Except iona l Ind iv iduals a n d Spec ia l Educa t ion

Joyce Heeraman

Introduction

From talking and listening to people in the community, it would appear that there is still some confusion and misunderstanding regarding the terms "exceptionality" and "special education". This article intends to give readers a better understanding of these two terms, and to erase whatever misconceptions they previously held.

Terminology

Society's attitudes towards people with disabilities are reflected in a change in terminology. Previously, terms like handicapped, crippled, idiot, imbecile, moron and the like were used to classify people with disabilities. As people became more caring and accommodating, terms became less negative and stigmatising. Examples of current acceptable terms are: exceptional, special needs, diverse needs, high support needs, person with a disability. Modem texts would have titles like Educating Exceptional Children, Exceptional Children, Children with Exceptionalities.

The person is focussed on first, not the disability, as it is recognised that often the person has a disability in only one area. The whole person is not disabled. Hence, examples of politically correct terminology would be:

Person with learning difficulty/disability Person with Down syndrome Person with cerebral palsy Person with hearing impairment Person with behaviour/emotional problems Person with physical disabilities Person with special needs

Who are exceptional children?

Exceptional children are those who differ from the norm to such an extent that they require a modification of school practices, or special educational services/ interventions (e.g. medical, educational, social, behaviour modification) to fulfill their potential. Children with exceptionalities differ from the norm in the following areas:

Intellectual giftedness and special talent.

Behavioural differences: children who are emotionally disturbed or socially maladjusted. Learning difficulties. Communication (speech and language) disorders. Sensory differences - hearing, vision (from mild e.g. cannot read the writing on the blackboard, or cannot hear instruction clearly if sitting at the back of the room, to severe, when more specialised intervention is needed). Physical impairments (orthopedic). Chronic health problems e.g. epilepsy, diabetes, allergies, asthma. Neglected and abused children. Multiple disabilities.

These areas of exceptionality can be grouped into two further categories:

1. High Incidence (occurs more frequently in the general population).

2. Low Incidence (occurs less frequently in the general population).

High Incidence Disabilities

These categories occur more frequently in any population. High incidence categories are: Learning Disabilities (LD), speech impairment, intellectual impairment, and behaviourally disturbed. Note that individuals in these categories have no obvious physical disabilities, appear "normal", and their special needs may not be given any priority, or may be ignored.

Figure 1 - High Incidence disabilities. Kirk et al (1997)

Source: U. S. Department of Education, (1991), Twelfth Annual Report to Congress on Implementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act (Washington, D.C.: US Department of Education) (1995). Seventeenth Annual Report to Congress on Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Department of Education).

L o w Inc idence Disabi l i t ies

T h e s e ca tegor ies occur less f requent ly in any popu la t ion . L o w inc idence categor ies are : mul t ip le disabi l i t ies, speech impa i rments , v isual impa i rments , o r thopaed ic impa i rments , o ther heal th impa i rments .

Figure 2 - L o w Inc idence disabi l i t ies Kirk et al (1997)

Source: U. S. Department of Education, (1991), Twelfth Annual Report to Congress on Implementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act (Washington, D. C.: US Department of Education) (1995). Seventeenth Annual Report to Congress on Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Washington, D. C.: U. S. Department of Education).

Of ten , peop le be l ieve that low inc idence disabi l i t ies are the s u m total of except ional i ty or specia l needs cases . T h e excuse is of ten g iven that because so f ew peop le have specia l needs , little m o n e y shou ld be spent on resources or faci l i t ies for t h e m . T h e h igh inc idence cases a re not cons idered , as these are not regarded as hav ing specia l needs . Th is t ype of th ink ing ref lects an abysma l ignorance of the spec ia l needs area , and negat ive ly af fects pol ic ies for people w i th disabi l i t ies.

