Thursday

July 18, 1074

The
Dack Page
96lh Year Serving Northern Middlesex County

Mass, leads in education of handicapped

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tion for some types of handicapped children. The

difficulty has been that this legislation was fragmented, dealing with various disabilities separately, and was seldom enforced.
Before Ihe new Massachusetts act, "special
education laws, enacted piecemeal over several
years, were scattered through the statute books
and were full of disparities," says Robert K. Crabtree, who served as research director of the joint
committee on education of the Massachusetts Legislature while the 1972 law was being shaped.
"At the root of this legislation patchwork was
the use of several labels," Mr. Crabtree adds. "Instead of a single category broad enough to address
the whole spectrum of special needs, each of the
law? relating lo handicapped children focused oh
a single category'. Each carried its own provision
for slate assistance."
But not all types of handicaps were recognised by Massachusetts law. Mow, they are. And
without Ihe use .of labels. Children no longer are
categorized by the nature of the problem. All are
known simply as "children with special needs."

^Somc of the United States'' mosl iyitorcd educational minorities -- the mentally,
physically nnil rmoiifniidly handicapped, us
well as gifted children are petting kelp
I'n some sections of the country. For some of
these children it marks lltr end nf a long
period of neglect. This first, of lv:o articles
discusses /tow some of Ihe handicapped are
being helped.)

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By KENNETH GEHRET
Chrisliau Science Monitor

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Handicapped children are gelling a break,

JIoic of them are going lo school, and more are
getting education better suited lo their needs.
So strong has been the thrust of recent court
and legislative action that the Education Commission of the Stales predicts that' "if the 'momentum
of Ihe past few years were lo be accelerated in
the next few, it is conceivable trial more than 90
per cent of the nation's handicapped children
would be receiving appropriate educational services by the end of Ihe decade."
Today, fewer than 20 per cent of physically,
mentally, and emotionally handicapped youngsters
are receiving educational services in some states.
But the situation is improving almost everywhere, and seven stales recently passed "comprehensive" legislation.
.What this can mean to handicapped children
is illustrated by the experience of 9-year-old
Bobby, a Massachusetts youngster who has not
been to school since the week he enrolled in first
grade.
School officials sent Bobby home at the end
of that week and notified his parents that he was
"emotionally disturbed" and could not be accommod a led in the local school system. This verdict,
as well as the labeling of their child, dismayed the
parents. They knew that Bobby was hyperactive.
But "emotionally disturbed" they couldn't accept.
The parents appealed to the school board,
then lo the appropriate state departments.
Hundreds of phone calls, visits, letters, and application forms over a three-year period finally
brought an official evaluation of Bobby's case. But
still there was no resolution and no school assignment.

Local districts responsible

New Mass, law

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Now, all that is about to change. Bobby will

go to school next fall. Under a Massachusetts law
that takes effect in September, he is assured of
an education appropriate to his needs. He will be
placed in a regular classroom if that is best for
him, with whatever extra help is required through
special classes or tutoring.
Or he will be laught in some sort of facility
outside Ihe school system should that be necessary.
Whatever Ihe arrangements, Bobby will begin
an education suitable to his needs. This does not
mean, the law emphasizes, forcing the child into
a grouping convenient to school authorities but
tailoring a program to his specifications.
The state's Special Education Act of 1972
calli for the assessing of eacli child having special
needs. Bobby will receive evaluation by a team of
professionals from the educational and medical
fields. His learning program then will be drawn
up. He will be evaluated on Ibis basis each year.
Should his parents question the team's judgment
anywhere along the way, they have the right to
request an evaluation by outside experts at public
expense.

1 "Landmark legislation"
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The Massachusetts law has been called "landmark legislation" and a "breakthrough in special
education." Olher slates are said to be watching
developments there. The Bay Slate law reflects a
growing national concern for the proper education
for all children. The courts are upholding state
laws relative lo Ihe education of handicapped or
"exceptional children," as they are sometimes
called.
Technically, most stales have required educa-

The Massachusetts act places the initial and

prime responsibility on local school districts for determining and providing for each child's needs.
However, it i-ecognizes that not even1 child can be
properly cared for within school facilities and resources, and explains Mr. Crabtree, does not eliminate residential institutions, since they are needed
to serve particularly severe cases, to develop new
programs, and lo train resource people to help in
regular school systems."
Local communities will be reimbursed by Ihe
stale for all costs above the average per-pupil expenditures in each district, up.lo 110 per cent. Or
so the law stales.
Nevertheless, money is one of the stumbling
blocks lo full and immediate implementation, of the
law. Not only is special education expensive, no one
knows just how expensive in a given district or
statewide.
Tied lo the financial question, but extending
beyond it, is the challenge of staffing for the job.
School districts need lo add specialized personnel
and to train teachers in compliance with the law.
Schoolsthathave done little about special education previously face a stiff challenge in implementing the new acl. But others have been making
a special effort over a period of years. For them the
law poses only minimal adjustments.

