9 781292 022581

ISBN 978-1-29202-258-1

Exceptional Learners An Introduction to Special Education

Hallahan Kauffman Pullen Twelfth Edition

Exceptional Learners H allahan et al. Tw

elfth Edition

 

 

Exceptional Learners An Introduction to Special Education

Hallahan Kauffman Pullen Twelfth Edition

 

 

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Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 10: 1-292-02258-2 ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02258-1

ISBN 10: 1-292-02258-2 ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02258-1

 

 

Table of Contents

P E A R S O N C U S T O M L I B R A R Y

I

Glossary

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1Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

1. Exceptionality and Special Education

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13Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

2. Current Practices for Meeting the Needs of Exceptional Learners

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37Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

3. Multicultural and Bilingual Aspects of Special Education

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69Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

4. Parents and Families

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97Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

5. Learners with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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125Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

6. Learners with Learning Disabilities

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163Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

7. Learners with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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201Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

8. Learners with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

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239Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

9. Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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275Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

10. Learners with Communication Disorders

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311Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

11. Learners Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

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343Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

12. Learners with Blindness or Low Vision

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381Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

 

 

II

13. Learners with Low-Incidence, Multiple, and Severe Disabilities

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423Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

14. Learners with Physical Disabilities and Other Health Impairments

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457Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

15. Learners with Special Gifts and Talents

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489Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

Appendix

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517Daniel P. Hallahan/James M. Kauffman/Paige C. Pullen

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521Index

 

 

A Acceleration An approach in which students with special gifts or talents are placed in grade levels ahead of their age peers in one or more academic subjects.

Accessible pedestrian signal (APSs) Devices for people who are blind to let them know when the “walk” signal is on at intersections; can be auditory, tactile, or both.

Accommodations Changes in the delivery of instruction, type of student performance, or method of assessment which do not significantly change the content or conceptual difficulty of the curriculum.

Acquired apraxia As in Developmental apraxia, there are problems in motor planning such that the child has difficulty in producing speech sounds and organizing words and word sounds for effective communication. However, the problem is known to be caused by neurological damage.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDs) A virus- caused illness resulting in a breakdown of the immune system; currently, no known cure exists.

Acute A serious state of illness or injury from which someone often recovers with treatment.

Adaptations Changes in curricular content or conceptual difficulty or changes in instructional objectives and methods.

Adapted signs Signs adapted for use by people who are deaf- blind; tactually based rather than visually based, such as American Sign Language for those who are deaf but sighted.

Adaptive behavior The social and practical intelligence used in people’s everyday lives; along with IQ, is considered in making a determination of intellectual disability.

Adaptive behavior skills Skills needed to adapt to one’s living environment (e.g., communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure, and work); usually estimated by an adaptive behavior survey; one of two major components (the other is intellectual functioning) of the AAMR definition.

Adaptive devices Special tools that are adaptations of common items to make accomplishing self-care, work, or recreation activities easier for people with physical disabilities.

Adderall A psychostimulant for ADHD; its effects are longer acting than those of Ritalin.

Adventitiously deaf Deafness that occurs through illness or accident in an individual who was born with normal hearing.

Affective disorder A disorder of mood or emotional tone characterized by depression or elation.

Aggression Behavior that intentionally causes others harm or that elicits escape or avoidance responses from others.

Aim Line Used in CBM; based on expected growth norms, a line drawn from the baseline data point to the anticipated end of instruction.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Civil rights legislation for persons with disabilities ensuring nondiscrimination in a broad range of activities.

GLOSSARY Amniocentesis A medical procedure that allows examination of the amniotic fluid around the fetus; sometimes recommended to determine the presence of abnormality.

Androgen A hormone that is responsible for controlling the development of male characteristics.

Anoxia Deprivation of oxygen; can cause brain injury.

Anxiety disorder A disorder characterized by anxiety, fearfulness, and avoidance of ordinary activities because of anxiety or fear.

Aphonia Loss of voice.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) Highly structured approach that focuses on teaching functional skills and continuous assessment of progress; grounded in behavioral learning theory.

Apraxia The inability to plan and coordinate speech.

Aqueous humor A watery substance between the cornea and lens of the eye.

Asperger syndrome One of five autistic spectrum disorders; a milder form of autism without significant impairments in language and cognition; characterized by primary problems in social interaction.

Assistance card A relatively small card containing a message that alerts the public that the user is deaf-blind and needs assistance in crossing the street.

Asthma A lung disease characterized by episodic difficulty in breathing, particularly exhaling, due to inflammation obstruction of the air passages.

Astigmatism Blurred vision caused by an irregular cornea or lens.

Atonic Lack of muscle tone; floppiness.

Atresia Absence or closure of a part of the body that is normally open.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) A condition characterized by severe problems of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity; often found in people with learning disabilities.

Audiologist An individual trained in audiology, the science dealing with hearing impairments, their detection, and remediation.

Audiometric zero The lowest level at which people with normal hearing can hear.

Auditory-oral approach A method of teaching communication to people who are deaf that stresses the use of visual cues, such as speechreading and cued speech.

Auditory-verbal approach Part of the oral approach to teaching students who are hearing impaired; stresses teaching the person to use his or her remaining hearing as much as possible; heavy emphasis on use of amplification; heavy emphasis on teaching speech.

Augmentative or alternative communication (AAC) Alternative forms of communication that do not use the oral sounds of speech or that augment the use of speech.

From Glossary of Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education, 12/e. Daniel P. Hallahan. James M. Kauffman. Paige C. Pullen. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

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Auricle The visible part of the ear, composed of cartilage; collects the sounds and funnels them via the external auditory canal to the eardrum.

Autism One of five autistic spectrum disorders; characterized by extreme social withdrawal and impairment in communication; other common characteristics are stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences; usually evident before age of 3 years; a pervasive developmental disability characterized by extreme withdrawal, cognitive deficits, language disorders, self-stimulation, and onset before the age of 30 months.

Autism or autistic spectrum disorder A pervasive developmental disability characterized by extreme withdrawal, cognitive deficits, language disorders, self-stimulation, and onset before the age of 30 months.

Autism spectrum disorders Five similar conditions: autism, Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified; all involve varying degrees of problems with communication skills, social interactions, and repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior.

Autistic regression Phenomenon whereby a child appears to progress normally until about 16 to 24 months of age and, then, begins to show signs of being autistic and ultimately is diagnosed as autistic.

Autistic savant A person with severe autism whose social and language skills are markedly delayed but who also has advanced skills in a particular area, such as calculation or drawing.

B Basal ganglia A set of structures within the brain that include the caudate, globus pallidus, and putamen, the first two being abnormal in people with ADHD; generally responsible for the coordination and control of movement.

Baseline Data Point Used in CBM; the beginning score gathered before an intervention begins, e.g, the number of correct words per minute that a student reads before receiving a fluency intervention.

Behavior management Strategies and techniques used to increase desirable behavior and decrease undesirable behavior. May be applied in the classroom, home, or other environment.

Behavior modification Systematic control of environmental events, especially of consequences, to produce specific changes in observable responses. May include reinforcement, punishment, modeling, self-instruction, desensitization, guided practice, or any other technique for strengthening or eliminating a particular response.

Behavioral inhibition The ability to stop an intended response, to stop an ongoing response, to guard an ongoing response from interruption, and to refrain from responding immediately; allows executive functions to occur; delayed or impaired in those with ADHD.

Behavioral phenotype A collection of behaviors, including cognitive, language, and social behaviors as well as psychopathological symptoms, that tend to occur together in people with a specific genetic syndrome.

Bicultural-bilingual approach An approach for teaching students with hearing impairment that stresses teaching

American Sign Language as a first language and English as a second language and promotes the teaching of Deaf culture.

Braille A system in which raised dots allow people who are blind to read with their fingertips; each quadrangular cell contains from one to six dots, the arrangement of which denotes different letters and symbols.

Braille bills Legislation passed in several states to make braille more available to students with visual impairment; specific provisions vary from state to state, but major advocates have lobbied for (1) making braille available if parents want it, and (2) ensuring that teachers of students with visual impairment are proficient in braille.

Braille notetakers Portable devices that can be used to take notes in braille, which are then converted to speech, braille, or text.

Brain stem-evoked response audiometry Measures electrical signals from the brain stem that are in response to an auditory stimulus, such as a click.

C Cataracts A condition caused by clouding of the lens of the eye; affects color vision and distance vision.

Caudate A structure in the basal ganglia of the brain; site of abnormal development in persons with ADHD.

Center-based program A program implemented primarily in a school or center, not in the student’s home.

Central coherence The inclination to bring meaning to stimuli by conceptualizing it as a whole; thought to be weak in people with ASD.

Cerebellum An organ at the base of the brain responsible for coordination and movement; site of abnormal development in persons with ADHD.

Cerebral palsy (CP) A condition characterized by paralysis, weakness, lack of coordination, and/or other motor dysfunction; caused by damage to the brain before it has matured.

CHARGE syndrome A genetic syndrome resulting in deaf- blindness; characterized by physical anomalies, often including coloboma (abnormalities of the pupil, retina and/or optic nerve), cranial nerves, heart defects, atresia (absence or closure) of the chonae (air passages from nose to throat), retardation in growth and mental development, genital abnormalities, ear malformation and/or hearing loss.

Choanae Air passages from the nose to the throat.

Choreoathetoid Characterized by involuntary movements and difficulty with balance; associated with choreoathetoid cerebral palsy.

Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) A method of testing the unborn fetus for a variety of chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome; a small amount of tissue from the chorion (a membrane that eventually helps form the placenta) is extracted and tested; can be done earlier than amniocentesis but the risk of miscarriage is slightly higher.

Chromosomal disorder Any of several syndromes resulting from abnormal or damaged chromosome(s); can result in intellectual disabilities.

Chromosome A rod-shaped entity in the nucleus of the cell; contains genes, which convey hereditary characteristics; each cell in the human body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes.

GLOSSARY

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Chronic A long-lasting condition; not temporary.

Chronological age Refers to how old a person is; used in comparison to mental age to determine IQ. IQ � (mental age � chronological age) � 100.

Classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) An instructional procedure in which all students in the class are involved in tutoring and being tutored by classmates on specific skills as directed by their teacher.

Cleft palate A condition in which there is a rift or split in the upper part of the oral cavity; may include the upper lip (cleft lip).

Clinical history A history both from the patient and from a close contact such as parents, spouse, or significant other.

Closed head injury Damage to the brain that occurs without penetration of the skull; might be caused by a blow to the head or violent shaking by an adult.

Coaching A technique whereby a friend or therapist offers encouragement and support for a person with ADHD.

Cochlea A snail-shaped organ that lies below the vestibular mechanism in the inner ear; its parts convert the sounds coming from the middle ear into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain.

Cochlear implantation A surgical procedure that allows people who are deaf to hear some environmental sounds; an external coil fitted on the skin by the ear picks up sound from a microphone worn by the person and transmits it to an internal coil implanted in the bone behind the ear, which carries it to an electrode implanted in the cochlea of the inner ear.

Cognition The ability to solve problems and use strategies; an area of difficulty for many persons with learning disabilities.

Cognitive mapping A nonsequential way of conceptualizing the spatial environment that allows a person who is visually impaired to know where several points in the environment are simultaneously; allows for better mobility than does a strictly sequential conceptualization of the environment.

Cognitive training A group of training procedures designed to change thoughts or thought patterns.

Collaborative consultation An approach in which a special educator and a general educator collaborate to come up with teaching strategies for a student with disabilities. The relationship between the two professionals is based on the premises of shared responsibility and equal authority.

Coloboma A condition of the eye in which the pupil is abnormally shaped and/or there are abnormalities of the retina or optic nerve; can result in loss of visual acuity and extreme sensitivity to light.

Communication The process of sharing information.

Communication disorders Impairments in the ability to use speech or language to communicate.

Communicative function Acts of communication, such as requesting, rejecting, commenting, arguing, and reasoning.

Communicative Intent The need to communicate for social reasons; thought to be lacking in most children with autism.

Community residential facility (CRF) A place, usually a group home, in an urban or residential neighborhood where about 3 to 10 adults with intellectual disabilities live under supervision.

GLOSSARY

Comorbidity Co-occurrence of two or more conditions in the same individual.

Competitive employment A workplace that provides employment that pays at least minimum wage and in which most workers are nondisabled.

Comprehension monitoring The ability to keep track of one’s own comprehension of reading material and to make adjustments to comprehend better while reading; often deficient in students with learning disabilities.

Conditioned play audiometry Using pure tones or speech, the examiner teaches the child to do various activities whenever he hears a signal.

Conduct disorder A disorder characterized by overt, aggressive, disruptive behavior or covert antisocial acts such as stealing, lying, and fire setting; may include both overt and covert acts.

Conductive hearing impairment A hearing impairment, usually mild, resulting from malfunctioning along the conductive pathway of the ear (i.e., the outer or middle ear).

Congenital A characteristic or condition that is present at birth; might or might not be due to genetic factors.

Congenital anomaly An irregularity (anomaly) that is present at birth; might or might not be due to genetic factors.

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) The most frequently occurring viral infection in newborns; can result in a variety of disabilities, especially hearing impairment.

Congenitally deaf Deafness that is present at birth; can be caused by genetic factors, by injuries during fetal development, or by injuries occurring at birth.

Connexin-26 gene A gene, the mutation of which causes deafness; the leading cause of congenital deafness in children.

Constant time delay An instructional procedure whereby the teacher makes a request while simultaneously prompting the student and then over several occasions makes the same request and waits a constant period of time before prompting; often used with students with intellectual disabilites.

Content enhancement The modification of curriculum materials to make them more salient or prominent, e.g., graphic organizers and mnemonics.

Continuous performance test (CPT) A test measuring a person’s ability to sustain attention to rapidly presented stimuli; can help in the diagnosis of ADHD.

Cooperative learning A teaching approach in which the teacher places students with heterogeneous abilities (for example, some might have disabilities) together to work on assignments.

Cooperative teaching An approach in which general educators and special educators teach together in the general classroom; it helps the special educator know the context of the general education classroom better.

Cornea A transparent cover in front of the iris and pupil in the eye; responsible for most of the refraction of light rays in focusing on an object.

Corpus callosum A part of the brain, consisting of millions of fibers connecting the left and right hemispheres; responsible for communication between the two hemispheres; site of abnormal development in persons with ADHD.

Cortical visual impairment (CVI) A poorly understood childhood condition that apparently involves dysfunction in

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the visual cortex; characterized by large day-to-day variations in visual ability.

Co-teaching A special educator working side-by-side with a general educator in a classroom, both teachers providing instruction to the group.

Cranial nerves Twelve pairs of nerves that connect the brain with various muscles and glands in the body.

Creativity The ability to express novel and useful ideas, to sense and elucidate new and important relationships, and to ask previously unthought of, but crucial, questions.

Cued speech A method to aid speechreading in people with hearing impairment; the speaker uses hand shapes to represent sounds.

Curriculum based measurement (CBM) A formative evaluation method designed to evaluate performance in the curriculum to which students are exposed; usually involves giving students a small sample of items from the curriculum in use in their schools; proponents argue that CBM is preferable to comparing students with national norms or using tests that do not reflect the curriculum content learned by the students.

Customized employment Based on an assessment of the individual’s strengths, weaknesses, and interests, the job matches the person’s profile of interests and skills.

Cystic fibrosis An inherited disease affecting primarily the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and respiratory organs; characterized by thick, sticky mucous that often interferes with breathing or digestion.

D Daily living skills Skills required for living independently, such as dressing, toileting, bathing, cooking, and other typical daily activities of nondisabled adults.

Decibels Units of relative loudness of sounds; zero decibels (0 dB) designates the point at which people with normal hearing can just detect sound.

Decoding The ability to convert print to spoken language; dependent on phonemic awareness and understanding of the alphabetic principles; a significant problem for many people with reading disabilities.

Deinstitutionalization A social movement starting in the 1960s whereby large numbers of persons with intellectual disabilities and/or mental illness are moved from large mental institutions into smaller community homes or into the homes of their families; recognized as a major catalyst for integrating persons with disabilities into society.

Descriptive Video Service® A service for use of people with visual impairment that provides audio narrative of key visual elements; available for several public television programs and some videos of movies.

Developmental apraxia A disorder of speech or language involving problems in motor planning such that the child has difficulty in producing speech sounds and organizing words and word sounds for effective communication. The cause may be unknown.

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) Educational methods for young children that are compatible with their developmental levels and that meet their individual needs; coined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Diabetic retinopathy A condition resulting from interference with the blood supply to the retina; the fastest-growing cause of blindness.

Dialects A variation of a language that differs from that standard language based on phonology, vocabulary, or grammar. Dialects may be distinct to members of a particular group (e.g., ethnic group, regional group).

Direct Instruction (DI) A method of teaching academics, especially reading and math; emphasizes drill and practice and immediate feedback; lessons are precisely sequenced, fast- paced, and well-rehearsed by the teacher.

Dopamine A neurotransmitter, the levels of which may be abnormal in people with ADHD.

Doppler effect A term used to describe the phenomenon of the pitch of a sound rising as the listener movies toward its source.

Down syndrome A condition resulting from an abnormality with the 21st pair of chromosomes; the most common abnormality is a triplet rather than a pair (the condition sometimes referred to as trisomy 21); characterized by intellectual disability and such physical signs as slanted- appearing eyes, hypotonia, a single palmar crease, shortness, and a tendency toward obesity.

