For my Essay, I would like to discuss the issues of the school systems based on those with disabilities, with a focus on the students in the IEP system. I will explain the system implemented on special needs students, the cons of being a disabled student the general problems about schools, connect this issue with my personal experience as a person with Autism, and the possible changes that could be implemented to support, aid, and awareness to create equality for the student body.
To start things off, IEP is the short initial for the Individualized Education Program. This type of program is created for every type of school in the U.S., and it’s only based on students with special needs. Some would say that the students are disabled, but you would need to clarify the type of disability, as IEP is known for Neurological and learning-based disabled students. Some would also phrase students to be handicapped depending on the type of disability as well. Autism, multiple impairments, developmental delays, and more are set to be in this category. The system itself is meant to provide not just in-class support, but accommodation whenever a major assignment or test day is happening. Usually, a teacher or Staff member is hired to take charge of students on that specified list and have them placed in another room, to help read the test out loud, or at least for my support. It also includes speech days, to bring those with communication issues to support their way of speaking.
Normally, one would believe that this program isn’t problematic by any means. However, as a person who has been through this system, it was rather dysfunctional to say the very least. In my introduction, I spoke of how the cons outweighed the pros of the IEP system and was right to speak out on this issue since it became progressively worse in my perspective. The program is meant to provide support for students, but it downplays or disregards how the students feel and what it means for them to receive the same outcome of learning. You’ll see more on this discussion from my third source, “IEP shortcomings,” created from the website, montessori4autism, which is known to provide information about people in the autism spectrum, and how it corresponds to their academics. Not to mention the issues with special needs dealing with the student body that’s hard to adapt to, or people don’t adapt well towards them. The lack of connection between students would lead to negative effects, that are related to bullying. This would connect with the article, “How to Overcome 5 Unique Challenges Faced by Students with Disabilities.” Created by Sean Alexander. This article and the autism website will be compared with how they correspond to the academics and IEP systems. Finally, it wouldn’t have made sense for me to create this essay, if I hadn’t talked about my experience in dealing with IEP. Especially if I could connect with a book that I felt personally with, based on the book, “Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.” It’s a compilation of segments from writers, and has a section created by Audre Lorde, named, “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action.”
I was born with Autism. I have established an idea that not just quickly throwing it out there so bluntly, but I felt the need to have it be explained to others I meet. I believe this became a coping mechanism for the situations I dealt with in the past. One of the quotes I noticed from Audre’s article mentions, “I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.”[1] This stood out to me, for the same relations or idea we both thought of. The idea of just having to explain something personal is the sort of regulation we adapted to. For me growing up with this disability, it felt rather in the middle between a sort of blessing and curse towards the type of social groups I had to endure, as a person being non-verbal. One minute I could just relax and keep to myself with my interests, but then came the disruptive negative aura that surrounded and antagonized me countlessly. The situation was worse by the time I began public school during elementary. Almost any and everything about me was shunned away from my class grade. “…I was forced to look upon myself and my living with a harsh and urgent clarity that has left me still shaken but much stronger.” (Pg 40) I believe that this quote would suffice for how I felt after years of dealing with those issues. I became what people called a Shut-In. Purely shunned away from everything that has happened to me, and away from life itself. It was at that point I became severely depressed after enduring such issues, and not having a voice to call my own to lash out on everyone who had done me wrong. I shouldn’t have dealt with the problems of my classmates if the school properly executed the problem. “Ignore them, go to the counselor, I’ve tried,” Apparently, you haven’t done anything to help. “I was going to die, if not sooner than later, whether I had ever spoken myself. My silences had not protected me.”[2] This quote reminded me of the injustice I’ve endured. Because of the problems that nobody helped me with, I had to grow independent sooner than the average student. Still being myself but had to toughen myself and became defensive because of how close-minded everyone was being. Despite the text having a different context than my experience, these moments from the book helped me to remind myself about my hardships, to still prosper through life, and to remember my self-worth and my voice in terms of bringing awareness.
Aside from my experience, there are other students, some who also experience autism or a different disability, also had to endure such hardships. From my research on this case, I believe this situation isn’t good to hear at all. Not only was I right to bring this up, but it’s rather uncommon for what’s been going on with us special needs with Autism. This article which explains the shortcomings of the students in the IEP System, has explained that “IEPs generally do not target the fundamental cognitive, communicative, behavioral, sensory integrative, and social deficits of autism that need to be thoroughly addressed before the child can access the general curriculum. Neither do IEPs tend to take into account the characteristic strengths of this population.”[3] This further backs up my reasoning but summarizes the issue at hand with us autistic students with any IEP experience. Despite this article going into detail on the perspective of Autistic students, others with different disabilities have related problems. A quote that’s still against the IEP System has mentioned, “Disabled children need special accommodations in their everyday lives to access facilities and materials that people without disabilities take for granted. Here are five challenges that individuals with disabilities often deal with. Physical Barriers, Social Isolation, Lack of Accommodations for Disabled Students, Behavioral and Emotional Challenges, and the Level of Patience from Special Education Teachers.”[4] This reveals the ordeal with special needs students of the variety of issues that we’ve endured. You can see the difference in these texts, however, with Autistic students having specified issues, as opposed to the main picture of how this community of special needs students has these problems. The website about Autism breaks down specified problems with IEP, while the general challenges of special needs, have 5 main topics that elaborate said problems. These articles helped do a full circle towards the topic I brought up in the first place. The idea that these academic systems are supposed to support those with special needs is causing backlash with these problems, without providing a proper understanding of the student’s standpoint.
The overall gist I have about this topic would be that an outdated system that probably hasn’t been updated to the present, is causing more issues at hand than attempting to solve said issues to help support and correlate with the student body. Not just this direct system, but the entire academic community and student body grew more divided with many other individuals, instead of providing an easier function to receive the right, healthy, and proper education. A rather mouthful to quickly summarize this entire essay, but it perfectly exposes the flaws of how mankind is slowly failing to ensure the correct way to learn, not just our education, but to destroy the figurative giant wall of discrimination one could have over others.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lorde, Audre, “Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches: ‘The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action,” Crossing Press, 1984, pp. 40–44. (1st Source)
“IEP shortcomings,” montessori4autism. (2012), https://montessori4autism.org/failure-of-fape/iep-shortcomings/, Accessed on Nov 21, 2023 (2nd Source)
Alexander, Sean. “How to Overcome 5 Unique Challenges Faced by Students with Disabilities.” Alexandertutoring.com, 9 Aug. 2023, https://alexandertutoring.com/learning-disabilities-challenges/how-to-overcome-5-unique-challenges-faced-by-students-with-disabilities/, Accessed 21 Nov. 2023. (3rd Source)
[1]Lorde, Audre, “Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches,” “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action,” Crossing Press, 1984, page 40
[2] Lorde, Audre, Page 41
[3] “IEP shortcomings,” montessori4autism. (2012), Accessed on Nov 21, 2023
[4]Alexander, Sean. “How to Overcome 5 Unique Challenges Faced by Students with Disabilities.” Alexandertutoring.com, 9 Aug. 2023, Accessed 21 Nov. 2023
