Mechelle De Craene :: Blog :: Special Education

I was talking with one of my former professors and found out that my alumni schools University of Florida is 4th in the US for special education. I was so surprised.  Here's the story. I wish them well. Congratulations Special Ed-U-Gators!

 

Image Reference: http://news.education.ufl.edu/node/163

 

Fellow Special Ed Teachers: Here is the The Executive Summer for Federal Policy Makers by The Harvard Civil Rights Project on Racial Inequlity in Special Education. It is a must read stating, "We need to reach the point at which every child is treated as if he or she were our own child, with the same tirelessly defended life possibilities."  

The following excerpt is from Professor Carol Gill's (1995) paper A Psychological View of Disability Culture. She has constructed a list of the core values of disability culture. They are as follows:

1) An acceptance of human differences (e.g., physical, functional, racial, intellectual, economic/class).

2) A matter-of-fact orientation toward helping; an acceptance of human vulnerability and interdependence as part of life.

3) A tolerance for lack of resolution, for dealing with the unpredictable and living with unknowns or less-than-desired outcomes.

4) Disability humor - the ability to laugh at the oppressor and our own situations, to find something absurdly hilarious in almost anything, however dire.

5) Skill in managing multiple problems, systems, technology and assistants.

6) A sophisticated future orientation; an ability to construct complex plans taking into account multiple contingencies and realistically anticipated obstacles.

7) A carefully honed capacity for closure in interpersonal communication; the ability to read others' attitudes and conflicts in order to sort out, fill in the gaps and grasp the latent meaning in contradictory social messages.

8) A flexible, adaptive approach to tasks; a creativity stimulated by both limited resources and experience with untraditional modes of operating.

 

Image Reference: (My Flickr Account):  http://www.flickr.com/photos/45299717@N00/484593552/

April is Autism Awareness Month...so fellow teachers it's time to become more aware. 

Professor Vernon Smith is a Nobel Prize Winner who also happens to have autism. Listen to his incredible story and celebrate neurodiversity!

  

With that, here's an essay that disabilities advoate and president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Ari Ne'eman wrote while a high school senior for her teachers:

Personal experience has taught me that those who think in different ways should not be written off despite the challenges and obstacles that are often thrown in their way. For several years I was in a special education system that practiced enforced conformity. The belief was that anyone society labeled "disabled" could only go so far. Sadly, these misconceptions had the potential to become self-fulfilling prophecies. When the expectation is that people of a certain type can only reach so far, they are not provided with the same challenges and opportunities that educators give mainstreamed students.

Yet I did manage to make it out of special education by advocating for myself and refusing to believe in a myth that equated distinctiveness with inferiority. By insisting on inclusion in the same opportunities and programs as other students, I achieved academic success. In the space of a few years I went from being advised that I would have to delay my high school graduation to being an honor student who will attend college on time to study international relations.

Now, as a speaker for the New Jersey Department of Education and other organizations, I advocate for reform of the system I left. When I speak to educators, students and policymakers I stress one message: those of different neurologies can succeed not by luck, chance, or even extraordinary willpower, but by recognition of their unique abilities and methods of learning. Understanding that different styles of learning do not imply inability to learn is essential to creating a more inclusive educational environment. With an educational system that works with us, society will see an even larger level of success for autistics and many other neuro-diverse citizens. In truth, differences in neurology often contribute to success. History supports this conclusion.

Today, experts are finding autistic traits in many of the great minds of the past such as Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein. These people possessed many of the traits that today can be found on the autism spectrum. Like many autistics, they viewed the world through different eyes and were not possessed of the same type of social skills as their neurotypical peers, yet they possessed highly capable intellects and used them in ways their unique perspectives made possible. Neither these greats of the past nor those of us in the present deserve to be marginalized from society or labeled as broken or diseased.

Society has developed a tendency to examine things from the point of view of a bell curve. How far away am I from normal? What can I do to fit in better? But what is on top of the bell curve? The answer is mediocrity. That is the fate of American society if we insist upon pathologizing difference and seek to "cure" it. The person who is socially isolated because he views the world in a different light may use that difference in perception to invent something revolutionary.

