Paton_MA2 (1)

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Major Assignment #2: Issue Paper Angelica Paton Department of Education, Rowan University SPED 08555: Education and Psychology of Students with Disabilities Professor Jiyeon Lee June 17, 2024

2 Human Exceptionality in Education In the field of education, human exceptionalities refer to individuals who possess unique characteristics that may require special attention or support in learning environments such as; disabilities, giftedness, or behavioral challenges. The world of special education has undergone significant transformations in recent years, with a greater focus on inclusivity, diversity, and personalized learning experiences for students with exceptionalities. In previous years, we have seen maltreatment among those who are exceptional, but have since put into place necessary accommodations to keep all students safe. Of course, these accommodations and laws are not always fail-safe. Though we have come a long way, we still have a ways to go, such as when considering accommodations, writing IEPs, and implementing them, as well as squashing mistreatment of exceptional students. Individualized Educational Plans Individualized Educational Plans (IEP) were created to ensure that every child, no matter their abilities, would receive the proper education. Before IEPs, it was hard for those with exceptionalities to receive the proper accommodations or education. According to Snyder (2016, as cited in Bray & Russell, 2018), 13% of all public school students in the United States are classified and have IEPs. This is a large population and these students deserve the proper care, accommodations, and education. Bray and Russell (2018) mention that historically, students with exceptional needs were in self-contained classrooms where teachers were expected to cater to all needs of the students. These types of classrooms would contain multiple age groups and abilities. Luckily, we have come a long way since then and are able to group students based on age, ability, and sometimes are able to mainstream students while maintaining their IEP accommodations. However, sometimes we still see students who are not classified correctly, and

3 sometimes not screened at all, leading to an improper learning environment. Bray and Russell (2018) delve into how IEPs were written based on institutional pressures, what IEPs indicated about activities based on student needs, and what activity systems were implemented in schools. We find that information written in the IEPs reflected the pressures put on institutions but provided limited guidance on how to actually attend to the needs of these students (Bray & Russell, 2018, p. 253). Rather than writing IEPs to appease the board of education, or the standards, they should be written to ensure real accommodations, include plausible learning plans, and contain obtainable goals. Recently, my students asked me to read through their IEPs with them. When looking through them, we found very vague accommodations that seemed like generic inputs from case managers with no real guidance on what to do for students in the classroom. The most helpful comments I noted were those from previous teachers. These IEPs aren’t always inclusive of ideas or suggestions from their teachers, when they in fact should be. If teachers were included in writing IEPs, there might be an easier implementation of accommodations and students might be able to receive even better education than before. Yes, teachers do sit in for the IEP meetings, but we do not get to write the accommodation lists, student necessities, or anything of the such. Teachers know their students’ learning needs better than anyone else. Bray and Russell (2018) discuss a teacher named Miss Keys who worked one on one with students on concepts that they struggled with, along with the goals written on their IEPs. She was able to help these students achieve a better understanding of the material while keeping in mind what goals were necessary for these students to succeed. “Institutional expectations regarding what constitutes a special education have shifted from providing a student with a disability a solely individualized education to requiring both an individualized and standards-based education,” (Bray & Russell, 2018, p. 260). Of course, IEPs

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4 and accommodations have come a long way since the beginning of education. However, there are still things that we can do to enhance these implementations to ensure and further the success of students. Including standards-based education in IEPs can always go either way, however it is helpful to have these standards to go off of. IEPs should be refined even further to state specific accommodations to each student that previous teachers have tried and tested. There should be a section explaining which accommodations have not worked for these students, as well, as this could help to greatly improve the learning environment for all involved. Maltreatment with Exceptionalities Another way to improve the learning environment would be to eradicate all mistreatment of anyone with exceptionalities. Sobsey (2002) discusses maltreatment in the realm of special education. “It is now apparent that children with a wide variety of disabilities are several times as likely to have a history of maltreatment as children without disabilities. Almost one third of children with special needs have substantiated histories of maltreatment and it is extremely likely that many others have experienced unreported or unsubstantiated maltreatment,” (Sobsey, 2002, p. 29). It is true throughout educational institutions that not everyone is actually equipped to deal with special education students, but sometimes even with the proper training, people mistreat those with exceptionalities. In my own experience, I witnessed a special education student in a mainstream classroom be denied accommodations because the general education teacher was inept at understanding what an IEP was or why it was in place. This instance went unreported by the student because it had happened to him so many times in the past, he did not realize that he was entitled to his own accommodations. I reported it to my supervisor which in turn led to a professional development for said teacher. This shows the great strides we are making in education to ensure that students who are exceptional receive the proper care and treatment.

5 Sobsey (2002) mentions that “child maltreatment could be an important cause of disability”, which is understandable as trauma can cause mental health illnesses that can impair a person. Along with this, disabilities being present increase the risk for abuse and maltreatment. Though one is not necessary for the other, they can correlate strongly. I have seen a girl who was abused in her formative years develop crippling anxiety and agoraphobia for fear that others would also abuse and mistreat her. In turn, these exceptionalities that she has faced has caused even further abuse just from the online community. She would use her platform to discuss her life situation on a private forum, but came under fire multiple times from people who did not understand her situation. Of course, physical abuses can create disabilities in a person, such as shaken baby syndrome. In Sobsey’s (2002) study, it is noted that children who survived shaken baby syndrome became disabled, whether it was mildly or severely. These children of abuse faced paralysis, seizures, blindness, and behavioral disorders. This was all due to the abuses they faced at home. These physical disabilities could lead to further abuse from the outside world as well as continued abuse at home. The study goes on to discuss neglect and the effects it has on children. Sobsey (2002) states, “To explain the association between child maltreatment and childhood disability, child abuse and neglect would have to be the leading causes of disability among children by far,” (p. 35). Though this study is over 20 years ago, the data continues to be extremely important as these occurrences continue to happen. My older sister is in a situation that can also support Sobsey’s (2002) ideas and findings. She has two step children with her husband, both of whom have been neglected by their biological mother. Their father had been in and out of jails and rehabs in their formative years. Both children suffer from severe mental health illnesses and both have IEPs in place. His daughter exhibits severe symptoms due to her

