Textbook Sections - EDU 150 - Special Education - Textbook - LibGuides at Hostos Community College Library

Section 1: Disability is Complicated!

Disability is Complicated!
In Disability Studies, we take the approach that although an individual may have an impairment, it’s the barriers they encounter in the physical environment and the lack of opportunity for employment, access to education, recreation, and housing that can ‘disable’ an individual. We see these barriers as representing the larger issue of disabling attitudes in society and pervasive disability oppression. As workers, advocates, parents or siblings, we hope that exploring disability with a critical eye can help us understand more about the interaction between disability and society, and that what we learn can make us better advocates for ourselves and others.

See Section 7 for Reference list and glossary terms.

Section 2: Developmental Disability as a Social Construct

Developmental Disability as a Social Construct
Disability studies views disability in general as a social construct. Rather than one universal experience of disability, this view acknowledges that disabled people have different experiences across time and cultures, and ideas about what disability means and who is disabled are defined by humans. Disability studies also recognizes a difference between impairment, or body-mind difference, and disability. The same concepts apply when we talk about developmental disability.

See Section 7 for Reference list and glossary terms.

Section 3: Self-Advocacy and Advocacy

Self-Advocacy and Advocacy
At first, people with developmental disability were spoken over. Locked away in institutions, medicated and sterilized without consent, mistreated and misunderstood, they were not in a position to be viewed as experts in their own lives. People with developmental disability did resist and advocate, but their environments and society at large limited the impact of their actions. Deinstitutionalization is the movement to close institutions, asylums, and state schools. Instead, disabled people live and learn in their communities. Activists organized, advocated, and used legal strategies to work toward the goal of shutting down abusive places like the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. Some parents and other family members were strong advocates for deinstitutionalization. They became viewed as the voice of their children.

But people with developmental disability had thoughts and opinions of their own. They had their own ideas about themselves, their disability, their community, and what they wanted life to be like. So people with developmental disability began to organize. They met up in groups. They advocated against institutions with the strength and inside information of survivors.

See Section 7 for Reference list and glossary terms.

Section 4: Foundations of Special Education

What is Inclusion?
The practice of inclusion attempts to help students with disabilities avoid these feelings of fear, isolation and worthlessness. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), updated in 2004, provides students with disabilities the right to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment possible. Inclusion attempts to provide this education for students with disabilities and now many school systems throughout the country practice it. Inclusive education comes with benefits as well as downsides.
Help! I have a student with ADHD. What can I do?
It is inevitable in a teacher’s career that a student diagnosed with ADHD will be present in their classroom. It will most likely be one of the biggest challenges a teacher can face. They can experience frustration and exhaustion, which will then trickle down to the rest of their students in the classroom. Turning the event of having a student with ADHD into a positive experience, incorporating behavioral modifications, and using classroom techniques will result in success. Success for the teacher, the ADHD student and the entire classroom. Behavior modifications and classroom modifications can be the lifeline for a teacher with an ADHD student, but more importantly, they teach the student very valuable skills to exist within the confines of their diagnosis.
Disorders in Childhood
There are a group of conditions that, when present, are diagnosed early in childhood, often before the time a child enters school. These conditions are listed in the DSM-5 as neurodevelopmental disorders, and they involve developmental problems in personal, social, academic, and intellectual functioning (APA, 2013). In this section, we will discuss two such disorders: attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder and autism.
The Law and Disabilities
Since the 1970s political and social attitudes have moved increasingly toward including people with disabilities into a wide variety of “regular” activities. In the United States, the shift is illustrated clearly in the Federal legislation that was enacted during this time. The legislation partly stimulated the change in attitudes, but at the same time they partly resulted from the change. Three major laws were passed that guaranteed the rights of persons with disabilities, and of children and students with disabilities in particular.
Preparation and Leadership in Special Education
The challenges associated with special education intensified for school leaders with the passage of the historical landmark legislation 1975 Public Law 94-192 followed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The magnitude of the number of children receiving special services is one reason for the increased intensity. An estimated six million of the nation’s school age children between the ages of 6-21 receive special services. Sixty-seven percent of the children are identified as having specific learning disabilities or speech and language impairments (Edwards & Chronister, 2004). Special education, more than any other educational area, is entangled with complex issues. These complex issues have driven public education into a dual system, one for regular education and one for special education (Davidson & Gooden, 2001).

Section 5: Supplements on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)

Click the image to watch Parents as Partners in the IEP Process. A new window will open.

Click the image to watch IDEA Basics: IEP Individualized Education Program. A new window will open.

Click the image to watch IEP Meeting Tips for Parents: 8 Insider Tips on Navigating an IEP Meeting. A new window will open.

Click the image to watch the video IDEA: Understanding Measurable Goals in the IEP. A new window will open.

