewer daily rule violations on average, and over 10,000 per school year. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Example of a daily report card used in schools" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542048/original/file-20230810-25-k9dewx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542048/original/file-20230810-25-k9dewx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542048/original/file-20230810-25-k9dewx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542048/original/file-20230810-25-k9dewx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542048/original/file-20230810-25-k9dewx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542048/original/file-20230810-25-k9dewx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542048/original/file-20230810-25-k9dewx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An example of a daily report card.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Florida International University Center for Children and Families</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Realistic goals</h2>
<p>For many children with challenging behaviors, it is important to set goals that can be easily reached – at least at first. </p>
<p>Over time, the goals can be made more challenging as the child experiences success – a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Behavior-Modification-What-It-Is-and-How-To-Do-It/Martin-Pear/p/book/9780815366546">process called shaping</a>. For example, if a child interrupts a lesson by calling out about five times per class, the initial goal may be set at “Participates in lesson with no more than four interruptions.” </p>
<p>This would represent an improvement, and it would also ensure the goal was reachable. Once the child met the goal for three to five days in a row, the goal could be changed to “Participates in lesson with no more than three interruptions.”</p>
<h2>Positive parent-teacher communications</h2>
<p>Teachers tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000442">communicate with caregivers more frequently</a> when a child is experiencing difficulties in the classroom. But these communications often focus on <a href="https://www.additudemag.com/mean-teacher-comments-adhd-students/">negative behaviors</a>. As a result, they can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2019.1666794">strain relationships</a> between the caregiver and the teacher. Other times, it may result in the caregiver’s avoiding communication with the school. </p>
<p>Daily report cards can result in more positive and solution-focused communication instead of reports focusing only on what went wrong and can therefore enhance caregiver-teacher communication.</p>
<h2>Motivating rewards</h2>
<p>Importantly, the daily report card should be linked to home-based privileges and rewards so that children are motivated to meet daily goals.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, the child brings their daily report card home and, based on their behavior at school that day, home privileges such as an allotment of screen time or a slightly later bedtime can be used as rewards.</p>
<p>Importantly, this is not a punishment program in which a child loses privileges if goals are not met. It also is not bribing the child by providing a reward before an appropriate behavior is completed. Rather, the child starts the day without home privileges and earns them based on positive school behavior. The daily report card tells the child exactly what goals need to be met to earn the motivating privileges. This small difference can be quite powerful for the child because it puts them in charge of how they earn access to things they like to do at home based on how they behaved at school that day.</p>
<p>Evidence suggests this home-based reward system is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2010.12087775">one of the biggest factors</a> in whether the daily report card is successful. It also provides a new opportunity for the child and caregiver to have a positive discussion about school each day.</p>
<h2>Better than medication?</h2>
<p>There is also evidence that the daily report card is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2015.1055859">cost-effective approach</a> for children with ADHD as an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2015.1105138">alternative to medication treatment</a>. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I conducted a study in which children with ADHD were randomly assigned to start the school year with either medication or a daily report card. The parents of those assigned the daily report cards took part in classes that taught them how to provide home rewards for it. At the end of the year, the students who started with the daily report card had half as many discipline referrals and 33% fewer disruptive behaviors observed in the classroom than the students receiving medication. The daily report card approach also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2015.1055859">cost less than daily medication</a>. The students who started the school year with the daily report card had overall treatment costs of US$708 less than the students starting with medication.</p>
<p>Teachers and caregivers who want to learn more about daily reports cards can check out the <a href="https://ccf.fiu.edu/research/_assets/how_to_establish_a_school_drc.pdf">downloadable workbook</a> or <a href="https://mygoalpal.fiu.edu">free app</a> designed by my colleagues at Florida International University’s <a href="https://ccf.fiu.edu/">Center for Children and Families</a>. Both resources allow caregivers and teachers to set goals and track a student’s progress. Starting the school year with a daily report card should help the child achieve the positive days needed to get a good grade on their report card at the end of the grading period.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210229/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Fabiano receives funding from the Department of Education and the National Institutes of Health to study positive behavioral supports like the Daily Report Card. Gregory Fabiano also receives royalties from Guilford Publications for a book written about Daily Report Cards.</span></em></p>Traditional report cards sent home every few months are fine for most students. But for kids with behavioral issues, a daily report card can be a better option.Gregory Fabiano, Professor of Psychology, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2046402023-05-30T21:03:53Z2023-05-30T21:03:53ZAchieving full inclusion in schools: Lessons from New Brunswick<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528946/original/file-20230529-30-k0cdnk.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=175%2C233%2C6139%2C3483&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Initially, inclusion in schools meant bringing students with disabilities, who had previously been educated in segregated institutions, into mainstream school. A classroom seen in Vancouver, B.C., April 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In New Brunswick, the issue of inclusion in schools is most recently in the spotlight due to calls to review policy that <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9686055/new-brunswick-parent-speaks-against-lgbtq2-school-policy-review/">safeguards students</a> and allies of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. </p>
<p>The province’s education minister says the review of Policy 713 will consider issues related to providing gender-neutral washrooms in schools and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-lgbtq-rights-schools-1.6854807">parental rights</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/parental-rights-lobby-puts-trans-and-queer-kids-at-risk-184804">'Parental rights' lobby puts trans and queer kids at risk</a>
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<p>New Brunswick claims to have achieved full inclusion “<a href="https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/policies-politiques/e/322A.pdf">based on a system of values and beliefs centered on the best interest of the student</a>.” </p>
<p>But these recent and <a href="https://educhatter.wordpress.com/2023/01/27/eliminating-french-immersion-why-did-the-delphi-technique-consultations-fail-the-test-in-new-brunswick/">other issues</a> related to inclusion beg the question: Whose values and beliefs are determining actions in our school system, and who decides what is in the best interest of each student?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pride flag seen flying near a school bus." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528945/original/file-20230529-19-72tsho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528945/original/file-20230529-19-72tsho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528945/original/file-20230529-19-72tsho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528945/original/file-20230529-19-72tsho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528945/original/file-20230529-19-72tsho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528945/original/file-20230529-19-72tsho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528945/original/file-20230529-19-72tsho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Who decides what is in the best interest of each student? A pride flag is waved as students go to school at East Wiltshire School in Cornwall, P.E.I., in June 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Morris</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Defining the intended results</h2>
<p>We question whether striving for inclusion in schools will ever produce the intended results when, as is the case in New Brunswick, these intended results haven’t been clearly articulated.</p>
<p>This has been the case since 1986 when the province first rolled out an inclusion education model, more than 35 years ago. Initially, inclusion meant to bring the students with disabilities, who had previously been educated in segregated institutions, into mainstream school. </p>
<p>Since then, and through the development of subsequent school inclusion policies, our society has experienced rapid change, including technological change, and advocacy to recognize systemic inequities related to disability, racial injustice, colonialism as well as gender and sexuality. </p>
<p>Our recent research has highlighted the lack of agreement about what inclusion means today, or how to achieve it, leaving us with a <a href="https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/wicked-problem/about/What-is-a-wicked-problem">“wicked problem”</a> — one with no clear goal or solution. </p>
<p>We argue that if we have to intentionally include <em>some</em> people, it is because they are the imagined “other,” a retrofitted afterthought. </p>
<h2>What is school inclusion?</h2>
<p>In 2021, New Brunswick’s Department of Education and Early Childhood Development released <a href="https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/moving-forward.pdf">a report</a>, which prompted a long-overdue review of the 2013 Inclusion Education policy (Policy 322).</p>
<p>This report acknowledged the many misinterpretations of the inclusion policy that were highlighted in <a href="https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/mackay/ReportOnInclusiveEducationSummaryDocument.pdf">earlier 2006</a> and <a href="https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/Inclusion/Inclusion.pdf">2012 reports</a>.</p>
<p>It also expanded the definition of inclusive education beyond the scope of disability. It examined equity pertaining to “those that have been historically pushed to margins” including Indigenous students, students of colour, members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community, newcomers and language learners. </p>
<h2>Meeting children’s needs</h2>
<p>The report was a significant step forward. However, in attempts to achieve inclusion, the notion of “us” who are part of the majority group versus “them,” whose values, beliefs and needs differ from entrenched system norms, is persistent. </p>
<p>Continually highlighting and pathologizing differences rather than celebrating distinctive qualities and strengths in unique experiences stagnates progress.</p>
<p>For example, many schools continue to apply the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357334256_The_implications_of_medical_and_social_models_of_disability_in_education_settings#fullTextFileContent">medical model</a> of framing disability. This model equates <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-exactly-is-neurodiversity-using-accurate-language-about-disability-matters-in-schools-193195">difference from an imagined norm as being in need of a fixing</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A row of folders seen in a classroom" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527341/original/file-20230520-124170-fjyr76.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527341/original/file-20230520-124170-fjyr76.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527341/original/file-20230520-124170-fjyr76.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527341/original/file-20230520-124170-fjyr76.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527341/original/file-20230520-124170-fjyr76.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527341/original/file-20230520-124170-fjyr76.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527341/original/file-20230520-124170-fjyr76.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students’ folders are seen in a classroom in Vancouver, B.C., in April 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some parents question how efforts towards inclusion are meeting <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-school-boards-target-special-education-classrooms">their children’s needs</a> in mainstream classrooms, or how physically, mentally and emotionally <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9686055/new-brunswick-parent-speaks-against-lgbtq2-school-policy-review/">safe their children are in schools</a>. </p>
<p>This may be more true post-COVID-19, as learning gaps, children’s <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2023/02/21/could-your-teen-refusing-to-go-to-school-be-a-sign-of-mental-health-disability.html?rf">refusal to go to school</a>, anxiety, poor mental health and <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/paul-w-bennett-canadas-schools-have-descended-into-a-violent-hell-and-we-let-it-happen">violence</a> have increased in schools. </p>
<h2>Not a simple fix</h2>
<p>To understand why our inclusion efforts continue to leave educators, students and families in a perpetual loop of failed trials and frustrating attempts, we look at persistent and outdated misinterpretations of inclusion. These assume:</p>
<p><strong>1. Inclusion is mostly about accessing a physical “place.”</strong></p>
<p>The assumption that by containing all students within the same physical space as their same-age peer groups, inclusion is achieved — that it is in all learners’ <a href="https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/policies-politiques/e/322A.pdf">best interest</a>, that everyone benefits from being there at all times and that every student wants to be there — is inaccurate. </p>
<p><strong>2. Inclusion is just about disability.</strong> </p>
<p>This perpetuates othering on the basis of normative notions of ability and development, negating the diversity of the student population including marginalized, racialized and equity-deserving groups. It also fails to acknowledge intersectionality, personality and the dynamic nature of the human condition.</p>
<p><strong>3. Inclusion can be accomplished because people and their needs are fixed and don’t change.</strong></p>
<p>This ignores the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkTCSseDNms">diversity in social, emotional, cognitive and cultural difference by interest, topic, activity and skill</a> that each student and teacher has. It neglects consideration of individuals’ potential for growth through high expectations, rich experiences and evolving relationships. </p>
<p><strong>4. Additional funding and resources will resolve challenges.</strong></p>
<p>Some think <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/classrooms-educational-assistants-funding-1.5299434">adding more educators or resource workers</a> will bolster inclusion, but this does not address roots of challenges. Additional resources not leveraged effectively can have the effect of isolating students. </p>
<p><strong>5. Inclusion is the educators’ responsibility alone.</strong></p>
<p>Inclusion is often perceived as something educators will achieve. While educators are key in modelling ways of relating with and respecting students and honouring their needs, the entire school community needs to be involved. This means not only teachers and school administrators, but also students themselves, their parents, support staff and policymakers.</p>
<h2>Shifting focus</h2>
<p>If we consider the barriers to authentic inclusive education, primarily located in the antiquated design of the education system, we see the complexity of this wicked problem. </p>
<p>A discussion of what inclusive education looks like in 2023 is required, starting with questions about sources of inequities. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.stf.sk.ca/about-stf/news/standardized-assessment-hindering-opportunities-all-students">Assessment practices</a>, organizational structure, and <a href="https://techtalent.ca/education-system-should-never-be-one-size-fits-all/">age-old concepts of an imagined average for teaching</a> and behaviour pose barriers to all learners, who are distinctive in their strengths, interests and educational abilities. </p>
<p>As a step forward, let’s explore system practices and environmental design. To begin imagining learners working together pursuing individual goals within the cohesive whole, we propose three questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What are the impacts on learning, relationships and community of maintaining the idea that inclusion equals being in one place? </p></li>
<li><p>In what ways do physical and virtual spaces and practices affirm and celebrate the distinct characteristics and contributions of every person? How are students’ voices heard, where can they see themselves represented and how are their contributions honoured? </p></li>
<li><p>How can students, teachers, parents and administrators be involved in co-creating a new understanding of equity and inclusive practices, challenging systemic practices that pose barriers and examining sources of inequities to address them? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>We have seen thriving inclusive cultures in schools that tackle these questions resulting in strong leadership grounded in shared community values, where teachers use a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk_c_nJwjvc">strength-based approach</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/B7qYJY62X2s">universal design for learning</a> effectively.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204640/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research about how New Brunswick education has envisioned inclusion since the 1980s offers lessons in rethinking how to realize schools that celebrate all students’ strengths.Melissa Dockrill Garrett, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of New BrunswickAndrea Garner, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of New BrunswickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1913142022-10-17T12:31:45Z2022-10-17T12:31:45ZPandemic shut down many special education services – how parents can help their kids catch up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489038/original/file-20221010-11-iyxyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C0%2C4037%2C2659&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In-person school resumed earlier in Boston for special education students than for those without special needs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/teachers-and-students-walk-to-the-entrance-at-the-mattahunt-news-photo/1230127391">David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When schools shut down in March 2020, many of the nation’s <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg/students-with-disabilities">roughly 7 million</a> students in special education <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/scws30&div=6&id=&page=">didn’t get</a> <a href="https://co.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/6/23060189/denver-public-schools-special-education-compensatory-services">the special education services</a> to which <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/23/893450709/families-of-children-with-special-needs-are-suing-in-several-states-heres-why/">they were entitled</a> under federal law. The law requires these services to be provided <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/new-guidance-reaffirms-importance-full-implementation-individuals-disabilities-education-act-amidst-covid-19-pandemic">even during special circumstances</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/us/politics/coronavirus-devos-special-education.html">such as the pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>School districts may have fallen short of providing special education services to eligible students with disabilities during the pandemic. For example, the Los Angeles Unified Public School District has been cited by the U.S. Department of Education for <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/investigations/more/09215901-a.pdf">failing to provide appropriate special education services</a> to students with disabilities during the pandemic. As a result, the district will have to provide, and pay for, services to make up for what wasn’t provided.</p>
<p>More broadly, the U.S. Department of Education says special education students who missed out on services <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/factsheet-504.html">are likely eligible</a> to get <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/how-to-get-compensatory-education-for-your-child">additional services</a> meant to make up for what they missed.</p>
<p>But even though most of the nation’s schools have resumed in-person classes, they have <a href="https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/special-education-teacher-shortage/">had trouble getting enough staff</a> to provide all the services that are needed.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jzgDyzMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">scholar of special education</a>, I have some insights on how parents and students can get the services they are entitled to receive, how to make the most of those resources and what to do if they feel that schools are failing to deliver.</p>
<h2>How did all this start?</h2>
<p>As recently as the early 1970s, many states allowed school districts to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-children-with-disabilities-came-to-be-accepted-in-public-schools-50820">exclude students with disabilities</a> from school entirely, or to put them in separate classrooms from students without disabilities.</p>
<p>In courts and legislatures across the country, <a href="https://theconversation.com/decades-after-special-education-law-and-key-ruling-updates-still-languish-181560">parents fought for their children’s educational rights</a> – and won.</p>
<p>In 1975, Congress passed and President Gerald Ford signed the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/house-bill/7217">Education for All Handicapped Children Act</a>. Sen. Harrison Williams, the bill’s chief sponsor, declared, “It is time for Congress to … <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bound-congressional-record/1975/06/18/senate-section">provide to all handicapped children their right to education</a>.” In 1990, the act was renamed the <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/">Individuals with Disabilities Education Act</a> and is now commonly known as IDEA.</p>
<h2>What are students entitled to?</h2>
<p>The law requires that all students with disabilities be provided with what is called a “<a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/frontpage/pro-students/issues/dis-issue03.html">free appropriate public education</a>,” one specifically developed to meet their individual educational needs.</p>
<p>Congress requires school districts to work with parents of students with disabilities to develop an <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html">individualized education program</a> specifying the exact assistance and accommodations each student needs. For instance, a student with a disability that makes reading difficult for them may receive an hour a day of specialized reading instruction. These IEPs are legal documents, and <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/">schools are obligated</a> to provide those services.</p>
<p>The law also <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/">provides funding to help states pay</a> the additional costs of providing those supports.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489039/original/file-20221010-15-pf2t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People sit around a table and look at papers together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489039/original/file-20221010-15-pf2t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489039/original/file-20221010-15-pf2t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489039/original/file-20221010-15-pf2t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489039/original/file-20221010-15-pf2t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489039/original/file-20221010-15-pf2t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489039/original/file-20221010-15-pf2t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489039/original/file-20221010-15-pf2t20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A mother, second from left, meets with school staff to plan her child’s individualized education program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ana-watson-talks-with-stephanie-slusser-a-significant-news-photo/460552640">Joe Amon/The Denver Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What can parents do to ensure their kids get what they need?</h2>
<p>Congress intended that parents be involved in the development and implementation of their child’s special education program. </p>
<p>The law requires parental consent for any testing or other evaluation that may help determine what a student’s needs are or what interventions might help them. In addition, school district personnel must involve the student’s <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.322">parents as full, equal partners</a> when developing the IEP. And schools can’t set up or change a student’s placement or special education programs without notifying parents and getting their agreement.</p>
<p>Parents can learn more about their roles and responsibilities – as well as what rights they and their children have and how to protect those rights – from their state’s <a href="https://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/">Parent Training and Information Center</a>. Those centers also teach students self-advocacy skills they need to lead independent and productive lives.</p>
<h2>What if the school and parents don’t agree?</h2>
<p>If parents don’t agree with a school’s evaluation of their child, they can file a complaint with their state’s education department. </p>
<p>They can also request that the school district pay for an independent educational evaluation of their child. The school can claim its evaluation is appropriate, and the dispute can be resolved by an <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/e/300.511">impartial hearing officer</a>. I serve as a state review due process hearing officer for the state of South Carolina. A hearing officer’s decisions can be appealed into the state or federal court systems.</p>
<h2>What if everyone agrees, but the school still doesn’t provide the services?</h2>
<p>Parents can complain to the state education department if a school district does not follow through with an agreed-upon IEP. </p>
<p>If a school district does not implement an IEP as agreed upon, a student’s parents may also file a complaint with the state education department or request a due process hearing. If either results in a finding that there was an implementation error committed by the school district, the district may be required to fix the problem. Districts can also be required to pay a parent’s attorneys’ fees, provide compensatory services, or even reimburse the parents for tuition if they had to place the student in a private school to get the services needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191314/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mitchell Yell is on the board of directors for the Council for Exceptional Children, a not-for-profit group for teachers, parents, and professionals working with students with disabilities.</span></em></p>The US Department of Education says special education students who missed out on services during the pandemic are likely eligible for additional help to make up for what was lost.Mitchell Yell, Professor of Educational Studies, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1888782022-09-06T12:38:03Z2022-09-06T12:38:03ZPolice response to 5-year-old boy who left school was problematic from the start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481899/original/file-20220830-27281-59qv8z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C0%2C7263%2C4838&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police suggested the 5-year-old boy was a 'beast' who needed to be put in a 'crate.'</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/emergency-lights-on-a-us-police-car-royalty-free-image/1327894263?adppopup=true">SDI Productions via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When police found a <a href="https://bethesdamagazine.com/2022/01/17/two-years-after-police-berated-5-year-old-boy-some-county-officials-want-to-settle-familys-lawsuit/">kindergarten boy who had walked off from school</a> after attacking his teacher and classmates, it didn’t take them long to start guessing about the cause of his behavior.</p>
<p>“He’s bad because no one’s correcting it,” one of the officers who brought the boy back to school is seen saying on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tliBSuTuFc0">police body-camera footage</a> of the incident, which took place in Silver Spring, Maryland, in 2020.</p>
<p>The officers asked the boy if he got spankings at home – and later told his mother she should beat him.</p>
