Innovative Pedagogical Approaches to Access and Mental Health

Children and Youth Services Review, 2021

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Journal of Teaching Disability Studies, 2022

The field of Special Education has long been recognized for its overwhelmingly negative conceptualizations of disability, largely deficit based and located within medicalized, psychological, and often pseudo-scientific discourses. As a critical special educator and Disability Studies in Education (DSE) oriented teacher educator, I sought to reimagine “The Study of Learning Disabilities in Children and Adolescents,” a course that was historically taught in ways that privileged traditional special education world views of LD. In this article I use personal narrative to describe rewriting this cornerstone course in the Learning Disabilities (LD) teacher education program. First, I assert the need to teach a plurality of perspectives about disability. Second, I share some of the main new resources, justifying my choices. Third, I present a selective outline of the course, describing the contents of several sessions, foregrounding resources and activities, for the reader to gain a sense of particular topics and issues. Fourth, I reflect upon the rationale for my choices and process of (in)fusing DSE into a traditional special education course. Finally, I close with several thoughts designed to promote a conversation within our Disability Studies (DS) community, particularly within teacher education programs, about reimagining and revising existing courses to have DS/DSE-informed frameworks.

Red guides paper 3, 2007

Red Guides address educational and staff development issues within Higher Education and are aimed at colleagues within the University and at other institutions. Some describe current good practice in Higher education, others evaluate and/or comment on curriculum development and many provide ideas for teaching. All are meant to stimulate discussion, initiate action and implement change.

Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 2001

The 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act require that individualized education programs of students with disabilities include information about students engagement in and access to the general curriculum. The US Department of Education clearly intended this as a means to heighten expectations for students with disabilities and to align special education with school reform efforts. There are, however, a number of questions about how these mandates apply to the education of students with mental retardation. This article overviews access requirements, examines the intent and meaning of the language, and proposes a decision-making model to enable IEP teams to reach curriculum decisions that provide such access for students with mental retardation.

2019

The rapid growth of postsecondary education programs necessitates a comprehensive framework to define and evaluate inclusion on each campus. This study utilized a naturalistic paradigm on a large, public university during a new program's development. We conducted focus groups with students and faculty members to solicit perspectives regarding their (a) definition of inclusion, (b) willingness to welcome students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, (c) vision for how to construct an inclusive program, and (d) recommendations for resources and training. We offer recommendations for program development and involving the voices of campus stakeholders.

2018

The term severe disabilities refers to any student who is eligible for special education services in the United States under the category of moderate to severe cognitive impairment. The term takes into consideration a combination of shortages in both cognitive performance and appropriate behavior. Recently, in the field of severe disabilities, the benefits of the standards-based academic curriculum versus those of the functional curriculum have become one of the most critical debates—with both types of curriculum being supported by various researchers in the field. However, the debate between the advocates for each of the curricula is impacted by multiple issues, for example, the accountability related to progress in the academic curriculum that is required by such legislative mandates as the No Child Left Behind Act. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview for both of these curricula, and it will examine the expectations for academic achievement versus the acquis...

The Open Rehabilitation Journal, 2010

2023

In modern times people have been granted access to technologies and information which has facilitated health awareness. As such now more than ever we are aware of disorders and illnesses that are either psychological or neurological as well as how these disorders affect school or work. Accommodations for students with disabilities originally derived from the Chicago Office of the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education to clarify the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The revisions were intended to expand the meaning of disability. Although numerous revisions have been made, there are disabilities that are still not recognized as valid for the purposes of obtaining accommodations. Psychological disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder are yet to be acknowledged as valid disabilities. Students are required to provide specific documentation in regards to their ongoing health battles. As a result of stringent and invasive policies and procedures, students who desperately need these accommodations in order to facilitate their learning experience, fall through the cracks. This results in a decreased ability to perform which can possibly lead to lower enrollment rates. The purpose of this study is to create an environment that is conducive to learning where students can receive accommodations to facilitate them. Addressing this problem would cause a domino effect which could possibly contribute to better school performance and a potential for increased enrollment.