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How Different Are We, Really?

Unfortunately, almost all students in today's society lack experience interacting with

special education students. As a result, they choose to stay away from these students, for fear of

unintentionally saying or doing the wrong thing. Even their best intentions are often hindered

by their false interpretations and misconceptions of the behavior and mindset of special needs

students. This lack of understanding results in the unwillingness of students to approach and

interact with their special needs peers, which is extremely unfortunate for both sets of students.

Interaction with special needs students has played a large role in the development of the person I

am today.

I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to assist in a special needs class at

Woodside Elementary School for about three years. My mom was the principal there, and

everyday I was dropped off at her office after school. I would promptly and anxiously run to the

special ed room upon my arrival to see my friends. Although this was an amazing experience, it

wasnt easy at first. Learning how to collaborate and connect with students of various disabilities

was challenging. I too was scared. Among these 14 students, I was exposed to children with

autism, downs syndrome, cerebral palsy, asperger's, as well as students with delayed intellectual

development. Some of these students were severely disabled, in huge wheelchairs with feeding

tubes and speech devices that talk for them. Of course, I was intimidated and timid when

interacting with these students for the first time. However, over time, I learned their strengths

and their weaknesses, positive and negative aspects, and what adjustments needed to be made to

help them function to their fullest. I learned it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I developed the

understanding that each students brain is capable of learning, but for some it just simply comes

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differently. There is no specific rule book to dealing with children with disabilities, as each one is

unique and different in their own way, which is what makes them so remarkable. Another

important lesson that these students have taught me is that they are not dumb. In fact, most of

them are actually quite intelligent. This is an extremely common but untrue stigma that

integration of special needs students in schools could erase.

Interacting with special needs students is one of the most rewarding activities I have ever

done. They are all extraordinary people, and I see a certain light in their eyes that not everyone

possesses. After working with them, I feel warm and elated as though I just accomplished

something magnificent. These students have the ability to turn my day around and constantly put

a smile on my face. I truly believe that having these people in my life has made me a better

person and has shaped how I look at the world and treat others on a daily basis. It is for these

reasons that I feel a deep compassion for these students. I sympathize with their struggles, and

attempt to decrease the belief of common social stigmas and stereotypes associated with these

students daily. Do these unfair stereotypes arise from the separation of special education students

from general education students in schools? Are disabled students better off isolated from their

peers? These ponderings have led me to my question: How does the separation of physically and

intellectually disabled students in schools affect their lives and society as a whole?

Prior to volunteering at Northgate's special education department, I had no idea that the

cooking room at Northgate High School even existed. Upon walking in, the smell of vanilla

permeating and the crackle of bacon frying reminded me of a pleasant Sunday morning. Walking

through the plastic white gate guarding the entrance, I was greeted by Gus, Antonio and Joolee.

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They were of course, accompanied by Mrs. V, the cooking teacher, and their behavioral specialist

as well. Helpful food charts picturing the different food groups and vivid illustrations of unique

dishes lined the walls. Delicious French toast and bacon were in the process of being made and

each student was on task with their job. Gus was setting the circular wooden table, Joolee was

assisting Mrs. V with wiping down the counter, and Antonio was preparing the meal. Eventually,

the six of us gathered around the table and began indulging ourselves in the sweet breakfast style

course. What impressed me the most was how successful and efficient the clean up was. Each

student had a specific job that they performed which contributed to their overall success. They

showed me the ropes and made me feel welcomed into the group. The mouthwatering food and

great company are some of the reasons why I enjoy volunteering at the special needs cooking

class so much.

One main issue concerning my question is that the answer does vary greatly with every

student. Every student, every person that is, learns differently. There is no exception to this basic

principle when it comes to special needs students. In the book, Exceptional Learners: An

Introduction to Special Education, Daniel Hallahan states, The study of exceptional learners is

the study of both differences and similarities. The exceptional learner differs in some way from

the average. In very simple terms, such a person might have problems or special talents in

thinking, seeing, hearing, speaking, socializing, or moving (Hallahan 3).Ultimately, each

special needs student has different needs and wants and functions differently in separate

environments. This is important to keep in mind when considering my question.

