Education Week has a nice article describing how Chris Vogelberger, a child with Down’s Syndrome, is performing quite well when taught in the normal classroom setting, instead of the traditional Special Education setting.
His parents wanted him in a normal setting as a result of meeting two middle school children with Down’s Syndrome, one taught in a Special Education setting, the other taught in the normal classroom setting. They found that the student in the normal setting was much better adjusted. Since their son was going to live in the norm world, bot the “Special Education World”m they wanted him to learn in the usual classroom setting.
According to the article, Chris’ situation is becoming more common. Since the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act about a quarter century ago, most children with special needs are taught in classes alongside their peers without disabilities.
Do you think that children with disabilities should be integrated with the classroom, or should they be sent to special schools?
