Chapter 2

SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

Many of the things we need can wait

The child cannot.
Right now is the time.
His bones are being formed
His blood is being made
And his senses are being developed.
To him, we cannot answer
'Tomorrow.'
His name is 'Today.'
Gabriela Mistral Nobel Prize Laureate, Chile

Course professors are encouraged to use visual aids in presenting the different topics in
this chapter.
At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to:
1. define the following terms: prevalence, identifiable prevalence, true prevalence, incidence;
2. compare the prevalence estimate of children with special needs done by the UNICEF and
the World Health Organization;
3. explain the figure on the true prevalence of Filipino children and youth with special needs;
4. describe the different special education programs and services offered by the Philippine
public and private schools or institutions and cite examples for each;
5. discuss the definition of inclusive education and its salient features; and
6. enumerate the support services extended to children with special needs.

The quotation cited impresses the urgency of EDUCATION FOR ALL children and youth
irrespective of race, religious affiliations, socio and economic status and gender. As learned in the
previous chapter, the Philippine Constitution and other laws of the land guarantee education for all
Filipino children and youth. Those who have exceptional gift and talent, those with intellectual and
physical disabilities, those with emotional and behavior disorders, like their peers in regular
schools, benefit from special education programs and services.
The Special Education Division of the Bureau of Elementary Education is in-charge of all the
programs and services in the country. It has the following functions:
(1) formulate policies, plans and programs;
(2) develop standards of programs and services;
(3) monitor and evaluate the efficiency of programs and services;
(4) conduct in-service training programs to upgrade the competencies of special education
administrators, teachers and ancillary personnel; and
(5) establish and strengthen linkages and networks. This chapter presents the array of
special education programs and services that are implemented in the different regions of
the country.
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Prevalence of Children and Youth with Special Needs

Prevalence refers to the total number of cases of a particular condition, in this chapter,
those with exceptionality (giftedness and talent) and developmental disabilities and impairments.
Prevalence is viewed in two ways (Grossman, 1983 cited in Beirne-Smith, 2002).
Identifiable prevalence refers to the cases that have come in contact with some systems. The
number of children and youth with special needs is derived from census data. On the other hand,
true prevalence assumes that there are a larger number of children and youth with special needs
who are in school or in the community who have not been identified as such and are not in the
special education programs of the Department of Education. Meanwhile, the word incidence which
is considerably synonymous in some contexts with the term prevalence, refers to the number of
new cases identified within a population over a specific period of time.
The 1997 UNICEF report on the Situation Analysis of Children and Women in the Philippines
indicates that the mean percentage of persons with some types of disabilities is 13.4 per one
thousand population. This means that 134 out of 1,000 persons have certain disabilities. For every
million of the population, 10,720 have certain disabilities. In the projected population of eighty (80)
million, more than eight and a half million have disabilities. The distribution of the different
categories of exceptionalities and disabilities among children is as follows:
1. 43.3% have speech defects
2. 40.0% are mute
3. 33.3% have mental retardation
4. 25.9% are those without one or both arms or hands
5. 16.4% are those without one or both legs or feet
6. 16.3% have mental illnesses
7. 11.5% are totally deaf
8. 11.4% are totally blind

Philippine Population 80M

Figure 5. True Prevalence of Filipino Children and Youth with Special Needs

The universal estimate of the prevalence of children with special needs stands at 10% with
disabilities (World Health Organization) and 2% with giftedness and talent.
Figure 5 shows that approximately half of the total population of 80 million belongs to the
category of children and youth whose chronological ages range from zero to twenty-four. Based on
these statistics and using the universal estimate of 12%, it may be assumed that at least 4.8
million Filipino children and youth need special education services. The true prevalence of those
with disabilities is estimated to be four (4) million. Those who are gifted and talented are
estimated to number 800,000.
Of the estimated number of exceptional children and youth how many are enrolled in
special education classes? At present, only a small number of these children are in special
education classes. Many of them remain unidentified in regular classes and in the communities.
Current figures show that there are seven hundred ninety-four (794) special education programs in
all the regions, six hundred sixteen (616) of which are in public schools. One hundred forty-four
(144) programs utilize the Special Education Center delivery mode for the full or partial
mainstreaming of children with special needs in regular classes. Likewise, there are thirty-four (34)
state and private special and residential schools.
The Special Education Division report on statistics for the school year 2004 - 2005 gives the
following data.

Table 1. Special Education Enrolment Data in Public and Private Schools School Year 2004-2005:
N = 156,270
Categories No. of Children
1. gifted and fast learners 77,152
2. with learning disabilities 40,260
3. with mental retardation 12,456
4. with hearing impairment 11,597
5. with autism 5,172
6. with behavior problems 5,112
7. with visual impairments 2,670
8. with speech defects 917
9. with orthopedic impairments 760
10. with special health problems 142
11. with cerebral palsy 32
with disabilities = 79,118
grand total =156,270

Tabulated enrollment data in public and private schools show that only 3% of the estimated
4,800,000 children and youth with special needs are receiving special education services. The
majority of these exceptional children are unidentified either in the schools or in their homes and
communities. A small number may be in community-based programs provided by non-government
entities, church groups, and civic organizations.

