Heidi Kudler Assignment 4100: Disabilities

Introduction
The statement this essay is aimed to address opens a great debate on children with needs
attending a special school or regular school to be successful in their grown and
development. A regular school and a special school both have positives and negatives to
them. This supports my beliefs to the following statement that each student with special
needs must be considered individually by considering their needs to best determine which
school is best for the student.

‘Special schools/settings belong to the past; they are not inclusive, and they are not what
education should look like for students with disabilities. All regular schools and generalist
teachers are in a position to provide students with disabilities with the education they need
and deserve’

The following essay will unpack the legislations for teachers and special needs students as
will as the positives and negatives to both a regular and special school. This essay will also
explore physically disabled students in wheelchairs and intellectual disabilities of autism,
hearing loss and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This essay will involve 3
experiences with disabilities in regular schools and the benefits they had as well as areas
that would have been better suited in a special school.

A regular school teaches children from reception to year 12 and can be both public and
private. Regular schools have classes of twenty to thirty children in each class with a range
of different level of learning in different areas such as spelling, reading, adding. A special
school teaches children from reception to year 12 that have a diagnosed disability and
requires a greater support than a regular school can offer to be able to successfully
complete their schooling. Both a regular and special school follow the Australian curriculum
(South Australia Department of education 2020) and have sso support to assist in learning,
but the level of this support is what differs.

Legislations
It is important to remember throughout this essay the legislations in place for teachers and
students with special needs. As mentioned in the code of ethics teachers have an obligation
Heidi Kudler Assignment 4100: Disabilities

to act ethically within there decisions as well as acknowledge and accepting diversity
(Teachers registration board for south Australia). Following this, teachers must differentiate
their teaching to meet the needs of all students despite their abilities (Australian Institute
for teaching and school leadership (AITSIL) 2017,). This is further supported by the federal
register of legislation where Australian school will make providing additional support to
school students who need it a high priority (Australian education Act 2013). The disability
act is in place to ensure equity of all those with disabilities making It illegal to discriminate
against all with a disability with a high importance on education and employment
(Australian human rights commission 2012, Raising Children 2020). All students and people
need to be treated fairly and have the same rights to education and wellbeing as anyone. As
teachers it is vital to ensure we are doing our very best to ensure all students have a quality
education that is beneficial for their needs. Along with this it is also critical in ensure there is
a zero tolerance for discrimination and that these are passed onto peers in the classroom.

Regular school positives

A regular school has many benefits for students with physical and intellectual needs
including social interaction, community involvement, less segregation and special units
within the school.

Having students with needs attend a regular school allow them to build relationships with
others without special needs. This is vital as it is a developmental skill, they will require in
their life to be an active part of society (Hallahan, Kauffman and Pullen, 2013). By attending
a regular school there is an open opportunity to be involved in the community. This is due to
the wide range of connections these schools bring into different experiences for the
students. For a child with special need to attend a regular school it creates less segregation
from society and others. A student with special needs will interact and grow with their peers
allowing for the stigma of stereotypes to be supressed. Suppressing the stereotypes, the
segregation between regular students and students with needs is reduced. Often regular
schools have a special unit within the school. This is where students with special needs that
require further support than they would receive in a classroom will do most of their
learning. By having students learn in a special unit within a regular school they get the
benefits of further targeted learning but still interacting and attending regular classes.
Heidi Kudler Assignment 4100: Disabilities

For a child who is physically disabled regular classrooms can still provide a quality learning
space. This involves teacher’s consideration on placement of furniture and learning tools
where it is accessible for all. The use of technology is also possible to break up the learning
for the student to ensure fatigue from handwriting is as limited as possible.

Intellectual disabilities in a regular school open the ability to develop social skills and
forming lifelong friendships. Regular schools could use amplifiers and other resources to aid
a heard of hearing student in the classroom to successfully hear instructions and learning
material. This allows the student to progress through schooling in a regular school system
successfully.