Click the image to watch IEP vs. 504 Plan: What Is the Difference Between IEP and 504 Plan?. A new window will open.

Click the image to watch What is an IEP?. A new window will open.

Click the image to watch Why Design Should Include Everyone. The video will play in this window.

Section 6: Additional Supplements

Click the image to watch A Word Game To Communicate in Any Language. The video will play in this window.

Click the image to watch Embrace the Shake. The video will play in this window.

Click the image to watch How a blind astronomer found a way to hear the stars. The video will play in this window.

Click the image to watch How Autism Freed Me To Be Myself. The video will play in this window.

Click the image to watch How I Fail at Being Disabled. The video will play in this window.

Click the image to watch In The Key of Genius: Derek Paravicini and Adam Ockelford. The video will play in this window.

Click the image to watch Synthetic Voices, as Unique as Fingerprints. The video will play in this window.

Click the image to watch There are No Scraps of Men. The video will play in this window.

Section 7: Supplemental Articles

Supplemental Articles
These resources are the Reference list for Sections 1, 2, and 3. They can also stand alone for further research.
Glossary
These glossary terms are found in Sections 1, 2, and 3. They are common to disability studies and special education.

Licenses & Attributions

CC Licensed Content, Shared Previously

Introducing Developmental Disability Through a Disability Studies Perspective. Authored by: Mariette Bates, Ph.D., and Emily Brooks, MA. Located at: https://introducingdevelopmentaldisability.commons.gc.cuny.edu/ License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
What is Inclusion? Found In: Foundations of Education and Instructional Assessment. Authored by: Emily Mitchell. Located at: en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Education_and_Instructional_Assessment/Diversity/Inclusion. License: CC BY-SA 3 .0.
Help! I have a student with ADHD. What can I do? Found in: Foundations of Education and Instructional Assessment. Authored by: Amy B. Williams. Located at: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Education_and_Instructional_Assessment/Diversity/ADHD. License: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Chapter 15.1: Disorders in Childhood. Found in: Psychology. Authored by: Rose M. Spielman, Kathryn Dumper, William Jenkins, Arlene Lacombe, Marilyn Lovett, & Marion Perlmutter. Located at: openstax.org/books/psychology/pages/15-11-disorders-in-childhood. License: CC BY 4.0 license. License terms: Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/psychology/pages/1-introduction.
Preparation and Leadership in Special Education. Authored by: Jerry Robichaeau, Jean Haar, and John Palladino. Located at: www.oercommons.org/courses/preparation-and-leadership-in-special-education/view. License: CC BY 2.0. Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/31afdbfe-4d3c-409d-ac6d-a2eb2df42a84@1.
Why Design Should Include Everyone. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/RD_SLJG7oi8. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
A Word Game To Communicate in Any Language. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/-Z-ul0GzzM4. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Embrace the Shake. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/YrZTho_o_is. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
How a blind astronomer found a way to hear the stars. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/-hY9QSdaReY. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
How autism freed me from myself. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/jQ95xlZeHo8. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
How I Fail at Being Disabled. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/SSZG5aPkZyM. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
In the Key of Genius. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/3S1HK7LQY2I. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Synthetic Voices, as Unique as Fingerprints. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/d38LKbYfWrs. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
There are No Scraps of Men. Provided by: TED. Located at: https://youtu.be/23vKtqo2t4k. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Parents as Partners in the IEP Process. Created by: Jody Jones. Provided by: Utah Parents Center. Located at: https://youtu.be/rU2XzCEsAEE. License: Standard YouTube License. License terms: All Rights Reserved.
IDEA Basics: IEP Individualized Education Program. Created by: Julie Swanson and Jennifer Laviano. Provided by: Your Special Education Rights. Located at: https://youtu.be/jMVDs-otrjs. License: Standard YouTube License. License terms: All Rights Reserved.
IEP Meeting Tips for Parents: 8 Insider Tips on Navigating an IEP Meeting. Provided by: Understood. Located at: https://youtu.be/OuljSHMujEA. License: Standard YouTube License. License terms: All Rights Reserved.
IDEA: Understanding Measurable Goals in the IEP. Created by: Carolyn Anderson. Provided by: Pacer Center. Located at: https://youtu.be/dbsZ4IjQ5e8. License: Standard YouTube License. License terms: All Rights Reserved.
IEP vs. 504 Plan: What Is the Difference Between IEP and 504 Plan? Provided by: Understood. Located at: https://youtu.be/A9TgDgHfdlY. License: Standard YouTube License. License terms: All Rights Reserved.

EDU 150 - Special Education - Textbook

Attribution & Licensing

EDU 150 Introduction to Special Education

Introducing Developmental Disability Through a Disability Studies Perspective

by Mariette Bates, Ph.D. and Emily Brooks, MA.

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