The Reasons As to Why You Need Special Education

Special Education and the Inclusive Nation

Introduction

In this paper, among many issues, the concept of disability and its related terms are discussed; the causes and categories of disabilities are analyzed and finally; the Screening tests and the reasons to create an inclusive nation are taken into account.

Albinism disability

Mult-sensory disability-deaf-blind

                                                                         

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Disability

Disability is defined as difficulty in doing something considered normal. Disability has got three ranges in degrees, that is, mild, moderate, severe and profound. There are different types of disabilities such as visual impairment, hearing impairment, cognitive disability or intellectual impairment, speech and language disorder, deaf-blindness, learning disabilities.

Impairment

It is a condition of missing or having defective body part. It is the lack of body limb or an organ that can cause personal limitations to perform certain tasks in daily lives.

Handicap

The social or physical disadvantage created by an existence of disability.  Sometimes handicap can be a result of social attitudes; a person can be physically and mentally fit but due to the belief of the concerned society a person can be led to handicapped conditions.

Isolation

This is the society’s negative attitudes and rejection towards people with disabilities. Isolation ranges in terms of social, economic, political and cultural backgrounds of the particular society.

Special needs

These are the particular needs of a person that require unique attention in provision of services to an individual having disability in relation to special needs. These services go beyond the education to include all facilities that enable a person to survive accordingly.

Special Education

Special education is a broad term that describes the education of students who have hearing impairment, visual impairment, and speech impairment, intellectual, physical, behavioral or emotional disabilities. Special education involves specially designed instruction that is provided at no cost to parents to meet the unique needs of children with a disability.

Inclusive society

This is the type of society which is consisted with different people having different personalities, abilities and relies on the concept of human diversities. And these people cooperate in all matters regardless of their existing varieties of diversities.

Causes of Disability

Disability, as it is defined as strangely way of doing things considered normal under the influence of impairment, is fundamentally caused by any of the two factors. These factors are NATURE and NURTURE. Nature involves inheritance from parents and/or the lineage of the family. It is controlled by human genes (genes deformity). Nurture on the other hand, involves the environments. It deals with all facts that surround us. Under nurture, there are two sub-categories of congenital - the disability formed or present before birth, and the acquired – the disability formed after the child is born. These causes of disabilities can be well understood when are studied under each category of disability.

Categories of Disabilities 

Principally, there are thirteen different categories of disabilities which are recognized by IDEA 2004 (Individual Disability Education Act of 2004). If children experience difficulties that fall within one of the thirteen categories and their education is significantly affected as a result of their disability, then they may qualify for special education and related services.

The specific categories of these types of disabilities are: Autism, Visual Impairment, Deaf-Blindness, Intellectual or Cognitive Disability, Hearing Impairment and Deafness. Others are Multiple Disabilities, Traumatic Brain Injury, Speech or Language Impairment, Orthopedic Impairments, Other Healthy Impairments, Specific Learning Disability, and Emotional Disturbance.

Reasons for illuminating for these categories of disabilities

Primarily, the reasons for this classification are academically and healthy services oriented. All these reasons are done under the notion so-called “Intervention services-doing something to lessen the effects of disability on someone’s life”. One of the goals in education is to include children with special needs in the regular education classroom as much as possible. Therefore, children with special needs will most likely have ongoing contact with regular education teachers, and these teachers may not have experience in working with children who have a particular disorder. Usually, a psychologist or school psychologist conducts an assessment and diagnoses a child to determine which diagnostic category best describes the child's problems.

SCREENING TESTS

Screening procedures are an important part of the assessment process in schools, hospitals and/or other relevant places to identify children and youth who have disabilities or are at risk and are likely to develop disability. Such procedures must be used with care; however, as they provide only a preliminary sign that a child has a disability. Additional testing is required to affirm or disprove the presence of a handicapping condition. If a disability is identified during follow-up assessment, the focus shifts to providing the student with an appropriate education program.

Possible personals to conduct screening test to classify disabilities

Currently, the screening tests can be done at home by parents using local methods before referring their child to further stages. Others are specialist teachers, psychologists and physicians at schools and hospital/health centers respectively. Each disability has its own ways and styles of assessment in which it can be conducted.

Why screening tests?

Screening tests discover type of disability and determine the services to be provided to the clients. These services are educational such as IEP (Individualized Education Program) and other social services like healthy matters and rehabilitation. Generally, screening test directs towards discovery of disabling factors to human life and the appropriate programs designed to support that person according to the type of disabling factor.

Conclusion

From the term disability where different definitions are enumerated, causes of disabilities are determined and how screening tests are conducted; it is obvious that the nation can be led to the side effects of classes based on abilities. The most affected by these classes are the people with disabilities who end up being neglected and marginalized by the society’s social governing systems.

It is from this notion that we need the revised conventions which will eagerly motivate all people think positively about people with special needs. It facilitates the idea of bringing back to the system all those who were casted into the shadows of hopeless states, who were previously regarded as the immigrants of their own country. There is therefore, a need to have joint hands raised up, voices shouted out and the eyes seeing beyond the scene to CREATE an INCLUSIVE NATION for its people.

 Think Inclusively ~~~ Act Inclusively ~~~ Create an Inclusive Nation