Valuing Life, Disability or Not -- a radio commentary by Ben Mattlin, who has been quadriplegic since birth. At the memorial service for a friend with a disability who passed away, he came to realize the world needs to expand its definition of what it means to live a successful life, disability or not.
Me and Tanja Dancing -- a brief video of a man who is paraplegic dancing beautifully with a woman who is an able bodied modern dancer.
Special Education in America -- an excellent 2008 report on the state of students with disabilities in U.S. high schools -- includes a great deal of information and good background and overview -- a highly recommended read.
Special Education Resource Guide -- lots of links to great sites and resources.
Racial Inequity in Special Education -- an executive summary of a national study conducted by the Civil Rights Project, located at UCLA. This summary states:"Minority children with disabilities all too often experience inadequate services, low-quality curriculum and instruction, and unnecessary isolation from their nondisabled peers. Moreover, inappropriate practices in both general and special education classrooms have resulted in overrepresentation, misclassification, and hardship for minority students, particularly black children." It also offers a number of useful recommendations for improved policy and practice.
Disparate Measures -- a compelling 2002 article about the disproportionate number of youth of color, especially African American males, placed in special education.
Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education -- a 2002 report that presents research by the National Research Council documenting the disproportionately high number of minority students in special education and the disproportionately low number of minority students in gifted programs.
Does New Orleans Welcome Disabled Students? -- this 2011 radio report says "no", and attributes the problem to the post-Katrina use of a marketplace model of public charter schools in New Orleans to which students must apply and compete for admission -- consistent with other studies, the report argues that many charter schools do not provide a welcoming environment or quality services for students with disabilities.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004: The Document -- the actual document that is a public law -- very informative and helpful, particularly in its akcnowledgement of the over-representation of students of color in special education and in its presentation of the connection between this law and No Child Left Behind policies.
The Illusion and Broken Promises of Special Education -- a 2005 article in Education Week, by Kalman Hettleman, about current and longstanding issues in special education -- (for Ithaca College students in Social and Cultural Foundations of Education, this is also available at the course website).
IDEA Partnership -- a website "dedicated to improving outcomes for students and youth with disabilities through shared work and learning".
National Disability Policy: A Progress Report -- a 2002 report by the National Council on Disability that suggests, among other things, that the No Child Left Behind Act fails to address a number of important issues affecting students with disabilities.
Misunderstood Minds -- an extension of the PBS website, this site is a great resource for teachers, parents and students dealing with learning disabilities. This website also contains profiles and information on students from the PBS documentary, Misunderstood Minds.
Students with Disabilities Who Drop Out of School: Implications for Policy and Practice -- a 2002 study that looks at this issue in the context of "new school accountability policies and stiffer promotion and graduation requirements."
Policy and Practice Implications for Secondary and Post-Secondary Education and Employment for Students with Disabilities -- statistics about and recommendations for improving high school completion rates for students with disabilities.
Wrightslaw -- a site of advocacy for and information about education for students with disabilities.
Project CHOICES -- an organization devoted to supporting inclusive education. CHOICES stands for: Children Have Opportunities In Inclusive Communities, Environments, and Schools.
Disabilities Fight Grows as Taxes Pay for Tuition -- an article in the NYTimes about parents bringing cases against school districts in order to have private school tuition paid for their children with disabilities, in cases where they feel the school district has not provided adequate education.
Special Education Resources on the Internet -- lots of good information and links about different disabilities, the law, effective educational practices, and much more.
Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion (ECRII) -- lots of useful information about specific issues and effective programs.
National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center -- lots of good resources -- this organization supports the implementation of the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Their mission is to strengthen service systems to ensure that children with disabilities (birth through five) and their families receive and benefit from high quality, culturally appropriate, and family-centered supports and services.
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services -- a U.S. Government Office offering support, resources, history and more.
Special Education Expenditure Project -- a 2003 report about the costs associated with educating students with different types of disabilities.
National Council on Disability -- "an independent federal agency making recommendations to the President and Congress on issues affecting Americans with disabilities."
Council for Exceptional Children -- an excellent website with information about various disabilities and ideas on how to educate children with special needs.
National Organization on Disability -- a good advocacy organization -- good information and links.
Institute on Disability Culture -- an organization that serves "to promote pride in the history, activities, and cultural identity of individuals with disabilities throughout the world. The purpose of this site is to provide information about disability culture and to share examples of our culture."
Disability History and Culture Resources -- "real life stories told by youth and young adults with disabilities about disability history & culture."
Links to Disability Resources -- good links for e-zines, media and periodicals.
