In an effort to better understand the special education
processes in schools and its role in the students with disabilities, 5
professionals were interviewed from 3 different schools with very different
backgrounds and populations. This posts
aims to summarize my findings during the process, accompanied by my own
experience as a teacher in 2 out of the three schools, and to make a reflection
on how special education could be shaped in the school of the future.
The first set of interviews was given to 1 teacher, 1 IEP
manager and 1 special education teacher from a private international school
located in Bogotá, Colombia. These
professionals were able to provide a clear image of an inclusive school, with a
well structured for special education and a learning center with a long
tradition in the country, well recognized by international schools in the Latin
American region.
In regards to the process itself, it is clear that was
designed by the school following many of the characteristics of the legally
established one from the United States.
Referral processes, IEP meetings, communication with parents, etc. 2 aspects are noticeable; the school has a
team of professionals (not related to government or governmental policies
whatsoever) who would offer the evaluation required for a formal diagnosis, and
the involvement of parents. Given the
school reputation with special education, and some cultural characteristics of
the local community; some of the students enrolled will come to the school with
a prior evaluation, and will enroll in search for a better, more suited
environment for their kids. But even in
those cases in which the students’ disabilities are found within the school
classes, parents are in most cases understanding, supportive and responsive to
the suggestions given by the school.
In regards to resources and support from administration, it
was again impressive to be reminded of the allocation of resources that
administration puts into the program.
Special classrooms, specialized staff, resources, and most important,
teacher training, are cornerstones of the entire process.
On the other hand, I interviewed an ES teacher and a Special
education teacher from 2 different schools both private international schools,
located in Beijing, China. In these
schools, the process is exactly the opposite.
One of the schools do have a proper referral process that is newly established
(it has been running for less than one school year) and it was only implemented
in a part of the school (elementary school) due to restrictions in staffing,
and to lack of administrative support.
This school designed its own referral process, based on the United
States one, but adapted to the multiple limitations, or better, resistance they
face in here. The process goes walks the
same path; parents, teachers or students themselves can make an initial
referral, a committee meets, discuss the students’ needs and come up with an
intervention plan for the student. If
the plan is not showing the expected results, parents are called for a meeting,
and in most of the cases, here is where the first obstacle is found. Disabilities are still facing a lot of tabu
in China, parents don’t want to see their kids labeled as “less intelligent” or
capable than others, so their initial reaction will be commonly of denial.
Some may come around and allow for the team to start the
intervention, and will even agree to the test and diagnose that needs to be
done by an external organization at the expense of the parents. But some other will deny the support, insist
on their kids being just fine, and will stop the process right there. The
school administration is sometimes very helpful and supportive, but in some
occasions it will not agree to put any kind of pressure on the parents’
decisions.
Learning disorders affect the way our brains receive and
process the information it receives, it has no relationship with the
intelligence level of a kid. The fear
parents experiment towards a diagnosis of a learning disorder or disability is
related to the misconception of the relationship between a disability and the
intelligence of a child. Labeling of their child as less intelligent or
incapable.
The strategies the special education teacher has decided to
follow in such cases, is to provide the individualized plan and accommodations
to the student’s teacher and make a common effort to provide the best learning
opportunities possible under the circumstances.
In some other cases, more severe situations will require for
the parents to provide the companion of an external assistant teacher to work
on an individualized plan with the student.
One important aspect that I wanted to cover during this
experience was to gather information regarding ways to identify special
education needs students. The process is
thorough in both places, after the referrals, observations and evaluations are
conducted. In the first school, all the
teachers are consulted to look for patterns in strategies that have previously
worked with a specific student.
One aspect that needs to be considered for both these
schools, and that was mentioned by the special ed teacher in the school in
China, refers to misdiagnosed cases of students with language issues (second
language learners) that can easily be confused for students with a learning
disability. Her recommendation was
simple: teachers need to talk to each
other. The Chinese teacher can bring a
lot of light into a case of a misdiagnosed student, but they need to be asked.
The report by the UNESCO on ICT and access to information
for people with disabilities reminds us how in the United States more than a
million kindergarten students have been misdiagnosed with ADHD, because they
were placed in a grade level not adequate for their age.
Some of the disabilities are caused due to inadequate school
environments, such is the case with students misplaced in the wrong class (too
young for the grade level), or second language learners or TCK (third culture
kids) who may express their confusion, frustration, or on the other hand may
not express much due to their special situation, to later be misdiagnosed or
confused for a student with a disability.
For international schools the risk is then doubled. The
student population in most international schools is in its majority composed by
second or third language learners, and/or third culture kids where teachers
tend to forget that this particular group of students may go through a series
of symptoms related to their language learning process or to their adapting to
a new culture process, that may seem similar to those of a student with
disability but that have nothing to do with it.
Misdiagnosis is a big issue that needs to be considered in
any special ed program. Lets take a
commonly diagnosed disability as an example:
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), defined as a disorder presented by
a child who presents an excessive defiance towards authority and is disobedient
and even hostile. It is said that is
particularly difficult to diagnose, given that in the majority of the cases,
this attitudes are only addressed to one person or under one particular
environment. My question is: what is
excessive and how can a teacher that is being defied objectively judge
this? Who draws the line between a
strong character and a disorder? Any
third culture kid, passing through a denial stage in his process could present
an attitude exactly as the one described above, and could easily be
misdiagnosed with a disability and labeled for the rest of his/her life.
Labeling a student is a serious business, and it
definitively should not be taken lightly.
It is our responsibility as educators to be conscious of the reality of
misdiagnosis, and the similarities of behaviors related to language learning
difficulties or third culture processes.
After going to this process and
going back to my own practice, I restate once more the importance of knowing my
students and developing relationships with them. Getting to know them goes a
long way, and in my personal experience, far beyond what any IEP could possible
give me.
Another important conclusion
that I draw from this experience, relates to what is required for us to shift
the current models of education, and to get closer of what an inclusive,
designed for all school should be in the future. And that is teachers who communicate and work
together. Particularly in MS and HS years where students are covered by many
different teachers, communication and the possibility to talk and share
perspectives on an specific student is crucial to get to know the best way to
help him/her. In my current situation
here in China in which IEP teams, and special ed teachers are not necessarily a
reality, awareness of what they would do is important, because there are things
that we can do by ourselves to help these students despite the lack of support,
resources, or legislation.
Bottom line, my reflection goes
back to the importance of a teacher who cares, even in the most complex
situation, caring will be the key for our students’ success, it is on us to be
informed, and to get together, and to plan for that special student with all
the potential to succeed.
Sources
Fahey,
S., & Martinez, M. (2010). Special Education in China. PRC Ministry of
Education.
Opening New Avenues for Empowerment – ICTs to Access
Information and Knowledge for Persons with Disabilities (2013). UNESCO Global
Report. Retrieved from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002197/219767e.pdf
Michele Hancock, M.S., P.P.S - (2015).
Understanding Special Education. Retrieved from: http://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/about-us.html
Child Mind Institute (2014)
Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Retrieved
from:
Interviews transcripts and recording
available at:
No comments:
Post a Comment