Due process hearing A non-court proceeding held before an impartial hearing officer.

Dynamic assessments An interactive assessment process that involves ongoing analysis of student learning in response to an intervention.

Dysarthria A condition in which brain damage causes impaired control of the muscles used in articulation.

Dysfluencies Hesitations, repetitions, and other disruptions of normal speech flow.

E Early expressive language delay (EELD) A significant lag in the development of expressive language that is apparent by age 2.

Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) A program anchored in the applied behavioral analysis tradition that emphasizes the role of parents as interventionists, and requires considerable time commitments from therapists and parents in implementing very structured training on discrete skills. Some researchers have found it to be effective in improving language and functional skills in many, although not all, young children with autism.

Echolalia The parroting repetition of words or phrases either immediately after they are heard or later; often observed in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders.

Education for All Handicapped Children Act Also known as Public Law 94-142, which became law in 1975 and is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Retitled in 1990 and reauthorized in 1997 and 2004.

Electroencephalography (EEG) A method of measuring the electrical activity of the brain.

Emotional disturbance The term used in federal special education laws and regulations for problematic behavior that interferes with education; the federal term used to indicate the problems of emotionally disturbed students.

GLOSSARY

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Emotional or behavioral disorders The terminology proposed by the National Mental Health and Special Education Coalition to replace the federal terminology “emotional disturbance.”

Encephalitis An inflammation of the brain; can affect the child’s mental development adversely.

Encopresis Bowel incontinence; soiling oneself.

Enrichment An approach in which additional learning experiences are provided for students with special gifts or talents while the students remain in the grade levels appropriate for their chronological ages.

Enuresis Urinary incontinence; wetting oneself.

Epilepsy A pattern of repeated seizures.

Episodic Occurring in episodes; a temporary condition that will pass but may recur.

Executive functions The ability to regulate one’s behavior through working memory, inner speech, control of emotions and arousal levels, and analysis of problems and communication of problem solutions to others; delayed or impaired in people with ADHD.

Expected growth norms Used with CBM; the rate at which the average student is expected to learn given typical instruction.

Expressive language Encoding or sending messages in communication.

External otitis An infection of the skin of the external auditory canal; also called swimmer’s ear.

Externalizing Acting-out behavior; aggressive or disruptive behavior that is observable as behavior directed toward others.

Extreme male brain A description sometimes applied to persons with autism based on some researchers claims that high levels of androgen (a hormone that is responsible for controlling the development of male characteristics) in amniotic fluid are more likely to result in autistic traits in children.

F Familiality studies A method of determining the degree to which a given condition is inherited; looks at the prevalance of the condition in relatives of the person with the condition.

Family activity settings Activities that families routinely engage in, such as mealtimes and seasonal celebrations; can be focal points for the implementation of PBSs.

Family-centered model A consumer-driven model that encourages the family to make its own decisions with respect to services while mobilizing resources and supports for the family’s goals.

Family characteristics A component of the Turnbulls’ family systems model; includes type and severity of the disability as well as such things as size, cultural background, and socioeconomic background of the family.

Family functions A component of the Turnbulls’ family systems model; includes such things as economic, daily care, social, medical, and educational needs.

Family interaction A component of the Turnbulls’ family systems model; refers to how cohesive and adaptable the family is.

Family life cycle A component of the Turnbulls’ family systems model; consists of birth and early childhood, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Family systems theory Stresses that the individual’s behavior is best understood in the context of the family and the family’s behavior is best understood in the context of other social systems.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) A range of disorders in children whose mothers consumed large quantities of alcohol during pregnancy.

Fetal alcohol spectrum (FAS) Abnormalities associated with the mother’s drinking alcohol during pregnancy; defects range from mild to severe, including growth retardation, brain damage, intellectual disability, hyperactivity, anomalies of the face, and heart failure; also called alcohol embryopathy.

Fingerspelling Spelling the English alphabet by various finger positions on one hand.

Fragile X syndrome A condition in which the bottom of the X chromosome in the twenty-third pair of chromosomes is pinched off; can result in a number of physical anomalies as well as intellectual disabilities; occurs more often in males than females; thought to be the most common hereditary cause of intellectual disabilities.

Free appropriate public education (FAPE) The primary intent of federal special education law, that the education of all children with disabilities will in all cases be free of cost to parents (i.e., at public expense) and appropriate for the particular student.

Frontal lobes Two lobes located in the front of the brain; responsible for executive functions; site of abnormal development in people with ADHD.

Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) Evaluation that consists of finding out the consequences (what purpose the behavior serves), antecedents (what triggers the behavior), and setting events (contextual factors) that maintain inappropriate behaviors.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) An adaptation of the MRI used to detect changes in the brain while it is in an active state; unlike a PET scan, it does not involve using radioactive materials.

Functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) An adaptation of the MRI used to detect changes in the brain while it is in an active state; unlike a PET scan, it does not involve using radioactive materials.

Functional vision assessment An appraisal of an individual’s use of vision in everyday situations.

G Genius A word sometimes used to indicate a particular aptitude or capacity in any area; rare intellectual powers.

Giftedness Refers to cognitive (intellectual) superiority, creativity, and motivation of sufficient magnitude to set the child apart from the vast majority of age peers and make it possible for the child to contribute something of particular value to society.

Glaucoma A condition often, but not always, due to excessive pressure in the eyeball; the cause is unknown; if untreated, blindness results.

Globus pallidus A structure in the basal ganglia of the brain; site of abnormal development in people with ADHD.

Graphic organizers A way of enhancing content visual displays using lines, cirdes, and boxes to organize information.

GLOSSARY

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Guardianship A legal term that gives a person the authority to make decisions for another person; can be full, limited, or temporary; applies in cases of parents who have children who have severe cognitive disabilities.

Gullibility An inclination to believe highly questionable statements or claims, despite scanty evidence; considered by some to be a key characteristic of persons with intellectual disabilities, especially those who are mildly intellectually disabled.

H Hand-over-hand guidance A tactile learning strategy for persons who are deaf-blind; the teacher places his or her hands over those of the person who is deaf-blind and guides them to explore objects.

Hand-under-hand guidance A tactile learning strategy for persons who are deaf-blind; the teacher places his or her hands underneath part of the student’s hand or hands while the child is exploring objects.

Heritability studies A method of determining the degree to which a condition is inherited; a comparison of the prevalence of a condition in identical (i.e., monozygotic, from the same egg) twins versus fraternal (i.e., dizygotic, from two eggs) twins.

Herpes simplex A viral disease that can cause cold sores or fever blisters; if it affects the genitals and is contracted by the mother-to-be in the later stages of fetal development, it can cause mental subnormality in the child.

Hertz (Hz) A unit of measurement of the frequency of sound; refers to the highness or lowness of a sound.

Hidden curriculum The dos and don’ts of social interactions that most people learn incidentally or with little instruction but that remain hidden for those with Asperger syndrome.

History A patient’s “story” of his or her functioning in life with respect to strengths and weaknesses; considered crucial by many physicians in the diagnosis of ADHD.

Homophenes Sounds that are different but that look the same with regard to movements of the face and lips (i.e., visible articulatory patterns).

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) The virus that leads to AIDS; a type of retrovirus that gradually disables the body’s immune system, eventually leading to AIDS. The virus has been detected in the bloodstream of a person who is said to be “HIV positive.”

Hydrocephalus A condition characterized by enlargement of the head because of excessive pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid.

Hyperactive child syndrome A term used to refer to children who exhibit inattention, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity; popular in the 1960s and 1970s.

Hyperopia Farsightedness; vision for near objects is affected; usually results when the eyeball is too short.

I In vitro fertilization The procedure of removing eggs from the mother, fertilizing them with the father’s sperm in a laboratory, then returning them to the mother’s uterus; used to help infertile couples conceive.

Inborn errors of metabolism Deficiencies in enzymes used to metabolize basic substances in the body, such as amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, or trace elements; can sometimes result in intellectual disabilities; PKU is an example.

Inclusion Mainstreaming; the idea of placing students with disabilities in general education classes and other school activities.

Incus The anvil-shaped bone in the ossicular chain of the middle ear.

Individualized education program (IEP) IDEA requires an IEP to be drawn up by the educational team for each exceptional child; the IEP must include a statement of present educational performance, instructional goals, educational services to be provided, and criteria and procedures for determining that the instructional objectives are being met.

Individualized family service plan (IFSP) A plan mandated by PL 99-457 to provide services for young children with disabilities (under three years of age) and their families; drawn up by professionals and parents; similar to an IEP for older children.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was enacted in 1990 and reauthorized in 1997 and 2004; it replaced PL 94-142, enacted in 1975. This federal law requires that to receive funds under the act, every school system in the nation must provide a free, appropriate public education for every child between the ages of three and twenty one, regardless of how or how seriously he or she may be disabled.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a federal law that guarantees services to individuals with disabilities. That law was reauthorized in 2004 and titled at that time the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act.

Informal reading inventory (IRI) A method of assessing reading in which the teacher has the student read progressively more difficult series of word lists and passages; the teacher notes the difficulty level of the material read and the types of errors the student makes.

Insight The ability to separate and/or combine various pieces of information in new, creative, and useful ways.

Intellectual disabilities The newer term for “mental retardation”; a disability in intelligence and adaptive behavior.

Interim alternative educational setting (IAES) A temporary placement outside general education for students whose behavior is extremely problematic, but in which their education is continued.

Internalizing Acting-in behavior; anxiety, fearfulness, withdrawal, and other indications of an individual’s mood or internal state.

IQ-achievement discrepancy Academic performance markedly lower than would be expected on the basis of a student’s intellectual ability.

Iris The colored portion of the eye; contracts or expands, depending on the amount of light striking it.

Itinerant teacher services Services for students who are visually impaired in which the special education teacher visits several different schools to work with students and their general education teachers; the students attend their local schools and remain in general education classrooms.

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J Job coach A person who assists adult workers with disabilities (especially those with intellectual disabilities), providing vocational assessment, instruction, overall planning, and interaction assistance with employers, family, and related government and service agencies.

Joint attention The process by which one person alerts another to a stimulus via nonverbal means, such as gazing or pointing.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis A systemic disease with major symptoms involving the muscles and joints.

K Kurzweil 1000 A computerized device that converts print into speech for persons with visual impairment; the user places the printed material over a scanner that then reads the material aloud by means of an electronic voice.

L Language An arbitrary code or system of symbols to communicate meaning.

Language disorders Oral communication that involves a lag in the ability to understand and express ideas, putting linguistic skill behind an individual’s development in other areas, such as motor, cognitive, or social development.

Language-based reading impairment A reading problem that is based on a language problem.

Large-print books Books having a font-size that is larger than the usual 10-point type; a popular size for large print books is 18-point type.

Larynx The structure in the throat containing the vocal apparatus (vocal cords); laryngitis is a temporary loss of voice caused by inflammation of the larynx.

Learned helplessness A motivational term referring to a condition in which a person believes that no matter how hard he or she tries, failure will result.

Least restrictive environment (LRE) A legal term referring to the fact that exceptional children must be educated in as normal an environment as possible.

Left temporal lobe An area on the left side of the brain; neuroimaging studies indicate it is responsible for speech, language, and reading abilities and is dysfunctional in persons with reading disabilities.

Legally blind A person who has visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye even with correction (e.g.; eyeglasses) or has a field of vision so narrow that its widest diameter subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees.

Lens A structure that refines and changes the focus of the light rays passing through the eye.

Literary braille Braille symbols used for most writing situations.

Locus of control A motivational term referring to how people explain their successes or failures; people with an internal locus of control believe that they are the reason for success or failure, whereas people with an external locus of control believe that outside forces influence how they perform.

Long cane A mobility aid used by individuals with visual impairment, who sweep it in a wide arc in front of them;

proper use requires considerable training; the mobility aid of choice for most travelers who are blind.

Low birth weight (LBW) Babies who are born weighing less than 5.5 pounds; usually premature; at risk for behavioral and medical conditions, such as intellectual disabilities.

Low vision A term used by educators to refer to individuals whose visual impairment is not so severe that they are unable to read print of any kind; they may read large or regular print, and they may need some kind of magnification.

M Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) A neuroimaging technique whereby radio waves are used to produce cross- sectional images of the brain; used to pinpoint areas of the brain that are dysfunctional.

Magnifying devices Often recommended for people with low vision; can be for close vision {e.g., handheld magnifier) or distance vision (e.g., monocular telescope or binocular telescope mounted on eyeglass frames).

Malleus The hammer-shaped bone in the ossicular chain of the middle ear.

Manifestation determination Determination that a student’s misbehavior is or is not a manifestation of a disability.

Maternal serum screening (MSS) A method of screening the fetus for developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome or spina bifida; a blood sample is taken from the mother and analyzed; if it is positive, a more accurate test such as amniocentesis or CVS is usually recommended.

Meningitis A bacterial or viral infection of the linings of the brain or spinal cord; can cause a number of disabilities.

Mental age Age level at which a person performs on an IQ test; used in comparison to chronological age to determine IQ. IQ � (mental age � chronological age) � 100.

Metacognition One’s understanding of the strategies available for learning a task and the regulatory mechanisms needed to complete the task.

Microcephalus A condition causing development of a small, conical-shaped head; proper development of the brain is prevented, resulting in intellectual disabilities.

Mild mental retardation or intellectual disability A classification used to specify an individual whose IQ is approximately 50–70.

Milieu teaching A naturalistic approach to language intervention in which the goal is to teach functional language skills in a natural environment.

Minimal brain injury A term used to describe a child who shows behavioral but not neurological signs of brain injury; the term is not as popular as it once was, primarily because of its lack of diagnostic utility (i.e., some children who learn normally show signs indicative of minimal brain injury); a term used to refer to children who exhibit inattention, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity; popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

Mixed hearing impairment A hearing impairment resulting from a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing impairments.

Mnemonics The use of memory-enhancing cues to help one remember something; techniques that aid memory, such as using rhymes, songs, or visual images to remember information.

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Moderate mental retardation or intellectual disabilities A classification used to specify an individual whose IQ is approximately 35–50.

Modifications Changes made in instruction or assessment to make it possible for a student with a disability to respond more normally.

Momentary time sampling An interval recording procedure used to capture a representative sample of a target behavior over a specified period of time.

Morphology The study within psycholinguistics of word formation; how adding or deleting parts of words changes their meaning.

Motor-speech disorder Loss or impairment of the ability to understand or formulate language because of accident or illness.

Multicultural education Aims to change educational institutions and curricula so they will provide equal educational opportunities to students regardless of their gender, social class, ethnicity, race, disability, or other cultural identity.

Muscular dystrophy A hereditary disease characterized by progressive weakness caused by degeneration of muscle fibers.

Mute Possessing no, or almost no, language; characteristic of many with autism.

Myopia Nearsightedness; vision for distant objects is affected; usually results when eyeball is too long.

N Native-language emphasis An approach to teaching language- minority pupils in which the student’s native language is used for most of the day and English is taught as a separate subject.

Natural supports Resources in person’s environment that can be used for support, such as friends, family, co-workers.

Nemeth Code Braille symbols used for mathematics and science.

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) A special unit in a hospital designed to provide around-the-clock monitoring and care of newborns who have severe physical problems; staffed by professionals from several disciplines, such as nursing, social work, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, and medicine; similar to an intensive care unit for older children and adults.

Neural tube defect Any defect involving the spinal cord.

Neurotoxin A substance known to damage nerve cells.

Neurotransmitters Chemicals involved in sending messages between neurons in the brain.

Neurotypicals A term coined by people with Asperger syndrome to describe people who do not have neurological disabilities.

NFB-Newsline® A free service available through the National Federation of the Blind, allows individuals to access magazines and newspapers 24 hours a day from any touch-tone telephone.

Night blindness A condition characterized by problems in seeing at low levels of illumination; often caused by retinitis pigmentosa.

Nonverbal learning disabilities A term used to refer to individuals who have a cluster of disabilities in social interaction, math, visual-spatial tasks, and tactual tasks.

Norepinephrine A neurotransmitter, the levels of which may be abnormal in people with ADHD.

Nuchal translucency sonogram A method of screening for Down syndrome; fluid from behind the fetus’s neck and protein from the mother’s blood are analyzed.

Nystagmus A condition in which there are rapid involuntary movements of the eyes; sometimes indicates a brain malfunction and/or inner-ear problems.

O Obstacle sense A skill possessed by some people who are blind, whereby they can detect the presence of obstacles in their environments; research has shown that it is not an indication of an extra sense, as popularly thought; it is the result of learning to detect subtle changes in the pitches of high-frequency echoes.

Open head injury A brain injury in which there is an open wound in the head, such as a gunshot wound or penetration of the head by an object, resulting in damage to brain tissue.

Optic nerve The nerve at the back of the eye, which sends visual information back to the brain.

Optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) A condition resulting in underdevelopment of the optic nerve; often accompanied by brain abnormalities, which can result in other problems (e.g., speech and/or cognitive disabilities); one of the most common causes of childhood blindness.

Oralism–manualism debate The controversy over whether the goal of instruction for students who are deaf should be to teach them to speak or to teach them to use sign language.

