Within, at the least, the United States, we are most familiar with identifying individuals that lack cognitive skills as having “mental retardation,” but the legal term that is now being used is “intellectual disability. ” Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that protects the education of certain disabled children from age 3 up to the age of 21. Under IDEA, intellectual disabilities is one of the thirteen categories in which students ages 3-21 must be given a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
So, what exactly is an ‘intellectual disability’? As defined by IDEA, an intellectual disability includes “significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently [at the same time] with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance,” (“Intellectual Disability”). This category includes “autism [certain parts of the spectrum], Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD),” (Intellectual Disability).
Intellectual disabilities effect cognitive thinking skills as well as adaptive skills and thus are given the opportunity to perform at their highest potential with educational assistance during their years as a student to later establish skills for adulthood. Other similarities between intellectual disabilities are: • Low intelligent quotient • Struggles with everyday life • Diagnostic will appear prior to age 18 The U. S. epartment of Education publishes statistics every year of the disabled student population based on the total number of students enrolled in public school from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade, there are inferences that can be made based on this data (the data is attached to end of this paper).
This resource also explains what has happened throughout the last forty or so years with specific disabled populations. One of the first things to notice is that over time the total student population with disabilities has risen since 1976-1977 at 8. % to 12. 9% in 2013-2014, (U. S. Department of Education). The intellectual disability student population made up 2. 2% of the entire 8. 3%in 1976, whereas some disabilities had no recorded statistics at the time, more than likely because they had not yet been identified. As other disabled student populations grew, the intellectual disability student population gradually decreased until 2009-2010, where the percentage of this student population began to be constant at 0. 9% of the total disabled student population.
The difference in the change for intellectual disability student population and the total disabled student population is likely to be due to the discovery of other disabilities. It’s safe to assume that students that were or would have been diagnosed with another disability are actually being diagnosed with a completely different disability. The advancement in technology and research has helped in narrowing the identification of disabilities amongst students and thus allows educators to appeal to the needs of the student. The diagnosis for intellectual disabilities start at an early age.
As children regularly visit their pediatricians, these doctors can determine if the child can or has already developed a disability. Of course, no one knows their children better than their parents, so parents can express their concerns to a doctor that will then test the child. During diagnosis, doctors will let primary caregivers know if the disability is chronic; intellectual disabilities are classified as a chronic condition and cannot be cured. Prior to the age of three, children will undergo the process of Early intervention, which includes services to help clarify identification and with the adjustment for the family.
In the stage of early intervention, specialists will help create the Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP), a plan of services the child will receive based on their disability as well as the family’s role in the child’s life. Another way to think of the IFSP is that it is a roadmap for families to achieve the child’s developmental goals, with assistive sources to do so. As the child reaches the age of 3 and officially enters the public-school system, the parents and student are introduced to the Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which is the plan for the school system to meet the child’s academic needs.
The IFSP and the IEP are similar in the way that goals are established so children can maximize their fullest potential while accounting for their disability. However, there are far more details that must be outlined in a child’s IEP; the IEP establishes academic goals, supplementary services, and transitional goals to adulthood (as necessary) to each student as the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee sees fit.
As we have learned, government funded public schools provide funds for each student and for those that qualify with IDEA, those funds are allocated for services and equipment that assist the student in reaching their goals in their IEP. Controversy has stirred in districts across the nation when it comes to providing additional services for students that qualify for them because of budgeting and how much funds the campuses consider is appropriate to meet the children’s needs from what is given to them.
The IEP is unique to each student but the main academic goal is to adjust and modify curriculum so that students can learn at their intellectual grade level. FAPE is the part of IDEA that ensures students will receive an appropriate education, in this case, with accommodations and modifications that best fit the needs of the student. Sometimes the needs of the students require additional assistance or services that “include accessible instructional materials, assistive technology, curriculum access and alignment, dropout prevention, family engagement, least restrictive environment, positive behavior supports, and transition,” (Smith-Dixon).
Each year that the student is in school, the ARD meeting will take place to discuss progress and whether the student qualifies for a continuation of services. For Intellectual disabilities, services will continue throughout the child’s life while they are a student. Students that lack cognitive thinking skills and qualify for services beyond the age of 18, spend their time till the age of 21 to learn vocational skills to transition into adulthood.
This information is relevant for all educators since this is just one of many populations that will be in the classroom. Educators must be aware of the IEPs for each student to make appropriate decisions on how to teach the students so that they can best understand content. Sharon Dominica, an occupational specialist, created a list of strategies that were found to be beneficial to students with intellectual disabilities, which are the following: hands-on-learning, play-based learning, baby steps, chaining, group learning, and positive reinforcement (Dominica).
Depending on what the student will need, some of these will work better than others. Reviewing the IEP of a student will let the educator know where the student lacks so educators can decide what is best. The special education teachers spend the most time with intellectual disabled students to ensure their needs are met all day every day. The intellectually disabled student population is small but like all populations, is recognized so that the students may maximize their potential and prepare for adulthood.