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Each special needs student, in order to set up their level of separation and curriculum map

in schools, must go through the IEP process. Ideally, the IEP (Individualized Education

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Program) program will correctly identify each student's strengths and areas of needed

improvement. Each students IEP will determine the level of separation that will support them

the most while attending school and getting an education. There are two steps in the process of

getting an IEP. First, an evaluation of the student must occur. Essentially, a parent, teacher,

school psychologist, or anyone else who suspects that a student is evidently struggling can

request an evaluation. The actual evaluation includes a series of tests and often times the child

is observed in their everyday environments. Following this evaluation, a decision must be made.

An IEP team, which normally consists of educated parents and school officials will analyze the

evaluation of the student and determine whether the student will need special education services

in order to learn the general school curriculum. The Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act (IDEA) is a federal law that ensures that schools give proper education to students with

disabilities. Not every student with learning or attention issues qualifies for an IEP. This being

said, the IDEA covers 13 disabilities that, if diagnosed, will ensure students an IEP. Those

disabilities include, Autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing

impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health

impairment (including ADHD), specific learning disability (including dyslexia, dyscalculia and

dysgraphia, among others), speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual

impairment (including blindness) (Special Education). According to Andrew Lee, special

education professional for Understand.org, As of 2012, about 5.8 million school-age children in

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the United States receive special education services as a result of IDEA. More than 40 percent

roughly 2.3 millionare students identified with a specific learning disability(Lee). IEPs are

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very extensive and are based on the idea that each student is unique and different and requires

their own program to function at their fullest.

IEPs are loaded with information on the student and include: each student's current

status, meaning the students academic achievement and functional performance, services to be

provided, progress measures, goals, assessment plans, additional considerations, and, most

importantly, the amount of inclusion in mainstream setting that the student will be offered. A well

written IEP will assist each student greatly in accomplishing their goals and making significant

functional and intellectual progress in the process. It is important to consider that even students

with an IEP, are by law entitled to participation in non-specialized environments at the highest

level possible. This is called least- restrictive environment (LRE). Amanda Morin asserts, The

intent of LRE is to make sure that kids who receive special education are included in the general

education classroom as often as possible(Morin). Typically, when LRE is brought up, the words

mainstreaming and inclusion are as well. Contrary to popular belief, these two words have

separate meanings. As reported by Sandy Wiggs, A mainstream classroom is a general

education classroom. Mainstreaming means putting your child with special education needs in

the general education classroom for some or most of the day. Your child may also have some

instruction in a special education classroom(Wiggs).On the other hand, An inclusion

classroom is a general education classroom that has students who receive special education.

Inclusion is a teaching approach that focuses on including students with special education needs

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in the school community (Wiggs). Inclusion is not only the placement of a student in a general

education class, it is also intended to have that student actively participate in the classroom,

lessons, and extracurricular activities.

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 Special education students with IEPs that permit them to little or no integration with non

specialized classrooms have very different curriculums than their peers. Even highly functional

students with severe disabilities such as autism or down syndrome need a curriculum adjusted to

what they are capable of accomplishing. Students with disabilities of this nature, although they

attend all required educational courses and hours, will not graduate with a diploma applicable

outside of school. The reason for this is because these students are not following the general

curriculum that non-specialized students are following. In Teaching Students With Learning

Problems, Cecil Mercer states, They arent learning about World History, math, or grammar.

Rather life skills that will benefit them in the future(Mercer 67). They learn how to wash dishes,

do laundry, cook food, handle money, and other helpful skills of this nature. The very different

curriculum that these students must follow requires a certain amount of separation which is

completely necessary and most likely beneficial. However, not all of these students are able to be

integrated with regular education students, which is very unfortunate.

