Make it truly special
ARUNA SANKARANARAYANAN
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Being sensitive to and coping with the needs of different children are the hallmarks of special education.
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The focus is not just to pass exams but to make the child a more effective and independent learner
PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK
EVERY CHILD IS UNIQUE: Flexibility is a hallmark of special education.
Kavya’s promotion was doubtful. The school principal asked her parents to have the child assessed by a psychologist as Kavya was simply not coping in Grade IV. Her parents, understandably stressed, followed the school’s directive. A psychological assessment was conducted and the report concluded that the child had “specific learning disability” and required “remedial education”. But it did not explain what these terms meant and, more importantly, did not spell out how these conclusions were reached. However, her parents did not wish to question expert opinion and enrolled the child for classes with a special educator. Kavya initially started scoring better marks; but, while she could read her school textbooks to an extent, she faltered while reading her younger brother’s English lessons. When her parents leafed through Kavya’s books from her special education class, the lessons covered were mostly from her school books. On questioning the child, her parents felt Kavya’s classes resembled regular tuition. As they could not discern any “special” inputs, they wondered what was special about her special education classes.
Nothing ’special’
Suman’s parents were dismayed for different reasons. Their son, born with mild cerebral palsy, walked unaided at the age of four. He underwent two corrective surgeries to improve his gait. His speech was normal and his socio-emotional development was age-appropriate. Though he exhibited slight cognitive delay Suman definitely did not fit into the “mentally retarded” clinical category. After much debate, his parents opted for a special school as they did not want to pressure the child. He fared well in the early years. However, after three years, the child developed an aversion for school. During an emotional outburst, he complained to his mother that he was being beaten regularly at school for not writing fast. Aghast, his parents enrolled the child in another special school, hoping for a more humane environment.
Hari’s parents faced a different dilemma. They discovered their child was deaf when he was about 18 months old. Hari underwent a cochlear implant surgery at two years and attended intensive speech therapy. His language skills improved at a considerable pace and by age four, he was able to communicate fairly fluently. When his parents approached a number of mainstream schools for his LKG admission, the child was turned away as his hearing apparatus was visible. Finally, Hari enrolled in a school that was open to inclusion.
These cases depict the complexities surrounding the term “special education”. As it is broad in scope, definitional clarity is missing. Special education is generally believed to involve instruction for children with disabilities as their needs are not met in regular classrooms. However, this, in and of itself, does not spell out what special education is or who needs it. In Kavya’s case, the child was attending a regular school and her disability was not readily apparent. Moreover, her special education classes did not seem to differ from regular tuition. In Suman’s case, the fact that child was beaten by his teacher made his parents wonder how special his school really was. In the third situation, Hari was asked to enrol in a special school even though he could learn effectively in regular classrooms.
Parents need to know what special education is in order to make informed decisions. Instruction that passes as “special education” often does not conform to all the criteria that true special education demands. The most basic criterion of special education is that teachers are sensitive to children’s needs. Working with special children, in and of itself, need not qualify as special education. Hari, who had circumvented his disability with a cochlear implant, did not require special assistance after he acquired proficiency in speech. Individualised or small group instruction also does not merit the term “special education”. In Kavya’s case, her special education classes seemed like regular tuition.
Knowing the needs
As “special education” in some schools and centres resembles tuition classes in spirit and deed, parents need yardsticks by which they can gauge the quality and effectiveness of various programmes. A number of factors distinguish special education from tuition. Similar to Kavya’s case, special education first involves a comprehensive assessment, which includes learning about a child’s family background, medical and academic histories, personality and interests. Then formal testing is conducted to identify a child’s level in different areas. The assessment varies depending on the child’s profile. In Kavya’s case, her assessment would involve academic skills like reading, spelling, syntax, vocabulary, comprehension and mathematical reasoning and computation and observations of her behaviour. Suman’s assessment, on the other hand, will include academic skills and observations regarding his attention span for various tasks. In addition, his gross and fine-motor development needs to be charted. While special schools may not be able to provide all services due to space and monetary constraints, they will refer the child to appropriate specialists, like an occupational therapist, speech therapist etc. Special educators are also trained to work with different populations and one special educator may not be able to serve the needs of all special children. Special education involves specialisation in different disabilities like autism, mental retardation, hearing impairment, LD etc.
The focus
The focus of special education is on learning, not just to pass exams, but to make the child a more effective and independent learner. A special educator usually prepares a learning plan for each child based on the initial assessment. For Kavya, her plan would target increasing her reading accuracy and speed and improving her spelling. Suman’s plan may include phonics instruction, introduction to sight words, improving pencil grasp and handwriting, in addition to his occupational therapy sessions which he attends after school hours. For promoting his attention span, a behaviour modification program may be implemented where the child is rewarded for focusing on activities.
These plans are reviewed and revised periodically depending on the child’s progress. While flexibility is a hallmark of special education, good practice also demands a clearly defined structure with measurable goals. Creative teaching aids are used to impart skills in an interesting manner. Finally, special educators are trained to work with specific populations and are expected to be sensitive to individual needs of a child. The physical, behavioural, emotional and academic profile of each child has to be kept in mind.
In an ideal world, general education should reflect the basic principles embodied in special education as all children are special in their own way. But given the reality, special education evolved as a field as the needs of some children were not being addressed in the general system. We have to ensure that special education does not lose its “special” focus.
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