by Theodore Telepak

Created on: July 02, 2008   Last Updated: August 01, 2008

Where Do Students With Special Needs Belong?" - Settling the Debate of Full or Partial Inclusion

What is the Least Restrictive Environment?

Answer this question and you answer the debate on inclusion.

That was the premise and intent of Public Law 94-142, known as the Education of All Handicapped Children Ac', which led to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Every child in the United States of America has a fundamental right to a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE), as stated in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Educators will continue to wrestle with defining what is appropriate' for students with special needs. Why? Because PL 94-142 and IDEA legally mandates an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each and every child determined to be eligible for special education and related services. The emphasis of the law changed when the wording placed the individual' first, and we began to educate individuals' with disabilities, rather than handicapped' children.

Our perception and perspective changed as respect and dignity was restored to boys with learning disabilities, girls with cerebral palsy, and students with autism. Kids who were profiled as mental retards' miraculously became individuals' who were mentally challenged, and simply put, just kids again.

Disabilities impact life; handicaps impose disadvantages, both in life and golf. But this education isn't just a game. For if it is, the rules have changed. If education law is to recognize the individual first and foremost, then subsequently, the individual's rights are to be protected.

Each and every individual with a disability has inalienable rights warranting respect and dignity. I still need to remind myself of this, even though I have worked in special education and rehabilitation for more than 30 years. It all began when I was invited and accepted a position as a Summer Camp Counselor for kids with Muscular Dystrophy in 1977. I completed graduate studies and earned a Master's degree in Special Education, became dual certified and taught in regular and special education, and now direct a neurorehabilitation program that transitions individuals with traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries back to school and/or work.

When you see an individual with a disability, realize that this could be your son or daughter, family or friend. This could be you. I never realized this more than in October, 2006, when I contracted meningitis from West Nile Virus. Though residual deficits

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