Member-only story
Falling Through the Educational Cracks
The struggle of growing up in two different worlds.
Most disability organizations and experts agree that when it comes to educating disabled kids, the goal is to teach them in the least restrictive environment possible. Mainstreaming, or teaching disabled and nondisabled kids in the same environment, is considered the gold standard of this approach. Disabled students are given the accommodations they need to be in normal classes instead of being segregated.
What these experts don’t tell you, however, is that mainstreaming can still be traumatic, even if it does lead to better outcomes. Proper accommodations aren’t always provided, leaving students to fend for themselves.
These students can’t be cleanly classified as either regular education or special education. This leaves students stuck between two worlds, and they often fall through the cracks between them.
Growing up, I was one of these mainstreamed children. I took regular education classes, but I couldn’t succeed in them without my special education accommodations.
When I was in kindergarten, I had a full-time classroom aide. I never had to struggle because she was always there to pick up what I dropped, open my markers, and help me in and out of my wheelchair.
