Tories seek to end inclusion of students with disabilities

Britain’s Conservative Party wants to see an end to the government’s policy of including children with special needs in mainstream schools, a party working group has recommended. Officials said children should be returned to “special schools” to restore parent confidence and provide better service to vulnerable students.

Said Sir Bob Balchin, the committee’s chair:

“The government’s policy of ‘inclusion’ - closing special schools and sending large numbers of children with special education needs to mainstream schools - has caused great distress.

“This is why we need to recreate many more special school places. Many parents of special needs children have lost confidence in the statementing process and our policies aim to put this right.”

Special education's Hager steps down

John H. Hager, the assistant secretary who headed the office of special education and rehabilitative services at the federal Department of Education, has resigned to become chairman of the Virginia Republican State Central Committee, writes Education Week. Hager, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia, had occupied the position since 2004.

From the in-box

John and Jane Roberts at his swearing-in ceremony in 2005 (AP Photo)

-- Doctors have started using the word "epilepsy" in connection with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. , who stayed overnight in a hospital in Maine after experiencing a seizure on Monday. The seizure was similar to one he experienced 14 years ago, according to a court press release.

-- Parents of children with disabilities send a few choice words in response to a recent Wall Street Journal story on special ed -- words like "union thugs" and "overpaid fat-cat administrators."

-- Researchers find a link between pesticide exposure and autism, but caution that it's too early to draw conclusions.

-- Reviewing the new reality series "Flipping Out," Ginia Bellafonte says the show at last sets the record straight on obsessive compulsive disorder.

"For years now, the comic detective series “Monk” has equated O.C.D. with intuitive brilliance. We’ve long required a corrective interpretation, and “Flipping Out” is it. Mr. Lewis isn’t a genius of anything. He’s just a delusional jerk."

-- A growing number of professionals are prescribing a new treatment to patients with depression and anxiety. They call it "bibliotherapy." In lay language, that means: read a self-help book.

"Acting normal in a world that thinks you're not" -- on NPR

This American Life rebroadcasts an hour show called "Special Ed," featuring segments on people "who were told that they're different. Some of them were comfortable with it. Some didn't understand it. And some understood, but didn't like it." You can listen to the program or download the podcast here.

From the promo:

"Ira Glass talks with a bunch of special ed students. By and large, they thought of themselves as regular kids—until each experienced a shocking moment of revelation when they discovered that they were not the same as other kids, and that the other kids already knew that...and had known for a long time."

From one of the interviews:

“You kind of think of yourself as regular until these teachers and people in high authority are telling you you’re not the same as everybody else. So you have to figure out – so okay – why am I different?”

Special education = costly education

A recent article in Forbes perpetuates the stereotypical view of special education as a benefit program for wealthy parents who sue school districts for costly and unnecessary programs.

"... the explosion in autism diagnoses has been a boon to lawyers who represent parents dissatisfied with the level of education their autistic kids are getting. Usually well-off, these parents don't hesitate to hire a lawyer to seek extra services or private school tuition."

The author recounts stories of million-dollar legal judgments, and suggests that autism diagnoses are booming because savvy parents and lawyers are seeking to profit by working the system. The article, by Mary Ellen Egan, can be purchased here.