Nicole Bauer, age 15, of Chester, Pa., for her question:
HOW ARE EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN EDUCATED?
Exceptional children are those who are either handicapped or gifted. Exceptional children differ from average children in mental characteristics, sensory abilities, physical characteristics, emotional behavior or communication abilities and for these and other reasons they require special educational services to develop to their potential.
According to the Department of Education, about 10 percent of the children in the United States suffer from handicaps and another two to three percent are considered gifted. Special education provides these children with individualized learning experiences suited to their unique abilities.
In 1975 the U.S. Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which guarantees a free and appropriate public education to all handicapped children in the U.S. between the ages of 3 and 21. Funds are provided for special education programs, but to qualify for these funds states and local districts must comply with a strict set of guidelines.
These include provisions of special services in the least restrictive environment, an individualized education plan for each child, a comprehensive diagnosis of each child by a qualified professional team, an annual review of each child's progress and the involvement of parents in all education decisions.
A report from the Federal Office of the Gifted and Talented revealed that the educational status of the nation's gifted children wasn't being properly handled. Only a dozen states employed full time professionals to oversee the needs of this group. The Council for Exceptional Children has now begun to campaign to ensure that the educational needs of the gifted are met. Special classes and special schools are now available to many of the gifted.
At the present time there are many programs designed for the physically handicapped, the mentally retarded, the behaviorally disordered and the communicatively disordered.
Three major trends are noted in the special education needed by exceptional children.
First, more special programs and special teachers are available in public schools. Services are provided for groups never before served, such as the multiply handicapped, the very young and those between 18 and 21.
Second, the law states that children must be served in the least restrictive environment. As a result, the disabled are now "mainstreamed" or included in regular classes whenever possible for as much of their day as is feasible.
Third, greater parental awareness and involvement is now a part of educational planning. This has resulted in many lawsuits against school districts for not providing adequate services.
Educators tell us that emphasis on serving the needs of exceptional children will continue and that the information derived from current research will improve special educational services even more in the future.