Range of Special Education Programs and Services

An array of special education programs and services are available in the country. These are
offered by public schools and private institutions.
1. The Special Education Center is a service delivery system which operates on the "school
within a school" concept. The SPED Center functions as the base for the special education
programs in a school. A SPED principal administers the Center following the rules and
regulations for a regular school. The special education teachers manage special or self-
contained classes, mainstreaming, tutorial and mentoring resource room services,
assessment, parent education, guidance and counseling and advocacy programs to
promote the education of children with special needs in regular schools. The SPED teacher
functions both as a teacher and tutor as well as a consulting teacher to the regular school
in planning and implementing appropriate strategies for the maximum participation of the
special children in the regular class.

2. The special class or self-contained class is the most popular type among the special
education programs. A special class is composed of pupils with the same exceptionality or
disability. The special education teacher handles the special class in the Special Education
Center or resource room. Thus, in public and private regular schools, there are special
classes for children with mental retardation, giftedness and talent, hearing impairment,
visual impairment, learning disabilities, or behavior problems.
 3. Integration and main streaming programs have allowed children and youth with disabilities
to study in regular classes and learn side by side with their peers for the last forty years.
Integration was the term used earlier. At present, when it is no longer unusual to find blind,
deaf and even mentally retarded students participating in regular class activities at certain
periods of the school day, the preferred term is mainstreaming. There are two types of
mainstreaming. In partial mainstreaming, children who have moderate or severe forms of
disabilities are mainstreamed in regular classes in subjects like Physical Education, Home
Technology, and Music and Arts. In full mainstreaming, children with disabilities are
enrolled in regular classes and recite in all the subjects. A special education teacher assists
the regular teacher in teaching the children with special needs. Likewise, the SPED teacher
gives tutorial lessons at the SPED Center or resource room. The best model of mainstream
special education programs is exemplified at the Division of Manila City Schools. Built
around the Silahis Concept of Special Education or "rays of the sun," fifteen (15) elementary
schools have developed mainstream programs that are supplemented with resource room
activities as shown in Table 2. In school divisions where one special education teacher
serves two or more programs in separate schools, the itinerant plan is used. The SPED
teacher travels (thus the word "itinerant") to the schools to assist the regular teachers
where the children are mainstreamed and to attend to the other needs of the program.

4. The special day school serves one or more types of disabilities. The special education
classes are taught by trained teachers. Aside from special education, a comprehensive
array of service is available or arranged, such as medical, psychological and social
services. Examples of special day schools are the Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf
(SAID) and the St. John Maria Vianney Special School for the Mentally Retarded in Quezon
City.

5. The residential school provides both special education and dormitory services for its
students. Complementing the curricular programs are houseparent services, diagnostic
services, guidance and counseling, recreation and social activities. The School for the Deaf
and the Philippine National School for the Blind in Pasay City and the Elsie Gaches Village
School for Children with Mental Retardation in Alabang are examples of residential schools.

Table 2. "Silahis" Special Education Centers - Manila City Schools Division

SPED Center
1. Kagitingan SPED Center
2. Diwa SPED Center
3. Pag-asa SPED Center
4. Kaunlaran SPED Center
5. Kagandahan SPED Center
6. Kapayapaan SPED Center
7. Pag-ibig SPED Center
8. Kabutihan SPED Center
9. Ligaya SPED Center
10. Kalinisan SPED Center
School Address
Rizal Elementary School Tayuman, Sta. Cruz
Hizon Elementary School Abad Santos
Obrero Elementary School Obrero, Tondo
P. Gomez Elementary School P. Guevarra
Albert Elementary School Dapitan
Legarda Elementary School Lealtad
Burgos Elementary School Altura, Sta. Mesa
A. Quezon Elementary School San Andres
Lucban Elementary School Paco
R. Palma Elementary School Vito Cruz
11. Tagumpay SPED Center Sta. Ana Elementary School M. Roxas, Sta. Ana
12. Liwanag SPED Center Magsaysay High School España
13. Pagkakaisa SPED Center Manila High School Intramuros
14. Kalusugan SPED Center PGH Pediatric Unit PGH, Taft Ave.

• chronically ill and abused PGH

Rehabilitation Medicine Unit

• developmental disabilities
15. Sikat/Gabay SPED Center Manila Youth & Reception Center Paco

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Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs

The Department of Education strongly advocates inclusive education as a basic service for
all types of exceptional children. In the 1994 Conference on Special Needs Education held in
Salamanca Spain, the participants reaffirmed the right to education of every individual to education
as enshrined in the 1984 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The reaffirmation served as a
renewal of the pledge made by the world community at the 1990 World Conference on Education
for All. With these declarations and the urgency of the need for early intervention, the Department
of Education adopted the policy of inclusive education in 1997. A Handbook on Inclusive Education
was issued as the main reference and guide to the practice of inclusive education. National,
regional and division-wide training on inclusive education were conducted to promote the concept
of inclusive education.

