Good, bad and indifferent, what's your experience with Special Education?

Answer 1

All of the above. When we lived in Georgia I had to fight to get the schools to admit my daughter needed help. She was one that literally "fell between the cracks"
I went to the Dr - got the reports - to the school board etc.
Finally, I got her help. They did good for a while. Then the next year it was like they turned on us. They kept saying how she wasn't keeping up with the other kids etc. And I said "if she didn't need help - she wouldn't be here in the first place" but it did no good. They kept on pressuring her to keep up with the rest of the class.

Then we moved back to Maine. All was good for a while. While they denied that she even needed "special ed" they would give her extra help. There was this one teacher that was nice to her and my daughter could go to her for help with stuff she didn't understand. School and not school - like a counselor.

Then it came time to go to high school. The school insisted that she didn't need special help and that I was an overprotective mother that didn't know what I was talking about. We went back and forth with it for a few rounds and I finally gave in.
So when she got to high school - they put her in regular classes - and she FAILED EVERY subject!
So they called this parent teacher meeting and her teachers said they thought she should have "special ed" I wanted to scream "I tried telling you people that last year!" but I didn't. I held my tongue.
Then she did really well in special ed. She had good teachers that helped her, she wasn't pressured to keep up with the class and she really learned things!

After highschool she still needed vocational training. I've tried Voc Rehab - no luck. We had a mental health counselor who did nothing but take her out to spend money EVERY DAY (Wal Mart , Subway ect) and followed her around everywhere - except the bathroom!

She did get one job interview at a kennel. Everything looked good. Even the BIG MAN said it was a go!
Then they wrote a letter saying "there JUST isn't room" right now"

It took a while to find the answer but we finally did. they were afraid of her allergies! She's on shots but they never gave us an opportuntity to say this!

But finally after all this time, I did find a place that she likes. She says she fianlly feels like she belongs. FINALLY!

Bottom line: Kids with problems or "special needs" don't get far in life. There is a big stimga out there. A lot of discrimation. But 'you can't fight city hall'.

In this state (Maine) they even tried to change the name of "special ed" and called it by another name, thinking that they could fool the colleges..They're brainstormng again!

Answer 2

All of the above. Paperwork, regulations, training, etc. How can I answer this question in this small space? As a TA in a nonpublic special education school I have experienced a lot. (I am also a teacher getting her Master's in Special Education) I know that we can't lump all students with disabilities (swd) together. Their abilities and disabilities vary and are a numerous as the stars in the sky. I think that inclusion is a good thing for some, but others will not do well in inclusive classroom - nor should we have to subject regular ed students to some swd that are severe, especially those with emotional disturbance.
I think that, as with everything, life is what you make it. Try different settings and different experiences and find the one that best fits you.

Answer 3

I see some trends I like and those I don't. I've taught for 20 years, and I've seen some things. For example, I had a seventh grade student transferred to my alternative school program... he had always made his number 5's backwards. When I asked the folks at Special Ed. why, they said that was part of his disability and there's nothing that could be done. Well, I thought that was hogwash. I REQUIRED all his 5's to be written properly; every time he wrote a 5, he had to correct it. Soon he was making 5's correctly... when he had a relapse and wrote it backwards, he had to correct it. Years later I heard from this student...he thanked me for taking the time with him to fix that problem; he also told me that anything he learned in Math, he learned it from me. Special Education is very concerned with paperwork... and it's almost as if this bureaucratic and legalistic paperwork is more important than the student! It's time to focus on the child... and to have high expectations. Guaranteed: If you expect nothing from a child, that's exactly what you will get.

Answer 4

Well, I don't really remember it when I was little, but I was in special education because I didn't talk a lot. But, as the years moved on, I became a certain age, where something horrid happen and I ended up needing special education because the aftermath of an accident, and I found it very helpful, the teachers, but the people whom get degrees in my area of damage usually talk to me like I'm five years old, that is what drives me insane.

Answer 5

I teach at a non-profit preschool for children with special needs. My favorite part is seeing the children succeed. For "typically developing" children, drinking from an open cup for the first time may not be something to cheer about, but for a child with cerebral palsy, it may be. I have been working with children for 14 years, and I tell you, the things I remember about each one is their small, sometimes insignificant, successes. Getting a child to take their first bite of "real" food when all they have ever had has come from formula fed from a g-tube in their stomach wall. Or being able to lift their head up from their chest. Like I said, these are not significant skills, but for some children, who have been working on it for months, this is a big deal. Yes, there is the cumbersome paperwork and dealing with the special education system that sometimes wears on your nerves, but you are not in this job for that. You are there for the benefit of those children who need you! If you have helped one child to meet even one of their goals, you have changed their life forever! To help mold the future.... how can you put a price on that?!

Answer 6

As a person who has benefited from special needs classes and supports i have to say it has been the thing that made me successful in my education thus far. I am in my second year of college and doing really well thanks to great teachers and special needs that have been tirelessly pushing me to succeed when all I wanted to do was give up. I would have to say my experiences in special education have been awesome.

Answer 7

I have had very good experiences, and very bad experiences.

It really depends on the district, school administrator, and the particular teacher.

We were very close to a lawsuit in the first district we lived in. My son had two good teachers there... and three bad ones, an awful administrator, difficulty in testing and qualification, lack of compliance when his IEP was finally in place, etc.

However, we moved, and ended up with a very good district (in which I and my husband teach). There are a couple of teachers I wouldn't put my son with for anything (there are good and bad in any district)... but he has been with good teachers who are doing their best to apply his IEP.... and these teachers are also very good with non-staff kids.

My son didn't start showing any academic success, until we came to the new district. Now he's doing wonderfully!

Answer 8

Do u know what better than winning the special olympics?

not being retarted