Orientation and mobility (O & M) skills The ability to have a sense of where one is in relation to other people, objects, and landmarks and to move through the environment.

Orthosis A device designed to restore, partially or completely, a lost function of the body (e.g., a brace or crutch).

Ossicles Three tiny bones (malleus, incus, and stapes) that together make possible an efficient transfer of sound waves from the eardrum to the oval window, which connects the middle ear to the inner ear.

Otitis media Inflammation of the middle ear.

Otoacoustic emissions Low-intensity sounds produced by the cochlea in response to auditory stimulation; used to screen hearing problems in infants and very young children.

Oval window The link between the middle and inner ears.

P Paradoxical effect of Ritalin The now discredited belief that Ritalin, even though a stimulant, acts to subdue a person’s behavior and that this effect of Ritalin is evident in people with ADHD but not in those without ADHD.

Paraplegia A condition in which both legs are paralyzed.

Partial participation An approach in which students with disabilities, while in the general education classroom, engage in the same activities as nondisabled students but on a reduced basis; the teacher adapts the activity to allow each student to participate as much as possible.

Peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS) Based on research- proven, best practices in reading, such as phonological awareness, decoding, and comprehension strategies. PALS

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involves the pairing of a higher performing student with a lower performing student, with the pairs then participating in highly structured tutoring sessions. The students take turns being the “coach” (tutor) and the “reader” (tutee).

Peer confederates Peers who assist the teacher.

Peer tutoring A method that can be used to integrate students with disabilities in general education classrooms, based on the notion that students can effectively tutor one another. The role of learner or teacher may be assigned to either the student with a disability or the nondisabled student.

Peer-mediated instruction The deliberate use of a student’s classroom peer(s) to assist in teaching an academic or social skill.

Perinatal The time of birth.

Perkins Brailler A system that makes it possible to write in braille; has six keys, one for each of the six dots of the cell, which leave an embossed print on the paper.

Perseveration A tendency to repeat behaviors over and over again; often found in people with brain injury, as well as those with ADHD.

Person-centered plan A method of planning for people with disabilities that places the person and his family at the center of the planning process.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) One of five autistic spectrum disorders; pervasive delay in development that does not fit into any of the other diagnostic categories.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) A metabolic genetic disorder caused by the inability of the body to convert phenylalanine to tyrosine; an accumulation of phenylalanine results in abnormal brain development.

Phonemic awareness One’s ability to understand that words are made up of sounds or phonemes.

Phonological awareness The ability to understand that speech flow can be broken into smaller sound units such as words, syllables, and phonemes; lack of such awareness is generally thought to be the reason for the reading problems of many students with learning disabilities.

Phonological disorders A phonological disorder is a disorder that occurs in children who are younger than 9 years old. The disorder results in the impaired ability to produce sounds in his or her own language.

Phonology The study of how individual sounds make up words.

Pivotal response teaching (PRT) Based on the assumption that some skills are critical, or pivotal, in order for the individual to be able to function in other areas.

Positive behavior intervention plan (BIP) A plan for changing behavior with an emphasis on positive reinforcement (rewarding) procedures.

Positive behavioral intervention and support (PBIS) Systematic use of the science of behavior to find ways of supporting desirable behavior rather than punishing the undesirable behavior; positive reinforcement (rewarding) procedures that are intended to support a student’s appropriate or desirable behavior.

Positive behavioral support (PBS) Positive reinforcement (rewarding) procedures intended to support a student’s appropriate or desirable behavior.

Positron emission tomography (PET) scans A computerized method for measuring bloodflow in the brain; during a cognitive task, a low amount of radioactive dye is injected in the brain; the dye collects in active neurons, indicating which areas of the brain are active.

Postlingual deafness Deafness occurring after the development of speech and language.

Postnatal The time after birth.

Practical intelligence Ability to solve everyday problems.

Prader-Willi syndrome Caused by inheriting from one’s father a lack of genetic material on the fifteenth pair of chromosomes; leading genetic cause of obesity; degree of intellectual disabilities varies, but the majority fall within the mildly intellectually disabled range.

Pragmatics The study within psycholinguistics of how people use language in social situations; emphasizes the functional use of language rather than the mechanics.

Precocity Remarkable early development.

Prefrontal lobes Two lobes located in the very front of the frontal lobes; responsible for executive functions; site of abnormal development in people with ADHD.

Prelingual deafness Deafness that occurs before the development of spoken language, usually at birth.

Prelinguistic communication Communication through gestures and noises before the child has learned oral language.

Prenatal The time before birth.

Prereferral teams (PRTs) Teams made up of a variety of professionals, especially general and special educators, who work with general education teachers to come up with strategies for teaching difficult-to-teach children. Designed to influence general educators to take ownership of difficult-to-teach students and to minimize inappropriate referrals to special education.

Primary language disorder A language disorder that has no known cause.

Profound mental retardation or intellectual disabilities A classification used to specify an individual whose IQ is below approximately 20.

Progressive A disease or condition that worsens over time and from which one seldom or never recovers with treatment.

Progressive time delay An instructional procedure whereby the teacher makes a request while simultaneously prompting the student and then over several occasions gradually increases the latency between the request and the prompt; often used with students with intellectual disabilities.

Prosthesis A device designed to replace, partially or completely, a part of the body (e.g., artificial teeth or limbs).

Psychoanalytic Related to psychoanalysis, including the assumptions that emotional or behavior disorders result primarily from unconscious conflicts and that the most effective preventive actions and therapeutic interventions involve uncovering and understanding unconscious motivations.

Psychostimulants Medications that activate dopamine levels in the frontal and prefrontal areas of the brain that control behavioral inhibition and executive functions; used to treat persons with ADHD.

Pupil The contractile opening in the middle of the iris of the eye.

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Pure-tone audiometry A test whereby tones of various intensities and frequencies are presented to determine a person’s hearing loss.

Q Quadriplegia A condition in which all four limbs are paralyzed.

R Raised dome detectable warnings Bumps in the pavement that are designed to alert people who are blind to unsafe areas.

Reading comprehension The ability to understand what one has read.

Reading fluency The ability to read effortlessly and smoothly; consists of the ability to read at a normal rate and with appropriate expression; influences one’s reading comprehension.

Receptive language Decoding or understanding messages in communication.

Reciprocal teaching A cognitive teaching strategy whereby the student gradually assumes the role of co-instructor for brief periods; the teacher models four strategies for the students to use: (1) predicting, (2) questioning, (3) summarizing, and (4) clarifying; a method in which students and teachers are involved in a dialogue to facilitate learning.

Refraction The bending of light rays as they pass through the structures (cornea, aqueous humor, pupil, lens, vitreous humor) of the eye

Repeated readings Students repeatedly (several times a week) read the same short passages aloud until they read at an appropriate pace with few or no errors.

Resonance The quality of the sound imparted by the size, shape, and texture of the organs in the vocal tract.

Response-to-intervention (RTI) or response-to-treatment approach A way of determining whether a student has a learning disability; increasingly intensive levels of instructional intervention are delivered, and if the student does not achieve, at some point, he or she is determined to have a learning disability or is referred for special education evaluation.

Retina The back portion of the eye, containing nerve fibers connected to the optic nerve.

Retinitis pigmentosa A hereditary condition resulting in degeneration of the retina; causes a narrowing of the field of vision and affects night vision.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) A condition resulting from administration of an excessive concentration of oxygen at birth; causes scar tissue to form behind the lens of the eye.

Ritalin The most commonly prescribed psychostimulant for ADHD; its generic name is methylphenidate.

Rubella (German measles) A serious viral disease, which, if it occurs during the first trimester of pregnancy, is likely to cause a deformity in the fetus.

S Scaffolded instruction Teachers provide assistance to students when they are first learning tasks and then gradually reduce it so that eventually students do the tasks independently.

Scoliosis An abnormal curvature of the spine.

Screening instruments Quick measures administered to determine who may need further assessment.

Screen reader Software for computers that magnifies images on the screen and/or converts text on the screen to speech.

Secondary language disorder A language disorder that is caused by another disorder or disability, such as intellectual disabilities, hearing impairment, or brain injury.

Seizure (convulsion) A sudden alteration of consciousness, usually accompanied by motor activity and/or sensory phenomena; caused by an abnormal discharge of electrical energy in the brain.

Self-determination Having control over one’s life, not having to rely on others for making choices about one’s quality of life; develops over one’s life span.

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) Behavior causing injury or mutilation of oneself, such as self-biting or head-banging; usually seen in individuals with severe and multiple disabilities.

Self-instruction A type of cognitive training technique that requires individuals to talk aloud and then to themselves as they solve problems.

Self-monitoring A type of cognitive training technique that requires individuals to keep track of their own behavior.

Self-regulation Refers generally to a person’s ability to regulate his or her own behavior (e.g., to employ strategies to help in a problem-solving situation); an area of difficulty for persons who are intellectually disabled.

Self-stimulation Any repetitive, stereotyped activity that seems only to provide sensory feedback.

Semantics The study of the meanings attached to words and sentences.

Sensorineural hearing impairment A hearing impairment, usually severe, resulting from malfunctioning of the inner ear.

Severe mental retardation or intellectual disabilities A classification used to specify an individual whose IQ is approximately 20–35.

Sheltered workshop A facility that provides a structured environment for people with disabilities in which they can learn skills; can be either a transitional placement or a permanent arrangement.

Sheltered-English approach A method in which language- minority students are taught all their subjects in English at a level that is modified constantly according to individuals’ needs.

Short-term memory (STM) The ability to recall information after a short period of time.

Sign language A manual language used by people who are deaf to communicate; a true language with its own grammar.

Signing English systems Used simultaneously with oral methods in the total communication approach to teaching students who are deaf; different from American Sign Language because the signs maintain the same word order as spoken English.

Simultaneous communication The use of both manual and oral communication by people who are deaf.

Slate and stylus A method of writing in braille in which the paper is held in a slate while a stylus is pressed through openings to make indentations in the paper.

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GLOSSARY

Sleep apnea Cessation of breathing while sleeping.

Snellen chart Used in determining visual acuity; consists of rows of letters or Es arranged in different positions; each row corresponds to the distance at which a normally sighted person can discriminate the letters; does not predict how accurately a child will be able to read print.

Social support Emotional, informational, or material aid provided to a person or a family; this informal means of aid can be very valuable in helping families of children with disabilities.

Spasticity Characterized by muscle stiffness and problems in voluntary movement; associated with spastic cerebral palsy.

Specific language impairment (SLI) A language disorder with no identifiable cause; language disorder not attributable to hearing impairment, intellectual disabilities, brain dysfunction, or other plausible cause; also called specific language disability.

Speech The formation and sequencing of oral language sounds during communication.

Speech audiometry A technique that tests a person’s detection and understanding of speech, rather than using pure tones to detect hearing loss.

Speech disorders Oral communication that involves abnormal use of the vocal apparatus, is unintelligible, or is so inferior that it draws attention to itself and causes anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, or inappropriate behavior in the speaker.

Speech-language pathologist (SLP) Speech-language pathologists work with individuals who have disorders related to speech, language, communication, swallowing, voice, or fluency. SLPs may work in the heath care profession or in schools. SLPs assess, diagnose, and treat individuals with speech and language disorders.

Speech-reception threshold (SRT) The decibel level at which a person can understand speech.

Speechreading A method that involves teaching children to use visual information from a number of sources to understand what is being said to them; more than just lipreading, which uses only visual clues arising from the movement of the mouth in speaking.

Spina bifida A congenital midline defect resulting from failure of the bony spinal column to close completely during fetal development.

Stapes The stirrup-shaped bone in the ossicular chain of the middle ear.

Stereotyped motor or verbal behaviors Repetitive, ritualistic motor behaviors such as twirling, spinning objects, flapping the hands, and rocking, similar to those that are evident in some people who are blind.

Strabismus A condition in which the eyes are directed inward (crossed eyes) or outward.

Strattera A nonstimulant medication for ADHD; affects the neurotransmitter norepinephrine.

Strauss syndrome Behaviors of distractibility, forced responsiveness to stimuli, and hyperactivity; based on the work of Alfred Strauss and Heinz Werner with children with intellectual disabilities.

Stuttering Speech characterized by abnormal hesitations, prolongations, and repetitions; may be accompanied by grimaces, gestures, or other bodily movements indicative of a

struggle to speak, anxiety, blocking of speech, or avoidance of speech.

Subculture A culture that is associated with or part of a larger culture; a culture that is not the entire culture of a nation or other entity. Sometimes called “microculture,” but a subculture is not necessarily small or a minority of a larger culture.

Summary of performance (SOP) Now required by federal law, schools must develop an SOP for each student with a disability as the student exits secondary school whether by graduating or exceeding the age of eligibility. SOPs are designed to provide a summary of relevant information, such as assessment reports; accommodations that have been provided; and recommendations for future accommodations, assistive technology, and support services for use in employment, training, or postsecondary schooling.

Supported competitive employment A workplace where adults who are disabled earn at least minimum wage and receive ongoing assistance from a specialist or job coach; the majority of workers in the workplace are nondisabled.

Supported employment A method of integrating people with disabilities who cannot work independently into competitive employment; includes use of an employment specialist, or job coach, who helps the person with a disability function on the job.

Supported living An approach to living arrangements for those with disabilities and/or intellectual disabilities that stresses living in natural settings rather than institutions, big or small.

Supports Resources and strategies that promote a person’s development, education, interests, and personal well-being; critical to the AAIDD’s conceptualization of intellectual disabilities.

Synaesthesia Occurs when the stimulation of one sensory or cognitive system results in the stimulation of another sensory or cognitive system.

Syntax The way words are joined together to structure meaningful sentences; grammar.

Syphilis A venereal disease that can cause mental subnormality in a child, especially if it is contracted by the mother-to-be during the latter stages of fetal development.

Systematic instruction Teaching that involves instructional prompts, consequences for performance, and transfer of stimulus control; often used with students with intellectual disabilities.

T Tactile map An embossed representation of the environment that people who are blind can use to orient themselves to their surroundings.

Talent Ordinarily has been used to indicate a special ability, aptitude, or accomplishment.

Task analysis The procedure of breaking down an academic task into its component parts for the purpose of instruction; a major feature of Direct Instruction.

Text telephone (TT) A device connected to a telephone by a special adapter; allows communication over the telephone between people who are hearing impaired and those with hearing; sometimes referred to as a TTY (teletype) or TTD (telecommunication device for the deaf).

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GLOSSARY

Theory of mind The ability to take another’s perspective in a social exchange; the ability to infer another person’s feelings, intentions, desires, etc.; impaired in those with ASD.

Tiered assignment Assignments varying in difficulty but on a single topic.

Total communication approach An approach for teaching students with hearing impairment that blends oral and manual techniques.

Touch cues Tactual signals used to communicate with persons who are deaf-blind; can be used to signify a variety of messages.

Toxins Poisons in the environment that can cause fetal malformations; can result in cognitive impairments.

Transition plan A plan defined in the student’s IEP that specifies a students’ goals and services related to transitioning from high school to post-high school experiences. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that the IEP include the transition plan before the age of 16.

Transliteration A method used by most sign language interpreters in which the signs maintain the same word order as that of spoken English; American Sign Language (ASL) is also used by some interpreters.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) Injury to the brain (not including conditions present at birth, birth trauma, or degenerative diseases or conditions) resulting in total or partial disability or psychosocial maladjustment that affects educational performance; may affect cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgment, problem solving, sensory or perceptual and motor disabilities, psychosocial behavior, physical functions, information processing, or speech.

Traveling notebook A system of communication in which parents and professionals write messages to each other by way of a notebook or log that accompanies the child to and from school.

Trisomy 21 A type of Down syndrome in which the twenty- first chromosome is a triplet, making forty-seven, rather than the normal forty-six, chromosomes in all.

Tunnel vision A condition characterized by problems in peripheral vision, or a narrowing of the field of vision.

Twice exceptional Possession of both a disability and a special gift or talent.

Tympanic membrane (eardrum) The anatomical boundary between the outer and middle ears; the sound gathered in the outer ear vibrates here.

Tympanometry A method of measuring the middle ear’s response to pressure and sound.

U Unified English Braille A combination of literary braille and braille codes for technical fields, such as the Nemeth Code for science and mathematics; not yet widely adopted.

Universal design The design of new buildings, tools, and instructional programs to make them usable by the widest possible population of potential users.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Designing lessons that are appropriate for all learners.

Usher syndrome An inherited syndrome resulting in hearing loss and retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive condition characterized by problems in seeing in low light and tunnel vision; there are three different types of Usher syndrome, differing with respect to when it occurs developmentally and the range of the major symptoms of hearing impairment, vision impairment, and balance problems.

V Vestibular mechanism Located in the upper portion of the inner ear; consists of three soft, semicircular canals filled with a fluid; sensitive to head movement, acceleration, and other movements related to balance.

Video relay service (VRS) A service, using a sign language interpreter, a video camera or computer, and an internet connection, that allows persons who are deaf to communicate with those who are hearing.

Visual acuity The ability to see fine details; usually measured with the Snellen chart.

Vitreous humor A transparent, gelatinous substance that fills the eyeball between the retina and the lens of the eye.

Vyvanse A stimulant that is sometimes prescribed to treat symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.