Figure 6. A Graphic Illustration of Inclusive Education

• What is inclusive education?
Inclusion describes the process by which a school accepts children with special needs for
enrollment in regular classes where they can learn side by side with their peers. The school
organizes its special education program and includes a special education teacher in its faculty.
The school provides the mainstream where regular teachers and special education teachers
organize and implement appropriate programs for both special and regular students.
-
• What are the salient features of inclusive education?
Inclusion means implementing and maintaining warm and accepting classroom
communities that embrace and respect diversity or differences. Teachers and students take active
steps to understand individual differences and create an atmosphere of respect.
Inclusion implements a multilevel, multi modality curriculum. This means that special needs
students follow an adapted curriculum and use special devices and materials to learn at a suitable
pace.
Inclusion prepares regular teachers and special education teachers to teach interactively.
The classroom model where one teacher teaches an entire group of children single handedly is
being replaced by structures where students work together, teach one another and participate
actively in class activities. Students tend to learn with and from each other rather than compete
with each other.
Inclusion provides continuous support for teachers to break down barriers of professional
isolation. The hallmarks of inclusive education are co-teaching, team teaching, collaboration and
consultation and other ways of assessing skills and knowledge learned by all the students.
Here are some collaborative activities that take place in the regular classroom.
• If the class is discussing activities on saving the environment, the deaf student can work on
collage of pictures on the topic.
• Prompts or cues are added to learning tasks to assist children with mental retardation in task
performance. Prompts can be verbal, visual or physical. If a student confuses addition and
subtraction symbols, the teacher might encircle the symbols, make them large and write them in
red (visual); or remind students to "check each other's work to see whether it's addition or
subtraction problems" (verbal); or draw a V or x on the arm of the student to signal whether his/her
response is correct or wrong (physical). Inclusion involves parents, families and significant others
in planning meaningful ways for students with special needs to learn in the regular class with their
normal peers.
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Support Services for Children with Special Needs

At least two types of support services are extended to children with special needs:
1. While the SPED program can implement only the screening and informal assessment so
that the child can be enrolled in the program as early as possible, referral services are solicited
from medical and clinical specialists as soon as possible. Some of the specialists are:
• Clinical Psychologist, School Psychologist, Psychometrician for psychological testing
• Medical Doctor and Dentist for a general check-up of all children
• Ophthalmologist for all children especially those with blindness and low vision
• Otologist or Otolaryngologist for all children especially those with hearing loss, deafness,
language and speech disorders
• Neurologist and Child Psychiatrist for children with mental retardation, learning disabilities
and emotional-behavioral disorders
• Speech Therapist for all children with language and speech problem
• Physical and Occupational Therapist for all children especially those with physical
disabilities
 • Interpreter for the deaf who communicates verbal activities to deaf children through speech
reading, sign language and gestures
• Orientation and Mobility Instructor who teaches independent travel techniques to blind
children
2. Assistive devices are specialized instructional and learning materials and equipment that
enable children with special needs to function efficiently. Some of the assistive devices are:
• For blind students: braille writer, braille slate and stylus, braille books, braille watch, braille
ruler and tape measure, braille calculator, arithmetic slate, computer with voice synthesizer,
embossed materials, manipulative materials, talking books, tape recorder, braille paper;
• For low vision students: large print books, large print typewriter, magnifying lenses, Grade I
lined pad paper;
• For deaf students: individual hearing aid, sign language book, speech kit, wall mirror, speech
trainer, group hearing aid;
• For children with mental retardation: teacher-made materials specific to the Individual
Education Plan (IEP) on the functional curriculum and adaptive behavior skills; and
• For children with physical disabilities: mobility devices such as wheelchair, braces and
splints; adjustable desk, table and chair; communication aids for clear speech, adapted
computer system.

Figure 7. Deaf Students and Children with Mental Retardation

Read and Respond

Test on Content Knowledge
Test how much you have learned from this chapter by answering the following questions:

1. What is the meaning of prevalence? What is the prevalence of children with special needs
based on:
a. the World Health Organization's estimate?
b. the UNICEF's estimate?
How do the two prevalence estimates compare?
2. Based on the number of Filipino children with special needs who are in special education
programs, how many are out-of-school? What do the numbers mean to you?

3. Fill in the matrix below to illustrate the salient features, similarities and differences among the
types of special education services.
 Types of SPED Services Salient features, similarities and differences

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Reflection and Application of Learning

1. What can persons with disabilities do despite their handicaps?
2. Recall and write short vignettes about persons with disabilities you know, have met or heard
about. How did they overcome their disabilities? Share your articles with each other.
3. Revisit the special class you went to earlier. Find out from the teacher how inclusive education
is implemented. Write your impressions about this type of special education service delivery mode.