REWRITING SPECIAL EDUCATION

The self-contained classrooms considered by many to be the definition of special education are only a small part of the services Missouri school districts provide.

Special education programs are being redefined around the country as educators work to include special services in mainstream experiences. When entering a "regular" classroom today, a visitor may not be able to identify the average student from a student who receives special educational services.

"The thing about special services that I think people have realized is a student could be a learning disabled student with an IQ of 130," said Cape Girardeau Central High School principal Randy Fidler. "I think what people have understood now is that all of us maybe need some help in certain areas."

There are 12 broad categories of special education services that touch upon physical problems such as blindness or deafness, as well as mental retardation and other learning disabilities. Depending upon whether an impairment or disability is mild or advanced, a student may remain in a self-contained classroom all, part or none of the time.

"We have a broad range of services that we provide," said Betty Chong, Cape Girardeau schools assistant superintendent for special services. "Sometimes that requires pulling a student out of a classroom for help with reading or speech therapy, and sometimes that requires more advanced services like providing an aide or individual teacher.

Cape Girardeau has one of the larger special education programs in the region. More than 680 students, including 3- to 5-year-olds, receive special education services in the district, Chong said. The high rate of participation indicates the district has a strong program.

"I think people trust us to provide the special services they need to help their child," Chong said. "We're proud of our numbers and the depth of our program."

Sometimes noneducators are surprised by the number of adults providing special education services in a classroom, but there are strict regulations for how those services are provided. In some cases, one student could have three or more adults working to provide various physical or educational services.

"Cape has a good attitude that if a student needs help, we're going to do whatever we can to help that student," Fidler said. "Sometimes schools avoid those just because of the additional paperwork or what it might cost."

Fidler said every effort is made to meet the needs of individual students. Every special education student experiences some inclusion in mainstream physical education, and fine or practical arts classes, he said. Whenever possible, high school students also are able to enroll in other courses that don't fit the self-contained classroom many people remember.

"Special education is handled differently these days," said Fidler. "It depends on individually what they're capable of doing and what they're successful at. If they're successful in mainstream classes, then that's what we want."

SPECIAL EDUCATION CATEGORIES

The percentage of the Cape Girardeau school district student population serve by the 12 categories of special education:

Seech/language disorders, 4.4%

Behavioral disorders/emotionally disturbed, 1.7%

Mental retardation, 1.23%

Hearing impaired, 0.15%

Multiple disabilities, 0.15%

Visually impaired, 0.07%

Autism, 0.05%

Traumatic brain injury, 0.02%

Physically/other health impaired, n/a

Deaf/blind, n/a

Learning disabilities, n/a

Early childhood special education, 25 children ages 3-5

FREE SERVICES

Public schools in Missouri offer the following free services for children ages 3, 4 and 5 suspected of needing early childhood special education:

*Screening

*Evaluation

*educational programming

*Transportation

*Therapies

*Resources for parents

For mor information, contact the Southeast Missouri Interagency Preschool Transition council at 339-1201 or 335-1867.

NEED MORE INFO?

Additional resources specific to Missouri are available from:

Center for Innovations in Special Education

Parkade Center

Suite 152

601 Business Loop 70 West

Columbia, Mo. 65211-2473

Phone 800-976-2473

~~www.coe.missouri.edu/~~ mocise

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