Special education programs are designed for those students who are mentally, physically, socially and/or emotionally delayed. This aspect of delay, broadly categorized as a developmental delay, signify an aspect of the child’s overall development, that is, physical, cognitive, and scholastic skills, which place them behind their peers. Due to these special requirements, students’ needs cannot be met within the traditional classroom environment.
Special Education programs and services adapt content, teaching methodology and delivery instruction to meet the appropriate needs of each child. These services are of no cost in most countries and are available to children until they reach about 21 years of age. However, specialized services can still be provided for adults above the age mentioned.
Most countries have enacted laws or legislation that ensures adequate provision of education for children with disabilities. These laws provide children and youth with access to a higher quality of education-related services, ensuring all students the complete access to the most appropriate education within the least restrictive environment.
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These legislations seek the following:
- Provide all students with disabilities between the ages of three and 21 with access to an appropriate and free public education.
- Identify, locate and evaluate children labeled with disabilities.
- Develop an invidualized education program for each child.
- Provide those students enrolled in early-intervention programs with positive and effective transition into an appropriate preschool program.
- Provide special education services for those children enrolled in private schools.
- Ensure teachers are adequately qualified and certified to teach special education.
- Ensure that children with disabilities are not suspended or expelled at rates higher than their typically developing peers and many more.
In some countries public schools are granted federal funding that provides equal access to education for children with physical and/or mental disabilities. Schools are required to evaluate children and create an educational plan that paralleled the academic experience of their non-disabled peers. Government requirements also provide parents and families the necessary support systems to ensure their children receive appropriate and adequate services, along with the services needed to dispute decisions made on behalf of the children.
In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were repeatedly denied an education by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. In its early years, special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning.
