Special Ed help in research?

Question

I am in my final year of university and i am doing my dissertation on support for children with disruptive behaviour (ADHD/ADD, Autism) in Mainstream schools.

i am in the uk so i would appreciate it if parents in the uk who have children in mainstream school that have ADD, ADHD or autism to answer.

My question is do you feel that your child has enough support in mainstream schools to meet their needs? What support would you like if your child is not recieving enough? How do you think he teachers and other pupils support or not support your child?

Thank you for the answers in advance, it will really help me if i can have as many people answer as possible. Thank you x

Answer 1

I currently work with a student who is mainstreamed and has cerebral palsy, she is cognitive. but to answer your question those students who are being mainstreamed could get an aide to be in their class to assist them with their needs it just has to be implemented in their IEP. Individual educaiton plan

Answer 2

hi ,hope you dont mind me answering...I work with children with Special Educational Needs and support the transition from pre-school onwards...I find the biggest challenge can be passing on information. Either someone doesnt turn up to meetings, doesnt get given notes, just ignores what you've told them thinking they know better etc. Basically I think lack of effective communication between old settings, new settings, outside professionals and parents/carers is a huge problem in terms of getting support and continuality for children.

Answer 3

There is not nearly enough support for all special needs children in mainstream education. The training of teachers is partly to blame as currently they receive one short lecture whilst in university on special needs, this needs to be improved and looked at in much more depth. Also mainstream education tends to put all children in special needs in exactly the same category. Autism for example is on a huge spectrum and no two sufferers are the same, some are extremely gifted in certain subjects. One of the main problems at the moment in schools is inclusion and the insistence of it. Not all children especially those with special needs want or can socialise and schools should make more allowances for this. On the whole the entire education system needs to be more understanding of these children and work with them to get the best out of them rather than trying to force them to conform.