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SPED mandates don't always come with 100% funding.
But the mandates must be adhered to so the rest comes out of the general education budget.
Students With Special Needs Staying In Traditional Public Schools
While the number of students with special needs has not increased, the rising proportion has driven up costs for cash-strapped schools. Special education, which requires speech pathologists, psychologists and trained teachers, and sometimes special facilities and equipment, can cost four times more than general education. Federal funds only cover a fraction of the extra expense.
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With budget shortfalls creating staffing crunches and federal law requiring putting children with disabilities in regular classrooms when possible to remove the stigma and encourage diversity, general education teachers now may find a number of pupils with special needs in their classes.
"There used to be one or two. You'd sit them at the front of the class, but now there are 10 or 12," said Barbara Schulman, an Orange County special education teacher who heads the California Teachers Association's special education committee. "Teachers need to know what they're doing."
I pulled my Aspie son out of school because he was a distraction to the rest of the class. He is super smart and would be done his work in minutes - then talk and get in trouble. Poor guy knew everyone in the offices of two grade schools.
I'm an Aspie (and female!) and I struggled with similar issues. They never did figure out what my "problem" was; we didn't figure it out until I was an adult. I certainly didn't need special ed; I blew away my peers on standardized tests and IQ tests but I struggled with boredom in class. Luckily I was in private school so class sizes were small and the staff were much more willing to work with my parents because the community there was tight-knit. I was able to be 'accelerated' in certain subjects by attending class with older children or by working at my own pace with minimal supervision by my teacher. They found I was a lot easier to deal with when I was able to go at my own pace in subjects I excelled in.
Apparently that sort of flexibility doesn't exist in public schools, which is sad.
I'm an Aspie (and female!) and I struggled with similar issues. They never did figure out what my "problem" was; we didn't figure it out until I was an adult. I certainly didn't need special ed; I blew away my peers on standardized tests and IQ tests but I struggled with boredom in class. Luckily I was in private school so class sizes were small and the staff were much more willing to work with my parents because the community there was tight-knit. I was able to be 'accelerated' in certain subjects by attending class with older children or by working at my own pace with minimal supervision by my teacher. They found I was a lot easier to deal with when I was able to go at my own pace in subjects I excelled in.
Apparently that sort of flexibility doesn't exist in public schools, which is sad.
We didn't know what my son's "problem" was until a few years ago. (He just turned 30.) I knew something wasn't right early on.
My frustration with the school system built for years, but especially his last year and a half. We changed school districts and the new school refused to listen to me. They would not keep him busy; they just sent his talking self to the principal's office on a daily basis.
I can remember that day as if it were yesterday: I had a meeting with the principal, vice principal, counselors, and school nurse. I flat out asked the principal is she thought it would be a good idea if I removed Matt from school and homeschool. Her eyes lit up brighter than a Christmas star! She said she thought that was an excellent idea. We talked briefly about SPED, but I flat out told them, "He is not mentally retarded and does not belong with those who are." She then told me, "We just don't have any place for intelligent children with major behavioral problems."
I am so glad that Asperger's is becoming more talked about. My wish is that teachers WOULD learn at least some aspects of abnormal childhood developments.
There are a lot of disabled children that can be mainstreamed, and if we have the funds to teach the dumb children with behavioral problems, then we should have the funds to also teach intelligent children with behavioral problems. I do think this has changed a lot since I removed Matt from school in 1994!
HT, that is terrible about one regular teacher having that many SPED students. I sure hope she had an aid or three.
We didn't know what my son's "problem" was until a few years ago. (He just turned 30.) I knew something wasn't right early on.
My frustration with the school system built for years, but especially his last year and a half. We changed school districts and the new school refused to listen to me. They would not keep him busy; they just sent his talking self to the principal's office on a daily basis.
I can remember that day as if it were yesterday: I had a meeting with the principal, vice principal, counselors, and school nurse. I flat out asked the principal is she thought it would be a good idea if I removed Matt from school and homeschool. Her eyes lit up brighter than a Christmas star! She said she thought that was an excellent idea. We talked briefly about SPED, but I flat out told them, "He is not mentally retarded and does not belong with those who are." She then told me, "We just don't have any place for intelligent children with major behavioral problems." I am so glad that Asperger's is becoming more talked about. My wish is that teachers WOULD learn at least some aspects of abnormal childhood developments.
There are a lot of disabled children that can be mainstreamed, and if we have the funds to teach the dumb children with behavioral problems, then we should have the funds to also teach intelligent children with behavioral problems. I do think this has changed a lot since I removed Matt from school in 1994!
HT, that is terrible about one regular teacher having that many SPED students. I sure hope she had an aid or three.
A lot of it is so individualized that the parent is the best person to communicate that to the teachers.
We had a parent that came and met with the teachers about her son.
Borderline Asperger's with no special educational requirements so there was nothing on file and nothing to follow. She told us about him and what to expect and how to get him to refocus back on task.
It worked for me but if she hadn't come and told us then his actions would have fallen under "misbehavior and off task" actions.
A lot of it is so individualized that the parent is the best person to communicate that to the teachers.
We had a parent that came and met with the teachers about her son.
Borderline Asperger's with no special educational requirements so there was nothing on file and nothing to follow. She told us about him and what to expect and how to get him to refocus back on task.
It worked for me but if she hadn't come and told us then his actions would have fallen under "misbehavior and off task" actions.
More parents need to do this.
Thank you for being the teacher you are!
That is why I said I am glad more people are discussing Autism and especially Asperger's. I agree that parents should be explaining their children to the teachers, but if the teacher refuses to listen and learn then no amount of talking will help. (I've been there.)
Since my son had no diagnosis until adulthood, all I could tell the teachers (and I did, again and again and again!) was to keep him busy. Unfortunately, "keeping him busy" meant giving him more work to do. He told me that this felt more like a punishment than anything else.
He had only one teacher (2nd grade) who really listened to me. She'd known Matt since kindergarten and knew he had issues. When I told her to "keep him busy" she listened. He spent a lot of that year running errands around campus, sorting papers, and hanging stuff up in the class and out on the outside walls. He was so proud of himself that year. (I begged his teacher to move up and teach 3rd grade the next year.)
I explained until I was blue in the face that he had behavioral issues best suited for an active education. At the same time, he HATED PE and recess (bullied) but sure welcomed a walk across campus to deliver something to the office. (Just had a thought... maybe he talked a lot (at times) just to be able to get up and walk around campus... little sneak. Must have learned that trick from his Mama.)
Sure wish I had started homeschooling before sending him to school. It would have saved us almost 7 years of pain and frustrations.
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Must have learned that trick from his Mama.
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