<p>But when I first saw the video, I knew this case was much deeper than just one of a boy being bad or playing hooky from school. As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2T-HxYIAAAAJ&hl=en">expert in behavioral health, child trauma and school safety</a>, I can see from the video that the boy is likely experiencing emotional and psychological distress before the officer speaks with him. His behavior, posture and voice – hanging his head low, shoulders hunched and murmuring – indicate something is wrong. </p>
<p>The police seem indifferent, and when school officials get involved later on, they also don’t take steps to address what is, to me, clearly a child’s mental health emergency. To me, this is a case that typifies the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.03.008">uneven</a> and heavy-handed ways that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2016.1263797">police respond to school kids in crises</a>. These responses <a href="https://justicepolicy.org/research/policy-brief-2020-the-presence-of-school-resource-officers-sros-in-americas-schools/">disproportionately lead to arrests of Black and Hispanic children</a>. </p>
<p>To a trained person, <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/child-trauma/recognizing-and-treating-child-traumatic-stress">a more thoughtful response</a> to the 5-year-old’s distress would have included speaking to him in a respectful and helpful way. For example, the <a href="https://cdphe.colorado.gov/engage-calm-distract">Pediatric Emotional Distress Reference System</a> uses the method called “engage, calm and distract” to respond to a child in crisis. <a href="https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/February-2018/The-Problem-with-Yelling">Yelling at and berating a child</a>, particularly during a crisis, is likely to escalate the behavior and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12143">may cause long-term psychological damage</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, the officers referred to the boy as a <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/01/25/maryland-cops-assaulted-berated-5-year-old-boy-lawsuit/">little “beast,” a “violent little thing” and a “fool” who needed to be put in a “crate.”</a></p>
<h2>Conflicting messages</h2>
<p>I can also see from the video that the boy’s mother is likely distressed trying to help her son and not lose her job in the process of constantly having to come to the school for his misbehavior. To someone who is properly trained, a response that prompts the suggestion to contact a local family agency to receive crisis services and a behavioral health referral is warranted.</p>
<p>On the video, she states that she overheard one of the officers ask, “What’s going on at home?” when she was contacted by phone to calm her son down. Not long after she showed up at the school, she removed her son’s shirt to reveal his bare back in order to prove to the officers that she wasn’t physically abusing the boy.</p>
<p>“We believe it’s the exact opposite,” a male officer says on the video.</p>
<p>“Yeah, we want you to beat him,” a female officer chimed in, the video shows.</p>
<p>Both of the officers were Black, as were the mother and her son.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tliBSuTuFc0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Video shows police berating the 5-year-old boy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the mother explained that on a previous occasion, she had said that she would beat her son when they got home – and school officials who overheard had warned her that they are mandated by law to report even the possibility of child abuse to state officials.</p>
<p>The police, meanwhile, assured the mother she can hit her child. The video shows a male officer saying, “As law enforcement officers … you can, most definitely – as a matter of fact we applaud the fact that you will please beat your kid.”</p>
<p>Then one of the officers placed one cuff on the boy’s tiny wrist with his hands behind his back to demonstrate what will happen if he doesn’t learn to control his behavior.</p>
<p>“You know what these are for?” the male officer asked the boy. “These are for people who don’t want to listen and don’t know how to act.”</p>
<h2>Costly consequences</h2>
<p>In the end, it wasn’t the mother’s actions, but those of the police officers, that were questioned. The mother <a href="https://bethesdamagazine.com/2022/07/08/trial-scheduled-for-case-that-alleges-police-assaulted-harassed-5-year-old-boy/">filed a lawsuit</a> on behalf of her son. The case was <a href="https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/OPI/Resources/Files/2022/Release-and-Settlement-redacted.pdf">settled in August 2022 for US$275,000</a>. Of that amount, $220,000 was ordered to be paid on behalf of the two officers who were seen in the video berating the boy, and $55,000 on behalf of the school system. The money will be put in a trust that the boy can access as an adult.</p>
<p>Without the video, it’s hard to see how the case would have resulted in a settlement of any sort. It would have boiled down to a troubled 5-year-old boy’s recollection versus the memory of several adult authority figures. </p>
<p>But there was a video. And it captures how fraught the encounter between the boy and the police officers was from the very start.</p>
<p>“Why are you out of school?” the male officer asks the boy after finding him near a car several blocks away. “Are you an adult?”</p>
<p>He proceeds to say, “Get back over there now!” and grabs the child by the arm. The officer asks whether the child has been hurt and says he needs to return to school. At this point, the boy begins to cry and say, “No, no, no,” to which the officer responds, “Get in or we are gonna have problems … you are bad … this is why people need to beat their kids.” </p>
<h2>Challenging behaviors</h2>
<p>If police and educators don’t figure out better ways to respond to children in crisis, I predict they will face similar legal actions like the lawsuit they faced in the Maryland case. </p>
<p>More and more police departments are being required to ensure that their <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/research-body-worn-cameras-and-law-enforcement">officers wear body cameras</a>. And it is inevitable that officers will have encounters with children and families in crisis. </p>
<p>Adults often have trouble responding in helpful ways to children with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10634266020100040401">challenging behaviors</a>.</p>
<p>But there are <a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/child-trauma/understanding-child-trauma">several evidence-based approaches</a> to dealing with a child in crisis that are likely to be more effective than the heavy-handed approach taken with this boy. Examples of evidence-based approaches include assuring the child that he is safe, reassuring the child that he does not need to feel guilty or bad about any feelings or thoughts, and seeking the help of a trained professional. </p>
<p>In situations where a child’s behavior is aggressive or harmful, pediatric psychiatric experts recommend <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314514229">de-escalation techniques</a> such as respecting personal space, avoiding provocation, setting clear limits and offering choices of possible actions. </p>
<p>Many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1600590">school staff</a> are <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1185373">trained in these methods</a>, including through a <a href="https://community.asu.edu/content/asu-helps-teachers-learn-how-heal-young-victims">program I developed</a> with a colleague. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-020-09404-z">Similar training programs exist for police officers</a>, especially those who work in schools. But <a href="https://www.law.georgetown.edu/poverty-inequality-center/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2018/05/17_SRO-final-_Acc.pdf">most states do not require</a> even <a href="https://theconversation.com/police-presence-on-school-grounds-poses-potential-risks-to-kids-180476">police permanently stationed in schools</a> to receive specialized training on how to handle youth in crisis.</p>
<p>In addition, there’s not much guidance on what educators should do – or whom they should call – when police respond poorly to a young person in crisis. On the one hand, an educator could have intervened, questioning the officers’ use of force and even calling for a police supervisor to consult with. But it’s also reasonable that a teacher or principal would defer to an officer of the law.</p>
<p>Leaving the school was definitely unsafe for the 5-year-old boy. But it was not appropriate for police to berate the boy, threaten him with handcuffs and suggest his mother beating him would take care of the problem. It was also very concerning that educators stood by and let it happen. To me, this situation raises serious questions about how professionals are responding to children in crisis – and about whether police officers are doing more harm than good in schools.</p>
<p>A judge presiding over the lawsuit against the officers said their behavior toward the boy “was assaultive in nature,” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/02/yelling-police-suspended-child/">The Washington Post reported</a> on September 2, 2022.</p>
<p>The article stated that the two officers involved had been “administratively charged with several counts, including neglect of duty and failure to be courteous.”</p>
<p>“They agreed to the proposed punishments,” the newspaper stated, “and the matter was closed.” The female officer was suspended for four weeks and the male officer was suspended for two weeks, according to the newspaper.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188878/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth K. Anthony does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A lawsuit against police and school officials for how they responded to the kindergartner has been settled, but deeper systemic issues remain.Elizabeth K. Anthony, Associate Professor of Social Work, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1815602022-06-10T12:30:11Z2022-06-10T12:30:11ZDecades after special education law and key ruling, updates still languish<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468082/original/file-20220609-18-6twc2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C0%2C5207%2C3257&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Learning support teachers such as Sabrina Werley are common, but schools' services can vary widely.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sabrina-werley-works-with-her-4th-grade-students-in-a-math-news-photo/1312861050">Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It has been 40 years since the U.S. Supreme Court first took up a case about special education in public schools, Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley. In that case, the court ruled that a deaf student didn’t qualify for a sign-language interpreter because the student was doing well enough, even though an interpreter could have helped the student learn more and do better.</p>
<p>In the decades since Rowley, court orders and a few adjustments to federal laws have clarified the rights of students to get accommodations for various conditions and disabilities affecting their education. But the law governing these rights, now known as the <a href="http://idea.ed.gov/">Individuals with Disabilities Education Act</a>, has not been updated significantly since its original passage in 1975, and has never gone so long without a full congressional review.</p>
<h2>A move toward equality</h2>
<p>In many ways, Rowley owes its existence to America’s first landmark ruling about equal educational opportunity: <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/347/483.html">Brown v. Board of Education</a> in 1954, which banned racial segregation in public K-12 schools. Efforts at desegregation continue, with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice reporting it is handling “<a href="https://www.justice.gov/doj/page/file/1246366">approximately 150 desegregation cases</a>.”</p>
<p>During the initial push toward racial integration in the nation’s public schools, there was also a movement to integrate other disadvantaged students into public school classrooms: those with disabilities. The first major federal effort came in 1975 with the enactment of the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/house-bill/7217">Education for All Handicapped Children Act</a>, renamed the <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/">Individuals with Disabilities Education Act</a> in 1990. </p>
<p>The IDEA law has always applied to children <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/statute-chapter-33/subchapter-ii/1412/a/1">between the ages of 3 and 21</a> who have intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, speech or language impairments, or <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/statute-chapter-33/subchapter-i/1401/3">other specifically identifiable disabilities</a> listed in the law. This is <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg">about 15%</a> of the nation’s school-age population.</p>
<p>These children have the right to a “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1401">free appropriate public education</a>” in the “<a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/statute-chapter-33/subchapter-ii/1412/a/5">least restrictive environment</a>” possible in which their needs can be met. This means that unless their conditions dictate otherwise, they must be placed in classrooms with peers of the same age who are not disabled.</p>
<p>Students must also receive, at no cost to their parents, specially designed instruction with programming detailed in their <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.320">Individualized Education Programs</a> and related support services. This might include <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.34">transportation services and even sign-language interpreters</a>, which were at issue in the Rowley case.</p>
<p>Controversy over the meaning of the law began in earnest in 1982 with the first Supreme Court case interpreting it. </p>
<h2>A suit over sign language</h2>
<p>Based on that law, and the overall principle of equal educational opportunity, in 1979 the parents of 8-year-old Amy Rowley, who was born deaf, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/458/176">filed suit in a federal court</a> against school officials in the Hendrick Hudson Central School District, just north of New York City, who had denied their request for a sign language interpreter to accompany Amy during classes.</p>
<p>A hearing officer and lower courts agreed that Amy was entitled to an interpreter. But the school district <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/458/176">appealed to the Supreme Court</a>. In their ruling, the justices noted that Amy did well in school and could read her teachers’ lips. They declared that an “<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/458/176/">appropriate</a>” education – which was required by law – only needed to be “<a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2017/01/argument-preview-level-educational-benefit-appropriate-children-disabilities/">sufficient to confer some educational benefit</a>.” The school only needed to provide “a basic floor of opportunity” instead of all the help she needed to reach to her full potential.</p>
<p>The court concluded that because she earned passing grades, Amy was not entitled to an interpreter – even though she might have achieved at a higher level with the additional assistance. Not long after the ruling, Amy’s family moved to <a href="http://parentadvocates.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=7288">another school district</a>, where she had the assistance of interpreters – and Amy went on to <a href="https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=nyls_law_review">earn a Ph.D. and become a university professor</a>.</p>
<h2>Recognizing additional rights</h2>
<p>Over the years following its ruling on the Rowley case, the Supreme Court also took up other cases about the rights of students with disabilities. In <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/484/305.html">Honig v. Doe</a> in 1988, the court declared that officials must involve parents in decisions about how to discipline students whose misbehaviors are <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1415">manifestations of their disabilities</a>.</p>
<p>In 1984, the court ruled that students who needed it were entitled to services they needed, such as <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/468/883">catheterization</a> while in school, and even, after a 1999 ruling, the personal attendance of a <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/96-1793.ZO.html">nurse during the school day</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, the court addressed the rights of parents of children with special needs. Over the course of various rulings from 1986 to 2012, for instance, the court ruled that parents could <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-983.pdf">file suit in their own right</a> – not just on behalf of their children – if they disagreed with how public schools were assisting their children. </p>
<p>And parents who want more for their kids than the school district will provide can enroll their kids in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-945.pdf">private schools with appropriate services</a> at <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/471/359">public expense</a>, even if the private schools were <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/91-1523.ZO.html">not state-approved</a>.</p>
<p>The court has repeatedly ruled that there are some limits on parental rights. The court has regularly held that parents can challenge <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/d/300.320">Individualized Education Programs</a>, the legal and clinical documents that spell out a student’s needs and the services promised to meet those needs. </p>
<p>But in 2006, the court ruled that parents <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/05-18">could not recoup the costs for expert witnesses</a> if they prevailed in court against school boards. Despite <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr1208/text">three attempts to include that requirement</a> in updates to the law, parents remain on the hook for expert witness fees, which can cost hundreds of dollars per hour.</p>
<p>And in 2007, the justices ruled that the parties challenging students’ Individualized Education Programs, typically parents, <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/06pdf/05-983.pdf">must prove that the plans do not meet children’s needs</a>.</p>
<h2>A shift for the future</h2>
<p>In 2017, 35 years after its decision in Rowley, the Supreme Court revisited its initial low standard requiring just a bare minimum of support for students with disabilities. </p>
<p>In the case of <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-827_0pm1.pdf">Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District</a>, the justices considered an IEP assigned to a student with autism by a school board in Colorado. They determined that “<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-827_0pm1.pdf">[t]o meet its substantive</a> obligation under the IDEA, a school must offer an IEP reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.” Progress – and potential – were the new standards, not merely getting by.</p>
<p>Now, 40 years after Rowley, Congress has not fully revisited the IDEA since 2004. And it is unclear whether or how Congress might amend the IDEA to ensure that students with disabilities continue to receive the educational programming this vulnerable population of children needs to thrive in school and beyond.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181560/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles J. Russo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Four decades after the first Supreme Court ruling on the rights of students with disabilities, Congress has not made clear exactly what it expects of school districts.Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences and Research Professor of Law, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1837142022-06-09T12:41:01Z2022-06-09T12:41:01ZADHD: Medication alone doesn’t improve classroom learning for children – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467318/original/file-20220606-13238-f9jjae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C44%2C4208%2C2794&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children with ADHD struggle academically.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/temper-tantrum-royalty-free-image/470674792?adppopup=true">Upyanose / Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For decades, many physicians, parents and teachers have believed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-012-0117-8">stimulant medications help children with ADHD learn</a> because they are able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.56.12.1073">focus and behave better when medicated</a>.</p>
<p>After all, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2017.1417860">an estimated 6.1 million children in the U.S. are diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.08.040">more than 90% are prescribed stimulant medication</a> as the main form of treatment in school settings.</p>
<p>However, in a peer-reviewed study that several colleagues and I published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, we found medication <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000725">has no detectable effect on how much children with ADHD learn in the classroom</a>. At least that’s the case when learning – defined as the <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/human-learning/oclc/1197867226?referer=di&ht=edition">acquisition of performable skills or knowledge through instruction</a> – is measured in terms of tests meant to assess improvements in a student’s current academic knowledge or skills over time.</p>
<p>Compared to their peers, children with ADHD exhibit more off-task, disruptive classroom behavior, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.18.3.543">earn lower grades</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl054">score lower on tests</a>. They are more likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl054">receive special education services</a> and be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2011.581620">retained for a grade</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl054">less likely to finish high school and enter college</a> – two educational milestones that are associated with <a href="https://money.com/wage-gap-college-high-school-grads/">significant increases in earnings</a>.</p>
<p>Just as children with ADHD have more difficulty than peers in school, adults with a history of ADHD have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9658-z">hard time keeping a steady job</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467567/original/file-20220607-24949-p8b7w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a T-shirt stares out a window." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467567/original/file-20220607-24949-p8b7w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467567/original/file-20220607-24949-p8b7w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467567/original/file-20220607-24949-p8b7w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467567/original/file-20220607-24949-p8b7w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467567/original/file-20220607-24949-p8b7w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467567/original/file-20220607-24949-p8b7w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467567/original/file-20220607-24949-p8b7w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adults with a history of ADHD are less likely to finish high school or complete a bachelor’s degree.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-looking-through-window-royalty-free-image/578805787?adppopup=true">Johner Images / Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Measurements of learning</h2>
<p>In this study, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000725">funded by the National Institute of Mental Health</a>, we evaluated 173 children between the ages of 7 and 12. They were all participants in our <a href="https://ccf.fiu.edu/summer-programs/summer-treatment-program/index.html">Summer Treatment Program</a>, a comprehensive eight-week summer camp for children with ADHD and related behavioral, emotional and learning challenges. </p>
<p>Children got grade-level instruction in vocabulary, science and social studies. The classes were led by certified teachers. The children received medication the first half of summer and a placebo during the other half. They were tested at the start of each academic instruction block, which lasted approximately three weeks. They then took the same test at the end to determine how much they learned. </p>
<p>Contrary to the conventional wisdom under which parents and teachers have long operated, we found children learned the same amount of science, social studies and vocabulary content whether they were taking medication or a placebo.</p>
<p>Yes. We were shocked by this finding, too. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oTsqrIX6OpU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Medication alone doesn’t help kids with ADHD learn.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many published studies show <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-018-1106-3">medication helps children focus and behave better in the classroom</a>. The theory has been that if stimulant medication helps a child stay on task with their schoolwork and improve their behavior in class, then it <a href="https://doi.org/doi:10.1001/archpsyc.56.12.1073">should also improve their learning</a>.</p>
<p>In our study, medication helped children complete more schoolwork and improve their classroom behavior, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2007.12087940">as expected</a>. When taking medication, children completed 37% more arithmetic problems per minute and exhibited 53% fewer classroom rule violations per hour.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, completing more schoolwork and behaving better in the classroom did not lead to higher grades on tests, which heavily determine overall class grades. These results support the findings of other research that has found there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000170">no long-term beneficial effect of medication on standardized test scores</a>.</p>
<p>This is an important finding because stimulant medication is by far the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html">most common treatment for children with ADHD</a>, and the majority receive only medication. Other treatments available for children with ADHD include <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/behavior-therapy.html">behavior therapy, including training for parents</a> and a combination of therapy and medication.</p>
<h2>A new understanding</h2>
<p>Nearly 40 years ago, my research laboratory <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1985.01790330028003">published the very first study</a> that looked at the effects of stimulant medication on learning for children with ADHD in the classroom setting. At the time, we measured learning by how quickly and accurately children completed worksheets and how they behaved in the classroom.</p>
<p>Researchers in my lab found that medicated children focused more and behaved better, and we assumed medication helped them learn more. Since then, stimulant medications have been the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.08.040">most common treatment for ADHD</a>.</p>
<p>Having <a href="https://scholars.fiu.edu/display/person-pelham-jrwilliam-e">published nearly 500 scientific studies on the subject</a> over the last 40 years, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=qws_ns0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">we</a> have learned a lot about the most effective treatments for children with ADHD.</p>
<h2>ADHD is not something children will outgrow</h2>
<p>Our most recent National Institute of Mental Health long-running study found that an adult with a history of childhood ADHD is expected to <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2019-72463-001.html">earn US$1.25 million less than adults without a history of ADHD</a> over their lifetime, potentially reaching retirement with up to 75% lower net worth.</p>
<p>In that study, we found that people with ADHD fared worse in just about every aspect of work and financial well-being. This included income, savings, employment status and dependence on parents or other adults.</p>
<p>Nearly half of the adults with childhood ADHD were regularly receiving money from parents, other adults or the government.</p>
<p>To improve long-term financial outcomes and reduce dependence on parents and government, those with ADHD may benefit from educational supports and interventions that help them finish high school and earn a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>Since the children in our study were ages 7-12 years old, we don’t know if our findings would extend to adolescents or adults with ADHD. As children grow older, how they learn changes: Adolescents or young adults may acquire knowledge more so from independent studying than from classroom teaching. So it’s important to determine whether medication helps when learning outside the classroom.</p>
<h2>How to help children with ADHD thrive</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child is seated a table working on a project as a teacher stands nearby." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467023/original/file-20220603-14-nxs2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467023/original/file-20220603-14-nxs2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467023/original/file-20220603-14-nxs2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467023/original/file-20220603-14-nxs2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467023/original/file-20220603-14-nxs2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467023/original/file-20220603-14-nxs2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467023/original/file-20220603-14-nxs2ir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A participant in the Summer Treatment Program at Florida International University.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Center for Children and Families at Florida International University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are ways for children to improve academic achievement with effective classroom strategies alone, rather than just being on medication to begin with. Behavioral and academic strategies that significantly help youth with ADHD include parent training and classroom-based management tools like a <a href="https://ccf.fiu.edu/research/_assets/how_to_establish_a_school_drc.pdf">daily report card</a>. A child with ADHD can also receive effective behavioral services in school that are specific to academic achievement, such as <a href="https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-is-a-504-plan-3104706">504</a> and <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html">individualized education plans</a>, also known as IEPs, for students in special education.</p>