Fij i : P reva lence C o u n t s for Persons wi th Except ional i t ies

Unfor tunate ly , t he census da ta do not prov ide an accura te p icture o f p reva lence coun ts for persons w i th spec ia l needs in Fij i . Th i s is because s o m e categor ies of except ional i ty a re not inc luded, e .g . behav ioura l ly /emot iona l ly d is tu rbed , gi f ted and ta len ted , learn ing disabi l i ty, speech impa i rment . On l y f ive t ypes o f disabi l i ty are l isted in the Enumerator's Manual (Wa lsh , 1999) . T h e s e (wi th def in i t ions for enumera to rs ) a re :

Sight - w h e n the person is e i ther part ial ly o r total ly b l ind . in te l l igence - w h e n the person has part ia l or no contro l over his menta l facul ty . Hear ing - w h e n the person is e i ther part ial ly o r ful ly deaf . Physica l - w h e n the person has loss of mot ion or l imbs. A g e - w h e n ex t reme o ld age prevents the person f rom per fo rming dai ly l iving act iv i t ies e .g . f eed ing , d ress ing , soc ia l is ing, commun ica t i ng . Other - any o ther disabi l i ty that is not a m o n g the f ive c lassi f icat ions l isted above .

Figure 3 - Disabi l i ty T y p e s - Fi j i : W a l s h , 1999 . Data f r o m 1996 c e n s u s .

Sight - 1279 Intelligence - 1777 Hearing - 1013 Physical - 4444 Aged - 1556 Other - 1511 Not stated - 370 Total - 11950

Special Education

Special education is appropriate intervention that is designed to cater for the unique needs of children with exceptionalities e.g. children with learning difficulties, behaviour problems, social adjustment problems, mobility difficulties, and so on. Some children with exceptionalities may require special aids, modification or special adaptations to the school environment. Gifted children are regarded as exceptional because they also need special programmes and/or specialised help to develop their special talents to the fullest.

Special education is, first of all, purposeful intervention. Successful interventions prevent, eliminate, and/or overcome the obstacles that might keep an individual with disabilities from learning and from full and active participation in school and society. (Heward 2000)

Special education is founded on the proposition that all children reach their full potential given the opportunity, effective teaching, and proper resources. (Winzer 1993)

Specia l S c h o o l s in Fiji

There are 14 special schools in Fiji, which are recognised by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and are within the Primary Section of the MOE. These schools cater for children with physical, cognitive, sensory (hearing, vision), and multiple impairments, as well as for children with learning disabilities and behavioural problems (Suva Special School). Many of these special schools prepare students for mainstreaming whenever this is possible.

These schools are located in the urban/town areas in Suva, Sigatoka, Nadi, Lautoka, Ba, Rakiraki, Nausori, Labasa, Savusavu, and Levuka. However, children with special needs in rural areas and outer islands are disadvantaged.

From Segregation to Inclusion

There is now a shift from the policy of educational segregation of children with special needs/exceptionality to one of inclusion. This simply means that the trend is to provide these children with education in

the regular or mainstream school, as the belief is that all children have the right to equal educational opportunities. This is already happening in rural areas or in some countries in the region where there are no special schools. The regular school has to cater for all children, with or without exceptionalities. A higher percentage of special educational services are already taking place in regular schools (teachers call this remedial work). Inclusion also refers to inclusion in the family, community, and wider society for persons with special needs of all ages - from infancy to adulthood.

Teacher training in Fiji

Because of increasing awareness of the special needs area, teacher training institutions have started to include courses in special education in their programmes e.g. Fiji College of Advanced Education (FCAE), Lautoka Teachers' College (LTC), the University of the South Pacific (USP).

Fiji College of Advanced Education FCAE offers a one-term course for final year (Yr. 2) students: Children with Special Needs.

Lautoka Teachers' College From 1999, LTC started offering a one-year course for licensed teachers who work in special schools. Every year, 15 licensed teachers are selected for training at LTC for this course. In addition, LTC has recently included a one-term course on special education for all teacher trainees.

The University of the South Pacific The USP offers an 8 course Diploma in special education (Diploma in Special and Diverse Educational Needs), which was developed in consultation with educators and other key persons involved with special education in Fiji.

In addition to this, some courses within the BEd programme, both primary and secondary, include modules on special education (e.g. ED 353, ED 319).

What is still Needed

Although it is encouraging that there is an increasing awareness of special education, a lot more could and should be done. Parents and caregivers are often reluctant to send their children to special schools,

because of t he s t igma a t tached to specia l schoo l p lacement . Teache rs in specia l schoo ls a lso fee l that s o m e chi ldren w h o are referred to t h e m can be catered for in the regular schoo ls . Th is of ten causes conf l ic t be tween h o m e and schoo l .

