DISABILITY IS NATURAL!

New Ways of Thinking and Revolutionary Common Sense

Disability Is Natural Books and Media

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) Section 300.552 Placements (e) states: “A child with a disability is not removed from education in age-appropriate regular classes solely because of needed modifications in the general curriculum.” So, under the law, a student should not be denied placement in a regular ed classroom just because she needs curriculum modifications. This is one in a series of articles about curriculum modifications.

​

Curriculum Modifications 105

Let's Read!

Children with disabilities who have difficulty with reading may be at risk of “punishment”—they’re given more labels, placed in a segregated classroom, or pulled out of regular ed classes for “remediation” in a resource room. The ability to read is considered a prerequisite to learning, but this is a myth.

The written word (reading) is a relatively new phenomenon in human history. For countless generations of the past (and in some cultures today), the written word was nonexistent. Nevertheless, people learned—a great deal—by doing, through storytelling, and by other means. Reading is an important skill in today’s world, but the inability to read doesn’t mean a person can’t learn! It’s said we learn more from birth to five than at any other time in our lives, but most of us didn’t read during that time!

Computer programs, videos, “writing pens” that read out loud as the pen is moved over the text, and other instructional methods can be used in lieu of—or in addition to—reading, to ensure children are learning from, and participating in, the general ed curriculum, per IDEA. We can also provide a student with the modifications, assistive technology devices, and accommodations to help with reading skills. Click here to continue.