Problem solved
By KEITH J. HENDERSON
Christian Science Monitor
BEDFORD When Sal Kuimara found himself with two deaf students in his sixth grade class,
he was worried. The class was beginning a project
on urban life and he didn't see how the handicapped students would be able lo participate.
He look his problem lo Beth Zalcznik, head
of Bedford schools' special program for training
teachers and community volunteers to deal with
the handicapped.
As they talked, Mr. Fuimara mentioned that
he had considered letting the deaf students use a
different medium photography for their part
of the project. Mrs. Zaleznik was delighted; she
gave the idea wholehearted endorsement.
As applied, there was only catch. It wasn't
long before the rest of the class-began asking why
only two students were having Ihe fun working
with cameras instead of pencils and pens. Mr. Kuiniara was hard put to answer. The result? When
Ihe class took its field trip to Boston, 27 cameras
went along.
As it turned out, an idea originally conceived
for "special" children became a projecl for Ihe
whole class, stimulating each child's creativity and
ultimately producing an array of highly individualistic photographic essays.
Mr. Fuimara's experience shows the Bedford
district's Learning Resource System (LRS) at its
besl Not only were the handicapped youngsters
brought into full participation in normal class activities, but the teacher was encouraged to use his
own ingenuity. And in Ihe end every student benefilled.

LRS operative two years

Sandra Seitz, a Bedford special-Education teacher,

chats with a student in school learning resource center.

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Essentially LRS, which has been in operation

in Bedford for.I wo years, is an effort to meet the
educational needs of physically, mentally, or emotionally handicapped children through the fuller
utilization of present personnel.
Dr. Robert Morgan, Bedford's assistant superintendent of schools and developer of the Learning
Resource System, says simply: "It's a way of looking at a school or the community and finding out
how resources are being used and what can be
done to improve the situation."
Another part of the LRS activity is pcrsonlo-pcrson internships. These give high school students, and community volunteers an opportunily
to work firsthand with handicapped children.
Kalhy Brady and Joyce Antle, Bedford High
School seniors, are two of the volunteer interns.
.They have been working for the past two years
with Linda, an emotionally disturbed 13-year-old.

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One new thrust: integrating large numbers of handicapped pupils into regular classes.

"During the first year we just tried lo get her

out of the house and talking to people," says
Kathy.
This year Linda is attending junior high
school parltime, and Kalhy and Joyce are tutoring
her in home economics. Bit by bit, the girls say,
Linda is learning how lo relate lo others.

Volunteers, the key

A community volunteer willing lo spend lime
working individually with a "special" child can
sometimes be the key to overcoming the child's
learning disabilities.
One first-grade boy labeled retarded by a
former school district was found by Bedford specialists to be normal in ability. Further investigation revealed that the child's home environment,
where almost no English was spoken, accounted
for his inability to communicate verbally.
A volunteer bcgiin meeting with the boy every
week lo read and talk lo him. This helped fill his
"communication gap," and now, according 1o his
instructors!,':the' child-is doing belter.
These experiences illustrate the function of
the LRS.lo bring.together people with particular
knowledge (special education 'teachers, counselors,
remedial teachers) and people who want to share
this knowledge (other teachers, community
members, interested high school students).
Important is bringing these two groups together are the.teacher in-service training program
and the' activities of learning, resource centers at
each of Bedford's six schools..:.'.;'.- The'' training program offers v o l u n t e e r
teachers, community people-and-high school students a'lwo-s'einister course supervised and taught
by the Bedford system's educational specialists. A
semester of^theory, observation, and discussion is
followed by intern work d u r i n g - t h e last half of
the course.

cepls. "This could be going on anywhere in the

building," says Mr. Kinncen.

580 involved
Of Bedford's total 4,000-student population,
580 are being directly served by LRS-relaled programs. In addition, 43 Bedford children now atlend special educational institutions outside the
city. Many of these will return to the public
schools when the new law goes into effect.
Advocates of LRS, both teachers and administralors, hold that it has adherent advantages as
an approach lo special educalion.
High among these, they say, is the elimination
of the stigma so often placed on the "special"
child. By making themselves available lo serve the
individual needs of any student, the learning resource centers escape identification as places solely
for abnormal children.
But the prime attraction of the Learning Resource System is its promise of expanding a
school's capacity for special educalion without
bloating its budget.
LRS enables schools lo move away from the
familiar "more people for more money" solulion,
according' lo Assistant Superintendent Morgan.
And these ideas successful in this middle-income
city of 12.oOO could be applied anywhere, he adds.
Mrs. Zalenik agress. When asked by school officials in a neighboring town if the iype of volunlecrs Bedford uses could be found in their communily, she replied, "Absolutely! It's not sometiling indigenous t o Bedford."
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While no one in Bedford claims that- LRS
offers the ultimate solution lo all the problems 1 of
special education, most see it as a sure step.in^'the
right direction.
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One thing seems certain. With increased naliona! interest in special education and legislation
like Massachusetts' pending in many states, ;'expertinents such as Bedford's will be closely
watched for the-lessons they offer.

"CORE" teams
The-centers at each school revolve around a
"core" team of specialists and participating regular faculty. The learns attempt to diagnose the special needs of students and prescribe programs that
can help meet these needs.
Sandra Sell/, a special-education teacher, is
a member of Center Elementary School's team.
Her efforts lo evaluate children's special needs
may take her into a classroom, or pvcn'to Ihe playground, to observe students in different settings.
"We have lo go beyond Icsl administering lo
real 'need evaluation' to give teachers solid suggestions," says Mrs. Seitz, whose work begins when
teachers (and occasionally parents) refer children
to the center.
She points out that the development of her
school's team of specialists was a "magic anticipation" of Massachusetts' special-education law,
which lakes effect in September. The law mandates a "core evaluation team" lo assess the needs
of students.
James Kinnccn, principal of Bedford's junior
high school, emphasizes lhal the centers should be
viewed as a service that operates throughout a
schcol a "permeating presence," lo use his
phrosc rather than as a particular classroom
or study area.
He takes the visitor to a small conference
room near his office where a young teacher is
spending his free period working with four young
boyi who are having trouble with basic math con-

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"Gifted" children are being ferreted out and assisted

in programs in several stares.

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