Regular school Negatives

A regular school also comes with many challenges for students with special needs including
the lack of time teachers have, limited one on one time and social isolation.

The time a teacher has available to support students of special needs with a class of 30 is
unrealistic. A teacher that has a full class of 30 students and there are several students with
special needs and learning difficulties, planning lessons to be directly beneficial for each
student is extreme. In a regular school to receive one on one support by a student support
officer (sso) funding must be provided by the government. This funding is not always
granted or if granted often only allows support for a few lessons resulting on limited one on
one support (Hallahan, Kauffman and Pullen, 2013). For a student with special needs social
isolation can occur as regular school kids can often leave out children with special needs.
This can often lead to bullying and harassment on their differences allowing the student
with special needs social confidence to become impacted.

For a child who is physically disabled regular classroom can be restricted in his learning as in
some regular schools the resources are hard to access with a low financial situation resulting
lower development. Having access to wheelchair lifts, ipad’s/laptops are just a few
resources that would prove challenging for a regular school.

Intellectual disabilities in a regular school can have great impact on a child’s learning and
have a lifelong effect. Hearing loss can allow instructions to be missed, sounds of words can
impact not only English but all written topics as spelling and grammar is missed. This can put
Heidi Kudler Assignment 4100: Disabilities

the spotlight on a child heard of hearing opening isolation from peers. To build on this
isolation when students are removed for sso support they peers see them as different and
can be left out or bullied.

Special school positives

Special schools come with many positives for students with needs including the ability to
access resources, closer one on one support and social inclusion.

Students with special needs that go to a special school can have deeper access to resources
to aid not only their learning but their quality of life and development. In special schools
there are a greater number of staff in a classroom as well as lower class sizes allowing for
greater one to one support (Errington Special education centre 2020,). This one on one
support can be vital for students with special needs in order to self-regulate, develop and
complete learning lessons. The social benefits for students with needs at a special school is
the chance to socialise and develop friendships and support with peers that often will
accept and value the friendship. This therefore results in a lower level of bullying and
harassment that the student with special needs Is exposed to.

For a child who is physically disabled special schools can build on their self-esteem, social
skills and learning. This is often due to the reduced class sizes and lack of differences.
Children in a special school see everyone as different, no one is the same so they are as
inclusive of others as they would want them to be of themselves. This creates close
relationships and support during there schooling. Children who are in Wheelchairs from a
biological impact often have learning challenges as well that a special school can support.
The special school has a greater focus on life skills including, shopping and independence.

Intellectual disabilities in a special school can have greater one on one support, smaller class
sizes and learning aimed towards individual needs and strengths. Special schools have
access to learning resources and staff to provide that close support. Having this close
support allows a focus to be put on their challenges to benefit their learning and growth.
Heidi Kudler Assignment 4100: Disabilities

Special school negatives

A special school also comes with many challenges for students with special needs including
the stereotypes and isolation from the community.

The stereotypes that special needs are often exposed to are increased when attending a
special school, these stereotypes include, “special needs are not normal” or “special needs
people are helpless/dumb”. The involvement within the community is lowered when a
special needs student attends a special school is limited. This is due to the focus being set on
the child and their development, as well as following routine such as wake up, breakfast,
school, homework, bed. Special schools are such a demand and with a limited space
available to ensure the quality of the school is still available a waiting list is created. This
means that special schools are not as easy to access for the students with needs. Having a
waiting list for an education that is essential for a student can reduce the quality education
they need.

For a child who is physically disabled a special school can serve no real purpose without
intellectual challenges. A child in a wheelchair can find a special school unbeneficial as their
education is at the same capacity as students at a regular school and can prevent
relationship building with other children. A special school can also restrict growth and
development in learning everyday things around their wheelchair such as working in teams
with others without disabilities and movement restrictions.

Intellectual disabilities in a special school can also impact their development socially as they
are not exposed to a wide range of children. Children learn their social skills early on in life
and is best taught with others (Rodriguez, Smith-Canter & Voytecki 2007). Special schools
are smaller in size reducing the number of children the student with needs can be exposed
to in order to develop these skills naturally and with support.

