country's public schools are experiencing dwindling state education budgets and increased unfunded mandates from the federal government, the search for optimal approaches to providing high quality educational services for students with learning disabilities has assumed new importance and relevance. In an attempt to satisfy the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a growing number of special educators agree that full inclusion is the optimal approach

Thus, efforts aimed at helping teachers to avoid harmful stereotyping of students often begin with activities designed to raise teachers' awareness of their unconscious biases." (1989) Cotton goes on the relate that there are specific ways in which differential expectations are communicated to students according to the work of: "Brookover, et al. (1982); Brophy (1983); Brophy and Evertson (1976); Brophy and Good (1970); Cooper and Good (1983); Cooper and

In their study, "Thinking of Inclusion for All Special Needs Students: Better Think Again," Rasch and his colleagues (1994) report that, "The political argument in favor of inclusion is based on the assumption that the civil rights of students, as outlined in the 1954 decision handed down in Brown v. Board of Education, which struck down the concept of 'separate but equal,' can also be construed as applying to special

This is often complemented with anger and job depression. There is also the challenge of extreme mental and physical fatigue. This fatigue does not have an identifiable physiological source. The individual may have a good diet and may sleep well but the awake exhausted and tired. They are not prepared to engage in the task of preparation of class materials or lessons. The mind is tired and it may be

This creates a problem in education, as there is already a disproportionate demand for Special Education teachers, while there are not enough to meet the demand of the increasing numbers of students needing their services. Specifically, Whitaker also mentions the following factors in contributing to the isolation problem and the lack of teacher retention: 1) a lack of preparation for the realities of the profession; 2) a reluctance in teachers

Best practices that help students with learning disabilities consistently focus on early intervention not only for educational benefit, but also because early intervention promotes greater social skills ability and development among children (Wong & Donahue, 2002). The sooner a child is integrated into the mainstream system and learns to "cope" with any perceived "deficits" the more likely they are to build healthy and long-lasting friendships that will help them as