W Williams syndrome A condition resulting from deletion of material in the seventh pair of chromosomes; often results in mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, heart defects, and elfin facial features; people affected often display surprising strengths in spoken language and sociability while having severe deficits in spatial organization, reading, writing, and math.

Working memory (WM) The ability to remember information while also performing other cognitive operations.

Wraparound service systems Involve using not only educational services but available community services (e.g., mental health, social welfare, juvenile justice, and so forth) in order to meet the individualized needs of children and their families.

Z Zero tolerance A school policy, supported by federal and state laws, that having possession of any weapon or drug on school property will automatically result in a given penalty (usually suspension or expulsion) regardless of the nature of the weapon or drug or any extenuating circumstances.

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Exceptionality and Special Education

From Chapter 1 of Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education, 12/e. Daniel P. Hallahan. James M. Kauffman. Paige C. Pullen. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

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Exceptionality and Special Education

Lori Whitley/Merrill

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Q U E S T I O N S to guide your reading of this chapter . . . • How can we get oriented to exceptionality and special education? • What is the educational definition of exceptional learners? • What is the prevalence of exceptional learners? • What is the definition of special education? • What are the history and origins of special education? • What legislation and litigation have affected special education? • What is our perspective on the progress of special education?

Only the brave dare look upon the gray—

upon the things which cannot be explained easily,

upon the things which often engender mistakes,

upon the things whose cause cannot be understood,

upon the things we must accept and live with.

And therefore only the brave dare look upon difference

without flinching.

Richard H. Hungerford • “On Locusts”

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EXCEPTIONALITY AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

M I S C O N C E P T I O N S A B O U T Exceptional Learners MYTH • Public schools may choose not to provide education for some students with disabilities.

FACT • Federal legislation specifies that to receive federal funds, every school system must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for every student, regardless of any disabling condition.

MYTH • The causes of most disabilities are known, but little is known about how to help individu- als overcome or compensate for their disabilities.

FACT • In most cases, the causes of disabilities are not known, although progress is being made in pinpointing why many disabilities occur. More is known about the treatment of most disabilities than about their causes.

MYTH • People with disabilities are just like everyone else.

FACT • First, no two people are exactly alike. People with disabilities are unique individuals, just like everyone else. In most cases, most of their abilities are much like those of the average person who is not considered to have a disability. Nevertheless, a disability is a characteristic that is not shared by most people. It is important that disabilities be recognized for what they are, but individ- uals with disabilities must be seen as having many abilities—other characteristics that they share with the majority of people.

MYTH • A disability is a handicap.

FACT • A disability is an inability to do something, the lack of a specific capacity. A handicap, on the other hand, is a disadvantage that is imposed on an individual. A disability might or might not be a handicap, depending on the circumstances. For example, the inability to walk is not a handi- cap in learning to read, but it can be a handicap in getting into the stands at a ball game. Some- times handicaps are needlessly imposed on people with disabilities. For example, a student who cannot write with a pen but can use a typewriter or word processor would be needlessly handi- capped without such equipment.

To check your comprehension on the content covered in Chapter 1, go to the Book- Specific Resources in the MyEducationLab (www .myeducationlab.com) for your course, select your text, and complete the Study Plan. Here you will be able to take a chapter quiz, receive feedback on your answers, and then access review, practice, and enrichment activities to enhance your understanding of chapter content. ■

The study of exceptional learners is the study of differences. The exceptionallearner differs in some way from the average. In very simple terms, such a personmight have problems or special talents in thinking, seeing, hearing, speaking, so- cializing, or moving. More often than not, he has a combination of special abilities or disabilities. Today, more than 6 million learners with these differences have been iden- tified in public schools throughout the United States. More than 1 of every 10 school-age students in the United States is considered exceptional. The fact that even many so-called normal students have school-related problems makes the study of exceptionality very demanding.

The study of exceptional learners is also the study of similarities. Exceptional indi- viduals are not different from the average in every way. In fact, most exceptional learn- ers are average in more ways than they are not. Until recently, professionals—and laypeople as well—tended to focus on the differences between exceptional and nonex- ceptional learners, almost to the exclusion of the ways in which all individuals are alike. Today, we give more attention to what exceptional and nonexceptional learners have in common—to similarities in their characteristics, needs, and ways of learning. As a result, the study of exceptional learners has become more complex, and many so-called facts about children and youths with disabilities and those who have special gifts or talents have been challenged.

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GETTING ORIENTED TO EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION Students of one of the hard sciences might boast about the difficulty of the subject matter because of the many facts they must remember and piece together. Students of special ed- ucation face quite different problems. To be sure, they study facts, but the facts they must master are relatively few compared to the unanswered questions or ambiguities with which they must deal. Any study of human beings must take into account inherent ambiguities, inconsistencies, and unknowns. In the case of the individual who deviates from the norm, we must multiply all the mysteries of normal human behavior and development by those pertaining to the person’s exceptionalities. Because no single theory of normal develop- ment is universally accepted, it is not at all surprising that relatively few definite statements can be made about exceptional learners and many controversies remain (Kauffman, 2008; Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005a, 2011).

Reasons for Optimism Patches of sunlight now shine in the bleak gray painted by Hungerford (1950) in his classic but still highly relevant poem quoted in this chapter’s opening page. In the vast majority of cases, professionals are unable to identify the exact reason why a person is exceptional but are making progress in determining the causes of some disabilities. Later, we will discuss the detection of causal factors in Down syndrome, a condition that results in the largest num- ber of children classified as having moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities (men- tal retardation, which is now called either intellectual disability, ID, or intellectual and developmental disability, IDD). Likewise, the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity, at one time a leading cause of blindness, has been greatly reduced since the discovery of its cause. The metabolic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) was discovered decades ago, and now infants are routinely tested for PKU soon after birth, so that this type of intellectual dis- ability can be prevented. More recently, the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis—an inher- ited condition characterized by chronic respiratory and digestive problems—has been identified. Advances in drug treatments appear to hold the potential for a cure for muscular dystrophy, another inherited disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of muscles (Welch et al., 2007). In the future, the specific genes governing many other diseases and disor- ders will also likely be found. Scientific advances raise the possibility of medications or gene therapies to prevent or correct many disabling conditions. Physicians can now perform surgery to correct some identifiable defects on a fetus before birth (in utero), completely avoiding some conditions, such as hydrocephalus (an accumulation of fluid around the brain that can cause mental or physical disabilities if not corrected). And before long, research might lead to the abil- ity to grow new organs from tissues taken from a person or from stem cells, perhaps allowing replacement of a poorly functioning lung, pancreas, or other internal organ and avoidance of the associated physical disabilities. Advances in reproductive technology also hold promise for preventing many disabilities (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2009).

Besides these and other medical breakthroughs, research is enhancing understanding of the ways in which the individual’s psychological, social, and educational environments are related to learning. For example, special educators, psychologists, and pediatricians are increasingly able to identify environmental conditions that increase the likelihood that a child will have learning or behavior problems (see Bolger & Patterson, 2001; Hallahan, Lloyd, Kauffman, Weiss, & Martinez, 2005; Hart & Risley, 1995; Kauffman & Landrum, 2009; Walker & Sprague, 2007).

Educational methodology has also made strides. In fact, compared to current knowl- edge about causes, the knowledge about how exceptional learners can be taught and man- aged effectively in the classroom is much more complete. Although special educators lament that not all the questions have been answered, considerably more is known today about how to educate exceptional learners than was the case years ago (e.g., Hallahan et al., 2005; Heward, 2003; Kauffman & Hallahan, 2011; Lloyd, Forness, & Kavale, 1998; Stichter, Con- roy, & Kauffman, 2008).

INTERNETRESOURCES

You might Google “advances in treatment of disability” to see what you turn up. Or, you might go to http://www .childrensdisabilities.info/ parenting/batshaw.html for an interview with a prominent physician who has written widely about disabilities. ■ ■ ■

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Before moving to the specific subject of exceptional learners, we must point out that we vehemently disagree with Hunger- ford on an important point: We all must certainly learn to live with disabling excep- tionalities, but we must never accept them. We prefer to think there is hope for the eventual eradication of many of the dis- abling forms of exceptionality. In addition, we believe that it is of paramount impor- tance to realize that even individuals whose exceptionalities are extreme can be helped to lead fuller lives than they would without appropriate education.

The Importance of Abilities Many people with disabilities have abili- ties that go unrecognized because their disabilities become the focus of concern and distract attention from what the indi- vidual can do. We must study the disabili-

ties of exceptional children and youths if we are to learn how to help them make maximum use of their abilities in school. Some students with disabilities that are not ob- vious to the casual observer need special programs of education and related services to help them live full, happy, productive lives. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the most important characteristics of exceptional learners are their abilities, not their disabilities.

Disability Versus Handicap We recognize an important distinction between disability and handicap: A disability is an inability to do something, a diminished capacity to perform in a specific way (an impair- ment); a handicap, however, is a disadvantage imposed on an individual. Thus, a disabil- ity might or might not be a handicap, depending on the circumstances. Likewise, a handicap might or might not be caused by a disability. For example, blindness is a disabil- ity that can be anything but a handicap in the dark. In fact, in the dark, the person who has sight is the one who is handicapped. Needing to use a wheelchair might be a handicap in certain circumstances, but the disadvantage may be caused by architectural barriers or other people’s reactions, not the inability to walk. Other people can handicap those who differ from themselves (in color, size, appearance, language, and so on) by stereotyping them or not giving them opportunities to do the things they are able to do. When working and liv- ing with exceptional individuals who have disabilities, we must constantly strive to sepa- rate their disabilities from the handicaps. That is, our goal should be to confine the handicaps to those characteristics and circumstances that can’t be changed and to make sure that we impose no further handicaps by our attitudes or our unwillingness to accom- modate their disabilities.

Disability Versus Inability Another important distinction is that between inability and disability. All disabilities are an inability to do something. However, not every inability to do something is a disability. That is, disability is a subset of inability: “A disability is an inability to do something that most people, with typical maturation, opportunity, or instruction, can do” (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005a, p. 30; see also Stichter et al., 2008). Consider age and ability. Most

We must not allow people’s disabilities to keep us from recognizing their abilities or to become so much the focus of our concern that we overlook their capabilities. © Robin Nelson/PhotoEdit

You can visit the site of the World Congress on Disabilities at http://www.thewcd.org (or simply Google “World Congress on Disabilities”). For news about special education, you might go to http://www .specialeducationews .com ■■■

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6-month-old infants cannot walk or talk, but they are not thought of as having a disabil- ity because their inability is age appropriate. However, if that inability extends well past the time when most children learn to walk and talk, then we consider their inability a dis- ability. Consider the role of instruction. An adult’s inability to read is not a reading dis- ability if she or he has not had reading instruction. Weigh the factor of typical adult human abilities. A typical adult male might not be able to lift 400 pounds, but this isn’t consid- ered a disability, because most men simply can’t lift 400 pounds. Judging inability in the context of old age, the average 70-year-old can’t run 10 miles, but most 70-year-olds can walk a considerable distance. Not being able to run 10 miles is not considered a disabil- ity for a 70-year-old, but being unable to walk at all is. The point is, simply, that disabil- ity is a significant difference from what we expect most people to be able to do, given their age, opportunities, and instruction.

EDUCATIONAL DEFINITION OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS For purposes of education, exceptional learners are those who require special education and related services if they are to realize their full human potential (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005a). They require special education because they differ markedly from most students in one or more of the following ways: They may have intellectual disabilities, learning or at- tention disabilities, emotional or behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, disorders of communication, autism, traumatic brain injury, impaired hearing, impaired sight, or special gifts or talents. The chapters that follow define as exactly as possible what it means to have an exceptionality.

Two concepts are important to this educational definition of exceptional learners: (1) diversity of characteristics and (2) need for special education. The concept of diver- sity is inherent in the definition of exceptionality; the need for special education is inher- ent in an educational definition. Exceptional learners differ from most (typical or average) individuals in a particular way that is relevant to their education. Their particular educa- tionally relevant difference demands instruction that differs from what most (typical or av- erage) learners require (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005a; Kauffman & Konold, 2007; Stichter et al., 2008).

Consider the case described in the accompanying Personal Perspectives feature. Doug Landis’s exquisite drawings and paintings of wildlife illustrate how the focus on persons with disabilities must be on what they can do rather than on how they are limited.

Many interesting films are made about and by people with disabilities. You may want to see some of these films and preview them at http://www.gosprout.org/ touring. To find out more about Sprout as an organization, go to http:// www.gosprout.org ■■■

Personal PERSPECTIVES Doug Landis

Doug Landis became quadriplegic (paralyzed from the neck down) in high school as a result of a wrestling accident. His brother thought he was watching too much television and challenged him to start drawing by putting a pencil in his mouth. Using a pencil attached to a mouth stick, Doug has become a major artist whose detailed line drawings of wildlife are highlighted, but he is gifted at drawing many things. He has also made short animated films. You may want to visit his Website at http://www.mouthart.com/mouthart/ or explore www.vdmfk.com

By the courtesy of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Worldwide.

By the courtesy of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Worldwide.

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Sometimes seemingly obvious disabilities are never identified, and the consequences for the person and her family, as well as for the larger society, are tragic (Kauffman & Brigham, 2009). Sometimes disabilities are identified but special education is not provided, and opportunities for the child’s development are thus squandered. Although early identi- fication and intervention hold the promise of preventing many disabilities from becoming worse, preventive action often is not taken (Kauffman, 1999b, 2005; Kauffman & Brigham, 2009; Stichter et al., 2008).

Consider the case of author Martha Randolph Carr (Carr, 2004). She describes her son’s learning disability (related to his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and her own in- ability, until he was in high school, to see the disability. Her unwillingness to see his dis- ability was motivated by the typical objections: labels and self-image.

When Louie was in first grade it became obvious to me that he was having difficulty reading. To avoid labels being placed on my young son, I did what I thought was best: I started reading to Louie. . . . Through elementary and middle school, Louie grew into a thoughtful, intelligent, articulate boy who earned mostly Bs, but who had trouble comprehending the little he could read. No one else knew, and Louie and I rarely talked about it.

His reading difficulty was the only problem I saw, and I accepted that everything else was fine. I told myself that I was doing the right thing because Louie might feel badly about himself if he thought there was something wrong and because main- stream colleges wouldn’t accept a kid with learning disabilities. Fortunately, time and high school caught up with both of us.

Finally, in high school, Ms. Carr and Louie could no longer cover up his disability. But his response to recognizing his disability—to its finally being diagnosed—was very different from what she had anticipated.

When I told Louie about the diagnosis, he didn’t look hurt or confused. Instead, his face relaxed and he shouted, “You mean I’m not stupid?!” I was so taken aback that I started to cry. Louie said, still very relieved, “Were you worried, too?” I cried harder.

By denying the truth to myself and thus keeping it from Louie, I had left him with the only other plausible answer that he could come up with as to why he always worked so much harder than his friends and didn’t get the same grades.

Special education does not always work as it should, but when it does, educators iden- tify a student’s disability early and provide effective special education in the least restrictive environment. The student’s parents are involved in the decision about how to address the student’s needs, and the outcome of special education is the student’s improved achieve- ment and behavior.

Students with exceptionalities are an extraordinarily diverse group in comparison to the general population, and relatively few generalizations apply to all exceptional individ- uals. Their exceptionalities can involve sensory, physical, cognitive, emotional, or commu- nication abilities or any combination of these. Furthermore, exceptionalities may vary greatly in cause, degree, and effect on educational progress, and the effects may vary greatly depending on the individual’s age, sex, and life circumstances. Any individual presented as an example of an “exceptional learner” is likely to be representative of exceptional learn- ers in some respects but unrepresentative in others.

The typical student who receives special education has no immediately obvious dis- ability. He (more than half of the students served by special education are males) is in ele- mentary or middle school and has persistent problems in learning and behaving appropriately in school. His problems are primarily academic and social or behavioral and may not be apparent to many teachers until they have worked with him for a period of weeks or months. His problems persist despite teachers’ efforts to meet his needs in the regular school program in which most students succeed. He is most likely to be described as having a learning disability or to be designated by an even broader label indicating that his academic and social progress in school is unsatisfactory owing to a disability.

By federal law, schools should not identify these exceptional students as eligible for special education until careful assessment indicates that they are unable to make satisfac- tory progress in the regular school program without special services designed to meet their

You might Google Martha Randolph Carr to find out more about her and her writing or visit her Facebook page. Her home site is http:// www.martharandolphcarr.com

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extraordinary needs (Huefner, 2006). Federal special education laws and regulations include definitions of several conditions (categories such as learning disability, autism, and hearing impairment) that might create a need for special education. These laws and regulations require that schools provide special services to meet whatever special needs are created by a disabling condition that can’t be met in the regular educational program. The law doesn’t require provision of special education simply because a student has a disability.

PREVALENCE OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS Prevalence refers to the percentage of a population or number of individuals having a par- ticular exceptionality. The prevalence of intellectual disability, for example, might be esti- mated at 2.3%, which means that 2.3% of the population, or 23 people in every 1,000, are assumed to have intellectual disabilities. If the prevalence of giftedness is assumed to be be- tween 3% and 5%, then somewhere between 30 and 50 people in a sample of 1,000 would have special gifts of some kind. Obviously, accurate estimates of prevalence depend on the ability to count the number of people in a given population who have a certain exceptionality.