Parents , teachers , and other key persons w h o w o r k in the spec ia l needs a rea feel that there is a need for more gove rnmen t (MOE) suppor t . Speci f ica l ly , there is a need for:

ou t reach p r o g r a m m e s to cater for rural ch i ldren w i th specia l needs mo re fund ing publ ic awa reness and educa t ion a centra l o rgan ised body to deal w i th spec ia l educat ion issues a sys temat ic referral p rocedure , as the cur rent sys tem is haphazard and inadequate teacher t ra in ing a n d in-serv ice w o r k s h o p s in spec ia l educat ion educat iona l psycho log is ts and schoo l counse l lo rs to assist teachers wi th p lacement dec is ions , and to counse l fami l ies w i th ch i ldren w h o have specia l needs parent educa t ion . (Hee raman 997:133) .

T h e Ecologica l A p p r o a c h / M o d e l

T h e contex t /eco logy o f the except iona l chi ld af fects to a great extent the chi ld 's ach ievement , posi t ive ly or negat ive ly . T h e context of the except iona l ch i ld is the fami ly , schoo l , peers , and society. T h e v iew is that improv ing the env i ronmen t sur round ing the chi ld leads to improv ing the chi ld 's p rogress . T h e schoo l is not a lone in work ing wi th the chi ld w i th an except ional i ty . Counse l lo rs , speech therap is ts , psycho log is ts , med ica l personne l , phys io therap is ts a re all part o f an interdiscip l inary t e a m to prov ide serv ices to chi ldren and you th w i th except ional i t ies .

T h e eco log ica l app roach seeks to modi fy t he chi ld 's behav iour direct ly by improv ing the context in wh i ch the chi ld l ives, learns

and plays. Kirk (1997)

Fig 4 : T h e Contex t of the Except ional Chi ld

S u m m a r y

T h e te rm except iona l i ty covers a w ide area — f r om disabi l i t ies tha t a re obv ious (phys ica l , mul t ip le) to t hose that are not ( learning disabi l i t ies, behav ioura l , emot iona l , chron ic heal th p rob lems) . Cur ren t te rmino logy for peop le w i th disabi l i t ies ref lect a mo re posi t ive a n d car ing at t i tude. H igh inc idence except ional i t ies (LD, intel lectual impa i rment , s p e e c h impai rment , behav ioura l ly d is turbed) a re usual ly not obv ious and m a y of ten g o unnot iced a n d un t rea ted . T h e bel ief that every chi ld has a r ight to equa l educa t iona l oppor tun i t ies has b rought abou t a shif t f r om educat ion segregat ion to inc lus ion (mains t reaming) for peop le w i th except ional i t ies . Parents a re of ten re luctant to enro l their ch i ldren in spec ia l schoo ls . W i t h teacher t ra in ing in the specia l needs a rea , m o r e ch i ldren wou ld be catered for in t he regular schoo ls ( inclusion), as teachers w o u l d deve lop the conf idence and know ledge to ca ter fo r these ch i ldren. T h e contex t o f t he except iona l chi ld (ecology) p lays a n impor tan t role in the chi ld 's p rogress . T h e contex t o f the chi ld inc ludes the fami ly , schoo l , peers , and the w ider soc iety . T h e s e al l have a very impor tant role to p lay in the deve lopmen t o f the except iona l pe rson .

R e f e r e n c e s

Gove rnmen t of Fiji (2000) Report of the Fiji Islands Education Commission/Panel, Chapte r 14, Spec ia l Educa t ion .

H e e r a m a n , J . D. (1997) Referral to special schools in Fiji. M A thes is . Univers i ty of t he Sou th Paci f ic .

H e w a r d , L. W . (2000) Exceptional Children. 6 t h ed . , USA. Prent ice-Hal l Inc.

Kirk, S. A., Ga l lagher , J . A. , Anas tas iow, N. J . (1997) , Educating Exceptional Children, 8 t h e d . USA. Hough ton Miff l in C o m p a n y .

W a l s h , A . C. (1999) Disability Counts in Fiji: an Analysis of the 1996 Census. Cent re fo r Deve lopmen t S tud ies , T h e Univers i ty of the Sou th Pacif ic, S u v a , Fi j i .

Winzer , M . (1993) Children with Exceptionalities: A Canadian Perspective 3 r d e d . C a n a d a . Prent ice Hal l .