In a message dated 3/27/00 1:40:52 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Wow things sure have changed since I was a kid.  When I was growing up
thee was only one option and that was the special school system.  This is
where I started out my educational career.  I have moderate CP and I went to
school with others with varying degrees of disability.  The teacher taught to
the lowest common denominator, that being those with cognitive disabilities.
I don't fault her but I don't think one teacher can possibly meet the needs
of a group of kids ranging in age from 3 to 16 with all kinds of differnet
physical and mental impairments as well as those kids with normal and above
normal IQ's.  I only started making progress when I went into the regular
classroom. >>
My child started out in a special ed classroom and this was our experience
too. We have been so much happier with regular classroom with learning
support for reading. The teachers have been great and the classmates help my
son get his coat and lunch bag etc. They want to come to house to play with
him and sometimes he goes to their houses. He's in second grade so I'm
wondering how middle school will be? Only problem is recess because the
others want to burn off energy and he can't keep up. But the special ed
classroom was taking in emotional problem children who were so disruptive
that my child wasn't getting the education he deserved. The LIU teachers were
making him walk up stairs when his walking was so horrible that he was
falling on level surfaces and we didn't find out until an IEP; we hit the
roof because they had another child that was recent brained injuried that
they were placing in the elevator. We never knew he had to go upstairs for
library , music, and speech. So special ed teachers can be just as clueless.
Our learning support teacher has more awareness and concern for our child
than the LIU teachers, to them it was obviously just a paycheck because the
teacher would cover for the therapists when they never showed, etc. I hope
the sucess continues for our son through out his schooling or I may need to
resort to homeschooling.                    Cindy