I agree with you. My son has special services for his issues with autism. He is smart and I believe he will contribute to society when he gets older. Heck his aide that helped him in school told him he was autistic.

@YoMomma, use this list for your argument.  There are a couple of baddies on there, but a LOT of authors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_on_the_autism_spectrum

Just FYI...in the education system, gifted/talented education is a part of special education. Special education just means your child has different learning needs than the average kid that can't be met in the average school setting.

etheriel said:

Just FYI...in the education system, gifted/talented education is a part of special education. Special education just means your child has different learning needs than the average kid that can't be met in the average school setting.

As DH says, "On the nosey!"

Rosie08 said:

Hmmm. I received both gifted and special education services. I have a gifted IQ and excel in most areas. However, I have Dyscalculia, a specific learning disability that only affects math.


Me too!   I haven't mastered math yet, but had to chime in!  Difference is I did not receive either gifted or special ed services though I should have received both in school.  Huge public school, my mother not aware or advocating, typical "fell through the cracks" kid.   So I've had to figure all this out later in life as an adult struggling in college.

Where I work we serve some severely developmentally delayed adults.  Some of our clients are less severely disabled, and will go on to hold simple jobs.  But many will remain a financial drain on society.  We have a workshop where they may spend their days doing simple factory work that varies depending on the contracts available.  Sometimes they put paper clips into packages, sometimes they package pet collars.  Some of them are able to work to earn a small income, but nowhere near enough to support themselves financially.

These people may live at home with family, independently with support, or in group home settings.  They generally take a city bus to "work" five days a week.  Some "lower functioning" people literally color pictures, watch tv, socialize, and just hang out. 

Forty years ago we housed them in institutions, and some of them got to lay in piss all day.  Some were mistreated by overworked, underpaid staff.  Now, at least in my county, these people have the option of a feeling of accomplishment that they go to "work" every day, just like everyone else.

A few days ago, one of the guys with downs syndrome who is in training to be a janitor came into my office.  He saw another staff person that he knew very well, and gave her two hugs as he emptied the two trash cans.  The person training him (also disabled) redirected him gently that he can't hug when he is doing his job.

I am happy to live in a world where we lend a helping hand to the helpless.  I'm sure it costs a lot to care for the kids, and the adults that they grow up to be.  But I have truly never worked anywhere where there was so much joy.  They are people, too, and they each deserve a chance. 

Note that I do NOT work with the many many others who were brought up to speed through special ed services when they were younger, and are out there making it on their own, and "contributing" to society independently!  But those people are out there too!

The OC had me until she/he suggested that those who receive Special Education Services will not contribute to society.  There's a place for everyone in this world, and every person should be valued and should know that they make a difference.

I do agree that we are not 'mining' one of our most valuable resources -- the brightest of our students.  It seems that the education system feels that "they're smart enough to do it on their own".  Gifted children have a higher depression rate, a higher suicide rate, and are more likely to have social difficulties with their peers.  They require not only more academic challenges, but more psychological and social support services.  Ask any of the ladies above who were in Gifted Programming -- we're a 'horse of a different color'.

By not supporting our Gifted Students with challenging educational opportunities we are allowing their abilities to languish, and in turn, we are dooming ourselves.  In Canada, they talk about the Brain Drain -- the best and the brightest leaving the country for jobs that pay better elsewhere.  In the US, we are not even allowing the opportunity for our stars to shine.  Our highschools offer Advanced Placement courses, but in Elementary and Middle School there are often no resources for children who need more challenge. 

What bothers me most is that the education (and related services) that any child receives is dependent on where they live.  Take a look at how the 50 states differ from one another in funding and mandating for Gifted Education:

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/StatePolicy.aspx

Even in the general classroom, there is great disparity.  My husband is a teacher, and his principal lives in a district where his daughter, who is in 4th grade, is doing things in her general education classroom that the 8th graders in DH's district haven't even learned yet.  A district 10 miles down the road from us has a SmartBoard in every classroom -- my son's school has only one.  Period.  There are schools that don't even have one. My husband's highschool doesn't have a business department anymore.  What are we doing to Education?

Just think -- if you're bored at work and find the tasks mundane, do you not come to hate your job?  The same is happening to our students who are not challenged at school.  Differentiated instruction is supposed to help, but with class sizes increasing, it is becoming less and less possible for each child to have their individual needs addressed.

They say that 8% of the population could be identified as Gifted; but without the ability to identify and then properly nurture and support these students, we are doing not only them, but ourselves a great disservice. 

@LivinTheDream :x

My kid was identified for the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) Pool.  For his entire Elementary School there is one GATE Teacher who works with the kids one hour a week and they have a regular classroom curriculum.  ONE Teacher.  For "special education" there is one Teacher for each grade level 2-5 and three K/1 classes.  I believe the special education needs are being rather well met.   Our school is begging for funding for a second Fulltime GATE Teacher and trying to get more of their classroom teachers GATE Certified.  His school is one of the few in the district that meet or exceed state standards. 

At Tuskegee for one. That is not far from here. I have told DS a little bit about that. Will tell him more after we have the talk and he knows what a STD is. The USA has it's fair share of skeletons. The camps after Pearl Harbor too. I believe in the " learn your history or you will be doomed to repeat it"

@LivinTheDream, no ones needs are being completely met with current funding and I do think special education should be a top priority.  There just is not enough money for everything that is needed and/or wanted in public schools.  The Parents with the musically inclined kid want more musical education, the Parents with the artistically inclined kid wants more art education, etcetera.

@YoMomma, I am sorry you are irritated, but please do not insult children like my kid for being gifted.  He has needs and challenges as well, and giftedness does not necessarily mean he will get straight "As", it means he learns differently.  He may learn quickly in his particular "gifted" area, but will struggle with many things other kids learn easily.  I am very careful to make sure he realizes every kid has their abilities, and struggles, to respect and be kind to everyone.

Our schools are funded according to how many students attend, and it doesn't work out very well. The nearest centre with enough kids to have multiple schools is a 40 minute drive away. The upshot of this is that we lost half the receptionist and half the librarian last year, as well as one and a half teachers. This year, we're losing the library program AND a whole teaching position. And we're in a rich province.