Special Education – The General Definition
Special education is defined as “an educational alternative for teaching students with academic, behavioral, health, or physical needs that cannot sufficiently be met using traditional educational programs or techniques.”
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that eligible children with disabilities have available to them special education and related services designed to address their unique educational needs. Specifically, the IDEA requires public schools to provide "free appropriate public education" to students with a wide range of disabilities, including “physical handicaps, mental retardation, speech, vision and language problems, emotional and behavioral problems, and other learning disorders.” It also mandates that school districts provide such “special education” in the "least restrictive environment" possible.
Special Education – The Overall Impact
In the last few decades, special education legislation has provided thousands of disabled children access to mainstream schools and learning systems. In addition to obvious disabilities such as blindness and deafness, special education programs are now available for a wide range of cognitive-based processing disorders that manifest themselves in fundamental areas such as reading, writing, and mathematics.
Indeed, special education programs have helped numerous children integrate into the world of public education. However, this legislative approach to funding, access, and integration hasn’t solved many of the root learning problems. The studies reveal that special education programs often fail to identify and treat underlying cognitive weaknesses, and therefore, unintentionally “cover over” the real foundational issues. Remarkably, over 80% of special education children have weak cognitive skills. Thus, it’s crucial to assess and strengthen these cognitive skills if there’s any hope for long-term learning success.
Special Education – The Specialized Alternative
The special education system has helped countless students in America, yet countless others continue to slip through the cracks without practical assistance. At the end of the day, there’s still a major learning crisis in America, and many families are feeling hopeless. Are you and your child feeling this way?
A variety of disabilities qualify your student for special education programs in your public school, but is your student being properly assessed and effectively helped? If over 80% of the learning issues are being caused by cognitive dysfunction, what does that really mean for your student? Is there true help for your child in mainstream special education, or not?
Despite some of the shortfalls in special education, there’s great news! Cognitive training programs like those offered by LearningRx can actually strengthen the areas of cognitive dysfunction affecting so many children today. At LearningRx, we offer practical hope, not “one-size-fits-all” programs. We’ve spent nearly two decades researching and developing customized training systems that build the cognitive skills necessary for academic achievement and life-long success. Regardless of your history with special education, our simple skills testing will identify weaknesses and help plan an effective, one-on-one strategy for enhanced learning. We encourage you and your child to beat the cycle of hopeless frustration and call a LearningRx Center near you.
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