<p>Our previous research has found that behavioral therapy – when used first – is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2015.1105138">less expensive and more effective</a> than medication in treating children with ADHD. Stimulants are most effective as a supplemental, second-line treatment option for those who need it and at lower doses than typically prescribed. In other words, medication should only be added if children still need additional support after the behavioral and academic interventions have been tried.</p>
<p>Additionally, in 2020, the <a href="http://www.sdbp.org/">Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics</a> published <a href="https://sdbp.org/adhd-guideline/cag-guidelines/">new clinical guidelines</a> that strongly recommend behavioral intervention as the first-line treatment for youth with ADHD and medication as a second-line treatment, if necessary. </p>
<p>So while it’s true that medication helps with focus and behavior, so do behavioral and academic strategies in the classroom. And just because a child seems to be more focused and behaving better in the classroom doesn’t mean they will get better grades. What we have found time and time again is that behavioral intervention is best for children with ADHD because they, their teachers and their parents learn skills and strategies that will help them succeed at school, at home and in relationships long term.</p>
<p>To give children with ADHD the best chance to thrive, I believe families, medical professionals and educators should focus on behavioral and academic interventions first and add medication only if needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183714/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William E. Pelham, Jr. receives funding from organizations including but not limited to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Institute of Education Sciences (IES), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
He has served as a consultant/advisor to numerous federal agencies including the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), American Psychological Association (APA), Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), The National Institute for Children's Health Quality (NICHQ) and the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (SDBP). </span></em></p>In the first study of its kind, researchers found medication alone has no detectable impact on how much children with ADHD learn in the classroom.William E. Pelham Jr., Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1781112022-04-20T12:16:39Z2022-04-20T12:16:39ZStudents of color in special education are less likely to get the help they need – here are 3 ways teachers can do better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451661/original/file-20220311-16-tvdrr3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7769%2C5163&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Conversations around race and disability often get left out of schools. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teacher-helping-special-needs-student-at-school-royalty-free-image/1364983986?adppopup=true">FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I was a special education teacher at <a href="https://publicschoolsk12.com/elementary-schools/fl/miami-dade-county/120039000470.html">Myrtle Grove Elementary School</a> in Miami in 2010, my colleagues and I recommended that a Black girl receive special education services because she had difficulty reading. However, her mother disagreed. When I asked her why, she explained that she, too, was identified as having a learning disability when she was a student. </p>
<p>She was put in a small classroom away from her other classmates. She remembered reading books below her grade level and frequent conflicts between her classmates and teachers. Because of this, she believed she received a lower-quality education. She didn’t want her daughter to go through the same experience. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the mother and I co-designed an individualized education plan – known in the world of special education as an IEP – for her daughter where she would be pulled out of class for only an hour a day for intensive reading instruction.</p>
<p>When compared to white students with disabilities, students of color with disabilities are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2019.1630130">more likely to be placed in separate classrooms</a>. This may lead to lower educational outcomes for students of color in special education, as students with disabilities <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466920925033">perform better in math and reading</a> when in general education classrooms. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458711/original/file-20220419-22-zlae4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A student of color with down syndrome uses a tablet in the classroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458711/original/file-20220419-22-zlae4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458711/original/file-20220419-22-zlae4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458711/original/file-20220419-22-zlae4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458711/original/file-20220419-22-zlae4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458711/original/file-20220419-22-zlae4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458711/original/file-20220419-22-zlae4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458711/original/file-20220419-22-zlae4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students with disabilities perform better academically when placed in general education classes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mixed-race-down-syndrome-student-using-tablet-royalty-free-image/508481885?adppopup=true">Robin Bartholick via Tetra images/GettyImages</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Researchers, such as University of Arizona education scholar <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-019-00496-4">Adai Tefera</a> and CUNY-Hunter College sociologist of education <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X16686947">Catherine Voulgarides</a>, argue that systemic racism – as well as biased interpretations of the behavior of students of color – explains these discrepancies. For example, when compared to students with similar test scores, Black students with disabilities are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2021.10.002">less likely to be included in the general education classroom</a> than their non-Black peers. To curb this, teachers can take steps toward being more inclusive of students of color with disabilities.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=YjHlSvUAAAAJ">Black feminist researcher</a> who focuses on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2020.1771465">intersection of race and disability</a>, here are three recommendations I believe can help teachers to better support students of color with disabilities. </p>
<h2>1. Inform families of their rights</h2>
<p>Federal law requires that schools provide parents and guardians with <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/e/300.504">Procedural Safeguards Notices</a>, a full explanation of all the rights a parent has when their child is referred to or receives special education services. These notices need to be put in writing and explained to families in “language that is easily understandable.” </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1044207317751674">research shows</a> that in many states, Procedural Safeguards Notices are written in ways that are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466910362774">difficult to read</a>. This can make it harder for families, especially immigrant families, to know their rights. Also, families of color report facing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1937345">greater resistance</a> when making requests for disability services than white families do. </p>
<p>When meeting with families, teachers can take the time to break down any confusing language written in the Procedural Safeguards Notice. This can assure that the families of students of color are fully aware of their options. </p>
<p>For example, families have the right to invite an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-58.2.158">external advocate</a> to represent their interests during meetings with school representatives. These advocates can speak on behalf of the family and often help resolve disagreements between the schools and families. </p>
<p>Educators can tell families about organizations that serve children with disabilities and help them navigate school systems. <a href="https://thecolorofautism.org">The Color of Autism</a>, <a href="https://thearcus.surveymonkey.com/r/H7GZYKZ">The Arc</a> and <a href="https://www.easterseals.com/ways-to-give/black-child-fund.html">Easterseals</a> are striving to address racial inequities in who has access to advocacy supports. These organizations create culturally responsive resources and connect families of color with scholarships to receive training on how to advocate for themselves.</p>
<h2>2. Talk about race and disability</h2>
<p>Despite the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124518785012">growing diversity</a> within K-12 classrooms, conversations around race are often left out of special education. This leaves a lack of attention toward the issues that students of color face, like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451218782437">higher suspension rates</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219847966">lower grades and test scores</a> than their white peers in special education. </p>
<p>When teachers talk about race and disability with their colleagues, it can help reduce <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118767435">implicit biases</a> they may have. Also, dialogue about race and disability can help to reduce <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584211041354">negative school interactions</a> with students of color with disabilities. </p>
<p>Arizona State University teacher educator <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2h8PiNoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Andrea Weinberg</a> and I <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08884064211070571">developed protocols</a> that encourage educators to talk about race, disability, class and other social identities with each other. These include questions for teachers such as: </p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Do any of your students of color have an IEP?</em></p>
<p><em>Has a student with disabilities or their family shared anything about their cultural background that distinguishes them from their peers?</em></p>
<p><em>Are there patterns of students not responding to instruction?</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The protocols also encourage educators to consider their own social identities and how those may shape how they interpret students’ behaviors and academic needs:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Who do you collaborate with to help you better understand and respond to students’ diverse needs?</em> </p>
<p><em>In what ways are students and teachers benefiting from the diversity represented in the classroom?</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Educators using these questions in the Southwest, for example, say they help a mostly white teacher workforce understand their role in disrupting inequities. One <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/08884064211062874">study participant</a> said, “These things are not addressed, and they’re not talked about among faculty.” </p>
<h2>3. Highlight people of color with disabilities in the classroom</h2>
<p>Often, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19388079909558314">classroom content</a> depicts disabled people – especially those of color – as people at the margins of society. For example, in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” <a href="https://doi.org/10.5325/critphilrace.10.1.0048">Tom Robinson</a>, a Black character with a physical disability, is killed after being falsely accused of a crime. Teachers can incorporate thoughtful examples of disabled people of color in their lesson plans to help students better understand their experiences.</p>
<p>When teaching about Harriet Tubman, educators can mention how she freed enslaved people while coping with the lifelong effects of a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3171/2016.3.FOCUS1586">head injury</a>. Tubman’s political activism provides a historical example of disabled people of color who helped improve society for all. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458714/original/file-20220419-15105-i8f6ja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man and a woman in a wheelchair pose together next to a painting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458714/original/file-20220419-15105-i8f6ja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458714/original/file-20220419-15105-i8f6ja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458714/original/file-20220419-15105-i8f6ja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458714/original/file-20220419-15105-i8f6ja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458714/original/file-20220419-15105-i8f6ja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458714/original/file-20220419-15105-i8f6ja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458714/original/file-20220419-15105-i8f6ja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo suffered from spinal and pelvic damage after a bus accident.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/eventosuc3m/14416334809">Universidad Carlos III de Madrid/flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Art teachers can highlight Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and how she boldly addressed her <a href="https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20160036">physical disabilities in self-portraits</a>. Disabled people’s experiences are frequently shown from the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1247947">perspective of people without disabilities</a>. In her art, Kahlo displayed herself <a href="https://artincontext.org/the-broken-column-frida-kahlo/">with bandages</a> and sitting in a <a href="https://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-with-the-portrait-of-doctor-farill.jsp">wheelchair</a>. Her portraits featured her own reactions to having disabilities. </p>
<p>Physical education teachers can discuss current events, such as recent news about Olympian Simone Biles’s <a href="https://www.espn.com/espnw/voices/story/_/id/17602540/bravo-simone-biles-taking-stand-adhd-stigma">attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2021-0036">anxiety</a>. Her openness has sparked <a href="https://www.insider.com/simone-biles-adhd-meds-banned-japan-impacting-performance-2021-7">international conversations</a> about less noticeable disabilities. </p>
<p>Teaching students about the contributions that disabled people of color make to our society emphasizes that neither race nor disability should be equated with inferiority.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178111/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mildred Boveda does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students with disabilities do better when they remain in general education classes, but systemic bias often leads them to be placed in separate classrooms, a special education researcher writes.Mildred Boveda, Associate Professor of Special Education, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1774312022-03-03T13:26:04Z2022-03-03T13:26:04ZStudents with disabilities are not getting help to address lost opportunities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449585/original/file-20220302-23-13m4a4t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5658%2C3760&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many students with disabilities struggled when forced to learn virtually from home during the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreakSpecialEducation/dfb90ba48a7b44c08df1fc2040917c71/photo">AP Photo/Seth Wenig</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Even before the pandemic hit, <a href="https://specialedshortages.org/about-the-shortage/">98% of U.S. school districts</a> said they didn’t have enough special education teachers to serve all the students who needed their help. During the pandemic, short-handed school districts were even more stretched to provide learning support to students with disabilities. Now, those students are struggling to catch up with where they should be.</p>
<p>In fall 2018, according to the most recent federal data available, there were <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/43rd-arc-for-idea.pdf#page=215">6.1 full-time special educators for every 100 students</a> who received special-education services, varying widely by state, from 2.8 in Oklahoma to 12.1 in Washington, D.C. Special education teachers have long described their work as <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319862495">very demanding with little support</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/S0270-401320190000035019">high stress</a> and low pay.</p>
<p>Then the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2022019">rapidly shift from traditional in-person teaching to virtual classes</a> on laptops and smartphones in students’ homes. The sorts of services common in special education – additional support within a child’s classroom, and dedicated time with specialists outside the classroom – became <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/20210608-impacts-of-covid19.pdf">difficult, or even impossible</a>, to provide.</p>
<p>In an early 2020 survey of parents of children enrolled in special education services, <a href="https://parentstogetheraction.org/2020/05/27/parentstogether-survey-reveals-remote-learning-is-failing-our-most-vulnerable-students-2/">just 20%</a> reported that their child received all the support the school was required to provide. Another 39% reported that their child actually received no services at all. A federal report in June 2021 documented <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/20210608-impacts-of-covid19.pdf">schools continuing to have difficulty</a> serving students with disabilities. </p>
<p>As a lifelong special educator who now <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=qaWyb_gAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">studies the field</a>, I have seen that many students who needed support before will need even more to get back on track. I worry that, as the pandemic ends, many students who did not previously have mental health difficulties, or whose conditions did not significantly affect their readiness to learn, may now have difficulties or disabilities that require assistance from a system that is already strained.</p>
<h2>Business as usual</h2>
<p>There are still <a href="https://aaee.org/blogs/new-aaee-report-sheds-light-current-and-future-teacher-shortages">shortages of special education teachers</a> across the country. There are also reports that <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/12/13/labor-shortage-special-education">children are not receiving required services</a> even after they’re back in school buildings. Services may include speech and language therapy, math and reading support, and instruction to improve social and emotional skills. Services vary from student to student, based on their individual needs.</p>
<p>Under a civil rights law, students who did not get proper services during the pandemic may be <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/factsheet-504.html">eligible for additional support</a> – beyond their existing special education plan – to catch up with where they should be. When determining what a student may be entitled to, schools and families consider the benefits that were lost because the student did not get what they were entitled to. Services to address this problem will also vary from student to student. </p>
<p>But there are problems with that additional help as well, as schools continue to do their best with the resources that are available to them. A November 2021 survey by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates – an advocacy group for students in special education and their families – found that <a href="https://www.copaa.org/news/587141/Few-Students-with-Disabilities-Receive-Available-Services-to-Offset-COVID-19-Learning-Losses.htm">86% of parents</a> reported that their child experienced learning loss, skill regression or slower-than-expected progress in school. </p>
<p>But just 18% of parents said their child received additional support to recover ground lost during the pandemic. And 14% of parents believed that school districts’ decisions about who got that additional help were unfair.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449586/original/file-20220302-12454-1jdy12i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman wearing a face mask and a face shield holds up letters in front of a young child sitting in a stroller" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449586/original/file-20220302-12454-1jdy12i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449586/original/file-20220302-12454-1jdy12i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449586/original/file-20220302-12454-1jdy12i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449586/original/file-20220302-12454-1jdy12i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449586/original/file-20220302-12454-1jdy12i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449586/original/file-20220302-12454-1jdy12i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449586/original/file-20220302-12454-1jdy12i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some schools sent special educators to provide personal services to children during the pandemic, but many struggled with staffing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/reading-school-district-special-education-teacher-leslie-news-photo/1281303639">Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A new group of students in need</h2>
<p>The pandemic <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-to-help-your-kids-break-out-of-their-pandemic-bubble-and-transition-back-to-being-with-others-157732">worsened what was already a crisis</a> in young people’s mental health in the U.S. </p>
<p>A January 2021 survey from the JED Foundation, a nonprofit working to improve children’s and teens’ mental health, found that <a href="https://www.jedfoundation.org/news-views/national-survey-youth-well-being-during-covid-19/">nearly two-thirds of U.S. parents</a> reported their child experienced a mental or emotional challenge in the previous month. That included more common complaints like social anxiety and isolation, and less common but more severe episodes, such as suicidal thoughts. More than half of teenagers reported having experienced thoughts and feelings in that range in the previous month.</p>
<p>In October 2021, three major professional groups focused on children’s health – the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association – declared a “<a href="https://www.aap.org/en/advocacy/child-and-adolescent-healthy-mental-development/aap-aacap-cha-declaration-of-a-national-emergency-in-child-and-adolescent-mental-health">national emergency in child and adolescent mental health</a>,” in part as a result of personal and family stress during the pandemic.</p>
<p>Students with mental health diagnoses <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.8/c/4">can qualify for special education</a> if their conditions <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/b/300.111">affect their ability to learn in school</a>. To me, the steep increase in mental health difficulties reported during the pandemic means there will likely be more students in need of special education support than ever before.</p>
<p>Research has identified ways that <a href="https://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CEEDAR-GTL-Shortages-Brief.pdf">schools</a> and <a href="https://annenberg.brown.edu/recovery/brief2">special educators</a> could meet the current need, and what I fear may be a future spike in demand. These recommendations focus on developing working conditions that promote teacher and student success, improving compensation and using special educators to provide small-group instruction. I believe now is an opportune time to make a commitment to teachers who are experts in specialized instruction and to the students who really need them. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-150ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177431/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John McKenna receives funding from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. </span></em></p>Many students with disabilities got few or no services during the pandemic, and aren’t now receiving the support they need to regain their lost ground and continue to learnJohn McKenna, Associate Professor of Special Education, UMass LowellLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1753082022-01-28T13:27:44Z2022-01-28T13:27:44Z5 tips to help preschoolers with special needs during the pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443047/original/file-20220127-4399-1t0101f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6709%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents say there has been a lack of academic and social learning opportunities for children during the pandemic. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/preschool-students-play-with-modeling-clay-royalty-free-image/866452962?adppopup=true">SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Four months in reading. Five months in math. That’s <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/education/our-insights/covid-19-and-education-the-lingering-effects-of-unfinished-learning">how far children are behind</a> where they should be for their grade level, according to a 2021 report that says the COVID-19 pandemic – and the transition to virtual learning – are to blame.</p>
<p>For young children in particular, parents report that opportunities for both academic and social emotional growth were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2021.1930936">lacking during the pandemic</a>. But what is the effect of the pandemic on young children with disabilities, many of whom <a href="https://nieer.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NIEER_Seven_Impacts_of_the_Pandemic_on_Young_Children_and_their_Parents.pdf">did not receive</a> their federally mandated special education services as many schools shifted online?</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hjKz3uYAAAAJ&hl=en">researchers</a> who <a href="https://psychology.umbc.edu/sonnenschein/">specialize</a> in issues of education for <a href="https://education.umbc.edu/faculty-list/michele-stites/">young children with disabilities</a>, we found that parents of such children are <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/9783030969769">worried about the impact of virtual learning</a> because of the lack of special education services, their own child’s inability to participate in virtual instruction, and the lack of opportunities for social emotional growth and development. </p>
<p>While we know that parents are very busy, based on our research, here are five things parents and caregivers of young children with disabilities can do to help bridge the gap caused by the pandemic and distance learning.</p>
<h2>1. Communicate frequently with your child’s therapists and educators</h2>
<p>In the years before COVID-19 it was common for teachers and therapists – such as speech pathologists, occupational therapists and the like – to initiate communication with families. But as the pandemic persists, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1067077413/teachers-pandemic-school-classroom-return-to-in-person-learning">educators face overwhelming</a> staff shortages, constant COVID-19 outbreaks and children who have not been in traditional school settings for months on end in some cases.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442766/original/file-20220126-25-11ioqzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C0%2C3483%2C2329&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A teacher helps a child in a wheelchair cut a pink piece of paper with scissors." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442766/original/file-20220126-25-11ioqzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C0%2C3483%2C2329&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442766/original/file-20220126-25-11ioqzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442766/original/file-20220126-25-11ioqzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442766/original/file-20220126-25-11ioqzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442766/original/file-20220126-25-11ioqzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442766/original/file-20220126-25-11ioqzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442766/original/file-20220126-25-11ioqzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents of children with special needs worry that their children have fallen behind.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/art-teacher-assists-little-girl-in-wheelchair-royalty-free-image/157614956?adppopup=true">ktaylorg/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since school faculty and staff are overwhelmed, parents may need to take the lead when it comes to communication. Emailing teachers and therapists about your child’s progress is a good place to start. Meetings can be set up from there if needed.</p>