"I don't have any trouble thinking outside the box. I don't feel any social pressure to do things the way other people are doing them," said Vernon Smith, the 2002 Nobel Prize winner in economics and an Asperger's autistic, in a February interview with CNBC. Does it serve anyone's interests to label people like Smith diseased? Isn't respecting the other a vital part of both the American and the Jewish tradition? We do not need a cure to make us like everyone else. We need to be accepted for who we are. "We don't all have to think alike to ... live in a productive and satisfying world," said Professor Smith.

Each day the world learns more about how to recognize yet respect the differences in neurology that exist throughout our society. In February at a conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, researchers announced that many previously held ideas about autistic intelligence were mistaken. A new intelligence test discovered that even those who had previously been written off as capable of very little possessed great, untapped potential.

As society advances and we learn more about the differing kinds of neurology and intelligence, it should be our hope that we respect people for their differences and not try to enforce neurological conformity. In a day and age when we have broken down countless prejudices of the past and recognized the legitimacy of differences in race, color, creed and religion, we should be tolerant of those who think in different ways.

We should recognize what diversity of neurology has contributed to the human race and what it can bring to the future. Difference is not disability and someday, I hope, the world will recognize that those who think in different ways should be welcomed. '

 

Fellow teachers, the inspirational Professor Stephen Hawking once said:

"My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all."

Thankfully, by the power of technology the world is able to tap into Hawking's brilliant mind. If anyone doubts the power that technology holds for individuals with disabilties then all they need to do is to read his books and/or listen to his cyber lectures. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is so inspiring. For example, he states, "God not only plays dice, He also sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen.”  

As new technologies emerge new possibilities arise for individuals with disabilities. In December 2006, the UN adopted the convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Here is an excerpt from the UN's eAccessiblity document: "Access to information and communication technologies creates opportunities to everyone in society, but perhaps no-more so than for persons with disabilities. No longer do the societal barriers of prejudice, infrastructure, and inaccessible formats stand in the way of participation. When available to everyone, information technologies foster individuals to reach their full potential, and for persons with disabilities it allows them to play their part in society’s development."

This year I am co-lead with Zaida McCunney of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the Learning & Physical Challenges Education Program for the International Supercomputing SC07 Conference. If you are a dedicated special education teacher/professor and are interested in learning more about the program please email me at mdecraene@gmail.com and I will be happy to provide you additional information about the LPCE program. This year's LPCE conference theme is: Very Special Techies: Expressing Diversity through High Performance Computing. If you'd like to learn more about SC07 LPCE please join us at LPCE's ning site.   

With that fellow teachers, I'll conclude with another inspirational quote by Professor Stephen Hawking: "It matters if you just don't give up."

Have a great rest of the school year!

 

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The following is a video of a student of mine learning the computer for the first time. This is one of the videos that I took of his progress. I originally took the video footage as a part of my national boards for the student assessment section. Video assessment helps me to see my students' progression and helps me to share their progress with their parents. I have been learning a lot from my students each and every day.

This student is learning to make the connection between the mouse and the actions on the screen as well as digital object permanence (i.e. to look for objects or images on a screen even though they may appear to be hiding). I'm very proud of him. He is such a joy to teach.

This video is meant to inspire other special education teachers to consider using information and communication technologies in the classroom. Many schools do not have computers in special education classrooms. It is my contention that every child should have a chance to enjoy computers.

 

 

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Even though, we live in Florida some of my students have never been to the beach before. So, I thought that I'd bring a bit of the beach to them. I'm building a sandbox for my middle school students who are severe and profoundly mentally handicapped. 