Educator Terrie Dunlap is an advocate for the integration of special ed students in schools

and believes that because of this separation, we look at special needs children the wrong way. In

her Ted Talk, Isnt it Pity? The Real Problem With Special Needs, she voices her opinion that the

more we label these students as special and push them into their own separate activities,

classrooms, and schools, we are sending a message that they are not welcome in the regular

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activities. Dunlap says, I believe that special has become a euphemism for separate,When we

create a separate, special place for children where their special needs can be met, we are

teaching them that their place is over there, with people like them and not in the full

community(Spotlight TEDx). In her presentation, Dunlap provides a quote from the World

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Report on Disabilities which reads, Children with disabilities are among the worlds most

marginalized and excluded children(World Health). Take a moment to think about that. If more

integration was implicated in schools would this statement be true? The World Health

organization, authors of the World Report on Disabilities also quotes, Institutions and

organizations also need to change in addition to individuals and environments to avoid

excluding people with disabilities(World Health). This exclusion not only affects the disabled

children but society as well, because it gives people the idea that disabled people are not one of

us and that they are meant to be in separate environments.

Fortunately, I was able to interview Marianna Grimaldi, a long time special needs aide

who has experience caring for students with varying levels of cerebral palsy, down syndrome and

autism. Not only has Grimaldi been assisting these students for the past 20 years, but her

daughter has autism as well. Interviewing Grimaldi was extremely constructive and helped me

narrow down the answer to my question because I was able to gain insight from not only an

aides perspective, but a parent's perspective as well. I interviewed Grimaldi after school on a

sunny afternoon on a bench outside of the special day classroom at Northgate. When I asked the

smiling Grimaldi if her daughter had ever been bullied or discriminated against by a non-special

ed student, she thoughtfully responded, ...With kids with special needs, sometimes you don't

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know if the disability is such that you yourself don't know that you have a disability. You cannot

tell. So, with Hemena, I pretty much go by her expression, and I would say 99.9% of the time she

has a smile on her face, which is what counts, right? However, it is common that students with

disabilities, you know, can get depressed. Whether it comes from regular ed kids teasing them or

the lack of interaction with regular ed kids, or seeing regular ed kids and wishing they could do

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what they do. Hemena, Grimaldis daughter, is nonverbal. This being said, Grimaldi examines

her facial expressions in order to understand how she is doing, and she quotes, Hemena seems

to like working with regular education kids. She wants to blend in. According to Secretary

Duncan of the U.S. Department of Education, Factors such as physical vulnerability, social

skills challenges, or intolerant environments may increase the risk of bullying(Keeping

Students). Unfortunately, bullying has proven to be a leading factor in causing depression

among special ed students. After considering the negative aspects of integration, I asked Mariana

what she thought the benefits could be. She replied:

Integration could be beneficial to special ed student in many ways. First, when integrated

in regular classrooms, these students get to see what we call regular speech and activities

that these kids do. The regular ed kids unconsciously lead by example. With inclusion in

regular ed classes these kids also learn how to behave in the world when surrounded by

regular education peers. They learn what they can do and what they cant, which helps

them in places outside of school.

From interviewing Mariana, I was able to understand the negative and positive aspects of

integration and that the process is much more complicated than it seems.

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Lastly, I interviewed another expert on this subject, Alisa Rosillo. I called Rosillo on

March 8th and she seemed to be in a very positive mood. Rosillo is an extremely knowledgable

and articulate individual who has dedicated the majority of her life researching special education

programs in schools and creating ways to benefit her own sons education. Rosillo has three

children; Leo, Max and Anna. Leo has cerebral palsy and Max has downs syndrome, but both

suffer complete body paralysis and inability to communicate through speech. When asked her

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opinion on the benefits of integration, Rosillo responded, I think that it is important for students

to be in the Least Restrictive Environment and included as much as possible in a way that

benefits everyone. But, I definitely think that more inclusion is better, and it should be done in a

way that empowers everybody. Rosillo then detailed a few examples of successful inclusion that

her sons have experienced throughout their years of education. Rosillo also quoted:

My daughter goes to a private Catholic school. And, quite frankly, when my boys roll on

to campus, that is a group of students who are not acclimated or integrated with students

with special needs or disabilities. So, usually, what you dont understand, you stay away

from. This hurts my boys and those students. More integration could help fix this.