The task of determining the number of students with exceptionalities might appear simple enough, yet the prevalence of most exceptionalities is uncertain and a matter of con- siderable controversy. Multiple factors make it hard to state the number of exceptional indi- viduals with great accuracy and confidence. These factors include vagueness in definitions, frequent changes in definitions, and the role of schools in determining exceptionality— matters that we discuss in later chapters (see also Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005a, 2011).

Government figures show that about 10 of every 100 students were receiving special education in the early 21st century (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). Beginning in the mid-1970s, the number of students served by special education grew steadily, from about 3.75 million in 1976 to more than 6 million in the early 21st century. Most of the children and youths who are served by special education are between the ages of 6 and 17. Although preschoolers and youths ages 18 to 21 are being identified with increasing frequency as having disabilities, school-age children and youths in their early teens make up the bulk of the identified population.

The percentage of the special education population identified as having certain disabil- ities has changed considerably over several decades. For example, the number of students identified as having learning disabilities has more than doubled since the mid-1970s; these students now make up about half of the number of students receiving special education. In contrast, the percentage of students whose primary disability is speech or language impair- ments declined substantially (but is grow- ing again), and the percentage identified as having intellectual disabilities is now about half of what it was in 1976. No one has an entirely satisfactory explanation of these changes. However, they might in part reflect alterations in definitions and diagnostic criteria for certain disabilities and the social acceptability of the “learn- ing disability” label. In subsequent chap- ters, we discuss the prevalence of specific categories of exceptionality.

High-Incidence and Low-Incidence Categories Some disabilities occur with a relatively high frequency and are called high- incidence disabilities because they are among the most common. Learning disabilities, communication (speech and

INTERNETRESOURCES

For annual reports to Congress on implementation of federal special education law, go to http://www2.ed .gov/about/reports/annual/ osep/index.html ■■■

The identification of autism or autistic spectrum disorder has increased dramatically, probably representing improved identification procedures and identification of milder cases of autism, not an epidemic. Courtesy of AbleNet, Inc.

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language) disorders, emotional disturbance, and mild intellectual disabilities are among those usually considered high incidence (Stichter et al., 2008). Other disabilities (such as low vision and blindness, deafness, deaf-blindness, and severe intellectual disabilities) oc- cur relatively rarely and are considered low-incidence disabilities.

Although the rates of occurrence of most of the high-incidence disabilities have re- mained relatively stable in the early 21st century, some of the low-incidence categories have increased dramatically. For example, the identification of autism or autistic spectrum dis- order has increased dramatically since about 1995 (see Stichter et al., 2008). Other low-in- cidence categories showing a substantial increase in numbers include traumatic brain injury (TBI) and orthopedic impairments; much of this is due to increases in spinal cord injury and in survival of severe physical trauma owing to better medical care.

Much of the increase in diagnosis of autism probably represents improved identification procedures and identification of milder cases of autism, not an epidemic (National Research Council, 2001). Although some of the increase in TBI might represent better diagnosis, it might also reflect actual increases in brain injuries. Increases in orthopedic impairments might re- flect the increasing survival rates of infants born with significant physical anomalies and of children involved in accidents. Increases in hearing and vision impairments might represent better diagnosis of these disabilities, too.

DEFINITION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION Special education means specially designed instruction that meets the unusual needs of an exceptional student (see Huefner, 2006) and that might require special materials, teaching techniques, or equipment and/or facilities. Students with visual impairments might require reading materials in large print or braille; students with hearing impairments might require hearing aids and/or instruction in sign language; those with physical disabilities might need special equipment; those with emotional or behavioral disorders might need smaller and more highly structured classes; and students with special gifts or talents might require ac- cess to working professionals. Related services—special transportation, psychological as- sessment, physical and occupational therapy, medical treatment, and counseling—might be necessary if special education is to be effective. The single most important goal of special education is finding and capitalizing on exceptional students’ abilities.

The best general education cannot replace special education; special education is more precisely controlled in pace or rate, intensity, relentlessness, structure, reinforcement, teacher pupil ratio, curriculum, and monitoring or assessment (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005a; Kauffman & Landrum, 2007). We think it’s a good idea to improve the education of all children, an objective of the federal education laws of the early 21st century. However, good or reformed general education does not and cannot replace special education for those students at the extremes of the range of disabilities (Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005a; Kauffman & Konold, 2007; Kauffman & Wiley, 2004; Zigmond, 2007; Zigmond & Kloo, 2011; Zigmond, Kloo, & Volonino, 2009).

HISTORY AND ORIGINS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION There have always been exceptional learners, but there haven’t always been special edu- cational services to address their needs (see Holmes, 2004; Metzler, 2006). During the clos- ing years of the 18th century, following the American and French Revolutions, effective procedures were devised for teaching children with sensory impairments (i.e., those who were blind or deaf; Winzer, 1993). Early in the 19th century, the first systematic attempts were made to educate “idiotic” and “insane” children—those who today are said to have intellectual disabilities and emotional or behavioral disorders (or emotional distur- bance; Kauffman & Landrum, 2006; Stichter et al., 2008).

In the prerevolutionary era, the best that society offered most children with disabilities was protection—asylum from a cruel world into which they didn’t fit and in which they couldn’t survive with dignity, if they could survive at all. But as the ideas of democracy, in-

You may want to learn more about the history of special education by going to http:// www.disabilityhistory.org or npr.org/programs/disability Another good site is http:// www.museumofdisability.org

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dividual freedom, and egalitarianism swept across America and France, a change in attitude occurred. Political reformers and leaders in medicine and education began to champion the cause of children and adults with disabilities, urging that these “imperfect” or “incomplete” individuals be taught skills that would allow them to become independent, productive citi- zens. These humanitarian sentiments surpassed a desire to protect and defend people with disabilities. The early leaders sought to normalize exceptional people to the greatest extent possible and confer on them the human dignity they presumably lacked.

Contemporary educational methods for exceptional children can be traced directly to techniques pioneered during the early 1800s. Many (perhaps most) of today’s vital, con- troversial issues have been issues ever since the dawn of special education. Some con- temporary writers believe that the history of special education is critically important to understanding today’s issues and should receive more attention because of the lessons we can learn from our past (e.g., Gerber, 2011; Kauffman, 1999a; Kauffman & Landrum, 2006). In our discussion of some of the major historical events and trends since 1800, we comment briefly on the history of people and ideas, the growth of the discipline, profes- sional and parent organizations, and legislation.

People and Ideas Most of the originators of special education were European physicians. They were primar- ily young, ambitious people who challenged the wisdom of the established authorities, in- cluding their own friends and mentors (Kanner, 1964; see also Kauffman & Landrum, 2006; Stichter et al., 2008).

Most historians trace the beginning of special education as we know it today to Jean- Marc-Gaspard Itard (1775–1838), a French physician who was an authority on diseases of the ear and on the education of deaf students. In the early years of the 19th century, this young doctor began to educate a boy of about 12 years of age who had been found roaming naked and wild in the forests of France (sometimes referred to as the “wild child” or the “wild boy of Avyron”). Itard’s mentor, Philippe Pinel (1745–1826), a prominent French physician who was an early ad- vocate of humane treatment of “insane” people, advised Itard that his efforts would be unsuccessful because the boy, Victor, was a “hopeless idiot.” But Itard persevered. He did not eliminate Victor’s disabilities, but he did dramatically improve the wild child’s behav- ior through patient, systematic educative procedures (Itard, 1962).

One of Itard’s students, Édouard Séguin (1812–1880), immi- grated to the United States in 1848. Séguin had become famous as an educator of so-called idiotic children, even though most thinkers of the day were convinced that such children could not be taught anything of significance.

The ideas of the first special educators were truly revolution- ary for their times. These are a few of the revolutionary ideas of Itard, Séguin, and their successors that form the foundation for present-day special education:

• Individualized instruction, in which the child’s characteris- tics, rather than prescribed academic content, provide the ba- sis for teaching techniques

• A carefully sequenced series of educational tasks, beginning with tasks the child can perform and gradually leading to more complex learning

• Emphasis on stimulation and awakening of the child’s senses, to make the child more aware of and responsive to educa- tional stimuli

Special educators have the responsibility to offer not just good instruction, but also instruction that is highly individualized, intensive, relentless, urgent, and goal directed. Spencer Grant/PhotoEdit Inc.

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• Meticulous arrangement of the child’s environment, so that the structure of the envi- ronment and the child’s experience of it lead naturally to learning

• Immediate reward for correct performance, providing reinforcement for desirable behavior

• Tutoring in functional skills, to make the child as self-sufficient and productive as pos- sible in everyday life

• Belief that every child should be educated to the greatest extent possible, because every child can improve to some degree

So far, we’ve mentioned only European physicians who figured prominently in the rise of special education. Although much of the initial work occurred in Europe, many U.S. researchers contributed greatly during those early years. They kept informed of European developments as best they could, some of them traveling to Europe for the specific purpose of obtaining firsthand information about the education of children with disabilities.

Among the young U.S. thinkers who were concerned with the education of students with disabilities was Samuel Gridley Howe (1801–1876), an 1824 graduate of Harvard Med- ical School. Besides being a physician and an educator, Howe was a political and social re- former, a champion of humanitarian causes and emancipation. He was instrumental in founding the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, and also taught stu- dents who were deaf and blind. His success in teaching Laura Bridgman, who was deaf and blind, greatly influenced the education of Helen Keller. In the 1840s, Howe was also a force behind the organization of an experimental school for children with intellectual disabilities [mental retardation] and was personally acquainted with Séguin.

When Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787–1851), a minister, was a student at Andover Theological Seminary, he tried to teach a girl who was deaf. He visited Europe to learn about educating the deaf and in 1817 established the first American residential school, in Hartford, Connecticut, for students who were deaf (now known as the American School of the Deaf). Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the only liberal-arts college for students who are deaf, was named in his honor.

The early years of special education were vibrant with the pulse of new ideas. It isn’t possible to read the words of Itard, Séguin, Howe, and their contemporaries without being captivated by the romance, idealism, and excitement of their exploits. The results they achieved were truly remarkable for their era. Today, special education remains a vibrant field in which innovations, excitement, idealism, and controversies are the norm. Teachers of exceptional children—and that includes all teachers—must understand how and why special education emerged as a discipline (see Gerber, 2011).

One of the great controversies involving the education of exceptional learners is the extent to which nature and nurture contribute to what a child becomes. What is attributable to biological factors such as genetics and other aspects of physical endowment, and what is attributable to environmental factors such as opportunity, encouragement, and teaching? This is a very old but still controversial idea. It was part of Itard’s work in the early 19th century, and it’s still being debated by psychologists (e.g., Pinker, 2002) and popular writers (e.g., Gladwell, 2008) of the early 21st century. (See the accompanying Focus on Concepts feature.)

Normalization, Deinstitutionalization, and Inclusion Among the major 20th-century ideas in special education is normalization, the philoso- phy that we should use “means which are as culturally normative as possible, in order to establish and/or maintain personal behaviors and characteristics which are as culturally nor- mative as possible” (Wolfensberger, 1972, p. 28). With normalization, society breaks down the barriers to participation of people with disabilities in normal life. The concept of nor- malization was in itself important and led to related ideas, such as closing institutions and including exceptional learners in general education classrooms and schools.

Normalization continues to be a goal in special education and all other aspects of re- sponding to disability. Consider the case of Kathy Koons, described in the Personal Per- spectives feature later in this chapter. She’s a young woman with a physical disability and

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relatively low tested intelligence who is anticipating making the transition to independent living in the community. For her, normalization of personal relationships, employment, and community living are important goals.

Breaking down barriers to participation of people with disabilities in activities with non- handicapped individuals was one of the ideas leading to the deinstitutionalization move- ment of the late 20th century. At one time, it was common to place nearly all children and adults with intellectual disability (mental retardation) and/or mental illness in residential insti- tutions. In the 1960s and 1970s, systematic efforts were made to move people out of institu- tions and back into closer contact with the community. This led to more children with disabilities being raised by their families and resulted in the closure of many institutions re- gardless of the nature of the problems of the people involved. Today, smaller facilities within local neighborhoods are common. Halfway houses exist for individuals with emotional diffi- culties, who no longer are thought to need the more isolated environment of a large institu- tion. However, much still needs to be done to improve the quality of life for some people with disabilities who have been released from institutions. In fact, many people who were or formerly would have been in institutions are now homeless or in jail (see Earley, 2006; Goin, 2007; Lamb & Weinberger, 2001; Nomani, 2007; Torrey & Zdandowic, 1999).

Perhaps the most controversial issue growing out of the idea of normalization is inclusion. Actually inclusion, or integration, has long been an issue with all exceptional students, including those with special gifts or talents. Although historically, educators built educational programming for students with disabilities on the assumption that a variety of service delivery options need to be available (Crockett & Kauffman, 1999, 2001; Kauffman et al., 2008), inclusion of exceptional learners in ordinary classrooms with their nonexcep- tional peers has become the single most important issue for some advocates. The issue of inclusion became controversial among parents and others in the late 20th century and con- tinues to be a topic of heated opinion and discussion.

FOCUS ON Concepts THE NATURE–NURTURE CONTROVERSY

For many years, theoreticians tended to view the nature– nurture issue from an either/or perspective: Either you be- lieved that heredity held the key to determining intellectual development or you believed that the environment was the all-important factor. Today, however, most authorities believe that both heredity and the environment are critical determi- nants of intelligence. Some scientists have tried to discover how much of intelligence is determined by heredity and how much by the environment, but many view this quest as futile. They assert that heredity and environment do not combine in an additive fashion to produce intelligence. Instead, the inter- action between genes and environment results in intelligence.

The following exchange between a professor of biopsychology and his student points out the importance of viewing intelligence in this way—that is, as the result of an in- teraction between genetics and experience and not a simple addition of the two:

One of my students told me that she had read that intelli- gence was one-third genetic and two-thirds experience, and she wondered whether this was true. She must have been

puzzled when I began my response by describing an alpine experience. “I was lazily wandering up a summit ridge when I heard an unexpected sound. Ahead, with his back to me, was a young man sitting on the edge of a precipice, blowing into a peculiar musical instrument. I sat down behind him on a large sun-soaked rock, and shared his experience with him. Then, I got up and wandered back down the ridge, leaving him undisturbed.

I put the following question to my student: “If I wanted to get a better understanding of the music, would it be rea- sonable for me to begin by asking how much of it came from the musician and how much of it came from the instrument?”

“That would be dumb,” she said, “The music comes from both; it makes no sense to ask how much comes from the musician and how much comes from the instrument. Somehow the music results from the interaction of the two, and you would have to ask about the interaction.”

“That’s exactly right,” I said. “Now, do you see why. . . .” “Don’t say any more,” she interrupted. “I see what

you’re getting at. Intelligence is the product of the interaction of genes and experience, and it is dumb to try to find how much comes from genes and how much comes from experi- ence.” (Pinel, 2006, p. 23)

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At the unfolding of the 21st century, the inclusion controversy was sharpened, espe- cially by the higher standards expected of all students. The direction the controversy will take is anyone’s guess (see Bateman, 2011; Kauffman & Hung, 2009; Kauffman & Landrum, 2009; Kauffman et al., 2008; Kauffman & Hallahan, 2005b; Kauffman & Konold, 2007; Warnock, 2005; Zigmond & Kloo, 2011; Zigmond, et al., 2009). We can’t overemphasize the importance of intensive instruction in meeting the needs of exceptional learners. In our opinion, excep- tional children should be placed where such instruction is most likely to be provided.

Council for Exceptional Children and Development of the Profession Special education didn’t suddenly spring up as a new discipline or develop in isolation from other disciplines. The emergence of psychology and sociology and especially of the wide- spread use of mental tests in the early years of the 20th century had enormous implications for the growth of special education. Psychologists’ study of learning and their prediction of school failure or success by means of tests helped to focus attention on children with spe- cial needs. Sociologists, social workers, and anthropologists drew attention to the ways in which exceptional children’s families and communities responded to them and affected

Personal PERSPECTIVES Kathy Koons

Kathy is a 19-year-old young woman with spina bifida. She has an electric wheelchair that she can control in a very lim- ited way. An instructional assistant works with Kathy to ensure that she is able to get around the school and to assist her with classroom activities. She requires assistance in writing and getting her supplies ready for class, getting her lunch and feeding herself, and controlling her wheelchair.

Kathy is a middle child; she has an older, married sister and a brother who is age 14. Her father is an electrician and her mother does not work outside of the home. The family lives in a very nice house, which has had some modifications made for the wheelchair.

Her school attendance has been very poor. Mrs. Koons has kept Kathy at home for extended periods of time throughout the years, stating that Kathy was not well enough to attend school. The family was told that Kathy would not live to be 5 years old and they have taken care of her every need. The mother does many things that Kathy could do on her own, but would take her a long time to get done. When Kathy is at home, she spends the majority of the time in her wheelchair in front of the TV or stretched out on a blanket on the floor. There is nothing that Kathy does at home for her- self or the family.

