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Advocating for the least restrictive environment for children with disabilities

Every child is entitled to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment possible under the law. However, many parents of learning disabled, physically disabled or autistic children often find that their school districts are not educating their children in accordance with the law. Special education programs can become a battlefield with parents struggling to overcome the mentality of some school districts regarding the inclusion of children with special needs. Learning-disabled children are frequently isolated from the general non-disabled student population even after being incorporated into the school system. History has shown that separating special needs children from normal students hinders their development and limits their ability to progress toward any kind of independence.

Children with disabilities must be included in the academic setting

The Individual Education Plan is the resource school districts use to implement programs and services for special needs children. The Plan is an assessment of the abilities, skill level, and psychological development of a special needs child within a given district. However, some school districts do not implement programs based on the recommendations of the IEP and many special needs children are placed in classrooms which only have other special needs children who often have disparate needs and abilities. Children can often develop social and emotional problems that lead to greater isolation as they age if the school district chooses to separate disabled children from their normal peers. Children with disabilities need to be included in the academic setting and placed in classrooms with learning disabled children and normal children similar needs and abilities. The unique needs of each child with a learning disability, physical disability or autism must be considered in order to deliver appropriate education services to that child. Parents, lay advocates and attorneys often end up seeking redress for poor or inappropriate special education placement.