<h2>2. Create opportunities to socialize with other children</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2021.1930936">Parents</a> and <a href="https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/online-learning-mental-health">psychologists</a> have reported that missing out on opportunities for socialization is one of the biggest side effects of the pandemic. Consider reaching out to parents of your child’s classmates to set up small social gatherings where children can practice age-appropriate socialization skills, such as sharing and taking turns. Being COVID-19 responsible is important, so be sure to follow local safety guidelines.</p>
<p>You can also work with different advocacy groups like the <a href="https://www.specialolympics.org">Special Olympics</a> to see what types of programs are available in your area.</p>
<h2>3. Work on goals in the child’s individualized education program</h2>
<p>A child’s individualized education program should outline the child’s strengths and weaknesses. The IEP should also include goals to support learning in all areas, such as language skills, social skills and the like.</p>
<p>Asking teachers and therapists about how those goals are being addressed at school can give parents ideas about how to naturally incorporate them into a child’s daily routine. For example, if a child is working on counting items one at a time, parents can count oranges at the grocery store or Goldfish crackers on a lunch plate.</p>
<h2>4. Take a play-based approach to learning</h2>
<p>Embedding learning into play allows parents to <a href="http://talkingtogether.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/childrens-early-home-learning-environment-and-learning-outcomes-in-the-early-years-of-school.pdf">teach their child</a> without the formality – and, let’s face it, dullness – of tools like flashcards and worksheets. </p>
<p>Reading and asking questions, playing games like Go Fish where children can identify colors and numbers, spraying a small amount of shaving cream on a flat surface and writing letters in it, and even counting snowballs can be used as learning opportunities.</p>
<h2>5. Engage children in conversation</h2>
<p>Providing young children opportunities to hear and practice language is critical for their learning. Taking time to talk with a young child is particularly important when the child has a disability. It is also important to give the child the needed time to answer questions. Parents can demonstrate responses for the child to repeat as necessary. </p>
<p>Incorporating some of these ideas into a daily routine <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.04.004">can go a long way</a> in bridging the gaps left in the wake of COVID-19 and virtual learning.</p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The pandemic and shifts to virtual learning have set many children back academically. The setbacks can be particularly challenging for children with disabilities, but recovery is possible.Michele L. Stites, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountySusan Sonnenschein, Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1666152021-10-04T15:17:53Z2021-10-04T15:17:53ZChildren on individual education plans: What parents need to know, and 4 questions they should ask<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422778/original/file-20210922-27-1fpud0n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C17%2C5955%2C3970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents who have busy schedules may not feel as though they can make a valuable contribution to their child's individual education plan.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Already a month into the school year, and after two years of disrupted learning by COVID-19, students with <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7778721/ontario-parents-frustrated-special-needs-remote-learning-covid/">special education needs have been deeply affected</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/individu.html">Individual education plans (IEPs)</a> have become a crucial part of the education system. And the <a href="https://peopleforeducation.ca/report/2018-annual-report-on-schools-the-new-basics-for-public-education/">number of students on IEPs is growing across Ontario public schools</a>. </p>
<p>IEPs are created for students <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/speced.html">who are defined as exceptional</a>, in order to consider their individual needs (whether behavioural, communicative, physical, intellectual) and support their optimal <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/individu.html">learning potential</a>. </p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/ontario.html">exceptional student in education</a> refers to a child who has been identified as gifted or as having a disability. Many children who are not identified as exceptional can still have an IEP that is “<a href="https://p14cdn4static.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_73620/File/Our%20Board/Departments/Special%20Education%20Services/terms.pdf">non-identitified</a>.” This allows them to receive special supports within their educational journeys. </p>
<p>If an IEP is inaccurate, a child’s learning needs will not be met. IEPs are meant to be constructed by a team of professionals in <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/guide/resource/iepresguid.pdf">collaboration with parents</a>, as each stakeholder has different information about the child. </p>
<p>Parents who have busy schedules may not feel as though they can make a valuable contribution to their child’s education and discussions about an IEP. Or they may lack the awareness of their <a href="http://www.ldao.ca/wp-content/uploads/A-Parents-Guide-to-Special-Education.pdf">parental rights</a> when it comes to participating in the IEP process. This means they may be wrongly left out of the conversation.</p>
<h2>What are IEPs?</h2>
<p>Individual education plans are used to identify and plan annual goals for students who may require extra supports or individualized learning. If done incorrectly, IEPs can create hostility between experts and parents where certain students become misrepresented, segregated and <a href="https://doi.org/10.33015/dominican.edu/2019.HCS.ST.08">stigmatized</a> in the classroom. </p>
<p>Inaccurate IEPs often set low expectations and misrepresent a child’s needs and abilities. Imagine this scenario: A child shows difficulty reading out loud in class and is offered one-on-one reading support. Upon discussion with the child and parents, it becomes apparent that the child reads well at home out loud and only “freezes” when asked to read out loud in front of classroom peers because of extreme nervousness. </p>
<p>In this case, an inaccurate IEP may reflect a need for reading support when in reality the child may require supports for anxiety. Accurate IEPs are important to ensure a child’s appropriate needs are met. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child holds a pencil crayon to a cut piece of orange construction paper, the photo is from the top-down and the desk is covered with other craft materials" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422767/original/file-20210922-23-rhrbyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422767/original/file-20210922-23-rhrbyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422767/original/file-20210922-23-rhrbyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422767/original/file-20210922-23-rhrbyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422767/original/file-20210922-23-rhrbyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422767/original/file-20210922-23-rhrbyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422767/original/file-20210922-23-rhrbyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Independent learning plans are meant to ensure a child’s learning needs are met.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sigmund/Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a classroom teacher and doctoral student researcher, I believe parents can support their children if empowered to understand how IEPs are key to meaningful learning. </p>
<p>Here are four questions parents can ask to ensure that the IEP accurately represents their child’s learning needs.</p>
<h2>1. How is my child being perceived?</h2>
<p>As mentioned above, not all IEPs are written to support children who have been assessed as having a disability — but many are. </p>
<p>Disability is conceptualized in two main ways in research: <a href="https://canbc.org/blog/medical-model-of-disability-versus-social-model-of-disability/">the medical model and the social model</a>. These two models are important to distinguish as many students on IEPs have a disability diagnosis. </p>
<p>The medical model assumes that disability is an abnormality that requires “fixing,” whereas the social model positions disability as a difference in people. The social model shifts from fixing the child to fixing the conditions of the learning environment. The medical model assumes a deficit view of the child’s ability where the social model emphasizes supports a child needs to learn.</p>
<p>I advise both teachers and parents to adopt a social model outlook in order to ensure the classroom environment reflects and adapts to the learning needs of the child in order to provide them with a quality education. </p>
<p>Classroom adaptations of material and learning expectations (like access to material at their modified learning grade level), assessments (like access to accommodations for using speech-to-text software during tests) and the overall classroom environment (like flexible seating and quiet spaces) permit your child to address their needs and individual learning goals, enhancing their performance and success.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Children sit in a classroom, smiling up at the front of the room" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422775/original/file-20210922-22-1794ghc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422775/original/file-20210922-22-1794ghc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422775/original/file-20210922-22-1794ghc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422775/original/file-20210922-22-1794ghc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422775/original/file-20210922-22-1794ghc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422775/original/file-20210922-22-1794ghc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422775/original/file-20210922-22-1794ghc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Parents should ask how the resources and tools outlined in an independent education plan are going to be used or applied in the classroom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Kuanish Reymbaev/Unsplash)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>2. How does the IEP attend to my child’s needs?</h2>
<p>Children have a variety of needs that are unique and require distinctive attention. Some of these needs might include but are not limited to: anxiety, behavioural, communication, academic and social needs. The needs of your child must be reflected in the IEP to ensure that the classroom is adapted to support their day-to-day needs, wants and interests.</p>
<p>For instance, if your child <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1096250612446853">needs help moving from one class or space to another</a>, their IEP should recognize this and address how their transitions will be supported both verbally and visually. Such supports might include things like a printed or posted schedule, adults redirecting your child to appropriate tasks or spaces and modelling how to transition between tasks and spaces with pictures and videos throughout the day.</p>
<h2>3. What do the words in the IEP mean?</h2>
<p>Education-specific jargon is used to construct IEPs: words like “<a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf">accommodations,” “modifications,” “differentiated instruction</a>.” Parents should be encouraged to ask questions about IEPs and what they mean. Understanding the terms will help ensure your child’s learning and growth are accurately supported.</p>
<h2>4. What is this going to look like in the classroom for my child?</h2>
<p>The way an IEP is written may differ greatly from how it is actually enacted. This is why it is important for parents to work in collaboration with education professionals when creating an IEP over time. </p>
<p>Parents should ask how the resources and tools outlined in the IEP are going to be used or applied in the classroom, and should ask teachers for examples of how educators will engage the supports with the child.</p>
<h2>The takeaway</h2>
<p>When parents or caregivers participate in the process of drafting an IEP, it can limit the misrepresentation of their child’s needs. Misrepresentation can impact a child’s attitude towards learning, identity as a learner and learning outcomes.</p>
<p>IEPs are working documents. They are meant to be flexible and adaptable so if the strategies proposed do not work, they can change. Parents, experts and teachers need to create spaces for open dialogue, without judgement, to support children’s learning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166615/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tori Trajanovski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Individual education plans (IEPs) should be created by a team of professionals in collaboration with parents. If a child’s IEP is inaccurate, their learning needs won’t be met.Tori Trajanovski, PhD Student, Faculty of Education, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1577452021-04-09T12:20:32Z2021-04-09T12:20:32Z3 ways music educators can help students with autism develop their emotions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392367/original/file-20210329-21-1rvuxb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C2991%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some children with autism have learned to express themselves emotionally through music. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/four-year-old-daniel-brundidge-who-is-autistic-sang-along-news-photo/1154886362?adppopup=true">Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many children with autism struggle to find the words to express how they feel. But when it comes to music, it’s an entirely different situation. </p>
<p>Evidence suggests children with autism may enjoy music and show an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/875512339901800103">early desire for music education</a>. </p>
<p>I am a mother to three young adult sons with high-functioning autism. I got them involved in music from a young age, and they learned to communicate their emotions by playing bassoon, French horn and baritone. As a <a href="https://www.dawnmitchellwhite.com">doctoral student</a> and music teacher, I have seen the emotional transformation from music happen in both my music classroom and my home. I’d like to share what I have learned.</p>
<h2>The backstory</h2>
<p>From 2003 to 2018, I owned and operated the Center for Education School of the Arts and Sciences in Tampa, Florida. It was a K-12 school of the arts for students with learning and developmental disabilities. </p>
<p>Everyone in the school was required to join a music group, such as concert band, musical theater, jazz band or chamber ensemble. They all studied in private lessons on their instruments with me, as the school’s music teacher. I saw what I believe to be incredible musical and emotional growth in students with autism after they began to study music. </p>
<p>For example, there was one student who was unable to speak but could hum melodies. I gradually realized that she hummed different tunes for the emotions she was feeling, even though she couldn’t communicate them verbally. Her eyes always matched her emotions as she hummed the story she couldn’t tell.</p>
<p>Another student with Asperger’s disorder took private piano and composition lessons with me. He could talk, but he couldn’t explain how he felt. On days he felt sad, he played a piece of music he had composed to express it. Likewise, he had composed pieces for happy, angry and lonely.</p>
<p>Studies show that children with autism can understand both simple and complex emotions in music and are more responsive to sensory stimulation compared with other children – especially in music, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06465.x">even over speech or noise</a>. This may explain why some children with autism are musical savants. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3oZaCrkCxu8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">CBS interviews Rex Lewis-Clack, a 13-year-old piano prodigy with autism.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-02543-005">Musical emotions</a> aren’t understood the same way as regular emotions. They don’t require complex facial expressions or a “tone of voice,” which are particularly <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11900-y">difficult for children with autism to recognize</a>. Musical emotions are easier for children with autism spectrum disorder to grasp because they are a less socially complex. </p>
<h2>Incorporate music in everyday lessons</h2>
<p>Music can have a positive impact on children with autism in several ways. Educators can use songs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/7.3.95">to reinforce speech</a> in students with autism that struggle with language. One technique is to sing with vocabulary cards in order to teach vocabulary skills. Research shows that singing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/21.3.100">can considerably improve language skills</a> in students with a type of autism that has language delays. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xteDOLSw_io?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Four-year-old Daniel Brundidge, who has nonverbal autism, was able to sing to “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Educators can also use music to help a child with autism recall important information <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01538152">when the information is linked with a musical sound</a>, like a melody or rhythm. One critical study found that music can be used to focus students’ attention, <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1022.583&rep=rep1&type=pdf">keep those with disabilities on track</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/18.3.120">decrease their anxiety from stress</a>. Just as important, providing opportunities for positive emotional responses to music for children with autism can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/21.3.100">help them reach their social and language goals</a>.</p>
<h2>Consider teaching from an elemental perspective</h2>
<p>The musical elements are pitch, melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, structure, texture and expression. When children hear a piece of music, the combined musical elements are inside it. However, some children with autism have auditory sensitivity, causing them to experience a <a href="https://doi.org/10.2511/rpsd.29.2.122">lack of tolerance to everyday sounds</a>, which can impact their ability to handle loud or complex music. </p>
<p>One way to assist children who struggle with this sensitivity is to simplify their music by using separate musical elements. Let me share one possible teaching example. Beginning with a song, the educator could teach in stages by isolating pitches on the piano first. As the student becomes comfortable with the first element, the educator could slowly introduce the others one at a time.</p>
<p>If one element became too much for the child to tolerate, the educator would remove that element from the mix.</p>
<p>Once the child could accept all the elements, that would signal that the child was listening to whole music, was ready to move to more challenging music and could begin again with the element cycle. Using this strategy, both the educator and the child learn what musical sounds the child can handle.</p>
<h2>Educate your child with music online</h2>
<p>Resources are available online for use with children with autism. They are exciting programs and easy to obtain. To introduce your late elementary or older child to the orchestra’s instruments and timbres, I recommend:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/music/music-instruments-orchestra">Khan Academy Music Unit: Instruments of the Orchestra</a>. This will allow your child to emotionally connect to each of the instruments and the whole orchestra, and the child will gradually learn to express the emotions that a piece of music represents. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/">Chrome Music Lab</a>, <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/easy-music-give-kids-ear-for/id991897864">Easy Music iOS</a> or <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sevenacademy.busymusic&hl=en">Easy Music Android</a> are ideal for young children with autism because several apps on this site allow the child to explore music by the musical element without the music becoming overwhelming. The child can experiment by adding elements a little at a time, as tolerated, allowing them to learn at their own pace and grow.</p></li>
<li><p>For an older child, <a href="https://yousician.com/lp/yousician-us?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Yousician%20-%20Brand%20Name%20-%20Tier%201&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=yousician&gclid=CjwKCAjw6fCCBhBNEiwAem5SOwrCBMhCYdg5V6bluxJEPs74GRY2ZaBTODKT_UQjQTsG3pvySkZ5ERoC69sQAvD_BwE">Yousician</a> and <a href="https://app.flowkey.com/browse#">Flowkey</a> are great places online where your child can have interactive music lessons. Children with autism may be able to express themselves through their instrument, even when they cannot speak the words they want to say. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>From my experiences, I have discovered that although many children with autism may struggle to find the words to express how they feel, music can help them understand and experience emotions, while giving them an outlet to express themselves. I wish you success on your journey of discovery with your students and children with autism, as well.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157745/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dawn R. Mitchell White is affiliated with the University of South Florida as a doctoral student in Music Education. </span></em></p>Some children with autism struggle to express how they feel, but research shows music can help them develop better emotional skills.Dawn R. Mitchell White, Doctoral Candidate, University of South FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1570952021-03-29T16:10:38Z2021-03-29T16:10:38Z‘Generation C’: Why investing in early childhood is critical after COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391845/original/file-20210325-21-12hbffc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C121%2C6221%2C4007&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">COVID-19 has led to global shut-downs which have rattled economies and families and will affect children for years to come. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Conversations are beginning <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/meet-gen-c-the-covid-19-generation-1.5343747">about Generation C, the COVID-19 kids</a>. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/11/us/covid-generation-gen-c/index.html">While exactly which ages should be included in this generational label</a> is under debate, what’s clear to researchers of child development is that COVID-19 has led to global shutdowns that have rattled economies, communities and families, and will affect children for years to come.</p>
<p>UNICEF reports the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of children and their families around the world, and <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/across-virtually-every-key-measure-childhood-progress-has-gone-backward-unicef-says">that across virtually every key measure of childhood, progress has gone backward</a>. The number of children who <a href="https://www.breakfastclubcanada.org/covid-impacts/">are hungry</a>, isolated, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7414689/child-abuse-concerns-higher-during-covid-19-pandemic/">abused</a>, anxious and <a href="https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/1165-supporting-families-and-children-beyond-covid-19-social-protection-in-high-income-countries.html">living in poverty</a> has increased. Children’s access to <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-strategies-to-support-vulnerable-students-when-schools-reopen-after-coronavirus-136201">learning environments, socialization</a>, essential services, health, nutrition and protection has decreased. </p>
<p>More and more, we will see <a href="https://babylab.brookes.ac.uk/research/social-distancing-and-development">the impact of social isolation, the loss social skill development</a> and trauma on young children. Some children will bear the scars of the pandemic for years to come. Addressing those scars, especially for our more vulnerable and at-risk children, is an urgent priority. Access to high-quality early childhood education and kindergarten is not the singular solution to these problems, but is a cornerstone.</p>
<h2>Invest now for lifelong gains</h2>
<p>When children receive quality <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-quality-early-childhood-education-reduces-need-for-later-special-ed-112275">early childhood education — quality learning from birth to about age five — this pre-emptively lessens the need for later special education</a> and lowers the intensity of support required. </p>
<p>Two years ago, colleagues and I demonstrated a correlation between the dominant benefits of early childhood education: boosted literacy/numeracy, language skills and social/behavioural regulation, especially for children with low socio-economic status. We published <a href="https://research.library.mun.ca/13571/">new research</a> that identified 60 per cent of students enrolled in special education are there due to lags in these aforementioned areas.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-school-closures-could-widen-inequities-for-our-youngest-students-136669">Coronavirus school closures could widen inequities for our youngest students</a>
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<p>This research inspired a special edition of <a href="https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/eei/issue/view/1054"><em>Exceptionality Education International</em></a>, which featured nine academic articles exploring the impact of early childhood education on special education. </p>
<p>The research was significant for ministries of education attempting to deal with growing special education budgets and abysmal outcomes for children enrolled in it. Today, in light of the pandemic, politicians, business leaders, educators and economists have a renewed interest and motivation to respond by advocating for and investing in the benefits of quality early childhood education. </p>
<h2>Canada: Child-care strategy</h2>
<p>In Canada, the impact of COVID-19 continues to reverberate. Mothers are <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00091-eng.htm">bearing a disproportionate burden</a> as the damage to their careers becomes a growing economic concern. <a href="https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/pandemic-threatens-decades-of-womens-labour-force-gains/">An RBC report found that the employment rate for mothers</a> has fallen to its lowest level in over three decades due to their loss of child care and the resultant need to become home teachers and child-care providers.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 economic crisis has exposed the fragility of the patchwork quilt of fractured child care. This month, Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister and finance minister, announced a <a href="https://deputypm.canada.ca/en/news/news-releases/2021/03/08/government-announces-members-new-task-force-women-economy">Task Force on Women in the Economy</a> to explore the impact of COVID-19 on women’s careers, including the need for a more stable child-care sector. The <a href="https://www.chatelaine.com/news/task-force-women-economy-canada/">task force begins</a> as the federal government’s <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/early-learning-child-care-agreement/agreements-provinces-territories.html">Early Learning and Care Bilateral Agreements</a> are about to expire, and negotiations with the provinces and territories for their renewal resume. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-budget-coming-question-period-1.5960695">Canada’s upcoming federal budget</a> is an opportunity to direct needed investments to quality early child care and education. Collectively, we have a chance to balance capacity with quality and create an <a href="https://earlyyearsstudy.ca/eceforcanada/introduction/">informed national model of child care</a> that meets families’ needs. Research on renewed economic arguments for quality early childhood education can help direct this. </p>
<h2>Renewed economic arguments</h2>
<p>My 2019 report cited studies in the <a href="https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/eei/article/view/9385">United Kingdom identifying that quality early education can lower enrolment in special education between 40 to 55 per cent</a>. A similar study in Ontario found that <a href="https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/eei/article/view/9386">children without high-quality early education were three times more likely to require special supports</a> for behaviour, one and a half times more likely to require language supports and twice as likely to require reading supports. </p>
<p>While these rates will not lead to a parallel reduction in special education budgets, due to the higher costs of students with more complex needs, the potential for savings is significant. This research is now receiving the attention of top economists in Canada.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/child-care-after-the-coronavirus-pandemic-should-be-more-inclusive-of-children-with-disabilities-141172">Child care after the coronavirus pandemic should be more inclusive of children with disabilities</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two toddlers playing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391852/original/file-20210325-13-1p8iu0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391852/original/file-20210325-13-1p8iu0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391852/original/file-20210325-13-1p8iu0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391852/original/file-20210325-13-1p8iu0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391852/original/file-20210325-13-1p8iu0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391852/original/file-20210325-13-1p8iu0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391852/original/file-20210325-13-1p8iu0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canada has a chance to create quality national childcare.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Importance of kindergarten</h2>
