do inclusion students befefit from being in "normal&quo

I think the answer to this question depends on the class circumstances. I have found my sons do well in mainstream classes where the teacher has an understanding of LD students and get assistance. It has disasterous effects when the teacher can not relate to the LD student or does not get support. My oldest son was in a mainstream 6th grade class where the teacher believed all students controlled their own destiney and there was no such thing as LD. She was the only teacher in the class and had at least 4 “LD” students in it. MY son hated 6th grade and did horribly. This year he is in 8th grade and has 2 mainstream classes. The social studies teacher knows and understands his problems and works well with him. He is expected to do the same work as the rest of the class with minor accomadations such as an extra day to complete a long assignment. His litature teacher on the other hand was not even aware he had an LD and this resulted in very poor performance-his only D on the report card. She is now aware of his difficulties and has an aide who comes and helps in her class when my son is there. He is not the only one who benefits she is available for any student who might need the extra attention. The biggest benefit I see though is the opportunity to interact with “normally” developing peers who act as role models. This has definetly been beneficial for my PDD-NOS son. I hope this helps.

I’ve just started teaching special education in a public school setting 3 years ago. I’m not sure if it was just our school environment, but it seems that if the kids are included with their peers, they tend to act more mature than if they were in their own classroom surrounded by misbehaviors. Granted, the reg. ed. teachers have to do their part of compromises too for this to work. Here, I request teacher filled out study guides and worksheets so that I can still aid my kids without having to gleen chapter after chapter for info. They also know exactly what disabilities each child has including reading ability and such. I am in the process of adding wording to my IEP’s to include that the teacher will use an adjusted grading scale (for some) to grade only what has been completed by the student independently without penalty of incomplete answers/work bringing down the grade. I figure they should grade the right info from their brain…not mine! If the right changes are made in their teaching, the students should be able to gain requirements for graduation.

I have teaching special needs students in my regular needs class for years. I have also presented at many conferences on the topic. The students in the normal class learn that special education are not that different from themselves. The special education students learn that they can do anything that a regular child can do. The teacher must understand the child’s disabilities and make appropriate adaptions for them. After a period of time, the special child will not want the teacher to make the adaptions and will work to their maximum potential. Example: Everyone thinks that ED children are slow with regard to education, not true, their IQ’s are average or above average. They will work harder than the regular students not only on the work, but also on their behavior, just to prove to the regular children that they have the ability. It helps if the teacher is flexible with classroom and discipline.

there is some good info (citable, even, for your research) in the “LD IN Depth” section on this site.

I think the answer to this question depends on the class circumstances. I have found my sons do well in mainstream classes where the teacher has an understanding of LD students and get assistance. It has disasterous effects when the teacher can not relate to the LD student or does not get support. My oldest son was in a mainstream 6th grade class where the teacher believed all students controlled their own destiney and there was no such thing as LD. She was the only teacher in the class and had at least 4 “LD” students in it. MY son hated 6th grade and did horribly. This year he is in 8th grade and has 2 mainstream classes. The social studies teacher knows and understands his problems and works well with him. He is expected to do the same work as the rest of the class with minor accomadations such as an extra day to complete a long assignment. His litature teacher on the other hand was not even aware he had an LD and this resulted in very poor performance-his only D on the report card. She is now aware of his difficulties and has an aide who comes and helps in her class when my son is there. He is not the only one who benefits she is available for any student who might need the extra attention. The biggest benefit I see though is the opportunity to interact with “normally” developing peers who act as role models. This has definetly been beneficial for my PDD-NOS son. I hope this helps.

I’ve just started teaching special education in a public school setting 3 years ago. I’m not sure if it was just our school environment, but it seems that if the kids are included with their peers, they tend to act more mature than if they were in their own classroom surrounded by misbehaviors. Granted, the reg. ed. teachers have to do their part of compromises too for this to work. Here, I request teacher filled out study guides and worksheets so that I can still aid my kids without having to gleen chapter after chapter for info. They also know exactly what disabilities each child has including reading ability and such. I am in the process of adding wording to my IEP’s to include that the teacher will use an adjusted grading scale (for some) to grade only what has been completed by the student independently without penalty of incomplete answers/work bringing down the grade. I figure they should grade the right info from their brain…not mine! If the right changes are made in their teaching, the students should be able to gain requirements for graduation.

I have teaching special needs students in my regular needs class for years. I have also presented at many conferences on the topic. The students in the normal class learn that special education are not that different from themselves. The special education students learn that they can do anything that a regular child can do. The teacher must understand the child’s disabilities and make appropriate adaptions for them. After a period of time, the special child will not want the teacher to make the adaptions and will work to their maximum potential. Example: Everyone thinks that ED children are slow with regard to education, not true, their IQ’s are average or above average. They will work harder than the regular students not only on the work, but also on their behavior, just to prove to the regular children that they have the ability. It helps if the teacher is flexible with classroom and discipline.

there is some good info (citable, even, for your research) in the “LD IN Depth” section on this site.