Olivier, M.A.J., & Williams, E.E. (2005).

Teaching the mentally handicapped child: The challenges teachers are facing. International Journal of Special Education, 20:2, 19-31.

The research in this article studied the difficulties faced by special education teachers. Commonly looked down upon in the teaching realm, these teachers have different needs than the teachers of mainstream learners. They are often viewed as less of a teacher, but are frequently more than just a teacher. They assume the responsibility of teacher, nurse, social worker, therapist, and sometimes parent. In this article, the pressures such as that accompany the title of special education teacher are analyzed. The research design is thoroughly displayed and the results are analyzed. The findings are then backed up by guidelines and options that will alleviate some of the problems and stresses faced by the educators. Overall, teaching mentally handicapped students requires more work and responsibility. Also, there are issues such as added stress and stigma. There are two main arguments or themes addressed in this article that are very thoroughly discussed in this research. Firstly, special education is extremely challenging by nature, is supported by the quote, teaching methods for mentally handicapped are more challenging because there are different levels of handicaps for each student. These students do not fully understand constructive criticism. Theme two says that special education teachers need special things that other teacher may not have to ask to get by quotes such as There are numerous options for workshops for mainstream teachers, but noticeably less of that type of tool for special education teacher. Also, that These teachers do not get adequate support from school administration and funding to operate as efficiently as mainstream programs. Overall, the themes were well-supported with quotes and reasoning.

I chose this article to use in my inquiry because it supports one of my main arguments-that everyone affects the special students school experience, not just other students. Along with quotes that firmly support the point I am making, there are several quotes that underline other problems that mentally handicapped student face. I am using the information in this article in the second half of my paper which focuses on special education teachers and their stressors. In this article it is argued that many teachers of mentally handicapped children experience inability to handle their occupational situation efficiently and they find it hard to cope with the unique demands of their daily tasks, such as that a mentally handicapped child requires much more than ordinary teaching and assistance. (p. 20) He [the special needs student] is often treated with little interest or sympathy, with uneasiness, fear, embarrassment, and disgust. (p.19) Some mentally handicapped students are also multi-handicapped. (p. 25) They made numerous references to the fact that they serve not only as teachers but as class aids, nurses, therapists, and often parents. (p.26)

Rothlisberg, B., & Hill, R. (1994). Social acceptance by their peers of children with mental retardation. Psychological Reports, 74, 239-242.

This article researches the willingness of fourth grade boys and girls to accept mentally handicapped students in the classroom setting. After their research, Rothlisberg and Hill discovered that when mentally handicapped students are labeled as mentally handicapped to normal learning students, they are automatically thought about differently, almost less of a peer than the others. These wrong perceptions change the dynamic of the class drastically, often distracting the normal students because they simply do not understand why the mentally handicapped children are different. The special students are made less popular and less-likely to be chosen as a partner for play or group work. This change in dynamic can be physically and emotionally harmful if not closely monitored and guided. Overall, because of the inevitable label of mentally handicapped, the article came to the conclusion that they had a difficult time gaining the social acceptance of their peers. The research in this article is solid and makes a point, but is lacking in supporting evidence. The article itself is only four pages long, which includes one chart and the indented abstract. Several points were made and hypothesis were proven through research, but it was explained minimally. There needs to be more examples given to make the research sound more extensive. Even though the support is weak, there is still a lot of valuable information that can be used. More research should be done to add to the depth of the experiment. This article supports one of my main arguments, that normal learning students develop a certain negative perception of mentally handicapped students that leads to an unenjoyable classroom environment for the special education students. Even though there is not much information about the research, the information provided is full of things I will use in the first

half of my paper, which concentrates on how nondisabled students affect disabled students negatively. Since negative attributions associated with labels might impede the childrens acceptance by non-labeled peers, it is important to understand how the perceptions of classified children could threaten their adaptation to the regular educational environment. (p. 240) Children with disabilities may be well-less popular because their social and academic skills do not match peer expectation and norms. (p. 241) If these results reflect the typical fourth graders reaction to an opportunity to interact with students with disabilities, then the consequences of inclusion may not be positive for these students unless the situation is carefully monitored. (p. 241)

Clarke, E. T. (1964). Childrens perception of a special class for educable mentally retarded children. Exceptional Children, (289-295).