Kathy is in four resource classes (math, language arts, social studies, and vocational exploration), is in two regular education classes (computers and home economics), and

spends one hour a day with an instructional assistant working on daily living and functional living skills. Kathy is working on grooming skills, kitchen skills, making change, telling time, and mobility. She has good verbal skills, but has very limited written language skills because of her limited mobility. She is learning to use a computer so that she can increase her writ- ten expressive skills. Kathy has indicated an interest in doing a job that would utilize telephone skills, which is something she feels she could learn to do. She has several friends at school. She says that she would like to have a boyfriend and talks about relationships quite often. She is very concerned about not having someone to marry, being able to leave home, and living on her own.

Kathy’s Verbal Scale IQ is 84, Performance Scale IQ is 64, and Full Scale IQ is 75. Curriculum-based assessment re- sults indicate skills functioning at the 7.5 grade level in read- ing and at the 6.8 grade level in math. She is aware of her academic limitations, but wants to do something with her life. Kathy indicates that she wants to learn to live more inde- pendently and to develop job skills. She is older than most of the students in the high school and plans are being made for her to go to a residential independent living center for young adults with physical disabilities, where she will have the op- portunity to learn many of the things needed to allow her to live in a group home and have a job. Kathy is very excited about these plans, but her parents are somewhat hesitant.

Source: Sitlington, P. L., & Clark, G. M. (2006). Transition education and services for students with disabilities (4th ed., p. 83). Boston: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson. Reprinted with permission.

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their learning and adjustment. Anecdotal accounts of intellectual disabilities or mental dis- orders can be found in the 19th-century literature, but they are not presented within the conceptual frameworks that we recognize today as psychology, sociology, and special ed- ucation (see, e.g., Hallahan & Kauffman, 1977; Kauffman & Landrum, 2006). Even in the early 20th century, the concepts of disability seem crude by today’s standards.

As the education profession itself matured and as compulsory school attendance laws became a reality, there was a growing realization among teachers and school administrators that a large number of students must be given something beyond the ordinary classroom ex- perience. Elizabeth Farrell, a teacher in New York City in the early 20th century, was highly instrumental in the development of special education as a profession. She and the New York City superintendent of schools attempted to use information about child development, social work, mental testing, and instruction to address the needs of children and youths who were being ill served in or excluded from general eduaction classes and schools. Farrell was a great advocate for services for students with special needs. Her motives and those of the teachers and administrators who worked with her were to see that every student—including every ex- ceptional child or youth—had an appropriate education and received the related health and social services necessary for optimum learning in school (Gerber, 2011; Hendrick & MacMillan, 1989). In 1922, Farrell and a group of other special educators from across the United States and Canada founded the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), which is still the primary professional organization of special educators.

Contemporary special education is a professional field with roots in several academic disciplines—especially medicine, psychology, sociology, and social work—in addition to professional education. It’s a discipline that is sufficiently different from the mainstream of professional education to require special training programs but sufficiently like the main- stream to maintain a primary concern for schools and teaching.

Individuals, Parents, and Organizations Individuals and ideas have played crucial roles in the history of special education, but it’s accurate to say that much of the progress that has been made over the years has been achieved primarily by the collective efforts of parents and professionals. Professional groups were organized first, beginning in the 19th century. Effective national parent orga- nizations have existed in the United States only since about 1950. (See the accompanying Personal Perspectives feature, “Parent’s Thoughts on Inclusion of Their Children with Se- vere Disabilities.”)

Many people who were or are influential in the development of special education or other opportunities for individuals with disabilities could be named. Among them is the late Eunice Kennedy Schriver, whose sister had an intellectual disability and who originated the Special Olympics. Having sports competitions in which individuals with disabilities could compete no doubt enriched the lives of many. Even though the Spe- cial Olympics has generated criticism, it stands as an example of advocacy for caring and fair treatment of individuals with disabilities, and Ms. Schriver undeniably changed the self-perception of many people with disabilities and the perceptions of disabilities by the general public—changed these perceptions for the better and improved the quality of life for many.

Parent organizations, though offering membership to individuals who may not have exceptional children, primarily comprise parents who do have such children and concen- trate on issues that are of special concern to them. Parent organizations have typically served three essential functions: (1) provide an informal group for parents who understand one another’s problems and needs and help one another deal with anxieties and frustra- tions, (2) provide information regarding services and potential resources, and (3) provide the structure for obtaining needed services for their children. Some of the organizations that came about primarily as the result of parents’ efforts include the ARC (formerly the Associ- ation for Retarded Citizens), the National Association for Gifted Children, the Learning Dis- abilities Association, the Autism Society of America, and the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health.

INTERNETRESOURCES

For information about the Council for Exceptional Children, explore http://www .cec.sped.org You may learn more about the ARC by going to http://www.thearc .org, the Special Olympics by going to http://www .specialolympics.org, the Learning Disabilities Association by going to http://www.Idanatl.org, or any of the other professional or parent organization by Googling its name. ■■■

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Legislation and Litigation Much of the progress in meeting the educational needs of children and youths with disabil- ities is attributable to laws requiring states and localities to include students with special needs in the public education system (Bateman, 2007, 2011; Bateman & Linden, 2006; Huefner, 2006). We focus here on recent legislation that represents a culmination of decades of legislative history. However, litigation (lawsuits or court decisions) has also played a ma- jor role in special education (see Rozalski, Miller, & Stewart, 2011; Yell, Katsiyannis, & Bradley, 2011).

A landmark federal law was passed in 1975: the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, commonly known as PL 94-142.* In 1990, this law was amended to become the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In 1997, the law was amended again, but its name was not changed (see Bateman & Linden, 2006, and Yell, 2006, for de- tails). The law was reauthorized again in 2004, as the Individuals with Disabilities Educa- tion Improvement Act (IDEIA; see Huefner, 2006, for details). The 2004 reauthorization is sometimes referred to as IDEA 2004 (Stichter et al., 2008), but for the sake of simplicity we refer to it more simply as IDEA, as the basic requirements of the law have not changed. The federal law known as IDEA ensures that all children and youths with disabilities have the right to a free, appropriate public education.

*Legislation is often designated PL (for public law), followed by a hyphenated numeral; the first set of digits rep- resents the number of the Congress that passed the bill, and the second set represents the number of that bill. Thus, PL 94-142 was the 142nd public law passed by the 94th Congress.

Personal PERSPECTIVES Parents’ Thoughts on Inclusion

of Their Children with Severe Disabilities Parents of children with severe disabilities cite the following reasons for supporting inclusion:

1. The child acquires more academic or functional skills because of the higher expectations and greater stimu- lation in the general education classroom.

2. Nondisabled students benefit by learning to know chil- dren with disabilities; they become more sensitive to people with disabilities.

3. Being around “normal” kids helps students with dis- abilities acquire social skills.

4. Siblings with and without disabilities go to the same school.

5. Segregation of any kind is morally wrong; inclusion is morally right.

Parents of children with severe disabilities have men- tioned the following reasons for not supporting inclusion:

1. The type or severity of the child’s disability precludes benefits from inclusion.

2. Inclusion would overburden or negatively affect regu- lar classroom teachers and students.

3. The curriculum of the general education classroom doesn’t match the needs of the child.

4. The child does not get the needed teacher attention or services in general education.

5. The child is unlikely to be treated well by nondisabled children in the regular classroom.

6. The child is not likely to benefit but is likely to be over- whelmed by the surroundings in the regular classroom.

7. The child is too young (and needs more supervision or structure) or too old (having become used to a special class) to benefit from inclusion.

8. The child needs to be around other children with simi- lar disabilities; he or she fits in better, feels less stigma- tized or different, and has more real friends in a special setting.

9. The child is too disruptive or aggressive or has too many behavior problems for a regular class.

10. Teachers and others in general education don’t have the appropriate training for dealing with the child’s needs.

Source: From “Taking Sides: Parent’s Views on Inclusion for their Children with Severe Disabilities,” by D. S. Palmer, K. Fuller, T. Arora, & M. Nelson, 2001, Exceptional Children, 67, 467–484. Copyright © 2001 by the Council for Exceptional Children. Reprinted with permission.

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Another landmark federal law, en- acted in 1990, is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ADA ensures the right of individuals with disabilities to nondiscriminatory treatment in other as- pects of their lives; it provides protections of civil rights in the specific areas of em- ployment, transportation, public accom- modations, state and local government, and telecommunications.

IDEA and another federal law focus- ing on intervention in early childhood (PL 99-457) mandate a free appropriate public education for every child or youth between the ages of 3 and 21, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. PL 99-457 also provides incentives for states to develop early intervention programs for infants with known disabilities and those who are considered to be at risk. Together, these laws require public school systems to identify all children and youths with disabil- ities and to provide the special education and related services to these students.

FOCUS ON Concepts MAJOR PROVISIONS OF IDEA

Each state and locality must have a plan to ensure*:

Identification Extensive efforts to screen and identify all children and youths with disabilities.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

Every student with a disability has an appropriate public education at no cost to the parents or guardian.

Due Process The student’s and parents’ rights to information and informed consent before the student is evaluated, labeled, or placed, and the right to an impartial due process hearing if they disagree with the school’s decisions.

Parent/Guardian Surrogate Consultation The student’s parents or guardian are consulted about the student’s evaluation and placement and the educational plan; if the parents or guardian are unknown or unavailable, a surrogate parent must be found to act for the student.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) The student is educated in the least restrictive environment consistent with his or her educational needs and, insofar as possible, with students without disabilities.

Individualized Education Program (IEP) A written individualized education program is prepared for each student with a disability, including levels of functioning, long-term goals, extent to which the student will not participate in the general education classroom and curriculum, services to be provided, plans for initiating and evaluating the services, and needed transition services (from school to work or continued education).

Nondiscriminatory Evaluation The student is evaluated in all areas of suspected disability and in a way that is not biased by his language or cultural characteristics or disabilities. Evaluation must be by a multidisciplinary team, and no single evaluation procedure may be used as the sole criterion for placement or planning.

Confidentiality The results of evaluation and placement are kept confidential, though the student’s parents or guardian may have access to the records.

Personnel Development, In-service Training for teachers and other professional personnel, including in-service training for general education teachers, in meeting the needs of students with disabilities.

*Detailed federal rules and regulations govern the implementation of each of these major provisions.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), passed in 1990 and renewed in 1997 and 2004, requires public schools to provide equal educational opportunities for all students with disabilities. Richard Hutchings/PhotoEdit Inc.

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The federal law we now know as IDEA was revolutionary because it was the first fed- eral law mandating free appropriate public education for all children with disabilities. Its basic provisions are described in the Focus on Concepts on the previous page.

Historically, legislation has been increasingly specific and mandatory. Beginning in the 1980s, however, a renewed emphasis on states’ rights and local autonomy plus a political strategy of federal deregulation led to attempts to repeal some of the provisions of IDEA (then still known as PL 94-142) and loosen federal rules and regulations. Federal disinvest- ment in education and deregulation of special education programs remain popular ideas. It’s not surprising that federal mandates for special education have come under fire. Dissat- isfaction with federal mandates is due in part to the fact that the federal government con- tributes relatively little to the funding of special education. Although the demands of IDEA are detailed, state and local governments pay most of the cost of special education pro- grams. Some have characterized the legal history of special education as a “long, strange trip” (Yell, Rogers, & Rogers, 1998, p. 219). Special education law is highly controversial, and battles over IDEA are ongoing. The amendment and continuation of IDEA in 1997 and 2004 represented a sustained commitment to require schools, employers, and government agencies to recognize the abilities of people with disabilities, but the extent to which the 2004 revision of the law represents actual improvement is debatable (Turnbull, 2007; Vitello, 2007). IDEA and ADA require reasonable accommodations that will allow those who have disabilities to participate to the fullest extent possible in all the activities of daily living that individuals without disabilities take for granted. The requirements of ADA are intended to grant equal opportunities to people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodations, state and local government, and telecommunications.

In the early 21st century, under the administration of President George W. Bush, the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) became a major factor in the focus of public schooling, including special education (see Huefner, 2006; Yell & Drasgow, 2005). NCLB was an attempt to improve the academic performance of all students, including those with disabilities. In fact, under NCLB and IDEA, most students with disabilities are expected to take standard tests of academic achievement and to achieve at a level equal to that of stu- dents without disabilities. Moreover, NCLB included the requirement that eventually all teachers be “highly qualified,” a designation that leaves much to interpretation (Gelman, Pullen, & Kauffman, 2004). Some have noted that core requirements of NCLB are neither reasonable nor achievable, particularly with reference to special education (Kauffman, 2004, 2005, 2010; Kauffman & Konold, 2007; Rothstein, Jacobsen, & Wilder, 2006).

Laws often have little or no effect on the lives of individuals with disabilities until courts interpret exactly what the laws require in practice. Exceptional children, primarily through the actions of parent and professional organizations, have been getting their day in court more frequently since IDEA and related federal and state laws were passed. There- fore, we must examine litigation to complete the picture of how the U.S. legal system may safeguard or undermine appropriate education for exceptional children.

Zelder (1953) noted that in the early days of public education, school attendance was seen as a privilege that could be awarded to or withheld from an individual child at the dis- cretion of local school officials. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the courts typ- ically found that disruptive children or those with mental retardation (intellectual disabilities) could be excluded from school for the sake of preserving order, protecting the teacher’s time from excessive demands, and sparing children the discomfort of seeing oth- ers who are disabled. In the first half of the 20th century, the courts tended to defend the majority of schoolchildren from a disabled minority. But now the old excuses for exclud- ing students with disabilities from school are no longer thought to be valid.

Today, the courts must interpret laws that define school attendance as the right of every child, regardless of her disability. Litigation is now focused on ensuring that every child re- ceives an education that is appropriate for her individual needs. As some legal scholars have pointed out, this doesn’t mean that laws or litigation support full inclusion of all children with disabilities in general education (Bateman, 2007, 2011; Dupre, 1997; Huefner, 1994, 2006).

Litigation may involve legal suits filed for either of two reasons: (1) because special education services aren’t being provided for students whose parents want them or (2) be- cause students are being assigned to special education when their parents believe that they

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shouldn’t be. Suits for special education have been brought primarily by parents whose chil- dren are unquestionably disabled and are being denied any education at all or are being given very meager special services. The parents who file these suits believe that the advantages of their children’s identification for special education services clearly outweigh the disadvan- tages. Suits against special education have been brought primarily by parents of students who have mild or questionable disabilities and who are already attending school. These parents believe that their children are being stigmatized and discriminated against rather than helped by special education. Thus, the courts today are asked to make decisions in which individual students’ characteristics are weighed against specific educational programs.

Parents want their children with disabilities to have a free public education that meets their needs but doesn’t stigmatize them unnecessarily and that permits them to be taught in the general education classroom as much as possible. The laws governing education rec- ognize parents’ and students’ rights to such an education. In the courts today, the burden of proof is ultimately on local and state education specialists, who must show in every in- stance that the student’s abilities and disabilities have been completely and accurately as- sessed and that appropriate educational procedures are being employed. Much of the special education litigation has involved controversy over the use of intelligence (IQ) and other standardized testing to determine students’ eligibility for special education. Although the debate about IQ tests has been acrimonious, some scholars have found that IQ scores themselves haven’t been the primary means of classifying children as eligible for special ed- ucation (MacMillan & Forness, 1998).

One historic court case of the 1980s deserves particular consideration. In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court made its first interpretation of PL 94-142 (now IDEA) in Hudson v. Row- ley, a case involving Amy Rowley, a child who was deaf (Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson v. Rowley, 1982). The Court’s decision was that appropriate education for a deaf child with a disability does not necessarily mean education that will produce the maximum possible achievement. Amy’s parents had contended that she might be able to learn more in school if she were provided with a sign language interpreter. But the Court decided that because the school had designed an individualized program of special services for Amy and she was achieving at or above the level of her nondisabled classmates, the school system had met its obligation under the law to provide an appropriate education.

Future cases will undoubtedly help to clarify what the law means by “appropriate ed- ucation” and “least restrictive environment” (Bateman, 2007; Crockett & Kauffman, 1999; Huefner, 1994, 2006; Yell, 2006). We go into more detail about the law and what it requires later. We pay particular attention to writing individualized education programs (IEPs) and to the meaning of least restrictive environment (LRE).

COMMENT ON PROGRESS IN SPECIAL EDUCATION Special education has come a long way since it was introduced into U.S. public education over a century ago. It has become an expected part of the public education system, a given rather than an exception or an experiment. Much progress has been made since IDEA was enacted more than a quarter century ago. Now parents and their children have legal rights to a free appropriate education; they aren’t powerless in the face of school administrators who don’t want to provide appropriate education and related services. The enactment of IDEA was one of very few events in the 20th century that altered the power relationship between schools and parents (Gerber, 2011; Sarason, 1990).

Although IDEA and related laws and court cases have not resulted in flawless programs for exceptional children, they have done much to move U.S. public schools toward provid- ing better educational opportunities for those with disabilities (Bateman, 2007). Laws en- acted in the 20th and 21st centuries help to ensure that all infants and toddlers with disabilities receive early intervention. Laws such as ADA help to ensure that children and adults with disabilities won’t be discriminated against in U.S. society. Laws and court cases can’t eliminate all problems in our society, but they can certainly be of enormous help in our efforts to equalize opportunities and minimize handicaps for people with disabilities. But more than law is required to give exceptional learners the education they need. Special education also depends on guidance from other concepts and perspectives, specifically, the

INTERNETRESOURCES

For updated information about special education law, you may want to Google special education law or go to the Wrightslaw web site at http://www.wrightslaw .com ■■■

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emphasis on prevention, early intervention, and effective treatment based on scientific think- ing that modern medicine offers (Kauffman, 2007; Kauffman & Hallahan, 1974, 2009).

