How+can+we+improve+disability+services?


 * Research Question: How can we improve disability services in schools?**
 * Author: Kaitlyn Sharkey**

@http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=59777564&site=ehost-live ÖZEN, A., & ERGENEKON, Y. (Winter2011). Activity-Based Intervention Practices in Special Education. //Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice//, //11//(1), 359-362. This scholarly article talks about different ways for teachers to help improve the academic success of children with developmental disabilities. There are many ways to do this but this article focuses on Activity Based Intervention (ABI). ABI is a great way for children to learn basic skills and have fun at the same time. While most children learn things in school because they are taught to perform a certain way, developmentally disabled children may not learn things because they are disengaged or simply cannot learn them because of their disability. Mentioned in the article, one major way to help the kids learn is to have them pick an activity they are interested in. They can also be taught individual goals by having them embedded in a daily routine. For example, if you wanted to get a kid to hang up their coat everyday all week, you can make hanging up their coat part of a game in the morning. Other ideas discussed include teaching functional and generalizable skills and using before and after stimuli. __**Reaction:**__ Overall I would say I enjoyed this article and agree completely. If you want to get children to do something they don't find to be fun, turn it into a game or make it part of an activity they enjoy. I think that if children are presented with different options and they get to pick the one they want to do, they are probably most likely to perform well due to their interest and want. I think that if something like this was included into most daily routines for young children and disabled kids, they would perform better and help to improve their academic success as well as the overall academic success of their school.
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__**Article 2:**__ [|http://0-library.cqpress.com.helin.uri.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2000111000&type=hitlist&num=1] Kotch, K. (2011, November 10). Special Education: //Do Students with Disabilities get the help they need?// CQ Researcher Online -Entire Report. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://0-library.cqpress.com.helin.uri.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1993121000&type=hitlist&num=0 Included in this article are the pros and cons to the establishment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA allows special ed kids to put into mainstream classes and make them feel included. They are allowed to live life as a "regular" kid and learn the same curriculum, if they are mentally able too. Mostly the article talks about ways to improve IDEA. Although the act has many pros, the cons seem to be very important and educators, even the government, strive to see that the cons be fixed. With IDEA established, in the year 2000, 6.3 million special education students between the ages of 3 and 21, were given a free education. The article argues whether or not their is substantial funding for IDEA to take place in all schools and it brings up the positive and unfortunately negative effects that come with it. Although I believe that inclusion is important for the growth of children as an individual and a student, I think there should be some moderation in it. This article reminds me somewhat of what article 3 talks about. The positive effects on the special ed student is being included in the classrooms. Despite the great aspect that most special ed kids do work well in mainstream classrooms and it helps them tremendously, I wonder whether having them in these classes can help improve the school they are in. Most schools are interested in maintaining a good academic record and passing AYP, meaning that they are very focused on tests and having their students pass. Putting special ed students in regular academic classes can bring down the schools test scores, jeopardizing the success they so desperately strive for. On the other hand, putting a kid in a mainstream class and treating her/him like everyone else could greatly benefit them more than most people think.
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[|http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/11/11/inclusion-the-right-thing-for-all-students/?scp=4&sq=Improving%20Special%20Education&st=cse] Inclusion: The Right Thing for All Students – SchoolBook. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2011/11/11/inclusion-the-right-thing-for-all-students/?scp=4&sq=Improving%20Special%20Education&st=cse In this article author Cheryl Jorgensen talks about the importance of the inclusion of special education children. She argues that the inclusion of these children could help them and their peers in many ways. Many things that could improve, according to Jorgenson are, "more likely to score higher on standardized tests of reading and math; have fewer absences from school; experience fewer referrals for disruptive behavior; and achieve more positive post-school outcomes such as a paying job, not living in segregated housing, and with having a broad and supportive social network." She also argues that inclusion of special education kids can improve the academic performance of their peers as well. Jorgensen believes that not including special education children into regular mainstream classes can inhibit their segregation in the future and make them feel different, which is something she wants to stray away from. Although Cheryl Jorgensen brings up many strong points throughout the article, I do not totally agree with what she has to say. Inclusion can be very important in the academic and social success of a special needs child, but putting them into a mainstream classroom can distract non-disabled students. Even though she says that studies have shown inclusion can help all students, I do not believe it does. I was in a class with a boy who had turrets and although he was nice and able to keep up, during quiet moments and quizzes, he would become such a distraction to the other students in the room. Inclusion in moderation is what I think could definitely work.
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[|http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1993121000&PHPSESSID=8gds5pv29sk78ufms0os2ab9k1] Jost, K. (1993, December 10). Learning Disabilities: //What is the best education for students with special needs?// (n.d.).//CQ Researcher//. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1993121000&PHPSESSID=8gds5pv29sk78ufms0os2ab9k1
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This article is similar to the rest of the articles I found and talks about the pros and cons of inclusion. According to //Learning Disabilities// many more schools are beginning to adopt the process of inclusion. The main reason for this? Author Kenneth Jost states that, "special education costs more than twice as much per student as regular education. Many school policy-makers have called for teaching almost all students with disabilities in regular classrooms." The downside to this situation is that these disabled children may be put into classes with teachers who don't really know how to teach them and work with their disabilities so the student doesn't improve in any way. So because of this, the government feels that teachers need to be properly trained so that being put into a mainstream classroom is the best choice for disabled students. Like I mentioned before, my opinion on inclusion is on the fence really. Inclusion is really great for the special education student but if they are put into a regular class without the proper necessities to help them in this particular class, then it just inhibits their growth. It shocked me to find out that special education students cost twice as much as non-disabled students do.
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 * Overall Reaction to Your Research**

Researching my question "How can we improve disability services?" taught me more than I expected and helped me understand the struggles educators go through when they have to answer this question themselves. If a district wants to improve a school, they need to isolate the problem in the school and figure out a way to fix it. What if the problem is test scores being too low because the school follows the policy of inclusion and the special education kids cannot take the tests simply because they are mentally unable? I don't see how this is fair. If the government wants to judge schools solely on test scores, they need to look at who is taking the tests. Some schools include special education kids in mainstream classes to better improve the social skills and even lives of their children. By doing so, that means that these disabled kids need to take the same tests as the non-disabled kids, simply because they want to feel included and just like everybody else. I don't see how this is fair. From my research I have learned a lot more than I expected. I learned that no matter what the school decides, special education will continue to be a work in progress. Perfecting the program is always going to have pros and cons. While some people find inclusion to be beneficial to both the disabled and non-disabled, some disagree. While some educators find it difficult to deal with certain child in classrooms because of their disability, others are able to help them. I believe that it all really depends on the teacher, the school and the student. No one plan is going to fix disability services in every school in America to improve the school as a whole. Each school needs its own plan and own way to adapt to their students to help them succeed and help their school as whole succeed as well.

Relevance in Rhode Island Schools
According to the Rhode Island Strategic Plan, by the year 2015, achievement gaps will be reduced by 50%. All the ideas listed have nothing including the special education program. They have ways to improve all socioeconomic groups and age groups as well. A big issue in all the research I found talks about the pros and cons of inclusion, now that it's become a more popular program amongst schools.The strategic plan should include something about fixing the cons so that the school doesn't suffer. If they don't include plans for all different groups of students in the school, I don't see how they can truly succeed to greatness.