Special Education Services for Special Needs Children?

Answer 1

Raising a special needs child presents unique challenges for many parents. Specialist physicians, expensive medications, and behavioral or learning difficulties are all possible hurdles that may be faced by parents. In the case of education, it is important to have a strong support system in place and to make the child’s school aware of the situation as early as possible. Appropriate special education services can be developed after an IEP, or Individualized Education Plan, is established.

In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that all children who meet the guidelines as persons with disabilities have an IEP in place. The purpose of the IEP is to ensure that special needs children receive an education appropriate to their circumstances. IEPs are reviewed and updated annually, and set suitable education goals for the special needs child at each grade level. Disabilities that make a child eligible for special services may be physical, behavioral, or learning-related and may include autism, Down’s syndrome, and developmental delay.

The first step in acquiring special education services is a referral by a school administrator or physician. If it is suspected the child will need such services, a meeting will be scheduled with a school guidance counselor or psychologist. At the meeting, the child’s individual needs will be discussed, as well as necessary testing procedures to identify the child’s learning strengths and weaknesses. Once the required testing battery has been administered, an IEP will be developed, outlining the child’s learning goals for the upcoming school year.

Depending upon the degree of the special needs child’s disability, the IEP may be implemented in a regular classroom or a special education setting. Some public schools have remediation settings designed to accommodate special needs children; others may recommend a special needs school. In the case of inclusion, the child will be placed in a general education classroom setting but will receive aid via a paraprofessional or special education assistant. If necessary and available, the child will be referred to a remediation setting, where most or all subjects will be learned in a smaller class setting via a special education teacher. Often, a number of special education assistants will also be present in a remediation class to aid students during the instructional day. If the student’s needs are greater than the public school can accommodate, the child may be referred to a special needs school.