 

Play is an important part of learning that unfortunately many teachers forget. Opportunities for play is especially important for students with special needs. Thus, I thought a sandbox would be fun. I bought the stuff that I needed and on Friday my students and I will make the sandbox and even special containers for the students in wheelchairs to play with the sand. Also, I bought all the beach toys to go along with it including a cute starfish molder. I think by working with the tools it will help to build their fine motor skills in a playful way. Also, I have plastic letters that I will bury within the sand and ask the students to find the letters. For example, I'll say, "Can you find the green Z?" This will help to build letter recognition and will help them with their colors. In Piagetian terms, they are functioning at the sensorimotor stage and some of the kids haven't acquired symbolic thinking (e.g. letter recognition) and unfortunately some students haven't acquired object permanence yet which precedes symbolic thinking. Therefore, by encouraging them to look for things sort of like a hidden treasure it will help to scaffold the object permanence schema and hopefully a letter recognition schema for students within the Vygotskian ZPD. I think it will be a fun way to try and cultivate these schemas. : D   

 

 

*(Teacher's note: severe is typically defined < 34 IQ and profound typically < 20 IQ. Most SPMH children were born preemies and are often medically fragile. About 1-2% of the population is SPMH. Therefore, there isn't a lot of information for teachers out there and it is often not taught in schools of ed. because these students are thought of as uneducable and up until recently were not in public schools. They would have been in center school, an institution, a hospital setting, or worse. If you are a fellow special education teacher and teach severe and profoundly mentally handicapped (SPMH): Here are additional posts about my experiences teaching SPMH students. I hope they are helpful for you and your students. Also, please comment on strategies that you find are helping your students as well. The more we share the better we can increase the quality of special education for our students.)

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Last night I watched One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. With that, more and more, I wonder are the machinations of the bureaucracy a metaphorical Nurse Ratched? And are all of us special education teachers suppose to be the patients? Afraid to speak our minds? Afraid to challenge the system? More and more, I see how we are expected to acquiesce into institutionalized submission when it is not always in the best interest of the students we serve. How can we overcome this to improve the quality of education for our students with special needs?       

 

 

 

Image reference: http://www.arnadal.no/film/Movies/oneflewo.htm

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Fellow teachers, if anyone doubts, the power that technology holds for empowering individuals with disabilities, than they need to watch this....it is truly amazing! I saw Amanda's video on Andy Carvin's Blog. Please watch this video by Amanda Baggs. She blogs, plays Second Life and also happens to have autism. In this You-Tube video she tells of her life and her language. 

The video may seem 'strange' to people who aren't special education teachers. Especially the first part of the video when she is stemming due to sensory integration issues that are common with individuals with autism. Also, please note that brain development is different in individuals with autism, which in turn affects behavior and the sensory system.* Autism is on the PDD spectrum and Amanda shows a facet into the world of autism. In the second half of the video she explains the first half. Please click below to watch Amanda Bagg's In My Language video.

With that, I think Amanda has a point. When people take the time to learn other people's languages we connect and discover the world in new ways. Thankfully, the universal language of technology can help us all connect.

All in all, after careful consideration and pondering about Amanda's video, I reflect again on the role of special education teachers and what this means to us. While, we do seek to learn the language patterns of individuals with autism, I think our primary goal is intervention and we have a responsibility to the child and the families. Our goal is to help children communicate with their families and function within society. Perhaps, some may consider this conformity, but it is reality. We try to teach all children regardless of ability or disability to communicate effectively. We especially want our students with special needs to be able to communicate with their families, to gain independence, and participate in society. On that note, a special education teacher had to work with Amanda to teach her from at the very basic level to understand the symbol-sound relationship of the alphabet to learn how to type and communicate so that she can show the world her perspective. 

To conclude, here is another perspective into understanding autism. This is a video from MSN NBC Today's Show with Katie Couric about the football player legend Dan Marino and Claire Marino's son Michael in The Marino family's fight against autism. The Miami Children's Hospital Dan Marino Center is one of the best centers in the world for treating autism. Early intervention is key. Overall, there is a great deal to learn about and discover in the field of special education and we are learning more each day. What are your thoughts?

 

 

 

 

I tried to connect via my You-Tube acccount, but You-Tube said was not blog posting to Elgg platform yet.

*(I wrote a paper on autism and the brain in one of my classes while earning my masters degree in special ed).

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