Personal experience
As a student that went through the education system with a profound hearing loss, I
firsthand experienced the difficulties of receiving support with limited funding and being
socially isolated. While my hearing loss is not an extreme disability the limited one on one
support in many areas has had an impact on my spelling and grammar, support I could have
Heidi Kudler Assignment 4100: Disabilities

received in a special education. When I did receive the limited support to aid my spelling I
was often looked at by my peers and bullied for being different, needed support and being
“dumb”. The regular school had no support in place for the bullying and isolation I needed
to overcome this constant social impact. I often felt teachers “forgot” about my hearing loss
when calling me out when I had not heard the instructions.

I work alongside a student who has Autism and learning difficulties where he has a sso
fulltime in a regular classroom. While this student is still progressing in learning the limited
teaching aimed at his needs and stage is impacting his growth. This students’ social
interactions are minor as he is always with support and does not have the social skills to
seek connection and interaction with peers. This is a worrying sign as he is only in year one,
so the impact is only to be assumed worse the further into his schooling.

On placement I had a student in a wheelchair as he could not move from the waist down.
This student had a sso fulltime where his learning was not compromised and were
addressing his needs. This student social impact was not compromised as he has many
friends not only in his class but in the school. The teacher often checked in with his family,
and outside support (physio therapist) allowing lessons to be accessible for him.

Conclusion
A regular school has many positives including the involvement with the community, the
development of social skills and special units aimed for students with special needs. These
positives also come with negatives of a regular education including bullying and isolation
from other students and limited one to one support from the teacher and sso due to limited
funding. A special school also comes with many positives such as the smaller class sizes
allowing greater one to one support from the main teacher and many sso’s in the room,
social inclusion from peers and resources available to aid their learning and development.
However, an education at a special school also comes with challenges including the lack of
involvement in the community and stereotypes. A student with a wheelchair disability or
intellectual disability can benefit from both a regular school and a special school depending
on the severity of their disability and the needs that they require.
Heidi Kudler Assignment 4100: Disabilities

Taking into consideration all these strengths and weaknesses in both regular and special
schools it is vital to view each child as an individual case. Each child’s needs need to be
looked at case by case in order to ensure the best schooling is chosen. No one child is the
same as another therefore there is no set agreement that all students with a set need must
attend a special school.

References
Australian education Act 2013, An act in relation to school education and reforms relating to
school education and for related purposes, no 67,

< https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2013A00067>.

Australian human rights commission 2012, About Disability rights, viewed 28/4/2020,

< https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/about-disability-rights>.

Australian Institute for teaching and school leadership (AITSIL) 2017, Australian professional
standards for teachers, viewed 27/4/2020,

< https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards>.

Errington Special education centre 2020, Welcome to Errington special education centre,
viewed 27/04/2020,

< https://www.erringtonsec.sa.edu.au/>.

Hallahan, DP, Kauffman, JM, and Pullen, PC 2013, Exceptional Learners: Pearson New
International Edition, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow, United Kingdom.

Raising Children 2020, Disability law in Australia, viewed 27/4/2020,

< https://raisingchildren.net.au/disability/disability-rights-the-law/law/disability-law#about-
disability-laws-in-australia-nav-title>.

Rodriguez, Diane, Smith-Canter, Lora Lee & Voytecki, Karen S. 2007, Freedom from social
isolation for young students with disabilities (Issues in Education), Childhood Education, Vol.
83, No. 5, p. 316.
Heidi Kudler Assignment 4100: Disabilities

South Australia department for education, Children with disability and special needs, viewed
27/04/2020,

<https://www.education.sa.gov.au/supporting-students/children-disability-and-special-
needs>.

Teachers registration board for south Australia, Code of ethics for teaching profession in
south Australia, viewed 27/04/2020,

< https://www.trb.sa.edu.au/sites/default/files/Code-of-Ethics.pdf>.