<p>A recent economic report on <a href="https://www.etfo.ca/AboutETFO/Publications/PositionPapers/PositionPapersDocuments/Ontario%27s%20Kindergarten%20Program%20a%20Success%20Story%20-%20Full%20Report,.pdf">Ontario’s two-year kindergarten program</a> published by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario discussed the impact of quality early childhood education on special education. Economists argued that early supports for child development through a strong two-year early learning program will save significant money by limiting special education enrolment and altering the trajectories of vulnerable and at-risk children.</p>
<p>A failure to alter the life trajectories of vulnerable and at-risk children is well researched in Canada. Research from The Conference Board of Canada presents a solid argument for the lost income, lower tax base and high draws on social programs across a life span <a href="https://www.conferenceboard.ca/temp/e2ba0188-fc22-40ff-8cd7-da92f93cf253/9231_Ready-for-Life_RPT.pdf">for vulnerable children who don’t attain optimal education levels</a>. </p>
<p>Reducing enrolment in special education means more students exit school with the marks, skills and confidence to pursue post-secondary education. I participated in research with economists with Deloitte who are expanding on this argument for investing in early childhood education with a particular look at the ability to lower special education costs. Deloitte explored significant budgets for special education in three provinces (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and British Columbia) and <a href="http://mwmccain.ca/reports/2021/03/26/early-learning-and-childcare-key-economic-infrastructure/">identified an opportunity to reclaim millions of dollars</a> that can be proactively reinvested in early child care and education.</p>
<h2>International evidence</h2>
<p>Internationally, evidence is mounting for this economic argument of reclaiming and redirecting special education budgets towards renewed investments in quality early childhood education. This doesn’t mean sudden cuts to special education, but rather investing in early years now to see improved outcomes for the most vulnerable children and eventual cost savings in special education.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scotlands-outdoor-play-initiative-has-some-lessons-for-the-rest-of-the-world-132429">Scotland’s outdoor play initiative has some lessons for the rest of the world</a>
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<p>A <a href="https://www.telethonkids.org.au/projects/HPER/how-aus-can-invest-in-children-and-return-more/">recent Australian study</a> argued that without quality early learning we are spending significant money on ineffective late-stage interventions. Researchers posit that this failure to intervene at an early stage allows these initial learning needs to disrupt development and escalate. </p>
<p>While Canada reels from the effects of COVID-19, discussions on the critical importance of the early years and the entire Generation C are growing. The year 2021 is indeed a call to action. That action has to be informed as much by the recent experience of families in Canada as by the mounting economic evidence for wise, proactive fiscal investments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157095/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Philpott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Particularly after the devastation of COVID-19, evidence is mounting for the economic argument of reinvesting in high-quality early childhood education.David Philpott, Professor, Special Education, Memorial University of NewfoundlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1423482020-07-14T12:40:15Z2020-07-14T12:40:15ZFederal spending covers only 8% of public school budgets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346723/original/file-20200709-58-1fr8t19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C50%2C5637%2C2430&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The White House is threatening to cut funds to school districts that don't resume daily in-person instruction.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-donald-trump-speaks-as-vice-president-secretary-news-photo/1215228995">Drew Angerer/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center zoomable">
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<p>State and local tax dollars cover the bulk of U.S. public school funding.</p>
<p>The federal government spends just under <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html">US$55 billion per year on K-12</a> education, in addition to outlays for <a href="http://nieer.org/state-preschool-yearbooks">early childhood education</a> and post-secondary programs like loans and grants for <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2019/10/two-decades-of-change-in-federal-and-state-higher-education-funding">college tuition</a>.</p>
<p>That’s <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-finances/data/tables.html">just 8%</a> of the total $720 billion it costs to run the nation’s public schools during the 2017-18 school year, the most recent national data available.</p>
<p>This amounts to around $1,100 per K-12 student.</p>
<p>Federal funding has <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_235.10.asp">never surpassed 10%</a> of total public school funding, except from 2010 to 2012 when the federal government sought to reduce the <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/implementation.html">school spending cuts</a> <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/688011/summary">local and state governments made during the Great Recession</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/edfp_a_00245">American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 sent</a> $54 billion – the equivalent of $56.5 billion, adjusted for inflation, in spending today – to schools. That infusion most likely <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED533671.pdf">saved thousands of education jobs</a> from budget-based layoffs. In contrast, recent federal aid provided so far, through the March 2020 CARES Act, amounts to <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/05/07/supporting-students-and-promoting-economic-recovery-in-the-time-of-covid-19/">only about $13 billion</a> for school districts, with an extra $3 billion for governors to use for K-12 education at their discretion.</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-favorite">Weekly on Wednesdays</a>.]</p>
<p>These funds may be spread even thinner if districts must <a href="https://theconversation.com/giving-private-schools-federal-emergency-funds-slated-for-low-income-students-will-shortchange-at-risk-kids-138503">allocate funds to neighboring private schools</a> based on enrollment levels. The Education Department, led by Betsy DeVos, issued guidance with this <a href="https://www.aasa.org/policy-blogs.aspx?id=44687">directive</a>, but several states including <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/esserfaqs.asp">California</a> and <a href="https://in.chalkbeat.org/2020/5/12/21256499/indiana-rejects-guidance-from-devos-to-reroute-more-coronavirus-relief-to-private-schools">Indiana</a> have pushed back, arguing that federal funds for private schools should be limited to aid targeting low-income students.</p>
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<p>Most K-12 federal funding supports the nation’s most vulnerable students through the <a href="https://theconversation.com/americas-poorest-children-wont-get-nutritious-meals-with-school-cafeterias-closed-due-to-the-coronavirus-133341">National School Lunch Program</a> and the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=158">Title I program</a>, which targets funding to schools serving low-income students. Federal K-12 funding also supports <a href="https://theconversation.com/trusting-states-to-do-right-by-special-education-students-is-a-mistake-98820">special education</a> – providing services for students with special needs.</p>
<p>In short, federal funds make up a small proportion of total funding for U.S. K-12 education, but those funds largely serve children facing economic hardship or with learning differences.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/08/trump-schools-reopening-federal-funding-352311">White House now says it may cut spending</a> for school districts that don’t resume daily in-person instruction when the next school year gets underway, or perhaps make additional funding contingent on <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/politics/donald-trump-threat-to-cut-school-funding-fact-check/index.html">students being in classrooms five days a week</a>. As a scholar of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=F8pdFSgAAAAJ&hl=en">education finance</a>, I’m concerned that this approach would harm the most vulnerable students and families. At a time when schools really need federal leadership and financial support, the administration is threatening to withhold funding from the highest-need schools.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142348/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David S. Knight receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the W. T. Grant Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the American School Counselor Association.</span></em></p>US cities and states are responsible for the vast majority of K-12 funding.David S. Knight, Assistant Professor of Education Finance and Policy, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1366962020-06-01T15:57:12Z2020-06-01T15:57:12ZCoronavirus: Distance learning poses challenges for some families of children with disabilities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338360/original/file-20200528-51471-sfcs5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C2802%2C1661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents are missing in-person supports for children. Here, MaShel West holds her son Lucas' hands while talking with his certified behaviour analyst at their home in Layton, Utah, March 5, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Ivy Ceballo/The Deseret News via AP)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At a time when schools are closed due to COVID-19, many parents are juggling work, finances, child care and distance learning. It’s a lot to manage. For parents of children with disabilities, some unique challenges <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/parents-of-kids-with-special-needs-say-pandemic-presents-unique-challenges-1.4880560">have emerged</a>.</p>
<p>In Canada, it’s unclear exactly how many students between kindergarten and Grade 12 receive what schools call “special education services,” but according to <a href="https://inclusiveedns.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CIE-Students-First-WEBreport-2.pdf">provincial figures</a>, percentages range from <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/student-population-statistics.aspx">10 per cent</a> to <a href="http://www.cdpdj.qc.ca/Publications/etude_inclusion_EHDAA_synthese_EN.pdf">20 per cent</a> of total student enrolment. </p>
<p>Figures from <a href="https://wwwdnntst.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/research/docs/reports/SpecialEducation%20in%20TDSB%20-%20TrendsComparisons%20to%20Ontario%202009-15.pdf">Ontario</a>, <a href="http://www.cdpdj.qc.ca/Publications/etude_inclusion_EHDAA_synthese_EN.pdf">Québec</a>, <a href="https://bctf.ca/publications.aspx?id=49000">British Columbia</a>, <a href="https://www.alberta.ca/student-population-statistics.aspx">Alberta</a>, <a href="https://inclusiveedns.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CIE-Students-First-WEBreport-2.pdf">Nova Scotia</a> and <a href="https://www.gnb.ca/legis/business/pastsessions/57/57-2/LegDocs/2/en/StrengtheningInclusion-e.pdf">New Brunswick</a> show there are more than 750,000 students receiving special education services out <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3710001901">of about 4.3 million students enrolled in those provinces alone</a>.</p>
<p>Students receiving special education services may have a learning disability, autism spectrum disorder or a mental illness. Canadian schools offer different <a href="http://catalogue.pearsoned.ca/educator/product/Inclusion-of-Learners-with-Exceptionalities-in-Canadian-Schools-A-Practical-Handbook-for-Teachers-6E/9780134772059.page">types of supports</a>. Most children access differentiated teaching approaches in regular classes and some have individual learning plans, while others participate in tailored programs offered in specialized classes. </p>
<h2>While schools are closed</h2>
<p>Along with several researchers, I am engaging with families across the country who are sharing stories about how they are supporting their children with special education needs while schools are closed. </p>
<p>Through responses to a survey and in-depth interviews, we are hearing about the range of approaches that exist, some of which fit well for families and their children, and others that simply don’t. </p>
<p>We hope to learn about ways that distance learning can work well for students with special education needs and also about families’ needs. We hope our findings can then be used to better inform planning as schools begin to open. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338377/original/file-20200528-51467-102oyw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338377/original/file-20200528-51467-102oyw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338377/original/file-20200528-51467-102oyw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338377/original/file-20200528-51467-102oyw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338377/original/file-20200528-51467-102oyw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338377/original/file-20200528-51467-102oyw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338377/original/file-20200528-51467-102oyw9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Collaborative approaches to supporting children with special needs have been interrupted by coronavirus closures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Collaborative approaches</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-015-0038-6">collaborative team</a> approach is typically adopted when children need special education services, with students, parents, teachers, educational assistants and other school and community-based staff <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2013.788223">working together</a> to plan and implement programming.</p>
<p>Given the human supports required by many students with disabilities in order to flourish socially, emotionally and academically, it’s a challenge for systems to provide the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2020/04/special-education-goes-remote-covid-19-pandemic/610231/">right types</a> and amounts of distance learning opportunities and supports.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/every-child-matters-what-principals-need-to-effectively-lead-inclusive-schools-114249">Every child matters: What principals need to effectively lead inclusive schools</a>
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<p>Some students who find structured schooling to be a poor fit are benefiting from the shift to a more relaxed pace and self-directed learning. They can dance, jump and wiggle to their heart’s content. They can engage in tasks for a length of time that works for them and make choices during their days. The right kind of distance learning paired with accessible technology and available supports <a href="https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/the-surprising-benefits-of-online-learning-for-my-not-so-typical-child">may be a great fit for them</a>.</p>
<p>Other students who thrive on a predictable routine, struggle with transitions and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/fscd-angela-bladon-trish-bowman-rajan-sawhney-covid-1.5513215">depend on the strong relationships</a> built over time with teachers and educational assistants are experiencing a range of emotions, including <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/disability-new-brunswick-christine-roberts-jayden-moore-haley-flaro-1.5534430">worry, fear, anger and sadness</a>. </p>
<p>Some feel that they’ve lost a second home <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/autism-covid19-1.5521666">and may not understand why</a>. Some students may also communicate these difficult emotions in ways that are challenging for parents, caregivers and siblings.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338383/original/file-20200528-51467-1vstpya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338383/original/file-20200528-51467-1vstpya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338383/original/file-20200528-51467-1vstpya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338383/original/file-20200528-51467-1vstpya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338383/original/file-20200528-51467-1vstpya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338383/original/file-20200528-51467-1vstpya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338383/original/file-20200528-51467-1vstpya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some parents are describing feeling overwhelmed without respite and collaboration with school staff.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Family challenges</h2>
<p>Parents of students who have worked hard to make gains in their learning worry that they may fall behind. This is particularly the case where parents may not have the English- or French-language skills to provide help or the time to engage with their children because of work and life commitments. Where internet access and technology in homes is the exception rather than the rule, the situation is further complicated.</p>
<p>Parents who typically work in partnership with school staff and community organizations are especially <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/checkup/pandemic-home-schooling-families-children-special-needs-1.5522119">struggling with the disappearance of face-to-face networks and collaboration in supporting children</a>. </p>
<p>Many researchers have found that parents of children with disabilities wear many hats — as full-time caregiver, advocate and social worker — and find the experience extraordinarily <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2011.557445">stressful</a>. Without respite and collaboration with school staff, parents are describing <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/autism-covid19-1.5521666">feeling very overwhelmed</a>.</p>
<h2>Social, emotional supports</h2>
<p>It’s helpful for all families, and necessary for some, to find ways of connecting with others — for both parents and students. Connecting with school staff, community groups, family and friends may look different right now, but some of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2014.05.012">benefits</a> remain.</p>
<p>In my work with teachers, I focus on the need to emphasize social-emotional learning alongside academics as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89842-1_9">key to well-being</a>. This is vital right now and will continue to be in the tricky transitions ahead. Across the country, school staff have reached out to students in different ways. Some are recording themselves reading favourite books and others are connecting by phone or video chats. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/zach-churchill-education-minister-covid-19-learning-plan-pandemic-1.5533604">Some regions</a> have social workers or psychologists reaching out to students or discussing <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/student-mental-health-1.5569068">mental health</a> via virtual classes.</p>
<h2>Peer connections matter</h2>
<p>Connections with peers are also crucial for students. Building and maintaining <a href="https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei/vol19/iss1/3/">friendships</a> is not always easy for students with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103634">disabilities</a>. Many students rely on school-based networks for friendship and may not have these connections in their neighbourhoods, particularly if they haven’t been in an <a href="https://communitylivingontario.ca/en/if-inclusion-means-everyone-why-not-me/">inclusive environment</a> at school.</p>
<p>Some community groups have come up with <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/how-people-with-neuro-differences-and-disabilities-are-staying-connected-during-the-pandemic-1.4907560">creative solutions</a> to virtually connect students. As one example, the Special Friends Network, a grassroots organization operating in the Halton region of Ontario, <a href="http://thespecialfriendsnetwork.ca/gallery.html">has organized Zoom sessions</a> where youth with all types of disabilities can chat, play games, create art work and take part in talent shows. </p>
<p>Peer and social support for parents is also crucial <a href="https://www.apa.org/research/action/children-disabilities-covid-19">at this time</a> — connecting with others who are in similar circumstances, seeking respite supports and collaborating with schools where possible. Organizations like the <a href="https://www.pleo.on.ca/">Parents Lifeline of Eastern Ontario</a> are offering virtual peer support groups and <a href="http://autismnovascotia.ca/covid-resources">others have created a range</a> of <a href="https://www.surreyplace.ca/resources-publications/coronavirus-updates-resources/">virtual options</a> for families.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338378/original/file-20200528-51449-1r2n8xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338378/original/file-20200528-51449-1r2n8xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338378/original/file-20200528-51449-1r2n8xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338378/original/file-20200528-51449-1r2n8xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338378/original/file-20200528-51449-1r2n8xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338378/original/file-20200528-51449-1r2n8xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338378/original/file-20200528-51449-1r2n8xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Can we imagine how we can nurture and develop social networks among students with and without disabilities?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Expanding inclusion</h2>
<p>Our conversations with parents are bringing to light issues of inclusion and exclusion, of balancing academic and social needs and development and of the challenges of differentiating distance learning in ways that allow it to be meaningful. </p>
<p>It’s our hope that whatever schooling looks like in the fall in context of coronavirus, our schools and communities can create learning opportunities that reflect the unique strengths and needs of all our students. </p>
<p>We will be continuing to encourage educators and school communities to imagine how can we develop social networks among students with and without disabilities, how can we build authentic communities that live inside and outside the brick and mortar of a school and how can we support partnerships between families and school staff. </p>
<p>As researchers, educators, families and the general public, we’re learning a lot from the often-difficult experiences of students and families. Let’s make sure this learning isn’t lost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jess Whitley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Connecting with school staff, community groups, family and friends may look different right now for families of children with disabilities, but some benefits remain.Jess Whitley, Associate Professor of Inclusive Education, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1350552020-05-04T06:02:07Z2020-05-04T06:02:07Z5 tips to help parents navigate the unique needs of children with autism learning from home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332190/original/file-20200504-42951-b69kwo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/boy-points-activities-on-calendar-learning-280236140">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children on the autism spectrum will face unique challenges as they learn from home during the COVID-19 shutdown. These children <a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000140086">process information and learn in different ways to their peers</a>. </p>
<p>They may find it more difficult to independently complete tasks and struggle with managing their time. They are also more likely to have difficulty in writing tasks or ones involving high amounts of language and communication with others. </p>
<p>Children on the autism spectrum <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-016-3010-3">often associate specific tasks with</a> locations. This might mean they resist doing schoolwork at home. Anxiety levels, which are often high in this group of students, <a href="https://www.autismcrc.com.au/sites/default/files/inline-files/Educational%20needs%20analysis%20-%20Final%20report.pdf">may increase further due to changes in routine or uncertainty</a> about what they should be learning.</p>
<p>General <a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-homeschool-because-of-coronavirus-here-are-5-tips-to-help-your-child-learn-133773">tips for schooling at home</a> such as setting up a learning space, creating structure and routine, and becoming familiar with resources in the Australian Curriculum are good ideas. But parents of children on the autism spectrum may need additional strategies. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-homeschool-because-of-coronavirus-here-are-5-tips-to-help-your-child-learn-133773">Trying to homeschool because of coronavirus? Here are 5 tips to help your child learn</a>
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<p>Studies of students on the autism spectrum <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603116.2012.751634">in distance education</a> (studying at school without being physically present) or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3603_3">experiencing homework difficulties </a> suggest several helpful strategies for parents. </p>
<h2>1. Put together a homework plan</h2>
<p>Students learning at home will likely need to engage in independent learning tasks such as completing worksheets or writing assignments. This is somewhat similar to doing homework assigned by a teacher.</p>
<p>But students on the autism spectrum often do less homework than their peers. And they report finding homework <a href="https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3603_3">too hard, frustrating and overwhelming</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1030011050290206">Parents helping their child may be confused</a> about assignments from teachers if the communication is limited or unclear. Or they may find their child needs breaks and is unable to complete all their work. </p>
<p>These issues can increase children’s anxiety, lead to meltdowns and create tension between parents and children. Research shows <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1053451213513955">creating a homework plan</a> can help.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/children-with-autism-may-use-memory-differently-understanding-this-could-help-us-teach-them-114987">Children with autism may use memory differently. Understanding this could help us teach them</a>
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<p>In a homework plan, a teacher clearly communicates to parents what the student needs to learn and which tasks can be prioritised over others. </p>
<p>Once parents know what specific knowledge and skills their child needs to learn, they can adjust the amount or nature of tasks to fit the needs of their child. </p>
<p>For example, a teacher sets out in a homework plan that at the end of the task, a student must be able to explain their knowledge about the early settlers. A parent may see their child is struggling to write a full essay. </p>
<p>In this case, the parent can adjust the task so their child can use puppets to tell and record the story instead. </p>
<p>Children on the autism spectrum may find it stressful to think about what may be going on in someone else’s mind. Using an outside tool, like a puppet, to tell another person’s story <a href="https://www.iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/688">can take that pressure off</a>.</p>
<h2>2. Use your child’s special interests</h2>
<p>Students on the autism spectrum often <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aur.1931?casa_token=Krb5Enxj-ZsAAAAA:FUOClsg2WRwLegLmNX8OeEN1lT4Jgn3GeqboHRQXLG4678d_xrfR57Wmh1oIVchFByzjawmydK_T-Ws">focus on special interests</a> to calm themselves. Special interests can also be used to help them manage additional anxiety during the shutdown. </p>
<p>Research shows adapting teaching to incorporate students’ special interests can help students on the autism spectrum <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2019.1566213">learn academic and social skills</a>. For example, a teacher can use a student’s interest in Lego to help them learn maths skills such as fractions and measurements. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332208/original/file-20200504-42913-9ym1mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332208/original/file-20200504-42913-9ym1mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332208/original/file-20200504-42913-9ym1mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332208/original/file-20200504-42913-9ym1mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332208/original/file-20200504-42913-9ym1mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332208/original/file-20200504-42913-9ym1mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332208/original/file-20200504-42913-9ym1mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332208/original/file-20200504-42913-9ym1mi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A child can be more interested in learning if they see it in the context of something important to them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/child-play-childrens-plastic-constructor-toys-276640061">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Special interests can also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.156">increase a student’s engagement</a> in learning tasks, as they see them in the context of an activity that’s important to them. </p>