Including Samuel -- an excellent documentary about a boy with disabilities named Samuel, his family, and other young people with disabilities. The film focuses on experiences of students, family members, and educators as these relate to the inclusion of students with disabilities in the mainstream of education. The website includes information about the film as well as resources for educators, youth with disabilities, parents, and others.
The Fingerlakes Independence Center -- an organization in Ithaca, NY with the following mission statement: "We believe that a society which is inclusive of people with disabilities is beneficial to all of its members. Furthermore, we believe that individual and group attitudes toward people with disabilities often create closed social structures and architectural barriers which are detrimental to all members of society. The mission of the Finger Lakes Independence Center is to work toward the elimination of these obstacles, to empower people with disabilities, and thereby create an inclusive society."
Dolly Gray Award for Children's Literature in Developmental Disabilities -- a list and description of these award-winning books that "appropriately portray individuals with developmental disabilities." The award is a collaborative work by members of the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Special Needs Project (a distributor of books related to disability issues).
Communicating with Culturally Diverse Parents of Exceptional Children -- an article about the importance of cultural awareness, knowledge, and sensitivity in working with the parents/caregivers of culturally diverse students with disabilities.
Finding a Better Way to Play For Students With Disabilities -- a good article about a movement to more fully include students with disabilities in active play with other children.
Adapted Physical Education -- information and resources about accommodations in physical education.
The Palaestra Organization -- an excellent site and forum about sport, physical education, and recreation for those with disabilities.
National Center On Physical Activity and Disability -- good information and resources about the value of people with disabilities staying physically active.
The Special Olympics -- the home page of this great organization.
LD Online -- a good site dedicated to learning disabilities.
National Attention Deficit Disorder Association -- information and resources in support of people with ADD/ADHD.
Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder - a national organization addressing the important issue.
National Down Syndrome Society -- "The mission of the NDSS is to be the national advocate for the value, acceptance, and inclusion of people with Down syndrome." The site includes excellent educational information, stories about and by people with Down syndrome, and lots of other good resources.
Down Syndrome Online -- a great resource for learning about people and children with Down syndrome -- includes an online journal with extensive research relevant to teaching children and youth with Down syndrome and much more.
Inclusion.com -- books, videos, workshops, and links.
Prelude Therapy -- music therapy and the special needs student.
Center for the Study of Autism -- extensive links and resources, including video clips and much more.
Stretching the Senses in "Touch the Sound" -- a radio piece about a documentary film that focuses on Evelyn Glennie, an great percussionist and composer who has been deaf since she was twelve.
National Arts and Disability Center -- a site that promotes the inclusion of people with special needs into the visual, performing, media, and literary arts communities.
Soundbeam -- this is a revolutionary means of giving students with disabilities a new way to express themselves.
SoundBeam -- website discussing the use of sound-beaming, which is a relatively new technology which allows even profoundly physically or learning impaired individuals be expressive and communicative through music.
All Kinds of Minds -- website of a non-profit institute that reports on the latest research concerning the different ways in which children learn and strategies to help student with learning disabilities.
College Gets Tougher on Verifying Learning Disabilities of Aid Applicants -- this New York Times article discusses how colleges have become more discriminating about how they educate students with learning disabilities.
Deaf Education Learning Environments -- a website discussing the educational options for deaf students.
Deaf Education -- This website has a list of deaf education programs by state and has general information about educating deaf students.
Deaf Persons and Experts Speak Out Against Inclusion -- article on Deaf-Info website.
Deaf Education: A Parent's Guide -- website containing information parents need to make decisions for their deaf child's education.
National Association of the Deaf -- a website providing information about deaf education for teachers, students, and parents.
Autism Speaks -- This organization is the nation's largest Autism science and advocacy group. The website is comprehensive and covers all aspects of the disorder and is up to date on current laws and legislation about Autism.
The R Word -- The website for the "Spread the Word to End the Word" movement which aims to raise awareness about people with disabilities and asks people to pledge to stop using the "r-word" in their everyday speech.
Child Development Institute -- A list of suggested classroom interventions for students with learning disabilities, including ADD.
Science of Music -- this site offers some unique ways to educate children about music.
Grants Center -- this site offers several suggestions of ways and places to get grants for new music equipment written and accepted.
Music and Special Education Needs -- this web site offers some great tools to help develop and plan out inclusive music education into the classroom.
Learning Disabilities Association of America -- the Learning Disabilities Association of America website offers information about learning disabilities organized into different sections relevant for teachers, parents, adults, professionals.
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory: Inclusion: The Pros and Cons -- an educational article discussing the pros and cons of inclusion, as well as a brief history.