<p>In our school district, the mentally challenged kids graduate with their original class, then (if they want) come back to school for a couple more years of classes, mostly focussed on independent living and job skills. My D has a friend with Down syndrome who she’s known literally all her life. Her school district holds them back, so that they go through graduation when they are 21 (or otherwise totally done with school.)</p>
<p>I hadn’t thought much about the difference, until D made the comment that her friend doesn’t get that she’s going away to college. Her friend’s older sister went away to college, so she gets that part. But her friend knows that she’s my D’s age, and knows that she doesn’t graduate for two more years, so how can my D have graduated?</p>
<p>That made me wonder how other districts handle this. I like the idea of keeping all the kids the same age together, because long-time friendships do form and it’s nice to all walk together. What does your district do?</p>
<p>Any student who is at least partially mainstreamed walks with their class at graduation and then returns for additional training. Like you said–it’s a social moment for them. </p>
<p>I’m not sure how the side-by-side program (for the profoundly disabled) handles their graduation since they hold their own separate ceremony.</p>
<p>EK, I like the way your district does it a lot. I wonder what the parents perfer…while I like the idea of community college, the drive to the HS is much shorter.</p>
<p>Due to past parental activism those with developmental delays get state or federally mandated educations commensurate with their needs- to age 21 (pet peeve of mine the gifted don’t have similar, much less equal, mandated funding through HS age). Until age 21 the public HS’s need to continue educating them.</p>
<p>I once noticed a child I knew was taking special ed versions of HS courses listed on the high honor roll in the newspaper and asked someone if this affected the regular class students for things- class rank and such. Apparantly those students never did well enough such that their grades meant they were top students- it would have been horrible if taking special ed courses instead of regular versions (much less honors- no weighted grades in our district) displaced other students. I have also seen severely disabled middle school kids with their various caretakers out on a wheelchair walk near that school- huge inputs of effort/expense by the system for little progress in comprehension. I think students are put in the school appropriate to their age until government mandates allow them to be dropped from the public school- age 21 here. The students do get as much education as can be mastered by them, individually differentiated. If only schools did as much for the gifted, sigh.</p>
<p>The friend with Down’s sounds like she is smarter than many with her syndrome. It must be a challenge for those around her- underestimating or overestimating her ability to understand different concepts and to not treat her as stupid or assume she understood something. Your D sounds like a nice person- someone who can have friends she values for different reasons.</p>
<p>PS- what drive? Special needs kids here get free bussing as needed, regardless of distance. Small busses pick up and drop off kids at times that work for the kids- some with emotional problems need to arrive late/leave early to avoid the crowds of students during normal times (let’s hear it for in utero drug exposure and the developmental problems for life). Likewise the occasional middle school kid needing a HS class gets transported to and from the school for it- causing missed class time in some cases.</p>
<p>Yes, what wis75 said, all districts are required to provide educations through age 21 for children with special needs. Or if the district can’t provide the educational services they need (don’t have the capacity, teachers, equipment, etc) they have to fund the students education elsewhere. The students aren’t required to stay until they’re 21, but they have the option.</p>
<p>WIS 75. In high school the high achieving student is beginning to realize their potential and the doors begin to open to them. Are you suggesting that the taxpayer should, beyond contributions to the state Uni systems, pay for the education of gifted 20 year olds because of their exceptionality? Unless your gifted 20 year old has another exceptionality, they should be well able to support themselves, thrive actually, in adult life. A child or young adult with intellectual impairment (Perhaps a gentler way of commenting on these individuals) often has some degree of financial dependence throughout their lives. After age 21 and depending on their abilities, they may get SS for example. Until age 21, appropriately since they are still in the primary and 'secondary phase of their educations as they learn more slowly… these costs are generally born by school districts. </p>
<p>Are you truly saying you are worried that the A’s the child with intellectual impairment is getting (because they have an iEP with modified grading etc) are a ‘problem’ as they might displace someone who gets the grades without the IEP? Please. </p>
<p>Your post smacks of sour grapes. Feel blessed.</p>
<p>I wrote a long post and then deleted it. I agree with robyrm2. While I understand WIS’s frustration with lack of gifted funding, the life of a spec ed student (and that of the student) is a very lonely, frustrating, and difficult road. I consider myself an educated, experienced hoop jumper and this is the most frustrating journey of my life.</p>
<p>IDEA also does not guarantee that these students get “as much education as they can master”. IDEA specifically speaks to that point and that is not what is “guaranteed”. FAPE states that a school system must provide a “free and appropriate education”, not one that necessarily maximizes the student’s potential. As for individualized, yes–in theory. Practically? Often not…In my experience, what a sped students receives highly correlates with how involved and insistent their parents are. There are more gatekeepers in spec ed than a centipede has legs. It is a never ending battle for one’s child to receive his education.</p>
<p>I have a gifted student and a spec ed one. I see the differences. Robyrm is on target.</p>
<p>I agree. There but for the grace of God and all. And really, if some kid with Down syndrome gets listed on the honor roll and it makes him feel good – fine with me. No need to be petty.</p>
<p>In our school district, the students graduate when they complete the program that they are in. If they are on track to graduate before age 21, then they graduate before age 21.</p>
<p>Most schools keep moderately to severely handicapped students until they are 21 because there is a lack of services for those between the ages of 18-21. In NY state they have begun some programs on college campuses but there is some uncertainty about who pays this bill. Most of these students still are developmentally appropriate for school because their mental age isn’t anywhere near 21.</p>
<p>Also parent of one gifted and one intellectually disabled student here.</p>
<p>School districts are required to provide a “free and appropriate” education for classified students until age 21. As mentioned above, that education will be as comprehensive, enriching and successful as the ability of the parents to jump through the hoops offered by the school district in question.</p>
<p>Our D was in mainstream classes till grade 5. Our middle school would have been wildly inappropriate for her and our school district agreed. She attended a private out of district special ed school till age 21. I was cautioned by that school that she could continue until age 21, OR until she accepted a diploma from her sending district.
If she accepted a diploma before 21, funding for her education would cease.
Some students ‘walk’ at age 18 with their peers if mainstreamed. Our DD was connected to her peers at out of district school so no issue for her and she graduated at 21 there.</p>
<p>Our district was extremely cooperative with our family’s requests and preferences.
They even continued to send flyers about extra curricular activities she could have attended at the regular HS and asked if she also wanted to walk in the regular HS commencement.
That is not always the case. We were fortunate. But it still was a vast investment in time to make things happen for her (not complaining, just a fact).</p>
<p>DD also benefited greatly from the transition services of her spec ed school during her last years there. The team assisted with post grad services, transportation, SS, etc.
Consequently, she is now, a year later, happily working in a DVRS funded work program and also a part time state supported program to continue to develop her life skills.
About as perfect an outcome for this specific young adult as could be found.
We, the family, continue to advocate for her and have considerable interaction with agencies on her behalf. She will always require some assistance in managing her life but we hope it will decrease with time as she continues to mature.</p>
<p>Yes, I would love if schools were ‘required’ to provided special services for gifted as well.
DS had to work hard to find outlets for his path in music, both within his public HS and outside. The difference is that he could and did advocate for himself to get what he needed.</p>