We have made much progress in special education, but making it all that we hope for is—and always will be—a continuing struggle.

How can we get oriented to exceptionality and special education?

• Exceptionality involves similarities and differences. • Reasons for optimism include better treatment and

education, medical breakthroughs, and prevention.

• Abilities as well as disabilities must be recognized. • A disability is an inability to do something; a handicap is

a limitation that is imposed on someone.

• Not all inabilities are disabilities; a disability is an inability to do something that most people, with typical maturation, opportunity, or instruction, can do.

What is the educational definition of exceptional learners?

• Exceptional learners are those who require special education to reach their full potential.

• Many individuals with disabilities require special education, but some do not.

What is the prevalence of exceptional learners? • About 10 students in every 100 (about 10% of the

student population) are identified as exceptional for special education purposes.

• Some categories of disability are considered high incidence because they are found relatively frequently (e.g., learning disabilities, communication disorders, emotional or behavioral disorders).

• Some categories of disability are considered low incidence because they occur relatively rarely (e.g., blindness, deafness, deaf-blindness).

What is the definition of special education? • Special education means specially designed instruction

that meets the unusual needs of an exceptional student. It may include special materials, teaching techniques, or equipment and/or facilities.

• The trend is toward placement in environments closest to the general education classroom in format, especially for younger children.

What are the history and origins of special education? • Special education became common in institutions and in

major cities’ public education in the 19th century.

• Physicians and psychologists played important roles in the early formation of special education.

• The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and many important parent and professional organizations were formed in the 20th century.

What legislation and litigation have affected special education?

• The primary federal law affecting special education is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), enacted in the 1970s and reauthorized by the U.S. Congress in 2004.

• Also important is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment and communications.

• In the 21st century, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) also is important in the education of exceptional learners.

• Lawsuits (litigation) have added to interpretation of the meaning and application of the law.

• Some parents sue to keep their children from being identified for special education or to have them educated in less atypical situations; others sue because they want their children to be identified for special education or placed in more specialized environments.

What is our perspective on the progress of special education?

• Special education has made great progress, but making it better is a continuing struggle.

SUMMARY

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COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN Addressing the Professional Standards

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Common Core Knowledge and Skills addressed in this chapter: ICC1K1, ICC1K2, ICC1K4, ICC1K5, ICC1K6, ICC1K8, ICC4S4, ICC5K2, ICC5S1, ICC5S3, ICC5S10, ICC7S1, ICC7S9, ICC8S2, ICC9K4,

ICC9S5, ICC10K1, ICC10K4, ICC10S1, ICC10S4

MYEDUCATIONLAB Now go to Topic 1: Law, LRE, & IEPs in the MyEducationLab (www .myeducationlab.com) for your course, where you can:

• Find learning outcomes for the broad concepts covered in this chapter along with the national standards that connect to these outcomes.

• Complete Assignments and Activities that can help you more deeply understand the chapter content.

• Examine challenging situations presented in the IRIS Center Resources. • Apply and practice your understanding of the core concepts and skills identified in the

chapter with the Building Teaching Skills and Dispositions learning units.

• Check your comprehension on the content covered in the chapter by going to the Study Plan in the Book-Specific Resources for your text. Here you will be able to take a chapter quiz, receive feedback on your answers, and then access Review, Practice, and Enrichment activities to enhance your understanding of chapter content.

• Watch video clips of CCSSO Teacher of the Year award winners responding to the question: “Why I teach?” in the Teacher Talk section.

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Bateman, B. D. (2011). Individual education programs for children with disabilities. In J. M. Kauffman & D. P. Hallahan (EDs.), Handbook of special education. New York: Routledge.

Bateman, B. D., & Linden, M. A. (2006). Better IEPs: How to develop legally correct and educationally useful programs (4th ed.). Verona, WI: Attainment.

Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson v. Rowley, 484 US 176 (1982).

Bolger, K. E., & Patterson, C. J. (2001). Developmental pathways from child maltreatment to peer rejection. Child Development, 72, 549–568.

Carr, M. R. (2004, January 4). My son’s disability, and my own inability to see it. The Washington Post, p. B5.

Crockett, J. B., & Kauffman, J. M. (1999). The least restrictive environment: Its origins and interpretations in special education. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Crockett, J. B., & Kauffman, J. M. (2001). The concept of the least restrictive environment and learning disabilities: Least restrictive of what? Reflections on Cruickshank’s 1977 guest editorial for the Journal of Learning Disabilities. In D. P. Hallahan & B. K. Keogh (Eds.), Research and global perspectives in learning disabilities: Essays in honor of William M. Cruickshank (pp. 147–166). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Dupre, A. P. (1997). Disability and the public schools: The case against “inclusion.” Washington Law Review, 72, 775–858.

Earley, P. (2006). Crazy: A Father’s search through America’s mental health madness. New York: Penguin.

Gelman, J. A., Pullen, P. L., & Kauffman, J. M. (2004). The meaning of highly qualified and a clear roadmap to accomplishment. Exceptionality, 12, 195–207. dio:10.1207/s15327035ex1204_2

Gerber, M. M. (2011). History. In J. M. Kauffman & D. P. Hallahan (Eds.), Handbook of special education. New York: Routledge.

Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. New York: Little, Brown.

Goin, M. K. (2007, July 8). The wrong place to treat mental illness. The Washington Post, p. B7.

Gresham, T. (2007, May 7). Something to cheer about. The Daily Progress, pp. E1, E6. Charlottesville, VA.

Hallahan, D. P., & Kauffman, J. M. (1977). Labels, categories, behaviors: ED, LD, and EMR reconsidered. Journal of Special Education, 11, 139–149. doi: 10.1177/002246697701100202

Hallahan, D. P., Lloyd, J. W., Kauffman, J. M., Weiss, M., & Martinez, E. (2005). Introduction to learning disabilities (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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From Chapter 2 of Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education, 12/e. Daniel P. Hallahan. James M. Kauffman. Paige C. Pullen. Copyright © 2012 by Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Current Practices for Meeting the Needs of Exceptional Learners

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Current Practices for Meeting the Needs of Exceptional Learners

Lori Whitney/Merrill

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Q U E S T I O N S to guide your reading of this chapter . . . • How are students with exceptionalities evaluated and identified for special education services

in school settings?

• How is the intent of special education law implemented in individualized education for stu- dents with disabilities?

• What are the various placement options for exceptional learners? • What are the main arguments for and against full inclusion? • What are the current practices in schools regarding collaboration and response to intervention? • What are the roles of general and special educators in providing exceptional learners an in-

dividualized education program?

• What are the trends and issues in integrating students with exceptionalities into schools? • What impact does standards-based reform have on special education? • What are our concluding thoughts about providing services to exceptional learners?

Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide, The chance won’t come again.

And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who

That it’s namin’ For the loser now

Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin’.

Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin’” Copyright © 1963; renewed 1991 by Special Rider Music. All rights reserved.

International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission.

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

Bob Dylan could have written “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (see excerpt on theprevious page) for special education, which has a rich history of controversy andchange. Controversy and change make teaching and studying disabilities challenging and exciting. The history of special education is replete with unexpected twists and turns. Many developments in the past have had unanticipated consequences, and many of today’s events and conditions will have consequences that we don’t foresee.

Dramatic changes have occurred in the first decade of the 21st century, and more changes will undoubtedly follow. One critically important issue in special education today is the identification of students for special education services, particularly in the area of learning disabilities. The long-term debate over methods of identification has resulted in re-

M I S C O N C E P T I O N S A B O U T Learners with Disabilities MYTH • All professionals agree that technology should be used to its fullest to aid people with disabilities.

FACT • Some believe that technology should be used cautiously because it can lead people with disabilities to become too dependent on it. Some professionals believe that people with disabili- ties can be tempted to rely on technology instead of developing their own abilities.

MYTH • All students with disabilities must now be included in standardized testing, just like stu- dents without disabilities.

FACT • Most students with disabilities will be included in standardized testing procedures, but for some, a given test is deemed inappropriate. Some students will require adaptations of the testing procedure to accommodate their specific disabilities. However, students with disabilities can no longer be automatically excluded from participating in standardized assessment procedures.

MYTH • Research has established beyond a doubt that special classes are ineffective and that in- clusion is effective.

FACT • Research comparing special versus general education placement is inconclusive because most of these studies have been methodologically flawed. Researchers are now focusing on find- ing ways to make inclusion work more effectively.

MYTH • Everyone agrees that teachers in early intervention programs need to assess parents as well as their children.

FACT • Some authorities now believe that although families are an important part of intervention programming and should be involved in some way, special educators should center their assess- ment efforts primarily on the child, not the parents.

MYTH • Everyone agrees that good early childhood programming for students with or without dis- abilities should be the same.

FACT • Considerable disagreement exists among professionals about whether early intervention programming for children with disabilities should be child directed, as is typical of regular preschool programs, or more teacher directed.

MYTH • Professionals agree that all students with disabilities in secondary school should be given a curriculum focused on vocational preparation.

FACT • Professionals are in conflict over how much vocational versus academic instruction stu- dents with mild disabilities should receive.

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

sponse to intervention, an approach to identifying students with learning disabilities, which has captured the attention of researchers and practitioners alike. The movement toward multicultural special education has also been in the forefront of the special education field. In this chapter we explore the major trends in providing ser-vices to exceptional learners as well as the significant issues in responding to the needs of individuals with disabilities.

EVALUATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS Although the landscape of special education has changed dramatically since the passage of PL 94-142: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, one issue has remained constant. In 1975 the intent of the original law was the same as the intent today, to ensure that all chil- dren with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE) (Yell & Crockett, 2011). To provide students with disabilities appropriate educational services in the setting that maximizes their potential (the least restrictive environment), schools must employ effective practices in identifying exceptional learners. A longstanding debate continues on how to best identify students who are exceptional learners. In the following sections, we discuss two pri- mary methods for identifying students for special education services.

Prereferral Teams Traditionally, when a teacher observed that a child was struggling in school, a group of professionals (e.g., special educa- tion teachers, counselors, administrators, psychologists), called a prereferral team (PRT), was convened to work with the general education teacher to help identify alternative educational strategies for the student before making a referral for special education evaluation. A teacher typically asked for help after exhausting her own strategies for helping a student who was difficult to teach. The team reviewed the information about a student that the teacher brought to the group. The col- leagues then offered suggestions about what the teacher might try to do to help the student. If the student continued to strug- gle, he was then referred to special educa- tion, and a full evaluation was conducted.

Although PRTs have been very popular and are still in practice today, little research has been conducted on their effectiveness (see Hallahan, Lloyd, Kauffman, Weiss, & Mar- tinez, 2005).

Response to Intervention In the most recent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Congress included an additional option for determining eligibility for special education in the case of suspected learning disabilities that forces varying levels of support in general educa- tion before referral to special education. The regulations state: “in determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, states may rely on a process that determines whether the child responds to scientific, research-based intervention as a part of the evaluation.” In prac- tice, this concept has been termed response to intervention (RTI).

To check your comprehension on the content covered in Chapter 2, go to the Book- Specific Resources in the MyEducationLab (www .myeducationlab.com) for your course, select your text, and complete the Study Plan. Here you will be able to take a chapter quiz, receive feedback on your answers, and then access review, practice, and enrichment activities to enhance your understanding of chapter content. ■

Groups of professionals sometimes work with general education teachers to help identify strategies for students who are struggling. George Dodson/

PH College

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INTERNETRESOURCES

For more information about the effective implementation of Response to Intervention, visit the website of the RTI Action Network at http:// www.rtinetwork.org/ And you can find a collection of papers describing the roles of professionals in the RTI process at http://www.asha .org/uploadedFiles/slp/ schools/prof-consult/ rtiroledefinitions.pdf ■■■

CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

WHAT IS RTI? Response to intervention refers to a student’s change (or lack of change) in academic performance or behavior as a result of instruction (Duhon, Messmer, Atkins, Greguson, & Olinger, 2009; Fuchs, Mock, Morgan, & Young, 2003; O’Connor & Sanchez, 2011). In an RTI identification model, a student must first receive quality instruction in the general education classroom before a formal evaluation for special education services. Teachers gather data to determine whether the student is benefiting from that instruction. Only after educators determine that a student is nonresponsive to quality, research-based instruction by a general educator would a formal evaluation to special education occur.

RTI is usually associated with learning disabilities and academic learning. However, it has implications for students with any disability and is not confined to academic learning but can be applied to social behavior as well (Cheney, Flower, & Templeton, 2008; Fair- banks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007). Practitioners have applied various RTI ap- proaches for students with various disabilities, including emotional and behavioral disorders, intellectual disabilities, autism, and giftedness.

MULTITIERED MODEL FOR IDENTIFICATION The RTI approach is based on a multi- tiered model of prevention. No model is universally accepted; however, RTI typically pro- vides for three progressively more intensive tiers of instruction for students who are experiencing difficulties (Mercer, Mercer, & Pullen, 2011; O’Connor & Sanchez, 2011). Generally, the first tier includes screening of students who may be at risk of academic fail- ure; implementation of quality, research-based instruction; and weekly monitoring of stu- dent progress (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Stecker, 2010). The teacher monitors the student’s progress in the curriculum and in relation to peers and provides differentiated instruction. If the student’s achievement improves, no other action is taken. If the student’s performance doesn’t improve, the student moves to Tier 2. In Tier 2, the student usually receives small- group instruction by a teacher or highly-trained assistant three to four times per week with a research-validated program in the areas of difficulty (e.g., reading or writing). If the stu- dent’s performance doesn’t improve at this level, a multidisciplinary team is convened to determine whether a student has a disability and therefore qualifies for Tier 3, which is special education. Tier 3 includes more intensive intervention provided by a special edu- cator in an appropriate placement. Figure 2.1 illustrates how instruction and possible placement in special education is facilitated in an RTI framework.

ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN AN RTI MODEL The basic purposes of assessment in an RTI model are to identify students who may be at increased risk of school failure and to collect

data to determine the effectiveness of instruction so that appropriate instructional decisions can be made (Mercer et al., 2011). The two most common forms of assessment in an RTI process are screen- ing and progress monitoring.

Teachers or school psychologists use screening instruments to identify those students who may be at increased risk of school failure. Screening instruments are typically administered to an entire group of students and may be given to a large number of students in a short period of time. School personnel use results of the screening ad- ministrations to identify students for whom addi- tional progress monitoring and Tier-2 instruction are required.

Progress monitoring assessments are frequent, quick-and-easy measures that teach- ers administer at regular intervals and that pro- vide information on whether a student is learning as expected. The purpose of adminis- tering progress-monitoring instruments is to de-

Federal law requires that the inclusion of students with disabilities in assessments of progress in the general education curriculum must be addressed in every individualized education program (IEP). Pearson Scott Foresman

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

Tier 1 − All students are screened to identify students at risk for school failure. − All students receive excellent, research-based instruction in the general education classroom. − The progress of students identified as at risk is monitored weekly. − All students are screened fall, winter, and spring to ensure adequate progress.

Tier 2 − Students receive instruction that is more intensive than Tier 1 (e.g., increase of frequency; duration). − Instruction occurs in small-group format in the general education classroom by a teacher or highly trained assistant. − Trecher/Assistant monitors student progress regularly (frequency increases from Tier 1).

Tier 3 − Students receive the most intensive intervention by a special education professional. − Placement for service delivery and the specific interventions are based on the IEP. − Students progress is monitored frequently.

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Students unresponsive to Tier 1 move to Tier 2

Students unresponsive to Tier 2 referred for special education

Multidisciplinary Team Convenes − Full evaluation is conducted to document eligibility. − An Individualized Education Program is developed.

FIGURE 2.1 Three-tiered response-to-intervention model

termine whether current instructional practices are appropriate for individual students and to identify instructional needs. One common form of progress monitoring is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). CBM involves students’ responses to their usual instructional materials; it entails direct and frequent samples of performance from the students’ curriculum. CBM measures are commonly used as a way to determine stu- dents’ responsiveness to RTI (L. S. Fuchs et al., 2007). We discuss CBM in more detail throughout the text as it relates to the assessment and instruction of students with var- ious exceptionalities.

SUPPORT FOR RTI IDENTIFICATION MODELS Advocates of an RTI identification model claim that it will reduce the number of students referred to special education. The argument is that as a result of high-quality instruction provided at every level, RTI helps to determine whether a student is truly a student with a disability and not a student who has been subjected to poor or missing instruction (see Boardman & Vaughn, 2007). Un- fortunately, little research evidence is available to determine whether RTI is effective. Only a few school districts in the country have used it on a wide scale (Fuchs et al., 2003). Nev- ertheless, IDEA gives schools the option of using RTI for identification of learning dis- abilities, as well as a means of improving instruction for all students. Recently, some have argued that although RTI is defensible as a way of improving early intervention and in- struction for struggling learners, its use as a means of identifying disabilities is question- able (Boardman & Vaughn, 2007; Kavale, Kauffman, & Bachmeier, 2007).