6 traumas such as extreme behavioral challenges, excessive promiscuity at 13 years old, drug usage, and more. On top of this, she was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 7. Her medical disability was also something that her mother was able to abuse her with, as she withheld insulin, did not dose her correctly, and would expect her to know how to do it all on her own at just a mere 7 years old. The abuse here went hand in hand with her disability, and in turn worsened her mental health. Of course it would be better if the department of social services had placed her and her brother with family members that were capable of taking care of the children properly, but unfortunately the system is a hard one to navigate and it is broken. It is more than necessary for our society to make changes to ensure that everyone, no matter their abilities, is treated properly and accordingly. “Programs that help prevent child abuse and other forms of violence should not be seen as another optional curricular diversion, but rather as an essential element of the entire educational process. Because children with a variety of special needs have a much greater risk of being victimized, it is essential that they are included in programs that are appropriate to their individual needs,” (Sobsey, 2002, p. 39). It is more than imminent that we implement programs that help to prevent abuse as well as teach parents how to deal with disabilities. It is important for all educators to understand that students with exceptional needs deserve the same education as students considered “normal”. From what I have seen in my short 25 years, it is more than necessary to reform our child protective services across the country and ensure that parents are not abusing their children. I believe that parents of children with disabilities and exceptionalities should be offered free classes, workshops, and clinics to help navigate their new normal. Professional Development

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7 To cut out improper treatment of students with disabilities or exceptionalities, it is important to implement professional development. Though teachers of students with disabilities have, of course, taken classes specifically designed for the special education classroom, general education teachers likely have not. In my undergraduate experience, I never took a class geared at special education. We may have discussed accommodations and IEPs briefly, but we did not go in depth. Similarly, in the five years that I have been teaching, I have not had any real professional development opportunities pertaining to the special education population. In fact, all that I can recall is being told to read the IEPs, sign off on them, and follow accommodations. Up until this school year, I had not been taught how to even read and IEP, let alone implement accommodations. Ines et al. (2022) discuss the findings of regular education teachers in Portugal and their perceptions of special education, as well as the implementation of professional development. The teachers that were interviewed had received initial training that was in accordance with the Portuguese laws, just as teachers do here in the United States. These teachers felt as though the initial training was insignificant and unhelpful. They, however, discuss how continuous professional development was useful and allowed teachers to feel up to date. I believe it is important to implement special education training in our initial licensing process, regardless of the subject area being studied. As a teacher, we will always come across students who are exceptional, differently abled, or unclassified, and we must be up to the task of teaching these children and ensuring a safe and proper education. Our educational system also needs to implement continuous professional development on students with disabilities and exceptionalities, whether it be once a month or once a year. I have struggled teaching my special education courses this year as a result of lack of knowledge. If schools made it necessary to have

8 these types of professional developments, we would be able to avoid general education teachers denying accommodations to students with IEPs. Teachers would have new tools to utilize and incorporate into their daily teaching, whether it be for students with IEPs or general education students. It is a necessity to change the system we have today. Conclusion It is important for all involved in the lives of those with exceptional needs to educate themselves on how to properly treat, educate, and involve them in everyday life. Though our society has come such a long way since before IEPs were even a thought, there is still an abundance of problems to work on. By including teachers in writing accommodations for IEPs, we may be able to enhance education even further for students with disabilities. Ensuring we educate parents on child abuse that can lead to disabilities, and how children with disabilities may face worse abuse than a child labelled as normal, we may be able to lessen the amount of abuses we see. Of course, this will not solve the problems wholly, as there are people who are just innately cruel, but it is a start. Doctors should offer parents courses, workshops, and support groups for no cost to ensure these parents are able and ready to deal with exceptionalities. It is also extremely important to implement professional development for anybody who works in a school or works with people who are exceptional. I have seen employees with exceptionalities at some establishments, such as Applebees, be treated exactly like any other employee and thrive in the workplace. On the other hand, I have seen people with disabilities be treated horribly just because they are differently abled. Any form of abuse should not be tolerated at any establishment and professional developments should be put in place to try to prevent these atrocities from happening further.

9 References Bray, L. E., & Russell, J. L. (2018). The Dynamic Interaction Between Institutional Pressures and Activity: An Examination of the Implementation of IEPs in Secondary Inclusive Settings. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis , 40 (2), 243–266. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373718756189 Inês, H., Pacheco, J. A., Abelha, M., & Seabra, F. (2022). Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties or Disabilities: Regular Education Teachers’ Professional Development and Practices. Education Sciences , 12 (10), 652-. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12100652 Sobsey, D. (2002). Exceptionality, Education, and Maltreatment. Exceptionality : The Official Journal of the Division for Research of the Council for Exceptional Children , 10 (1), 29– 46. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327035EX1001_3

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