<p>A parent can help their child learn across the curriculum by using their special interest. For example, a student who is interested is space could work on a project in which they learn about early scientists who developed the solar system (history), write about the importance of space exploration (English, science) and design a new space station (maths, art).</p>
<h2>3. Use technology</h2>
<p>Technology-aided instruction can help students on the autism spectrum <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10803-014-2320-6.pdf">learn a range of skills</a>. It can also help them <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10803-014-2320-6.pdf">understand task requirements, communicate their concerns and complete tasks</a>.</p>
<p>Apps are an accessible and fairly inexpensive way to use technology. Apps may <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02020/ful">motivate students on the autism spectrum</a> as they present information in ways that support their visual learning style.</p>
<p>Apps have been found to be effective in helping children on the autism spectrum <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02020/full">learn language, literacy and numeracy skills</a>. Apps can also be used to create schedules, checklists and language cards. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bestautismtherapy.com.au/AppGuide/AppCriteria.php">Learning App Guide to Autism and Education</a> provides parents with reviews for a number of apps grouped by skill areas and age groups. A parent can select the literacy group, for instance, and find apps for teaching spelling to children in lower primary grades.</p>
<h2>4. Find ways to connect your child to others</h2>
<p>Although students on the autism spectrum often experience difficulty in social situations, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361307085267">many say peer support can help make school a more positive experience</a>. During the COVID-19 shutdown, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.4276/030802213X13603244419112">classmates or friends can provide encouragement and information on learning tasks</a>. This may decrease uncertainty and increase students’ confidence. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-25-years-since-we-redefined-autism-heres-what-weve-learnt-125053">It's 25 years since we redefined autism – here's what we've learnt</a>
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<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10803-017-3201-6.pdf">Connecting with peers on the internet</a> is particularly well-suited to students on the autism spectrum as it reduces sensory distractions and the amount of language required. </p>
<p>Students can use programs such as Discord or Google Hangouts to talk to their classmates, play games and work together on assignments. </p>
<h2>5. Seek help and don’t try to do everything</h2>
<p>Accessing support can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2012.751634">help parents cope</a> with feelings of isolation and anxiety. Education departments in <a href="https://www.education.tas.gov.au/learning-at-home/">Tasmania</a> and <a href="https://www.education.wa.edu.au/learning-at-home">Western Australia</a> provide parents of children on the autism spectrum with activities and curriculum information. And <a href="https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/learning-at-home/inclusion/autism">Queensland</a> provides specific learning strategies.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Home-Schooling-Special-Needs-Australia-290708884318730/">Homeschooling Special Needs Australia </a> helps parents connect and provides links to <a href="https://www.twinkl.com.au/resources/australian-resources/australian-resources-se">sites</a> specifically set up to help them during the COVID-19 shutdown.</p>
<p>Parents should can also use these sites to connect with other parents. These networks can decrease parent’s stress and help them connect with their child.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135055/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Webster does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Children on the autism spectrum find it difficult to learn independently and manage their time. Parents can use these 5 strategies to help their child learn from home during the COVID-19 shutdown.Amanda Webster, Senior Lecturer, Autism and Inclusive Education, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1216122019-12-04T23:08:46Z2019-12-04T23:08:46ZOntario’s high school e-learning still hasn’t addressed students with special needs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305282/original/file-20191204-70122-tbz8fl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C231%2C6720%2C3913&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Following a negotiation impasse, Ontario public secondary teachers walked off the job on a one-day strike. Here, striking teachers are seen outside the Toronto District School Board office on Yonge Street in Toronto, Dec. 4, 2019. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Among the issues for Ontario secondary public school teachers who walked off the job for a one-day strike on Dec. 4 is quality of learning for students, including class sizes and <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-one-day-ontario-teacher-strike-1.4713520">mandatory online learning</a>.</p>
<p>For months Ontario families have been on tenterhooks about looming school strikes after the Doug Ford government announced both <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-ford-education-cuts-1.5208212">education funding cuts</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5954159/ontario-class-size-changes-fewer-teachers-five-years-fao/">larger class sizes</a> — as well as a requirement that would force high school students to take <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/edu/en/2019/03/education-that-works-for-you-2.html">four online courses beginning in the 2020-21 school year</a>.</p>
<p>The government partially backtracked in November and said that instead of four online courses <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2019/11/21/ford-government-backtracks-on-mandatory-e-learning-courses/">only two will be required</a>, and that some students could be exempted on an individual basis. </p>
<p>The mandatory online learning announcement last spring <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/elearning-ontario-high-school-internet-problems-1.5096657">sparked many questions and concerns</a>, and changing the number of online courses required still does not address these. </p>
<h2>Significant obstacles</h2>
<p>Beyhan Farhadi, whose PhD dissertation in geography at University of Toronto examined online learning in the Toronto District School Board, said mandatory online learning is no <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/04/09/news/ontario-may-create-student-inequality-mandatory-online-learning-report">substitute for the classroom and will devastate the many students who struggle face to face</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-doug-fords-e-learning-gamble-high-school-students-will-lose-122826">In Doug Ford's e-learning gamble, high school students will lose</a>
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<p>An Ontario ministry spokesperson said this past spring, “<a href="https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/lots-of-questions-around-elearning-in-high-school">school boards will also provide accommodations for students with special education needs, as required, to access the curriculum</a>.” But with no details on how this will happen, particularly in schools that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/fewer-teachers-thunder-bay-high-schools-1.5360043">have lost staff due to cuts</a>, not to mention <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-education-programs-funding-cuts-1.4948200">cuts to funding for specialized programs</a>, the province has yet to instil confidence that students with special needs have been considered in the online learning requirement.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305279/original/file-20191204-70174-1mp02d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305279/original/file-20191204-70174-1mp02d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305279/original/file-20191204-70174-1mp02d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305279/original/file-20191204-70174-1mp02d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305279/original/file-20191204-70174-1mp02d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305279/original/file-20191204-70174-1mp02d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305279/original/file-20191204-70174-1mp02d2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The province has yet to instil confidence that the needs of all students have been considered in the online learning requirement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>The Ministry of Education defines students <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/policy/os/onschools_2017e.pdf">with special education needs</a> as including “all those … who are receiving special education programs and services” to meet exceptional learning needs. These include <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/policy/os/2017/spec_ed_2.html#categories">five categories defined by the Education Act</a>: behavioural, communicative (such as autism spectrum disorders, hearing loss or learning disabilities), intellectual (such as giftedness or developmental disability), physical (such as low vision) and multiple exceptionalities.</p>
<p>As a researcher who has studied <a href="http://www.canadianaudiologist.ca/issue/volume-5-issue-3-2018/column/in-the-classrooms/">accessibility for students with hearing loss</a>, and <a href="http://canadianaudiologist.ca/getting-students-ready-for-back-to-school-the-college-and-university-edition/">post secondary accommodations for students with hearing loss</a>, I am concerned that mandatory online learning could create significant obstacles for students with disabilities. </p>
<p>All high school students should be able to take advantage of online learning. But requiring online credits has the potential to place a high hurdle between some students and graduation.</p>
<h2>Potential barriers</h2>
<p>Online learning is <a href="https://www.tonybates.ca/2017/11/11/why-does-canada-have-so-much-online-learning/">increasingly popular</a>; it offers flexibility that is not always available for face-to-face courses. However, <a href="https://miamioh.edu/regionals/academics/elearning/ecampus-faculty-staff/eccoe-news/2019/01/differences-between-f2f-and-online.html">taking a course online is not the same as taking a course in person</a>. </p>
<p>Research suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2006.03.002">four skills are required for successful online learning</a>: reading and writing, independent learning, motivation and computer literacy. Many students with special needs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0040059914528105">struggle with one or more of these</a>. For example, students with learning disabilities who have difficulty with writing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2006.08.010">may struggle in an online learning course where they are required to communicate exclusively in writing</a>. </p>
<p>Teachers in a regular classroom can spot struggling or disengaged students. A confused student can ask the teacher or a classmate, or obtain additional help at lunch or before school. None of these are available in the same way in online learning.</p>
<p>The burden is on the student to contact the teacher for help. Students with special needs who do not have <a href="https://www.ldatschool.ca/self-determination-and-self-advocacy/">excellent self-advocacy skills</a> or who are not already confident in navigating their educational challenges or exceptionalities will be at significant risk of quietly falling through the cracks.</p>
<p>In addition, students with special needs may already be <a href="https://disabilitycreditcanada.com/bullying-kids-teens-with-disabilities/">at risk for bullying</a>. When everyone in the class is online, could this increase social isolation and create more opportunities for online bullying?</p>
<h2>Extra time, thought, money</h2>
<p>What is good practice for online learning may actually create barriers for students with special needs. Consider an <a href="https://www.d2l.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Online-teaching-best-practices-fin.pdf">often-recommended strategy</a>, having the instructor create a short narrated PowerPoint or video lesson.</p>
<p>This is easy enough to do with today’s technology — turn on your laptop, pull up a PowerPoint, press record and talk for 10 minutes. This could be a nice strategy to complement the textbook and personalize the course.</p>
<p>However, what about a student who is deaf or hard of hearing who needs this video captioned or interpreted into sign language? Captioning requires <a href="http://www.canadianaudiologist.ca/issue/volume-6-issue-1-2019/column/in-the-classrooms/">technology and skills</a> that few teachers have.</p>
<p>What about a student who is blind or has low vision who cannot access the text because text-to-speech screen readers do not work with video, or the student with an anxiety disorder who, unable to play the PowerPoint because of technical issues, and feels further stress and anxiety?</p>
<p>What about the student with ADHD who has difficulty maintaining focus or processing information or the student with a sports-related concussion who is required to limit screen time?</p>
<p><a href="https://elearningindustry.com/designing-accessible-elearning-6-tips">These are not insurmountable problems</a>, but do take extra thought, time and, often, money. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305203/original/file-20191204-70116-k32wqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305203/original/file-20191204-70116-k32wqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305203/original/file-20191204-70116-k32wqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305203/original/file-20191204-70116-k32wqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305203/original/file-20191204-70116-k32wqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305203/original/file-20191204-70116-k32wqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/305203/original/file-20191204-70116-k32wqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What’s typically good practice for online learning may actually create barriers for students with disabilities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Increased time, inadequate training</h2>
<p>In their <a href="https://www.tonybates.ca/2018/12/20/summary-of-the-2018-survey-of-online-learning-in-canadian-colleges-and-universities/">2018 survey of online learning in post-secondary education</a>, the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association reported the main barriers to teaching adult learners online were increased time required by instructors, and inadequate instructor training and support.</p>
<p>There’s no reason to date to think that Ontario has a plan, or has allocated resources, for added demands of teaching online learning. Will staff teaching online courses be provided with extra training and professional development to ensure the online course meets all students’ needs? </p>
<p>Accommodations or supports that are listed on a student’s <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/individu.html">Individual Education Plan</a> may not work online, or may be difficult to implement. For example, captioning requires skills and resources that the teacher is unlikely to have. Some current accommodations that a student may have, like preferential seating, are not relevant in an online course. </p>
<p>In high schools, a designated Learning Resource Teacher (LRT) provides support for students with special needs. Will this teacher be responsible for online accommodations as well, and, if so, what training and support will they have? How many of these high school specialists will be among those potentially affected by layoff notices, like <a href="https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/school-boards-factor-ford-government-cuts-into-layoff-notices">staff working with students with special needs in the Stratford area</a>?</p>
<p>Ontarians need to feel confident that if high school students will be required to pass online learning courses, everyone has a level playing field. Right now, students with special needs, their families and their teachers have a lot of questions and no real answers.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pam Millett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ontario high school labour negotiations broke down over student quality of learning — including mandatory e-learning. Ontario has yet to explain how this will work for students with special needs.Pam Millett, Associate professor, Faculty of Education, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1258122019-10-28T03:18:54Z2019-10-28T03:18:54ZExcluded and refused enrolment: report shows illegal practices against students with disabilities in Australian schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298854/original/file-20191028-114011-krp3ms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More than one in ten students with a disability are being refused enrolment.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 12% of students with disability are being refused school enrolment, and over 40% are being excluded from school events and activities.</p>
<p>These are some of the findings from a survey published today by the national organisation Children and Young People with Disability Australia (<a href="https://www.cyda.org.au/">CYDA</a>). More than 500 young people with disability, and families of students with disability, shared their experiences with the education system over the past year.</p>
<p>The system of both mainstream and segregated schooling is often claimed to be a result of parent choice. But families in the survey said students were denied enrolment for reasons including schools advising they lack the necessary resources.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-things-students-with-vision-impairment-want-you-their-teachers-and-friends-to-know-115377">Four things students with vision impairment want you (their teachers and friends) to know</a>
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<p>These reports suggest illegal practices. Unless the situation is extreme, Australian education providers are <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A04426">legally obliged</a> to accept all students, and provide “reasonable accommodations” and appropriate adjustments and support to facilitate access, participation and inclusion. </p>
<p>Under extreme circumstances, a case can be made the enrolment of a particular student will result in an “undue burden” or “unjustifiable hardship”.</p>
<p>A family member of a child aged 7-9 atttending a special school in rural WA said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I applied to 36 schools in WA, have attended four, [of] which two have removed him and three would not meet his needs and assaulted him.</p>
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<p>Another family member of a child aged 4-6 in a NSW regional, special school said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Schools didn’t appear resourced or confident to accept borderline level 3 autism.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The majority of the families surveyed reported students were segregated or excluded some or all of the time. One in four students attended a segregated setting (a “special school”) all or some of the time. An additional 15.5% of students were educated in a segregated classroom (“special unit”) for some or all of the time. </p>
<p>These families came from all Australian states and territories, across metropolitan, regional, rural and remote locations. The students were aged 4 to 25.</p>
<iframe title="Number of students with disability in Australia by state" aria-label="Column Chart" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/WcyO2/2/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>A further 16.6% of students were only permitted to attend school part time, and 14.7% of students were suspended (1.8% expelled) this year. </p>
<p>Families reported a student with disability as young as 11 being suicidal. They also reported that student feedback often focused only on behaviour, not educational achievement. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-schools-desperately-need-a-royal-commission-into-the-abuse-of-disabled-people-112058">Why schools desperately need a royal commission into the abuse of disabled people</a>
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<p>The findings of enrolment refusal are consistent with previous <a href="http://allmeansall.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/TIES-4.0-20172.pdf">Australian research</a> which found a majority of families across all Australian states and territories reported experiencing gatekeeping and restrictive practices.</p>
<h2>Restrictive practices</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13603116.2019.1623327">recent analysis</a> of student placement data in Australia and the United States found segregation in education was increasing in Australia, in contrast to international trends towards inclusive education. </p>
<p>Almost half of students in the CYDA survey were reported to have experienced restraint or seclusion, with nearly 12% reporting experiencing both. Physical restraint was the most common form of restraint reported.</p>
<p><iframe id="BYrji" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/BYrji/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Social (not allowing the child to participate in activities), mechanical and chemical were other types of restraint reported. Seclusion included supervised or unsupervised solitary confinement. </p>
<p>One family member of a child aged 7-9 in a mainstream QLD school said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Initially the school tried to encourage […] me to have my son placed on Ritalin. But […] it is not required for my son’s condition and only works on children with ADHD, which my child does not have.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another family member of a child aged 10-12 in a mainstream SA school said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the disability unit he was left in a room on his own and when he became agitated and broke a window they rang me and suspended him on two occasions. If I left him there any longer he would have been expelled.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The reports showed a culture of exclusion at schools. Around half of families reported experiences of student bullying. Nearly one-quarter disagreed they were made to feel welcome, and 18.2% disagreed the student was welcome at school. </p>
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<p>More than half of families disagreed teachers and other staff had adequate education to enable them to provide “a supportive and enriching education environment for students with disability”.</p>
<p>The majority of families reported some support (79%) and specific funding (60%) was provided to support the student at school. But nearly half (48.9%) disagreed adequate support was provided.</p>
<p>The majority of families (57.2%) reported they had needed to pay for support themselves to enable access and participation. </p>
<p>Fundamentally, these issues stem from the ongoing option to exclude students from mainstream schools. This option is provided through the perpetuation of parallel systems of education, including “special schools”, in Australia. </p>
<h2>Benefits of inclusive education</h2>
<p>A report also out by CYDA today examined more than 400 research papers on the evidence base for inclusive education. The report findings align with the findings of the survey. Both demonstrate similar trends towards exclusion of students with disability as in the past.</p>
<p>The report’s analysis confirms inclusive education considerably benefits the academic, behavioural, social, communication, and physical development for students who experience disability. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-australian-teachers-feel-unprepared-to-teach-students-with-special-needs-119227">Most Australian teachers feel unprepared to teach students with special needs</a>
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<p>These positive outcomes have been found regardless of disability label. They are positive including when students are labelled as having “severe” or “multiple and profound” disability.</p>
<p>There are often concerns raised that inclusive education may be detrimental to students without disability. But the research provides evidence inclusive education leads to increased and improved learning opportunities and experiences for students without disability. </p>
<p>Overall genuine inclusive education is more sensitive to differing student needs for all students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125812/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathy Cologon currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Commonwealth Department of Education. Kathy is a member of CYDA, Early Childhood Australia, and an academic advisor to All Means All.</span></em></p>A survey shows nearly half of students with disabilities are being excluded from school events and activities, while one in ten are being denied enrolment. These reports suggest illegal practices.Kathy Cologon, Senior Lecturer, Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1181432019-07-16T12:10:59Z2019-07-16T12:10:59ZThe British government is failing pupils with special needs – here’s how to change that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282685/original/file-20190704-51297-q1os1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children, parents and teachers in England recently took to the streets to march over a “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-48448424">national crisis</a>” in special educational needs (SEND) funding.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://neu.org.uk/funding/send-crisis">Send National Crisis</a> campaign say special needs funding is failing to keep pace with demand and that reductions in school and college funding has led to teaching assistant support being cut. They also say that special needs provision in England has lost out on £1.2bn since 2015 as central government has failed to provide sufficient funding increases to keep pace with increased demand. Indeed, <a href="https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/28329-special-needs-provision-in-england-has-lost-1-2bn-funding-since-2015">research by the national education union</a> found that 93% of local authorities have been affected by this funding shortfall since 2015. </p>
<p>This seems ironic given that 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of <a href="http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/SALAMA_E.PDF">UNESCO’s Salamanca Statement</a> – the most influential international policy document on special education. It argues that regular schools with an inclusive orientation are the most effective means to combat discriminatory attitudes and create welcoming communities. This type of provision, it concludes, can help to build an inclusive society and achieve education for all.</p>
<p>Over recent years, many countries have made great strides in terms of inclusive education. The Italian government, for example, closed all special schools, units and other <a href="https://zeroproject.org/policy/in-italy-students-with-disabilities-are-not-segregated/">non-inclusive provision</a>. The Canadian province of New Brunswick enacted legislation making <a href="http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/Inclusion/Inclusion.pdf">disability discrimination in education unlawful</a>. Portugal has recently introduced a legal framework for the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603116.2019.1624846">inclusion of disabled children</a>. Meanwhile, England has gone backwards, with more students placed in segregated provision or <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8578.12181">excluded from educational opportunities</a>. </p>
<p>So what can be learnt from other countries approaches to inclusive education?</p>
<h2>Involve families</h2>
<p>A pattern that emerges from <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Inside-the-Autonomous-School-Making-Sense-of-a-Global-Educational-Trend/Salokangas-Ainscow/p/book/9781138215412">international research</a> is the way education systems based on competition and choice – like in England – reduce connections between schools and their local communities. Put simply, too many families feel the need to choose schools away from their homes that seem more attractive. This is worrying in the light of <a href="https://www.eenet.org.uk/resources/docs/family_action.pdf">research</a> which indicates that in order to achieve greater inclusion the work of schools with families and local communities is vital. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282686/original/file-20190704-51305-1v2472d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282686/original/file-20190704-51305-1v2472d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282686/original/file-20190704-51305-1v2472d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282686/original/file-20190704-51305-1v2472d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282686/original/file-20190704-51305-1v2472d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282686/original/file-20190704-51305-1v2472d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282686/original/file-20190704-51305-1v2472d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">All children should be able to learn with their peers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Developing inclusive schools requires a collective effort from teachers, families and the wider community for it to fully work. And there must be a clear sense of what is intended. In particular, the term “inclusion” must be defined in a way that will speak to everybody who needs to be involved.
