Functional Curriculum Goals Special Needs Children: Integration

¶ … Functional Curriculum Goals

Special needs children: Integration vs. self-contained classrooms

Under the auspices of the 1975 federal law IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act), every child with a disability is entitled to receive a public education in the least restrictive environment possible, as determined by the extent and the nature of his or her disability. "IDEA strives not only to grant equal access to students with disabilities, but also to provide additional special education services and procedural safeguards" (IDEA, 2011, Help4ADHD). IDEA supports the value of mainstreaming the education of students with disabilities, but not at the expense of the quality of the child's instruction.

Still, here is a great deal of value in the use of an integrated classroom for student with special needs. While mainstreaming is not warranted in all instances, often an inclusive classroom is superior vs. A self-contained classroom because of its ability to teach social as well as basic skills to the child. For example, when a child learns how to color a picture, the manual skills learned through this repetitive action can be very important, such as gripping with the fingers and other essential motor skills. It also teaches an enjoyment of putting things down on paper and the importance of obeying directions, such as staying between the lines of an outlined pattern. However, in an integrated classroom, the child also learns social skills, such as sharing different colored crayons, talking with other students about what he or she is creating, and engaging with others on a holistic level.

For most special needs children, the most complete education depends upon balance between an integrated and self-contained classroom when creating their educational plan. The purpose of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is that it is "specifically tailored to the unique needs of each student," and often includes a balance of assistance in an integrated classroom from learning aides, independent and unassisted work, and resource room aid in a self-contained classroom (IDEA, 2011, Help4ADHD).. "Students provided with self-contained instruction may spend their entire school day in this setting, part of their day, or may only receive self-contained support periodically. Each case is uniquely adapted to meet the students' needs" (Chang 2009).