Learning Disabilities & Instruction

When it comes to special needs, there are two distinct camps: those who wish to segregate in self-contained classrooms of similar students and those who promote inclusion.

As a child I can recall the "Resource Room" students who hardly ever interacted with the general student population at Ostrander Elementary School.  It was hard to even peer into their classroom, but when I did I remember seeing students slouched in chairs or hearing loud noises.  I came to view these kids not as peers, but as students who were less capable than I and thus unfit to spend their time in my presence.  This sounds pompous, but it was how my school environment led me to view students with special needs.  I did have two friends who went to Reading & Math lab while the rest of the class worked together in these subjects, and I didn't think less of their abilities since I had the opportunity to interact with them on a social level and in other ways in the classroom.

Although I say that I wish we'd had more inclusive classes, I hope that would include challenging all students to their individual abilities.  There were times when I wasn't challenged enough and it could be reflected in my achievement  (I earned better grades in Honors Spanish than in the regular class).  It isn't hard for me to then imagine how if a student is not met at his or her level they won't progress.

Patrick Schwarz¹, author of "From Disability to Possibility: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms," shares his experiences with special needs students in a wonderfully concise and positive way.  His book provides numerous accounts of the success of inclusiveness.  Unfortunately, my own perception is that inclusiveness is best attained when there are numerous experienced staff members with plenty of time, legal documents, involved parents and flexible and empathetic educators.  Without these people to recognize a need, advocate for special consideration, determine the needs of the student, brainstorm creative plans, take the time to implement them and to effectively assess the outcomes it is easy to understand why so many students don't value themselves and their education.

When these people and services are present, the results can be remarkable.  Schwarz comments that, "often, meeting the learning needs of students on either end of the learning spectrum (students with gifts and challenges) improves the quality of education in the entire classroom" (p. 15).

I hate the fact that there has to be legal documents to allow students to receive special considerations.  Why can't we just observe and evaluate enough to understand that all students are going to need different approaches to the same situation?  I worry that so many students are not presented with educational experiences in the most empowering way possible because their teachers don't have the legal binding or don't feel that they are responsible for providing differentiation.  Schwarz summarizes this thought by saying, "Traditional viewpoints are outdated now that general educators deal with much more diversity in their classrooms and special educators are responsible for helping their teachers achieve a general education" (p. 17).

Schwarz maintains that although inclusion is not easy it is better.  "True inclusion is the attitude that all students belong everywhere, with everyone else, in the school community" (p. 34).

I have spoken with many colleagues on the topic of inclusion.  Most do identify with Schwarz that it is often better for the student with special needs. Nearly all of them, however, also remarked that although exposing "regular" students to diversity has its benefits having one or more students with significant special needs can adversely affect these student's experience.  Then it seems to become a question of who sacrifices the most.

My colleagues, who represent various roles as educators in a variety of settings, all also identified that there isn't nearly enough experience, staff and time to truly meet the diverse needs of an inclusive classroom.

APPROACHING INSTRUCTION

Given how many different kinds of disabilities there are and that teachers who really care about their students focus on their individual needs, I feel that the least overwhelming and most helpful way to plan for educating students with special needs is to simply practice empathy and patience.  I have found the following videos to be insightful.  The first focuses on student's experiences with their learning disabilities.  The second helps to explain various types of learning disabilities.  The woman in the third describes a specific suggestion she gives to students.  She gives this as an example of how a strategy for students with learning disabilities can benefit all students.  Schwarz makes many mentions of this concept, and so it should be an overarching theme: instead of singling out students and making accommodations, we should instead assess their needs and work to integrate them into our general instruction.

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1 Schwarz, P. (2006). From disability to possibility: The power of inclusive classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. ^↩