The definition of inclusion provided by UNESCO is particularly helpful in that it avoids the use of jargon: “<a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/a_guide_for_ensuring_inclusion_and_equity_in_education/">Every learner matters and matters equally</a>”.</p>
<h2>Teachers must feel valued</h2>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264231191-en">Evidence from the OECD</a> suggests that countries where teachers are supported, and where the profession is valued, are able to be more effective in the classroom for all students – so teacher support is vital if inclusion is to go mainstream. </p>
<p>Schools also need to be reformed and practices need to be improved in ways that will lead teachers to respond positively to student diversity. This will encourage teachers to see individual differences not as problems to be fixed but as opportunities for enriching learning. This kind of approach is more likely to be successful in environments where there is a culture of collaboration that encourages collective problem solving between staff.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282690/original/file-20190704-51262-dobzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282690/original/file-20190704-51262-dobzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282690/original/file-20190704-51262-dobzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282690/original/file-20190704-51262-dobzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282690/original/file-20190704-51262-dobzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282690/original/file-20190704-51262-dobzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282690/original/file-20190704-51262-dobzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Teachers must feel valued and supported for inclusion to work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Tackle the bigger picture</h2>
<p>It’s also important to know who is included, who is segregated and who is excluded from schooling. Without such data, there can be no accountability. But when data collection efforts are only focused on particular categories of pupils, as is currently the case, there is a risk of promoting negative views of those students who share certain characteristics, or come from similar backgrounds. This distracts attention from more fundamental questions, such as: why are schools failing some learners, and what are the barriers experienced by these students? </p>
<p>Also, given the dangers associated with school isolation and competition, it is clear that inclusion requires some form of local coordination. Unfortunately, in many parts of England no one organisation has the overall picture that would enable them to orchestrate more collaborative ways of working. This is why local authorities should be involved in monitoring and challenging schools – including academies – while teachers share responsibility for the overall leadership of improvement efforts. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282692/original/file-20190704-51268-9iryc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282692/original/file-20190704-51268-9iryc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282692/original/file-20190704-51268-9iryc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282692/original/file-20190704-51268-9iryc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282692/original/file-20190704-51268-9iryc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282692/original/file-20190704-51268-9iryc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282692/original/file-20190704-51268-9iryc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An inclusive curriculum would enable all pupils to thrive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What connects these ideas is the importance of drawing together teachers, parents and the community around a common purpose. Evidence from other parts of the world suggests that this has the potential <a href="https://alana.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/A_Summary_of_the_evidence_on_inclusive_education.pdf">to benefit all students</a>. In this way, an emphasis on inclusion contributes to improvements in the overall quality of national educational provision.</p>
<p>Education is devolved in the UK – which means that each home nation can pursue its own education agenda – so it can be hard to make comparisons. But there’s no reason why it isn’t possible to have an inclusive education system across the board – what is needed is the collective will to make it happen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118143/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mel Ainscow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When it comes to inclusive education, England has gone backwards, with more and more students placed in segregated provision or excluded from educational opportunities.Mel Ainscow, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1184312019-07-08T11:08:27Z2019-07-08T11:08:27ZWhy I made an app to document the seclusion and restraint of special education students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282549/original/file-20190703-126391-j3axu3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A research assistant demonstrates an app designed to document what takes place in special education classrooms.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gabriela Marcu</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>School districts are <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-551r">failing to accurately report</a> when their most vulnerable students are being physically restrained or secluded. That’s according to a <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-551r">June 2019 report</a> from the Government Accountability Office.</p>
<p>My response is: There’s an app for that. I know because <a href="http://www.gabrielamarcu.com/lilypad">I developed one</a>.</p>
<p>I’m not an entrepreneur or founder of a startup. I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6ibG0BkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">scholar</a> developing this app as part of my research studying how technology can help care teams work together. This includes <a href="https://news.umich.edu/designing-better-apps-for-students-with-special-needs-and-those-who-support-them/">designing apps for teams who work with children in special education</a>. </p>
<p>This includes not only students with physical disabilities, but also with behavioral disorders and developmental disabilities. There are currently <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp">7 million special education students</a>. Of that number, 34% have learning disabilities. Ten percent have autism, 7% have developmental delays, 6% have intellectual disabilities and 5% have emotional disturbance.</p>
<p>It’s rare for America’s students to be secluded or restrained, practices that are meant to be used as <a href="https://www.pbis.org/school/seclusion-restraint">a last resort</a>. If a child is a danger to themselves or others, they may be secluded in order to isolate them from others in a separate room, or restrained by physically holding them to prevent their movement. These practices <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/697114.pdf">disproportionately affect</a> students with disabilities. For example, of the approximately 61,000 students who were reported to have been physically restrained in the 2013-2014 school year, according to a <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/697114.pdf">2019 federal report</a>, more than 46,000 of those were students with disabilities.</p>
<p>What happens to these students during the course of a school day is of tremendous concern not only to the federal government, but also to parents. My goal is to provide free use of the app for as many schools as possible. </p>
<h2>Failure to communicate</h2>
<p>Parents not only have a right to know what is going on with their child at school; they are also a vital part of a child’s team and can help the child learn to manage their behavior. But parents of special education students aren’t always made aware of problems at school, which could potentially lead to their children being restrained or secluded.</p>
<p>For instance, a <a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/school-discipline-students-special-needs-restraints-washington-oregon/">three-part investigative series</a> by Oregon Public Broadcasting found that parents were not informed when their children were restrained or secluded “until long after” – in at least one case an entire year after the fact.</p>
<p>School districts are also failing <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/699795.pdf">in their requirement</a> to tell the U.S. Department of Education the extent to which they use seclusion and restraint among special education students. The Government Accountability Office report states that 70% of the more than 17,000 school districts in the U.S. reported zero incidents of restraint and zero incidents of seclusion – a figure that the government says is improbable.</p>
<p>Districts with more than 100,000 students are “likely to have at least one incident of restraint or seclusion,” the federal report states. Yet, one-third of such districts – or 10 out of 30 – indicated they had no incidents of restraint and seclusion in the 2015-2016 school year. These districts included New York, Philadelphia and Fairfax County in Virginia.</p>
<h2>Tedious and time-consuming paperwork</h2>
<p>Why are so many districts failing to report when they seclude or restrain special education students? The reasons are likely varied. But from my experience, the educators are most concerned with responding to student behaviors and trying to keep students safe. What I have observed is that in the moments when educators can’t juggle everything, the documentation is what gets dropped.</p>
<p>I first became aware of this problem in 2011 when – as a graduate student observing special education classrooms in Pittsburgh – I saw firsthand how teams of educators and others who work with special education students were struggling to document their students’ behavior. The educators told me it was important to document the students’ behavior to show how they were responding to the structure, support and feedback in school. But they were still using paper to document student behavior, and they found the process was tedious and time-consuming.</p>
<p>Even when student behavior was being recorded, it would be difficult to retrieve and review the information because it was located in three-ring binders or very abstract reports. For instance, a report might state that a student met a behavioral goal 70% of the time within a given month, but would not include details about why the student didn’t meet the goal for the other 30% of the time. Teams spent so much time manually transferring data from paper onto Excel spreadsheets, written reports or databases that they were burned out. They also didn’t feel they were able to capture accurate data.</p>
<p>So when the time came to actually make decisions about what each child needed, teams often didn’t use data because it was so difficult to retrieve. </p>
<h2>A digital solution</h2>
<p>Having a background in computer science, I believed it could be possible to make this process paperless – if we designed the solution right. I started the <a href="http://www.gabrielamarcu.com/lilypad">Lilypad Project</a> and, together with research assistants and collaborators, began experimenting with designing and evaluating apps that make it easier for educators and others who work with special education students to do their jobs.</p>
<p>Our app is for documenting the behaviors of special education students, though it can also be used to document when students are secluded or restrained.</p>
<p>The first app that we designed enables the classroom staff to use an iPad instead of a clipboard for documenting behaviors in real time. A web portal allows the data collection interface to be customized and gives the rest of the team access to review the data. This allows teams to have more informed discussions about whether the child is responding to things they have tried, and to adjust the strategies they use as needed.</p>
<p>By swapping out their clipboard for an iPad, my research group gave them a portable tool that has enabled them to make the process as paperless as possible. The app also gives educators more space to write notes than the small paper forms they used to use. This has led educators to write more detailed notes than they did before.</p>
<p>The app has been used by nine teachers in two school districts – one in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey. It is provided free of charge thanks to various grants I’ve been able to secure for my research, including a <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1816319&HistoricalAwards=false">US$500,000 grant</a> from the National Science Foundation to study cyber-human systems.</p>
<p>To help keep parents informed, I am currently exploring how the app we developed can be used to share information in real time with parents or others who are not in the child’s classroom every day. This could be done via email, text message or some other method.</p>
<p>By having everyone concerned with a child be able to look at the same accurate data, and have a common channel for communication, it should make it easier for parents and educators to figure out the best way to address that child’s needs.</p>
<p>Teachers have been using our app for two years. They have told me that switching back to paper would feel like going back to the Stone Age.</p>
<p>They also report that the app is saving them time. My research group is working on a formal study to measure just how much time is being saved.</p>
<p>Teachers have also told me they are excited about being able to generate different reports for principals and parents. I am currently looking into the best ways to share data with these other stakeholders, in a way that works for them.</p>
<h2>Assessing the impact</h2>
<p>I don’t yet have an app I can make publicly available. As a research project, we can only support a small number of users. When a teacher agrees to be a part of the Lilypad project and use one of our apps, my research group works with them to design a custom version of the app for their classroom, and this allows us to study their experience in adopting it. My goal is to take what educators say is most useful to them about the technology, and create one highly customizable app. </p>
<p>No app will solve the problem of schools not accurately reporting their practices. And no app will prevent the seclusion or restraint of students.
