Is general education curriculum applicable to students with learning or w/ intellectual disabilities?

Question

What i mean is in general education curriculum is it applicable to students with learning disabilities or students with intellectual disabilites? How and why?

Answer 1

I teach young students who are considered to be "severely handicapped." They actually have a wide range of ability levels, special needs, and diagnoses. In the past, I have had students who actually had high IQs but were lacking in communication, socialization & adaptive behavior (often kids on the autism spectrum.) These kids did participate in the general ed curriculum, with modifications to address their particular needs (i.e., one-to-one assistance, additional time to complete tests and assignments, use of alternative communication device, dictation to assistant rather than being required to write, etc.) They participated in the standardized assessments that are such a major part of No Child Left Behind. (I will refrain from putting in my editorial comments about NCLB, because it would take way too long to rant like that.) The kids that do participate in the standard curriculum & testing may graduate with a diploma.

This year, all of the students I have are cognitively impaired, and none are at grade level in any area. Some are not toilet trained at age 7. But when I write an IEP goal, I need to tie it to the state educational standards. All of our functional goals are aligned with the standards-based core curriculum. This can come out sounding a bit odd. For example, here in California, one of the English/Language Arts standards is that "Student will share information and ideas, speaking audibly in complete,coherant sentences." For my students, the Individual Educational Plan goal that ties into that standard may be something like "John will select the correct symbol to indicate his need to use the toilet." These kids will get an alternate standardized assessment. They will not graduate with a formal diploma, but instead receive some sort of certificate of completion.

So I guess the short answer to your question is yes, the curriculum is applicable, but the modifications that may be needed can vary dramatically, dependent of the student's specific needs.

Answer 2

Eh, no matter the grade, from preK up, it depends on the child, the subject and the curriculum. Some children do very well with a regular curriculum and a tutor, some children would need a different curriculum altogether.

My autistic daughter did not learn anything from a gen ed curriculum, because basically all the teacher did was stand at the front of the classroom (in first grade?!) and talk. Not many children did okay that year anyway. Even with her assistant helping her, math with the curriculum they were using was a lost cause. They were supposed to order another curriculum to use and that never happened.

She did fine with spelling, letter writing, reading when she was able to work on it rather than be lectured about it, etc, and was mostly in there for the socialization (what a joke, in hindsight, that was a mistake, like she needs to socialize with kids who make fun of her, and act so horrible...jumping on the tables, screaming, throwing things, touching her to freak her out)

Some kids with LD's just need a few tools to understand what the curriculum is asking for, and they excel, others need a different one altogether. That's why kids with any disability needs an IEP, to identify their special learning needs and plan how best to teach the child.

Answer 3

I think you're asking if, as an LD student, you have to take the general education requirements in college. If that's your question, I can answer it. It depends on the college and your disability. For example, most schools have a language requirement that they are unwilling to waive unless you can prove you have a language-based disability (e.g. Dyslexia). I would speak to someone in the disability services office at the particular school you're interested in. Sometimes they will waive requirements, sometimes they will let you take things pass/fail. Sometimes they will let you substitute courses, like a French Literature class for a French class, etc. Schools are moving away from granting outright waivers, because they see their General Education requirements as a key part of what it means to get their degree. But for the most part, they are usually flexible with learning disabled students and will help you select courses that can count towards G.E. requirements. There is no hard and fast rule that all schools follow, and there is no law that says you don't have to take something. For the most part, it's all a matter of school policy.

Answer 4

Yes. But good teaching methods need to be used to benefit from the curriculum and to learn the material. In fact to turn the answer around - Good teaching methods (such as those developed for students that have problems learning) benefit all students. Curriculum objectives need to be identified. These students usually need more drill and practice. Often the curriculum pieces need to be broken down more into smaller pieces and subskills. And, there needs to be more checking for understanding.

Answer 5

I second most of the comments already posted. It is very applicable to all students, especially if they plan to attend any kind of post-secondary education--whether for a two- or four-year degree, vocational training, or otherwise.

Answer 6

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