Why is it that in a school specifically for learning disabled students, they also get students with other?

Question

problems such as mental retardation, autism, and behavioral disabilities? They have other schools set up for people with those issues, so why don't they go there?

Answer 1

Wow! I have never heard of a school just for students certified as Learning Disabled. I have heard of pull out programs within a school but never an entire school. That's pretty interesting.

I agree with the response from Sped Teacher, it is not uncommon to see dual certifications so there will be a mixture of students with various lables in an educational setting.

Typically, students programs are set up with pull out classes, inclusion services etc., based on their skill level and/or need. So, it could be one student with a learning disability participates in an inclusion program only while another student with a learning disability and behavior issues participates in inclusion classes and a behavior based pull out class part of the day.

I would love to hear more about the school you are referring to.

Answer 2

Well in our County we have special ed classes in the main streamed schools, but also have a building just for impaired special needs. I work there, and it is a great place! It works out nice for the parents that want to send their children ( from toddlers to young adults ) we have different classrooms for these ages, and also depending on their level of impairment. I know some parents want their children mainstreamed with the general population, they want them to be as close to " normal " as they can. They would like them to be excepted just like other children.  They sometimes feel if they are put into a school just for the impaired, they are being pushed away and sheltered from the norm.

Then i have seen the other side - i have a student that was in a regular school ( k-6) with special ed classrooms. Her mom did not want her in our program - she felt she was giving up on her. She is now with us ( mom gave it a chance ) she loves it ( it was a rough few weeks ) but she is great, and really doing well. She is able to do things she could not at her old school - like eat in the lunchroom, play on the playground , run and hop down the halls,etc. without the fair that she would hurt herself or her peers.  If your district has the budget, it is great to have the choice for the parents to decide what is best for their children to excel as much as poss.

Answer 3

because most of these kids have a learning disability as well.

Answer 4

Budgets don't allow that many different kind of programs. Unfortunately you are stuck in a town where you got lumped in with students of varying abilities. I sense your frustration. Can you ask your parents to advocate for you so that you can go back to regular school with the supports you need to help you manage?

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Answer 5

Not knowing the specifics of the school, I can not be certain, but  learning disabilities often coexist with other disabilities. Some children with autism also have learning disabilities that affect their learning. Students with behavioral  disabilities often have learning disabilities as well. I have had students who were mildly mentally impaired, but also had learning disabilities beyond their level of mental impairment.

Answer 6

Because mental retardation correlates with learning disability.

Answer 7

It could be due to a number of reasons...there are some students who are identified as mentally retarded that are much higher functioning than most, which would make placing them in a school especially for students with mental retardation inappropriate and probably detrimental to them.  This could be the case for nearly any identified disability.  The label does not mean that the best fit will be with other students identified with the same disability.  In special education, the goal is to place the student in the most beneficial and appropriate setting, I would imagine that it has been determined that the LD school is the most appropriate place for these students to be, regardless of their label.