In order for schools to document and tell parents and the federal government about how they are using seclusion and restraint, there has to be a sense of commitment at the highest level. And, unfortunately, there’s no app for that.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118431/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriela Marcu receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>A professor of information discusses how an app she developed can help solve the problem of schools failing to report when students are restrained or secluded.Gabriela Marcu, Assistant Professor of Information, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1142492019-04-01T20:44:26Z2019-04-01T20:44:26ZEvery child matters: What principals need to effectively lead inclusive schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266458/original/file-20190328-139352-mrlzsl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Relationships are the foundation of everything I do as a school administrator,' one principal told researchers. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canadians continue to grapple with what it means to be an inclusive society. Despite a general trend to inclusive education in provinces across Canada, policies and services are inconsistent. </p>
<p>Inclusive education is quality education that aims at the <a href="https://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/122/ICE2008-reports-canada.en.pdf">full participation of all learners with a belief that all students can make valued contributions to classrooms and schools</a>. </p>
<p>Recent education announcements by the Ontario government, for example, are emblematic of challenging contexts both for families and school communities. </p>
<p>Decisions such as <a href="https://peopleforeducation.ca/our-work/changes-to-ontario-education-funding-and-policy-will-have-a-long-term-impact/">increasing class size</a>,
changing the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4997927/ontario-government-autism-program-explainer/">funding model for children with autism</a> and potentially changing the <a href="https://theconversation.com/full-day-kindergarten-is-what-ontario-needs-for-a-stable-future-111335">full-day kindergarten framework</a> could dramatically affect students with special education needs in inclusive schools.</p>
<p>Reports of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/the-sunday-edition-for-february-17-2019-1.5017616/i-felt-helpless-teachers-call-for-support-amid-escalating-crisis-of-classroom-violence-1.5017623">escalating classroom violence</a> have drawn widespread <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/classroom-violence-on-the-rise-teachers-tell-canadian-teachers-federation-1.4739869">media attention</a>, as have accounts that <a href="https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/union-wants-an-end-to-exclusion-of-students-with-special-needs-1.23626688">students with special education needs are being asked to stay home from school</a>. </p>
<p>In Newfoundland, the <a href="https://www.childandyouthadvocate.nf.ca/">Advocate for Children and Youth</a> released a January 2019 report on chronic student absenteeism within the province. The report found that factors <a href="https://www.childandyouthadvocate.nl.ca/pdfs/ChronicAbsenteeismJan2019.pdf">such as learning disabilities, mental health issues, behavioural issues and developmental delays contributed to absenteeism</a>. </p>
<p>In 2018, Inclusion Alberta reported that <a href="http://inclusionalberta.org/clientuploads/Seclusion_and_Restraint_Survey_Results.pdf">53 per cent of children with disabilities had been secluded or restrained at school</a>. The same year, Inclusion B.C. reported that <a href="https://inclusionbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/InclusionBC_StopHurtingKids2.pdf">many students with special education needs are still being negatively affected by inappropriate and outdated teaching practices</a>. </p>
<p>Prior to this in British Columbia, two legal cases exemplified how contested and precarious inclusive education is in Canadian schools. </p>
<p>In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and against the province with regard to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bctf-wins-supreme-court-battle-over-class-size-and-composition-1.3845620">limiting class size and composition</a>. </p>
<p>In 2012, the Court also affirmed the legal right of <a href="http://www.ldao.ca/educational-implications-of-recent-supreme-court-ruling/">students with learning disabilities to receive adequate special education supports in schools</a> in what became known <a href="http://www.ccdonline.ca/en/humanrights/litigation/Moore-Case-Key-Findings-9Nov2012">as the Moore case</a>. At the centre of this case was student Jeffrey Moore and his father. </p>
<p>New Brunswick has provided <a href="https://www.gnb.ca/legis/business/pastsessions/57/57-2/LegDocs/2/en/StrengtheningInclusion-e.pdf">a model of inclusive education that has served as an example</a> for other contexts, <a href="https://inclusiveeducation.ca/2019/02/11/new-brunswicks-inclusive-education-system-an-example-for-irelands-policy-makers/">most recently Ireland</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266435/original/file-20190328-139345-phtk8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C5176%2C2436&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266435/original/file-20190328-139345-phtk8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266435/original/file-20190328-139345-phtk8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266435/original/file-20190328-139345-phtk8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266435/original/file-20190328-139345-phtk8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266435/original/file-20190328-139345-phtk8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266435/original/file-20190328-139345-phtk8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Creating an inclusive school culture requires leadership support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a former elementary and secondary school teacher and school administrator, I am aware of the lived realities of teaching students with special education needs in inclusive classrooms. </p>
<p>Many teachers experience having classes with 25 or 30 students, sometimes with combined grades. Such a scenario could include teaching two grades of curricula, plus teaching multiple students with <a href="https://www.teachspeced.ca/iep">individual education plans</a>, who may require accommodations, support staff and specialized equipment.</p>
<h2>Leadership and inclusion</h2>
<p>The realistic challenges inherent in this worthy ideal in pursuit of human dignity and belonging are lived out every day in schools. Students, teachers, support staff and principals are in many ways at the forefront of inclusion in society at large.</p>
<p>Yet one area that has been lacking has been an informed understanding of what kinds of support principals need as <a href="https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1004&context=educ_faculty">they provide leadership for inclusive schools</a>.</p>
<p>Our research team, made up of <a href="https://www.inclusiveeducationresearch.ca/">members of the Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education</a>, recently completed a study on this topic. </p>
<p>We collected data from 285 principals and vice-principals about their experiences in inclusive schools — that means schools practising the full participation of all learners, as defined by the <a href="https://www.cmec.ca/en/">Council of Ministers of Education Canada</a>. </p>
<p>We asked principals from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland to consider the ways in which they support students with special education needs in inclusive schools. The participants were from elementary and secondary schools, in both English and French language school systems, in urban and rural areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266230/original/file-20190328-139380-26ln9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C5176%2C2669&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266230/original/file-20190328-139380-26ln9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266230/original/file-20190328-139380-26ln9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266230/original/file-20190328-139380-26ln9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266230/original/file-20190328-139380-26ln9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266230/original/file-20190328-139380-26ln9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266230/original/file-20190328-139380-26ln9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Professional learning should also develop leadership competencies in fostering a healthy school culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After this initial data collection, we interviewed 46 of these participants. We wanted to further examine the types of experiences principals described about leading inclusive schools and what kind of professional learning they felt would be helpful. </p>
<p>The results of the study point to some key lessons for school systems across Canada. Three of these lessons include:</p>
<h2><em>1. Invest in the right professional development</em></h2>
<p>School systems and professional associations responsible for the preparation of future school principals need to invest in professional development specifically about inclusive education. </p>
<p>Professional learning needs to be extended beyond technical aspects related to special education such as legal requirements or staffing needs. </p>
<p>One principal said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I say to staff right at the beginning, if you feel like running away, that’s when you need to run into my office. When you find that you are withdrawing and you’re feeling overwhelmed, that’s when you need to run in, not out.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This principal had fostered a leadership competency that reflected empathy and a skill in supporting the mental health of staff. </p>
<p>Professional learning should develop leadership competencies in fostering a healthy school culture, including enhancing communication skills to support students, staff, parents and other caregivers. </p>
<h2><em>2. Strong professional relationships matter</em></h2>
<p>Principals who developed strong professional relationships with students, parents and caregivers, and teaching and support staff were best equipped to support a wide variety of student needs. </p>
<p>One principal commented:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Relationships are the foundation of everything I do as a school administrator.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The feeling behind this statement was shared by many of the participants who identified relationships as core to their work in supporting inclusive school environments. </p>
<p>Another principal described a conversation with the father of a child with special education needs: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“At the end of the conversation, the dad came around the table and gave me a hug and said ‘I have never had someone want to include my kid in the school before.’”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Principals have complex and competing demands on their time. Those who prioritized spending time interacting with students, engaging with parents and caregivers and supporting staff reported high levels of effectiveness in supporting inclusive schools.</p>
<h2><em>3. The demands of the job take a toll</em></h2>
<p>Despite being surrounded by people, principals frequently reported that they often work in isolation and without a lot of support. There is a strong indication that the demands of the job, particularly with diverse and pronounced student needs, take a heavy toll on them. </p>
<p>Our society has become increasingly aware <a href="https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/the-crisis-is-real/mental-health-statistics">of the complex mental health needs of students in Canada</a> and there needs to be a recognition of the similar mental health needs of teachers and principals.</p>
<p>Further research and knowledge mobilization is needed to build the capacity of principals to effectively lead inclusive schools.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114249/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Sider receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>A six-province study of principals finds those who prioritize spending time boosting staff report high levels of effectiveness supporting inclusive schools.Steve Sider, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1073842018-12-12T13:41:58Z2018-12-12T13:41:58ZTeachers don’t understand the depth of dyslexia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250205/original/file-20181212-76962-18ak5j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Helping - but is it enough?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-male-elementary-school-pupil-problem-485303140?src=g471WUm5QTzAYEhHiD7B6A-1-9">SpeedKingz/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that most of us know for causing problems with writing, reading and spelling. But it is more than this, and can affect people in many different ways. </p>
<p>It is <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11881-003-0001-9.pdf">generally accepted</a> that underlying neurological aspects, such as slight differences in brain structure, can change the way that dyslexic people process information, and this affects the behaviour they might display. <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia/symptoms/">In addition to literacy difficulties</a>, people with dyslexia may also have trouble expressing themselves, even though they are very knowledgeable about a topic. People with dyslexia also have <a href="http://madebydyslexia.org/">many strengths</a>, such as being able to visualise things differently, thinking outside of the box and being creative. </p>
<p>School is often the place where dyslexia is first discovered, however, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/dys.1593">my recent survey</a> found that the majority of teachers in England and Wales describe dyslexia as a problem with literacy – and don’t understand the biological and cognitive aspects.</p>
<p>For the study, I asked 2,600 primary and secondary school classroom teachers in England and Wales to provide a description of dyslexia. The majority of teachers (79.5%) described dyslexia at the behavioural level. They mentioned the outward symptoms of dyslexia, mainly issues with reading, writing, and spelling.</p>
<p>Only 39.3% of the teachers in the survey described the cognitive aspects associated with dyslexia. They talked of things like phonological processing differences – the cognitive ability to identify sounds in words, for example, breaking down “cat” to “c”, “a” and “t” – as well as issues with decoding, and memory problems. Finally, 9% described the condition’s biological aspects. These teachers described dyslexia in relation to the brain, as well as neurological differences, or genetics being the cause of the dyslexic symptoms. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Learning to write.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/learn-write-208531888?src=WGKlbxTBxa2Bb0hSKiU_gQ-1-9">Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Together these results reveal that most teachers have a stereotypical understanding of dyslexia, focusing more on the behaviour they see. But while teachers certainly need to update their own understanding of the condition, and play a better part in changing the way dyslexic children are taught, it is not down to them alone. My research also found that there is a problem with the way in which teachers themselves are taught about dyslexia. </p>
<p>During the survey, the teachers were asked, in their opinion, how well dyslexia was covered on their teacher training programme. A large majority (71.8%) said it was “not covered well at all”. This lack of training could help to explain why teachers tend to only understand dyslexia based on how it impacts students at the behavioural level. </p>
<p>Research suggests <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/340/6130/300">between 4% and 20% of the population have dyslexia</a>. As the average primary school class consists of 27 students, and the average secondary school class is <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/552342/SFR20_2016_Main_Text.pdf">20 students</a>, it can be estimated that teachers will have between one and five dyslexic students in each class. This is a significant proportion and in order for teachers to be able to properly help each dyslexic pupil, it is vital that they understand the condition at more than just a behavioural level. </p>
<p>Effective interventions have been found to help those showing dyslexic symptoms. A large body of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4538781/">research</a> links dyslexia with a phonological processing difficulty. A 2009 report commissioned by the UK government concluded that prioritising phonological skills <a href="http://www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk/media/downloads/inline/the-rose-report.1294933674.pdf">is an effective</a> way to teach children with dyslexia how to read. So it is now <a href="http://www.4d.org.nz/school/dyslexia_intervention_research.pdf">recommended</a> that teachers use phonic-based reading approaches with all students, to best help those who might struggle with literacy. And as the children grow older, teachers must provide work in different learning styles to help pupils that process information in different ways.</p>
<p>To ensure school children with dyslexia are getting the help they need, teacher training needs an overhaul. Educators need to know about all the different aspects of the condition, and have access to good quality, evidence‐based training too. Only with up-to-date knowledge of how to best help their students with dyslexia can they help them reach their full potential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107384/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathryn Knight receives funding from ESRC.</span></em></p>Teachers’ understanding of dyslexia is mostly limited to behaviour, new survey finds.Cathryn Knight, Lecturer in Education, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/988202018-09-28T10:34:40Z2018-09-28T10:34:40ZTrusting states to do right by special education students is a mistake<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238399/original/file-20180927-48644-1lng236.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many special education students are isolated from their peers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/raised-hands-class-middle-school-607559540">hxdbzxy/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Sept. 20, the U.S. Department of Education released a <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/framework/osers-framework-9-20-2018.pdf">new framework</a> to “rethink” how the department oversees special education services for students with disabilities. </p>
<p>As part of this framework, the department plans to provide states with “flexibility” and to “acknowledge” that states are “in the best position to determine implementation of their programs.”</p>
<p>This flexibility relates to how states satisfy the provisions in the <a href="http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title20/chapter33/subchapter2&edition=prelim">Individuals with Disabilities Education Act</a> – a federal civil rights law known as IDEA meant to ensure all students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate education.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the assumption that states are in the best position to determine implementation of their programs related to the IDEA law is a faulty one. So is the notion that relaxing enforcement of these provisions would have a positive impact on students.</p>
<p>I make these arguments as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sHPQcU8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">researcher</a> who focuses on the best ways to serve students with intellectual disability and make sure such students are included in the general classroom to the greatest extent possible.</p>
<p>The Education Department’s plan to give states more flexibility is in line with the Trump administration’s broader view that the Education Department has too much power and that its role <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/statement-secretary-devos-government-reform-plan">should be reduced</a>. </p>
<p>In my view, the administration is wrong to single out IDEA as an example of federal overreach. In reality, IDEA is an example of how the federal government works at its best to ensure the rights of America’s most vulnerable citizens. Without it, the nation’s special education system would not exist. </p>
<h2>Evidence of positive effects</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-89/pdf/STATUTE-89-Pg773.pdf">The Education For All Handicapped Children Act</a> – the predecessor to IDEA – was passed in 1975. This followed <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/074193250102200602">an outcry by parents of children with disabilities and advocacy groups</a> about how <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/074193250102200602">nearly 2 million students</a>
with disabilities were not receiving educational services at all, and an additional 3 million were receiving educational services that weren’t appropriate for their needs.</p>
<p>The law’s passage was neither partisan nor controversial. In fact, it passed both houses of Congress with <a href="https://voteview.com/rollcall/RH0940531">overwhelming bipartisan support</a>.</p>
<p>Overall, implementation of IDEA has <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/074193250102200602">had a hugely positive impact</a> on the lives of children and youth with disabilities. It has ensured that all children and youth with disabilities receive an education, and it has provided parents and the students themselves with a strong voice in designing Individualized Education Programs. However, this does not mean that all of the provisions of IDEA have been fully realized. Nor does it mean that it is time to relax federal oversight.</p>
<p>State implementation of some key IDEA provisions has been mixed. This underscores the critical need for continued and vigilant federal oversight.</p>
<h2>Segregation is common</h2>
<p>One particularly troubling example of how implementation of IDEA has fallen short relates to segregating students with disabilities in separate classrooms and schools.</p>
<p>A key provision of IDEA is that all students with disabilities should have <a href="http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title20/chapter33&edition=prelim">meaningful opportunities</a> to learn alongside their peers in general education classrooms. This is called inclusion. Inclusion is the best way for these students to <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2511/rpsd.33.4.175">gain critical social and communication skills</a>, and to learn the same important academic material that is taught to all students. Furthermore, students with disabilities are held to higher expectations when they are included in general education classrooms, and students often rise – or sink – to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022440507000416">teacher expectations</a>. In addition, peers benefit by getting the opportunity to know someone they would not have otherwise met, increasing their <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/074193259902000209">acceptance of individual differences</a>. More broadly, inclusive classrooms contribute to building a more inclusive society.</p>
<p>The law does not require all students to be included all of the time. Rather, it calls for schools to take an inclusion-first approach, treating the general education classroom as the default placement. Students are only supposed to be placed in specialized settings when there is a compelling reason. For example, it might be appropriate for a middle school student who struggles with literacy to receive intensive instruction on basic reading skills in a special education classroom, or for a high school student to spend part of the day at a community job internship that is consistent with her career goals.</p>
<p>Despite this federal mandate, there is little evidence that most schools are embracing an inclusion-first approach. A <a href="http://aaiddjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1352/1944-7558-123.4.305">recent analysis</a> of federal data shows that most students with intellectual disability spend most of their school day outside of the general education classroom. Only 17 percent spend at least four-fifths of the day in a general education classroom.</p>
<p>Perhaps even more troubling is the lack of progress toward more inclusive placements over time. Although there was some movement toward more inclusive placements in the 1990s, placement rates have remained mostly unchanged since 1997. In the last two years for which data are available – 2013 and 2014 – schools actually became a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-123.4.305">little less inclusive.</a></p>
<h2>Room for improvement</h2>
<p>Could progress have stagnated because schools have reached the upper limit of what is possible? There are a number of reasons why this is not the case.</p>
<p>First, educators have the tools to do better. Researchers have made significant strides in developing practices that promote effective inclusion for students with intellectual disability. There is solid evidence that practices such as <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022466917708184">peer support arrangements</a> and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23880070?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">embedded instruction</a> enable students with intellectual disabilities to thrive academically and socially in general education classrooms. Peer support arrangements involve peers without disabilities providing academic and social support to students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Embedded instruction involves providing individualized instruction in the context of classroom routines. </p>
<p>Second, some schools have already demonstrated that it is possible to do much better. Entire states like Vermont and Iowa include most students with intellectual disability for the majority of the school day. And there are individual school districts that boast inclusion rates <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1540796915591988">four times better than the national average.</a></p>
<p>The bottom line is that there is no good reason why schools cannot or should not be more inclusive. The problem is not a lack of strategies or successful models. The problem is a <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1540796914555580">stubborn insistence on an outdated segregation-first approach</a> that is both ethically and legally problematic. This problem is not perpetuated by any malicious intent, but instead by systemic factors that encourage the status quo. For example, once large urban school districts invest in building a separate school to serve students with severe disabilities, they are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796915591988">less likely to consider serving a student at a regular neighborhood school.</a> Similarly, if a school has always served students with intellectual disability in a separate classroom, they are likely to continue to default to this placement option until parents and advocates push for change.</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Education has an obligation to enforce IDEA provisions. The department must also ensure that inclusion is no longer a privilege afforded only to the fortunate few who live in a particular state or school district. All students with disabilities deserve the opportunity to benefit from inclusion. Similarly, all peers without disabilities deserve the opportunity to experience interactions with people who are different from themselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Brock receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.</span></em></p>Things could get worse for special education students if the Trump administration follows through on its plans to give states more leeway when it comes to how they treat special education students.Matthew Brock, Assistant Professor of Special Education, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/997032018-07-23T14:30:22Z2018-07-23T14:30:22ZSouth Africa’s new higher education disability policy is important, but flawed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228177/original/file-20180718-142423-11yen9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C703%2C485&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Universities should be working to make spaces more accessible for students and staff with disabilities.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa finally has a disability policy that’s specific to the higher education sector. The new <a href="http://www.dhet.gov.za/SiteAssets/Gazettes/Approved%20Strategic%20Disability%20Policy%20Framework%20Layout220518.pdf">policy framework</a> should be celebrated as an achievement. Its value is that, because it’s specific to the sector, it gives institutions (such as universities) a common vision. It also enables monitoring and evaluation of progress that is context specific.</p>
<p>Australia is one country that’s taken this approach with its <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/disability-standards-education-2005">2005 Disability Standards for Education</a>. Most countries, though, favour more general policies; <a href="https://www.government.se/4a788f/contentassets/6732121a2cb54ee3b21da9c628b6bdc7/oversattning-diskrimineringslagen_eng.pdf">Sweden</a> and <a href="http://app.uio.no/ub/ujur/oversatte-lover/data/lov-20050401-015-eng.pdf">Norway</a> are two examples of this approach.</p>
<p>We have <a href="http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/viewFile/1596/760">been critical</a> about the absence of any policy in South Africa and welcome the development. But can a policy document lead to positive change? This is something that South Africans with disabilities will be wondering. Currently, about 7.5% of the country’s population have disabilities; <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-03-01-59/Report-03-01-592011.pdf">about 20%</a> of that number are enrolled in higher education institutions.</p>
<p>It’s obviously too early to answer this question. But a critical examination of the policy framework – which has been gazetted into law and cannot easily be changed – reveals some concerns. Some of these include funding, the approaches taken to understand disability, how it will be integrated with existing national policies and what support is available to universities trying to implement it. </p>
<h2>The gaps</h2>
<p>The policy framework is intended to help higher education institutions provide sufficient services to students and staff with disabilities. It spells out the challenges around disability issues in South African higher education and the ways the government plans to respond to them.</p>
<p>But there are problems with the document. </p>
<p>For instance, there’s still enough room in the policy for universities to abdicate their responsibility when it comes to things like decent and properly equipped accommodation for students with disabilities. </p>
<p>For example, the framework states that all institutions should make adjustments to enable people with disabilities to be on par with everyone else. But there’s a contradiction. Institutions are not supposed to incur significant expenses when making these adjustments. The reality is that some alterations – like making lecture halls and residences accessible particularly to people in wheelchairs – will cost money.</p>
<p>This will be particularly challenging for South Africa’s poorer, less resourced and rural institutions. The national government will to need to source the bulk of funds for what’s proposed in the policy. Innovative funding mechanisms will be necessary.</p>
<p>And that leads to another issue. The department of education and training is responsible for carrying out most of the initiatives proposed in the framework, including implementation. But a single government department can only do so much. Explicit reference ought to be made to other departments that will help with things like planning, building and sourcing funding.</p>
<p>There’s also no mention of the private sector. That’s an oversight, since industry and businesses should be involved. They could fund some of the work, offer technological innovations to improve the lives of students with disabilities and even offer employment to graduates with disabilities.</p>
<p>Finally, there’s a particularly strange exclusion. There’s no mention of getting students and staff with disabilities involved in implementing the policy. Yet they are the experts on disability, and on how best the policy could be brought to life. They can also be powerful advocates for an end to stigma and discrimination, which is crucial if the policy to really work.</p>
<p>Another issue is that the policy framework views all disabilities as the same. But students with disabilities have varied and unique needs. They require individually tailored services based on what each person requires to be successful. </p>
<p>The risk with the framework is that some students may not get enough tailor made support for their specific disabilities.</p>
<h2>Going forward</h2>
<p>The first big win would be if this policy could be amended to cover some of its shortcomings. It needs to be adjusted if it’s going to improve the lives of students with disabilities and introduce a culture of inclusion and diversity at national, institutional, and individual level.</p>
<p>One change that’s imperative is that it should introduce a minimum threshold of support for each type of impairment. For example, students with visual impairments will be provided with accommodation on campus; those who use guide dogs will be accommodated in a dog-friendly space. They will be provided with study materials on time and in accessible formats like Braille or audio books. Assessments will be fair, offering alternative test methods such as oral exams. </p>
<p>The second area that needs special attention is implementation. It remains to be seen how the policy framework will be implemented, and whether it will bring real change for students with disabilities.</p>
<p>But, in the meantime, universities can take the initiative by looking at smaller systemic changes to improve these students’ lives. Providing reading materials in accessible formats doesn’t cost much money and neither does introducing a culture of inclusion through engaging students and staff with disabilities at the institutional and departmental levels. </p>
<p>The reality is that policy papers alone aren’t enough to engender change. Genuine political will and commitment is required to address disability challenges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99703/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oliver Mutanga currently receives funding from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant number 609020. Previously, Oliver received funding from the SARChl of the DST & Technology and NRF of South Africa grant number 86540.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>I have received a Thuthuka Research Grant from the National Research Foundation in South Africa. I am currently holding an Open Distance Learning Research Support Programme grant from the University of South Africa Research Directorate.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bothwell Manyonga does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>South Africa has a new policy framework for students with disabilities but will it bring real change?Oliver Mutanga, Marie Curie Fellow, Center for International Climate and Environment Research - OsloBothwell Manyonga, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of South AfricaSindile Ngubane, Associate professor, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.