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

TABLE 2.1 Legal requirements of the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004, the required contents of an IEP include the following:

1. A statement of the child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. On many IEP forms, this is called the PLOP (present level of performance). In some cases the PLOP is now listed as the PLAAFP (present level of academic achievement and functional performance).

2. A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals. The law states clearly that the goals should enable the child to access the general education curriculum.

3. A description of how the child’s progress toward meeting the annual goals will be measured and when periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals will be provided.

4. A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services the child will receive. The services must be based on peer-reviewed research.

5. A statement of any individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on standardized achievement assessments. If the child is to take an alternate assessment instead of a particular regular state or districtwide assessment, a statement of why the child cannot participate in the regular assessment and why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child.

The IEP also requires the following related-to-transition services for students at age 16:

1. Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and independent living skills (if appropriate).

2. The transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the child in reaching those goals.

The law also stipulates the make-up of the IEP team. The following individuals must be a part of the IEP team:

1. The parents of a child with a disability. 2. A minimum of one regular education teacher. 3. A minimum of one special education teacher or special education provider of the child. 4. A representative of the local educational agency. This individual should be qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially

designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities, knowledgeable about the general education curriculum, and knowledgeable about the availability of resources.

5. An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results. 6. Other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate.

The parents or the local education agency (LEA, i.e., school) may appoint these individuals as they see appropriate. 7. The child with a disability, whenever appropriate.

Source: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, U. S. Department of Education.

THE INTENT OF SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW: INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES The primary intent of the special education law passed in 1975 and the subsequent reau- thorizations has been to require educators to focus on the needs of individual students with disabilities to ensure that they receive appropriate educational services. A multidisciplinary team that includes school or agency personnel as well as the parents and the individual when appropriate determines the services that an individual receives. The individualized education program is the primary aspect of this focus; it spells out how a school plans to meet an exceptional student’s needs. In addition to the IEP, the individualized family ser- vice plan for young children and the transition plan for adolescents are important aspects of providing appropriate individualized services to children and youth with disabilities.

Individualized Education Programs The individualized education program (IEP) is the legal document that describes the edu- cational services a student receives. IEPs vary greatly in format and detail from one child to an- other and from one school district to another. Guides for help in writing IEPs are available (e.g., Gibb & Dyches, 2007). Table 2.1 provides a summary of the legal requirements of the IEP.

Federal and state regulations don’t specify exactly how much detail must be included in an IEP, only that it must be a written statement developed in a meeting of a representa-

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

tive of the local school district, the teacher, the parents or guardian, and (whenever appro- priate) the child, and that it must include certain elements. The IEP that is written in most schools contains much information related to the technical requirements of IDEA in addi- tion to the heart of the plan: its instructional components. Figure 2.2 shows what an IEP might look like. Curt “is a ninth-grade low achiever who was considered by the district to be a poorly motivated disciplinary problem student with a ‘bad attitude.’ His parents rec- ognized him as a very discouraged, frustrated student who had learning disabilities, espe- cially in language arts” (Bateman, 2011; Bateman & Linden, 2006, p. 150).

FIGURE 2.2 Sample IEP for Curt

Unique educational needs, characteristics, and measured

present levels of academic achievement and functional

performance (PLOPs)

(including how the disability affects the student’s ability to participate & progress in the general curriculum)

Special education, related services and supplemental aids and services,

(based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable); assistive

technology and modifications or personnel support

(including anticipated starting date, frequency, duration,

and location for each)

Individualized Education Program

Measurable annual goals and short-term objectives (progress markers),1 including academic and functional goals to enable

students to be involved in and make progress in the general curriculum and to meet other needs resulting

from the disability (including progress measurement

method for each goal)

Present Level of Social Skills:

Curt lashes out violently when not able to complete work, uses profanity, and refuses to follow further directions from adults.2

Social Needs:

1For students who take an alternative assessment and are assessed against other than grade-level standards, the IEP must include short-term objectives (progress markers). For other students, the IEP may include short-term objectives. The IEP must for all students clearly articulate how the student’s progress will be measured, and that progress must be reported to parents at designated intervals. 2This PLOP would be more useful if it were qualified, e.g., more than 4 times daily.

Student: Curt 15 9 2010Age: Grade: Date:

•

•

To learn anger management skills, especially regarding swearing

To learn to comply with requests

1. Teacher and/or counselor consult with behavior specialist regarding techniques and programs for teaching skills, especially anger management.

2. Provide anger management for Curt.

Services 3 times/week, 30 minutes.

3. Establish a peer group which involves role playing, etc., so Curt can see positive role models and practice newly learned anger management skills.

3.

Services 2 times/week, 30 minutes.

4. Develop a behavioral plan for Curt which gives him responsibility for charting his own behavior.

5. Provide a teacher or some other adult mentor to spend time with Curt (talking, game playing, physical activity, etc.).

Services 2 times/week, 30 minutes.

6. Provide training for the mentor regarding Curt’s needs/goals.

At the end of the 1st quarter, Curt will have had 10 or fewer detentions.

Obj. 1:

At the end of the 2nd quarter, Curt will have had 7 or fewer detentions.

Obj. 2:

At the end of the 3rd quarter, Curt will have had 4 or fewer detentions.

Obj. 3:

Curt will manage his behavior and language in an acceptable manner as reported by all of his teachers.

Goal:

During the last quarter of the academic year, Curt will have 2 or fewer detentions for any reason.

Goal:

At 2 weeks, asked at the end of class if Curt’s behavior and language were acceptable or unacceptable, 3 out of 6 teachers will say “acceptable.”

Obj. 1:

At 6 weeks, asked the same question, 4 out of 6 teachers will say “acceptable.”

Obj. 2:

At 12 weeks, asked the same question, 6 out of 6 teachers will say “acceptable.”

Obj. 3:

(continued )

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

When writing an IEP, the team should develop a document that is clear, useful, and legally defensible. The relationships among IEP components must be clear and explicit in order to maintain the focus of the individualized program—special, individually tailored in- struction to meet unique needs. In Curt’s IEP (Figure 2.2), the relationships among the com- ponents are maintained by the alignment of information across columns. Reading across the form, we find first a description of the unique characteristic or need and present level of performance, then the special services and modifications that will address that need, and then the annual goals and objectives or benchmarks related to the need.

FIGURE 2.2 Continued

Study Skills/ Organizational Needs:

• How to read text

• Note taking

• How to study notes

• Memory work

• Be prepared for class, with materials

• Lengthen and improve attention span and on-task behavior

Present Level:

Curt currently lacks skill in all these areas.

• Note taking from lectures

• Note taking while reading text

• How to study notes for a test

• Memorization hints

• Strategies for reading text to retain information

Speech/lang. therapist, resource room teacher, and content area teachers will provide Curt with direct and specific teaching of study skills, i.e.

1.

Assign a “study buddy” for Curt in each content area class.

2.

Prepare a motivation system for Curt to be prepared for class with all necessary materials.

3.

Develop a motivational plan to encourage Curt to lengthen his attention span and time on task.

4.

Provide aide to monitor on-task behaviors in first month or so of plan and teach Curt self-monitoring techniques.

5.

Provide motivational system and self-recording form for completion of academic tasks in each class.

6.

At the end of academic year, Curt will have better grades and, by his own report, will have learned new study skills.

Goal:

Given a 20–30 min. lecture/oral lesson, Curt will take appropriate notes as judged by that teacher.

Obj. 1:

Given 10–15 pgs. of text to read, Curt will employ an appropriate strategy for retaining info.—i.e., mapping, webbing, outlining, notes, etc.—as judged by the teacher.

Obj. 2:

Given notes to study for a test, Curt will do so successfully as evidenced by his test score.

Obj. 3:

Unique educational needs, characteristics, and measured

present levels of academic achievement and functional

performance (PLOPs)

(including how the disability affects the student’s ability to participate & progress in the general curriculum)

Special education, related services and supplemental aids and services, (based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable); assistive

technology and modifications or personnel support

(including anticipated starting date, frequency, duration,

and location for each)

Measurable annual goals and short-term objectives (progress markers),1 including academic and functional goals to enable

students to be involved in and make progress in the general curriculum and to meet other needs resulting

from the disability (including progress measurement

method for each goal)

1For students who take an alternative assessment and are assessed against other than grade-level standards, the IEP must include short-term objectives (progress markers). For other students, the IEP may include short-term objectives. The IEP must for all students clearly articulate how the student’s progress will be measured, and that progress must be reported to parents at designated intervals.

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

Adaptations to Regular Program:

• • •

•

In all classes, Curt should sit near the front of the class. Curt should be called on often to keep him involved and on task. All teachers should help Curt with study skills as trained by spelling/language specialist and resource room teacher. Teachers should monitor Curt’s work closely in the beginning weeks/months of his program.

Special education, related services and supplemental aids and services, (based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable); assistive

technology and modifications or personnel support

(including anticipated starting date, frequency, duration,

and location for each)

Academic Needs/ Written Language:

Curt needs strong remedial help in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and usage.

Present Level:

Curt is approximately 2 grade levels behind his peers in these skills.

1. Provide direct instruction in written language skills (punctuation, capitalization, usage, spelling) by using a highly structured, well- sequenced program.

Services provided in small group of no more than four students in the resource room, 50 minutes/day.

2. Build in continuous and cumulative review to help with short-term rote memory difficulty.

3. Develop a list of commonly used words in student writing (or use one of many published lists) for Curt’s spelling program.

Within one academic year, Curt will improve his written language skills by 1.5 or 2 full grade levels to a 6.0 grade level as measured by a standardized test.

Goal :

Given 10 sentences of dictation at his current level of instruction, Curt will punctuate and capitalize with 90% accuracy (checked at the end of each unit taught).

Obj. 1:

Given 30 sentences with choices of usage, at his current instructional level, Curt will make the correct choice in 28 or more sentences.

Obj. 2:

Given a list of 150 commonly used words in 6th grade writing, Curt will spell 95% of the words correctly.

Obj. 3:

Unique educational needs, characteristics, and measured

present levels of academic achievement and functional

performance (PLOPs)

(including how the disability affects the student’s ability to participate & progress in the general curriculum)

Measurable annual goals and short-term objectives (progress markers),1 including academic and functional goals to enable

students to be involved in and make progress in the general curriculum and to meet other needs resulting

from the disability (including progress measurement

method for each goal)

1For students who take an alternative assessment and are assessed against other than grade-level standards, the IEP must include short-term objectives (progress markers). For other students, the IEP may include short-term objectives. The IEP must for all students clearly articulate how the student’s progress will be measured, and that progress must be reported to parents at designated intervals.

FIGURE 2.2 Continued

The process of writing an IEP and the document itself are perhaps the most impor- tant features of compliance with the spirit and letter of IDEA. Bateman and Linden (2006) summarize this compliance; when the IEP is prepared as intended by the law:

• The student’s needs have been carefully assessed.

• A team of professionals and the parents have worked together to design a program of education to best meet the student’s needs.

• Goals and objectives are stated clearly so that progress in reaching them can be evaluated.

A major problem is that the IEP is often written at the wrong time and for the wrong reason (Bateman & Linden, 2006). As Figure 2.3 illustrates, the legal IEP is written after eval- uation and identification of the student’s disabilities and before a placement decision is made: Educators first determine what the student needs and then make a decision about placement in the least restrictive environment in which the needed services can be pro- vided. Too often, we see the educationally wrong (and illegal) practice of basing the IEP

INTERNETRESOURCES

A helpful resource for developing IEPs is available from Wrightslaw at http:// www.wrightslaw.com/info/ iep.index.htm ■■■

Source: Reprinted with permission from Bateman, B. D., & Linden, M. A. (2006). Better IEPs: How to develop legally correct and educationally useful programs (4th ed.). Verona, WI: Attainment.

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

Right way:

1. Evaluation/Identification 3. Placement2. IEP

Wrong way:

1. Evaluation/Identification 2. Placement 3. IEP

FIGURE 2.3 The right and wrong routes to placement

TABLE 2.2 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements for the Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP)

An IFSP must include

1. A statement of the child’s present level of development in these areas: physical (including vision, hearing, and health status), cognitive, communication, psychosocial, and adaptive behavior.

2. A statement of family strengths, resources, concerns, and priorities related to the child’s development. 3. A statement of the major outcomes expected to be achieved for the child and family. 4. A statement of the frequency, intensity, and method of delivering the early intervention services necessary to produce desired outcomes

for the child and family. 5. A statement of the natural environments where services will be provided or a statement explaining why services will not be provided in

natural environments. 6. Projected dates for the initiation of services and anticipated duration of services. 7. The name of a service coordinator responsible for implementation of the IFSP and coordination with other agencies/professionals. 8. Steps to be implemented to ensure successful transition (a transition plan) to preschool services provided by the public schools. 9. Written consent from the parents or legal guardian.

on an available placement; that is, a student’s IEP is written after available placements and services have been considered.

Another common error in writing the IEP is a reliance on state standards. A “standards- based” IEP is one that focuses on outcomes based on state standards rather than on individ- ual student needs (Bateman, 2011). Clearly, state standards and access to the general education curriculum are important; however, a student’s individualized education program should be based on outcomes appropriate for the child and not on dictated state standards.

Individualized Family Service Plan Federal laws now require that a variety of early intervention services be available to all in- fants and toddlers who are identified as having disabilities. Such services include special education instruction, physical therapy, speech and language therapy, and medical diag- nostic services. As with school-age children with disabilities, a legal document, individualized family service plan (IFSP) describes the services that the child will re- ceive. An IFSP is similar to an IEP for older children, but it broadens the focus to include the family as well as the child. In fact, federal regulations stipulate that the family be in- volved in the development of the IFSP. Table 2.2 describes the legal requirements of an IFSP. As Noonan and McCormick (2006) note, an IFSP may be written for children up to 6 years of age, but usually an IFSP is written for infants and children up to 3 years of age, with the IEP being more common for children three and older.

Transition Plans for Adolescents with Disabilities Most students complete high school and find jobs, enter a vocational training program, or go to college without experiencing major adjustment difficulties. We know that dropout and

Source: Adapted by permission from Bateman, B. D., & Linden, M. A. (2006). Better IEPs: How to develop legally correct and educationally useful programs (4th ed.). Verona, WI: Attainment.

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INTERNETRESOURCES

Two helpful resources for Early Childhood Special Education include The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center at http://www.nectac.org/ default.asp and the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, which provides resources for both individualized family service plans and transition plans for individuals with disabilities at http://www .nichcy.org/ ■■■

CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

unemployment rates are far too high for all youths, especially in economically depressed communities, but the outlook for students with disabilities is perhaps even worse. We must view published figures on dropout rates with caution because there are many different ways of defining the term and computing the statistics. Studies strongly suggest, however, that a higher percentage of students with disabilities, compared to students without disabilities, have difficulty in making the transition from adolescence to adulthood and from school to work. As a result, many individuals with disabilities do not achieve postsecondary degrees, are unemployed or underemployed, and have lower quality of life outcomes (Everson & Trowbridge, 2011; Moon, 2011; & Scanlon, 2011). Thus, transition to adulthood—which includes employment, postsecondary education, independent living, and community engagement—is an ongoing issue of great importance.

Federal laws, including IDEA, require attention to transition plans for older stu- dents, and these must be incorporated in students’ IEPs. Transition services include a co- ordinated set of outcome-oriented activities that promote movement from school to postsecondary education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing adult education, adult services, independent liv- ing, or community participation.

IDEA requires that each student’s IEP contain a statement of needed transition ser- vices, when the student is 16 years of age and annually thereafter. (For students for whom it is appropriate or who are deemed at risk of failure, the transition statement must be in- cluded in the IEP at a younger age.) In addition, the IEP must include a statement of the linkages and/or responsibilities of each participating agency before the student leaves the school setting.

PROVIDING SPECIAL EDUCATION: PLACEMENT ISSUES FOR EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS Several administrative plans are available for the education of exceptional learners, ranging from a few special provisions made by the student’s general education teacher to 24-hour residential care in a special facility. Who educates exceptional students and where they re- ceive their education depend on two factors: (1) how and how much the student differs from typical students and (2) what resources are available in the school and community. Administrative plans for education vary according to the degree of physical integration— the extent to which exceptional and nonex- ceptional students are taught in the same place by the same teachers.

Beginning with the least specialized environment, the general education teacher who is aware of the individual needs of stu- dents and is skilled at meeting them may be able to acquire appropriate materials, equipment, and/or instructional methods. This level might not require the direct ser- vices of specialists; the expertise of the gen- eral education teacher might meet the student’s needs. Some students with disabil- ities can be accommodated without special education.

Alternatively, the general education teacher might need to consult with a special educator or other professional (e.g., the school psychologist) in addition to acquiring the special materials, equipment, or meth- ods. The special educator might instruct the general education teacher, refer the teacher to other resources, or demonstrate the use of

General education teachers often consult with a special education or other professional who can provide resources and advice about specialized methods of instruction for students in inclusive classrooms. © Bob Daemmrich/PhotoEdit

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CURRENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXCEPTIONAL LEARNERS

Least specialized

Least separate

Most specialized

Most separate

General education class only

Itinerant teacher

Resource teacher

Self-contained special class Homebound

or hospital instruction

Special day school Residential

school General education class with consultation or co-teaching

FIGURE 2.4 Continuum of placement options showing hypothetical relationship be- tween degree of separateness from general education classroom peers and degree of specialness