I read an extremely interesting article this week on a mother’s opinion of her son who has ADHD and whether or not to medicate him. This mother was adamant on having parents of children with ADHD know all of their options and informing themselves before making a decision. She chose to medicate her child and saw an improvement in his hyperactivity. She was also positive that she made the right choice for her child. Personally, if my child had ADHD I would try medication to see if it was the right decision. Ultimately, just like this parent, I would only want the best for my child. I am not against medication by any means.

Today, I read an article from another perspective. The article was written by Elaine Taylor-Klaus, a Professional Coach, Trainer, and Co-Founder ImpactADHD. Taylor-Klaus, states that medication did not work for her young children. She explains the many side-effects that came along with medication for her children, “the side-effects ranged from tics (terrifying) to tantrums (exhausting). One med amped up anxiety, another triggered a kind of emotional intensity.” Due to these many side-effects, Taylor-Klaus recommends behavior management training to help with children with ADHD. Behavior management or “behavior therapy” focuses on training parents, and/or teachers, to create a supportive environment for children. This therapy has been proven to be effective and there is evidence to back it up. I have come to the conclusion that if medication did not work for my child, I would like to be trained in behavior therapy. I also think it would be beneficial to learn about behavior therapy as a teacher.

RTI stands for Response to Intervention. I have had a lot of exposure to RTI in the last month. I first was asked to join my school’s I&RS (Intervention and Referral Services) team. Then, I read a chapter in my graduate course about RTI, as well as an article. I then took it upon myself to look further into RTI and see what other sources are saying about the matter. One of the issues of RTI is that there is not enough evidence to genuinely support whether it is effective or not. I do believe the RTI model needs to be altered to be more specific and also needs to be implemented in order to be effective.

I read the article “Special Education is Broken,” by Christina A. Samuels because the title caught my eye. I was pleased to see that the author continued to discuss the RTI model. I quickly realized that Samuels did not have a positive attitude towards the RTI model. This is consistent with the opinions of the authors from the other article from my graduate course. I am coming to the realization that RTI is an issue in the field of exceptionality. It needs to be revised and/or taken more seriously within schools.

Another issue that the article discusses is the amount of money spent on education. Samuels explains that the last check for national spending for special education occurred over 20 years ago. Costs for special education do not consider: the population growth of students with autism or impairments, the increase of inclusion classrooms, or interventions used outside of the formal structure of special education. I think that Samuels brings up good points, but I do not see where she is getting her evidence from. As I read the article, I wished to read more concrete statements.

Following is the link for the article: https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/01/09/special-education-is-broken.html

I recently read a chapter in my graduate course that described several definitions for students who have disabilities. Among these descriptions were, “intellectual and developmental disabilities.” These terms are used by professionals and are thought to be respectful. I agree that these terms are respected in the professional world and use them both frequently in my practice. The authors also state that acceptable terms as of the early 1900s were idiot, imbecile, and moron. Of course, now it is known among professionals that these words are not acceptable to use when speaking about students with OR without disabilities. My question to the world is how do we get all children on board with us? I have recently heard my students, who are in 8th grade, call each other horrible names. A word I often hear students say is “retard.” This may be in passing or happen during class, which I address either immediately. I am wondering if the issue of defining students with disabilities will ever be solved on the professional level or on the peer level.

From a professional point a view, names and definitions of students with intellectual disabilities are a major issue. They are always changing to benefit the student. I feel as though it is impossible to escape the ongoing cycle of changing the name or definition of students with disabilities. There will always be someone who will challenge the term or description.

On the other hand, I believe students feel safe from a professional stand point, but to get their peers to stop name calling is nearly impossible. Even if it is prevented at school, there is no way to stop bullying at home, especially now with all the forms of communication students have. In the beginning of this school year, I had a student missing from class, so I asked the students if “Student A” was sick or not. They told me that they had seen “Student A” earlier that morning. I soon found out that “Student A” did not feel comfortable coming to my class because there are other students in my class who have bullied him in the past and call him the “R” word. I felt heart broken for my student and took immediate action after class was finished by meeting him in the guidance office to talk it over. It is our jobs as teachers to make all of our students feel safe at all times and I felt like I had failed. It was an eye-opening experience and led me to question the issue of name calling or defining exceptional students.

To visit the link above and raise awareness: https://www.r-word.org/

Thanks for joining me!

“No one should teach who is not in love with teaching. — Margaret E. Sangster