Interviewing Rosillo proved very helpful in breaking down the complexity of my two part

question by addressing the effects of the regular education and special education students as well.

Through extensive research and interviews, I developed a deeper understanding of why

disabled students are separated from the general population in schools, and what determines their

level of separation. Diverging curriculums and inability to function with a disability are two

primary factors that keep special needs students in their own classrooms. As I learned, each

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student is entitled to an appropriate education, which includes integration with regular ed

students. Unfortunately, sometimes IEP teams conclude that some students are unable to

function in regular ed environments and so they are excluded. This exclusion, I have learned,

sends a negative message to not only the disabled students but society as well. That message is

that these children are not meant to be included and that they are incapable of functioning in a

normal environment. It has been proven that this negative stigma results in the bullying or

teasing of disabled students by non disabled students. To me, everyone should reach out to

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 disabled students regardless of fear or uneasiness. However, the fact of the matter is that almost

everybody who hasn't received or taken the opportunity to interact with special needs students

feels awkward or uncomfortable around them. For this reason, they avoid them. Inclusion in

schools would not only benefit disabled students, but their regular ed peers as well because they

will feel comfortable when surrounded by people unlike them and learn to appreciate that

different is good.

Although I believe that this separation is mostly negative, there are some benefits. For

disabled students that aren't capable of following the same curriculum map, special day

classrooms work very well and assist them in functioning to their fullest. These special day

classrooms also give these students a strong base to hold on to, as Grimaldi said. The ultimate goal of

teachers, staff members, parents and friends of disabled students is to ensure their happiness and

security. If separation from regular education classrooms can contribute to their overall success, it is

most definitely beneficial.

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Works Cited

Print

Hallahan, Daniel P., et al. Exceptional Learners: an Introduction to Special Education. Boston ;

Munich, Pearson Education, 2012.

Mercer, Cecil D., and Ann R. Mercer. Teaching students with learning problems. Merrill

Publishing Co, 1989.

World Health Organization [and] The World Bank. World Report on Disability. Geneva,

Switzerland:World Health Organization, 2011.

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Electronic

Keeping Students with Disabilities Safe from Bullying. ED.gov Blog, 21 Aug. 2013,

blog.ed.gov/2013/08/keeping-students-with-disabilities-safe-from-bullying/. Accessed 19

Mar. 2017.

Lee, Andrew M.I. How IDEA Protects You and Your Child. Understood.org,

www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-

rights/how-idea-protects-you-and-your-child. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017.

Morin, Amanda. Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): What You Need to Know.

Understood.org, www.understood.org/en/school-learning/special-services/special-

education-basics/least-restrictive-environment-lre-what-you-need-to-know. Accessed 20

Mar. 2017.

Special Education. Special Education - Specialized Programs (CA Dept of Education),

www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2017.

Spotlight TEDx Talk: Why Separating Kids with Disabilities from Their Peers Hurts

Instead of Helps. TEDx Innovations Blog, 28 May 2015,

tedxinnovations.ted.com/2015/04/02/spotlight-tedx-talk-why-separating-kids-with-

disabilities-from-their-peers-hurts-instead-of-helps/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017.

Wiggs, Sandy. The Individualized Education Program Process in Special Education.

Special Education Guide, www.specialeducationguide.com/pre-k-12/individualized-

education-programs-iep/the-iep-process-explained/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017.

Personal Interview

Grimaldi, Mariana. Personal Interview. 1 March 2017.

Rosillo, Alisa. Personal Interview. 8 March 2017.

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