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Natalie Tretiak

Caroline Reynolds

English 1201

March 21, 2021

Why are children with special needs mistreated?

Special needs education has been looked past for decades now. Students are left behind

when they are not the same as others. The neglect on student’s success affects too many children.

Education has many different regulations between schools, so what can be done?

Section 504 requires schools to not discriminate against students with disabilities and to

provide them with reasonable accommodations to help students reach their full potential. This

law covers the less severe impairments by providing untimed tests, modified homework, and the

provision of other necessary services. Parents are entitled to advocate for their child but

sometimes schools do not always give them the benefit of the doubt. (Carlson)

Just because your child is showing symptoms does not always mean they have access to

those services. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was enacted in 2004. This act

ensures that all children who qualify for these services have access to a free and appropriate

public education, including individual education. Before this act the educations system was

restricting all special needs students to what everyone else was doing. If a student struggled to

talk, they would get into trouble for it. (“Know the Laws That Protect Your Child with Special

Needs”)

Children with ADHD sometimes have trouble when it comes to relationships with others.

Researchers say the at least one per thirty children have been maltreated in a general population.

(Prayez, Wodon, Van Hyfte, Linkowski). This is believed to be caused by a lack of education
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about this disorder. This is believed to be due to the occurrence of defiance and impulsivity. (”

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and child maltreatment: a review”)

Corporal punishment is often used against kids with special needs. A principal at a

Mississippi elementary school was caught striking a six-year-old child with autism with a paddle.

This incident traumatized the child. Most people see other students bullying disabled children but

what do you do if it is your principal? It is nit only paddles that are sed against these kids. Some

have been grabbed and bruised, hit with rulers, and even thrown. the Government Accountability

Office in May 2009 documented hundreds of cases of abuse and even death resulting from

restraint and seclusion used in public and private schools and treatment centers over the past 20

years. Almost all those cases involved children with disabilities. (GreatSchools Staff).

Administrators and educators are not equipped to deal with special needs children. They

lack the training and sometimes money to do so. Almost half of teachers have not been trained to

teach children with ADHD, despite the Government prioritizing mental health in young people,

according to an independent poll of teachers published. (Shire) These statistics lead to the belief

that students will remain undiagnosed and left behind.

The main reason kids with disabilities are mistreated is mostly due to a lack of education

on the teacher’s part. Teachers are not taught how to handle an autistic child being

overstimulated. Some administrators take this issue into their own hands and that can lead to

abuse of those kids. The government only has the laws, but when they are not being enforced

into schools these events will keep happening.

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Bibliography

Carlson, Gabrielle A. School Services for Children with Special Needs: Know Your Rights,

AACAP, Sept. 2016,

www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Services-

In-School-For-Children-With-Special-Needs-What-Parents-Need-To-Know-083.aspx.

“The Laws That Protect Your Child With Special Needs.” Military OneSource, 19 Feb. 2021,

www.militaryonesource.mil/family-relationships/special-needs/support-for-

families/know-the-laws-that-protect-your-child-with-special-needs/.

Prayez F;Wodon I;Van Hyfte S;Linkowski P; “[Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

(ADHD) and Child Maltreatment: a Review].” Revue Medicale De Bruxelles, U.S.

National Library of Medicine, 2012, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22812053/.

Staff, GreatSchools Print

article. “ACLU: Teachers Abuse Kids with Disabilities.” Parenting, 14 Sept. 2010,

www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/abuse-of-kids-with-disabilities/.

Staff, Shire. “Teachers Lack the Training to Help Children with ADHD, New Poll Finds.” Shire,

2017.