Originally Posted by Senusret I (Post 1663499)

And as someone who hopes to be a parent one day, I shudder when I think about my child being expected to help other students. There's a difference between collaborative learning and burdening a special needs child's classmates.

Originally Posted by ASUADPi (Post 1663519)

Honestly, when you have kids, don't send them to public schools then. They will be expected to work together (whether it is with a special needs child or a student they don't particularly like). I am teaching these children that people are different, that it is a fact of life and that they have to work together. There is a big difference between having the kids rotate who works with the special needs student and having one person always work with that child.

I can say that the only time I have had to seperate a sped child away from another student it had nothing to do with his disability or his abilities, it was because their personalities didn't mesh and the sped child was violent (due to his dislike) to the other child (when I say violent I mean he would deliberately hit this child). I obviously couldn't have that happening in the room, so they were completely seperated in the room and in line. Once they were seperated from each other, my class ran fine and was smooth.

I know for myself and in my classroom, the students rotated on who they worked with. I was constantly changing groups. I didn't want them to become complacent in one group and think they didn't have to do anything. Plus, I would mix up the ability levels (like I wouldn't put all the sped kiddos in one group and all my gifted in another). Yes, some children would work with my sped kiddos a bit more, but I would ask them "hey do you mind working with this child" and they would say yes. Mainly because these two little girls really liked to be the "center of attention", which working with one of the sped kiddos and having to explain the assignment in child like terms and kind of being the "boss" something that gave them an ego boost. (They probably didn't think I knew this but I did).

Originally Posted by wreckingcrew (Post 1663528)

Here's to you then, super teacher. http://www.allsportsnetwork.net/comm...s/thumbsup.gif

His group members had to go above and beyond the amount of work the rest of the students did, to make up for his part. That's not fair to them.

Originally Posted by ASUADPi (Post 1663445)

I don't mean to call you out, but seriously your statements just irked me. If you walked into the teaching profession "assuming" that every child would be "normal", you might want to rethink the teaching profession as a whole. Whether you have a kid with an IEP or not, YOU WILL have a special needs child (of some kind) in your classroom.

Using the excuse "if I wanted to teach it I would have gotten the endorsement", its just that, an excuse. IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) and FAPE (free and appropriate education) guarantee these children the right to an education in their lease restrictive environment

I apologize for sounding completely bitchy and pissed, but it irks me to no end with teachers who have absolutely no patience for special needs students and would rather they "not be in their classroom".

And obviously you aren't seeing the positive a special needs child can be in your classroom. I taught 3rd grade last year (07-08) and I started out the year with 5 sped kiddos (3 SLD/1 Asbergers/ADHD and 1 Bipolar). First off, I have a very strict discipline regiman (I start out incredibly tough and lighten up throughout the course of the year). My students know that I am boss. I placed a sped kiddo in each group, so that my students understood that they would have to work with kids that were a bit slower than them. I ended the school year with only 2 sped kiddos (due to 3 kids leaving the district) and my class were amazing with them. They were willing to help them (without being asked by me), they would volunteer when asked. They learned patience. There are positives from having sped students in your room, but first off you have to stop dwelling on the negatives and look at the positives that that child can bring to your class..

BTW my comments are coming from a person who has taught 2 years in a special education self-contained setting and two years regular education (with sped students in my rooms). I am not only certified in Elementary Education but also Special Education Cross-Categorical.

Feel free to disagree with my comments. Feel free to argue with me :D. Thats fine :D

Originally Posted by OTW (Post 1663311)

And the saga continues...this time in Oregon!

VIDEO: Teacher duct tapes boy to his chair

Originally Posted by ASUADPi (Post 1663519)

I know for myself and in my classroom, the students rotated on who they worked with. I was constantly changing groups. I didn't want them to become complacent in one group and think they didn't have to do anything. Plus, I would mix up the ability levels (like I wouldn't put all the sped kiddos in one group and all my gifted in another). Yes, some children would work with my sped kiddos a bit more, but I would ask them "hey do you mind working with this child" and they would say yes. Mainly because these two little girls really liked to be the "center of attention", which working with one of the sped kiddos and having to explain the assignment in child like terms and kind of being the "boss" something that gave them an ego boost. (They probably didn't think I knew this but I did).

Originally Posted by MysticCat (Post 1663552)

Rashid, I wouldn't send kids to DC public schools either if I could help it.

Originally Posted by KSig RC (Post 1663579)

This is, coincidentally, why I strongly support partial separation programs for both gifted students and special needs students. Interaction is a necessary and important part of socialization and "growing up" - however, targeted and focused programs can have immense utility for these kids.

Originally Posted by MysticCat (Post 1663552)

Granted, my son presents a relatively "mild case." I think most people interacting with him wouldn't immediately peg him as special needs -- at most they might note that he's a little "odd" and hard to figure out. So for him, mainstreaming works well, while being seperated from the "normal" kids would be a disaster. Like I said, I think the question of what classroom setting is best for a kid on the spectrum has to be decided on a case-by-case basis -- there is no one right answer.

Originally Posted by Munchkin03 (Post 1663924)

You're also way more active and accepting of your son's needs than a LOT of parents are. Aren't most kids on the spectrum diagnosed before the kid even starts grade school, when something doesn't seem right?

We know a kid who's obviously on the spectrum--but to his family, "there's nothing wrong" with him at all. As a result, he's not getting the help he deserves, he doesn't speak, he just grunts monosyllabically. I feel like many urban public school systems are filled with kids like this...which could be the case with this kid. Doesn't make what the teacher did right, though.

Originally Posted by MysticCat (Post 1660586)

Usually signs start to present themselves by about 3; in fact, I think the diagnosis requires that symptoms be present by then.

That said, it's not unusual in my experience for the diagnosis to come in elementary school. This is so for a couple of reasons -- sometimes the symptoms can be written off as something else before the pressures of school come, sometimes (often) parents really don't want to face the prospect of an autism spectrum diagnosis and resist until they really can't anymore. We knew something was "off" around 3, but he was 9 when he was diagnosed. We weren't ignoring things during those years; it just took that long for us to see what really seemed to be going on.