This articles research was based on how school-age children viewed the students, behaviors, and teachers of the mentally handicapped class. In the beginning, it introduced common derogatory themes and language associated with the special class. The main point was that the special class was more of a dummy room than seen as just another different classroom. The point of the research was to see exactly what the normal learning students thought about the class and compare it to the stigma. The study surveyed several students and found that at that particular school, only six percent of the normal students thought derogatorily about the mentally handicapped class. This article is mostly comprised of statistical vernacular. The stigma associated with mentally handicapped students and classes is that they are dummies or they are crazy. The argument of this article is that the reality is not as harsh as the stigma leads to believe. However, this argument could have been better tested by surveying other schools and grade levels in addition to the one school and grade level in the article. It also goes against the grain of exponential numbers of research. Because it is weakly supported and is so different than the norm, this makes the information slightly unbelievable to someone who has experience working in the field of special education. Overall, there were several quotes in the article that add to one of the main points in my inquiry, that normal learning students tend to have a negative attitude towards the mentally handicapped students. However, this articles have showed me that in some cases the children are more accepting than expected. I will use these quotes throughout my paper to support that thesis. Childrens parlance for special classes is dummy rooms, and use words like dummy, crazy, and baby. (p. 289)

A child who finds himself rejected and attacked by all sides is not likely to develop dignity and pose as his outstanding traits. On the contrary, he develops defenses. (p.291) Derogations were twice as frequent in boys as in girls. (p. 292)

Shen, Aviva. (August 9, 2012). Ohio and Florida Public Schools Lock Mentally Disabled Children in Closets. ThinkProgress. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/education/2012/08/09/667931/ohio-florida-schoolclosets/?mobile=nc This article is about the unethical treatment of some mentally handicapped students in public schools in Ohio and Florida. When the students are acting up, which may be no more than them trying their best to communicate, they are put into seclusion. This seclusion is similar to a cell, taking the form of an old large closet or office. Their parents not told of this disciplinary measure. In Ohio, the seclusion is not regulated whatsoever. In the 2009-2010 school year, there were more than 4,000 times when the students were put in seclusion. In Florida, there were over 4,000 each year from 2010-2012. Most of these kids were in the fifth grade or under. These seclusion rooms but be checked by the fire marshall and the lights must be left on. One teacher sent her students to the seclusion room more than sixty times in one year.

There is really not an argument here, but there should be. Sending mentally handicapped children to seclusion in a room by themselves is extremely unethical when they are not being violent. This article was mainly written to inform, but there is some underlying bias using bolded wording and certain phrases to suggest anti-seclusion from the writer. The writer uses hard facts versus opinions from victims or teachers. As stated before, the intent of the writer is to inform the readers that this practice is happening, and Shiva does her job completely.

Although this article enrages me, I will use this article in my inquiry as a perfect example of how some little-trained and ill-suited special education teachers can react when their students are simply being mentally handicapped children.

To discipline misbehaving students, public schools in Ohio and Florida regularly send children to seclusion isolation in a locked cell-like room, old office, or closet, NPRs State Impact reports. Many of these children are special needs students and their parents are not always told of this disciplinary practice. The state has just three stipulations for using seclusion rooms: teachers may not choke or suffocate students, the room must be approved by a fire marshal, and the lights must be left on. But last school year, one Pickerington special-education teacher sent children to a seclusion room more than 60 times, district records show. In nearly all of those incidents, the children were not violent. Often, they were sent to the seclusion room for being mouthy, or whining about their school work. Pickerington Special Education Director Bob Blackburn said the teacher in that classroom was new and that someone in the district has now taught her the right way to use the seclusion room. Other Pickerington teachers misused the rooms, too, though. In another classroom, children were secluded more than 30 times last school year. Two-thirds of those instances involved misbehavior and not violence, district records show. Far from benefiting violent or rowdy students, seclusion has been found to be deeply traumatizing, sometimes leading children to hurt or kill themselves. In one special education school in Georgia, a 13-year-old boy hung himself in a seclusion room in November 2004.

Marinelli, R. P., & Dell Orto, A. E. (1991). The Psychological and Social Impact of Disability. New York: Springer Publishing Company. This work examines all of the different life aspects of being an individual with a disability. There are chapters on family relationships, social relationships, social media, the workplace, school, and the origins of how disabled people got the stigma of being different and

unaccepted. Overall, the book focused on disability in general, versus focusing on mental disabilities. In the chapters on mental disabilities, it authors wrote about the different types of research and personal testimonies that attributed to the difficulties of young individuals with mental retardation. Instead of arguments, there were theories and testimonies given. The information was parallel to the other sources of inquiry in several aspects. For example, there is a terrible stigma is attached to being mentally handicapped and Marinelli quotes that labels like dummy and slow and retard can quickly become self-fulfilling prophecies if they arent dispelled. This book has proven to have useful information for my inquiry. There are many quotes that support my thesis that peers greatly influence school-age mentally handicapped children. Fortunately, I can use this information in all sections of my paper. -Although it is clear that psychosocial factors add to the difficulties of adjustment and adaptation of disabled adolescents, disabled teenagers and their parents receive insufficient support and guidance from all varieties of care providers. (p.70) -Peers play a more important role in adolescence than in childhood. (p.70) -Labeling someone as mentally retarded creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. (p.158)