At first glance, this study seems to reveal information that parents who have children with special needs probably already knew. Children who have special needs that relate to medical, emotional, or behavioral issues typically have difficulties at school. The interesting part of the study shows more about how those issues cause problems, and where these problems appear.
A study was lead by Dr. Christopher B. Forrest, who is a professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His team of researchers tracked the progress of over 1,450 students who were in the fourth through sixth grades. These children were from 34 rural schools, that were in three large school districts, in Maryland and West Virginia.
The researchers found that about one -third of this group of students had special needs. The children were coping with things like asthma, chronic pain, ADHD, learning disabilities, emotional problems, or behavioral problems. To gather this data, researchers asked the parents of the children who were a part of the study to complete a screening questionnaire.
It asked if the child had any long term health conditions that caused “functional problems” and required health services to treat those issues. Kids that required special health care for longer than 12 months were classified as having special needs. This group was having “interventions” that included things like prescription medications, therapy, counseling, or other services relating to medical, mental health, or additional educational services.
Next, the researchers took a look at the children’s school records. They noted information about the child’s attendance, grades, and standardized achievement test scores. The results of the study were interesting.
Researchers found that kids who have learning disabilities have “distinct social and emotional challenges” when they are in the school environment. This can lead them into difficult situations. One of those situations involves bullying. Kids who have special needs become the victim of bullies much more frequently than children who do not have special needs.
Another interesting result showed that a child’s health really does have a large impact on the academic performance of the child. It makes sense to me that kids who have chronic or severe health issues would be absent more frequently than kids who were healthy. I think everyone can see how this could affect the child’s ability to earn good grades.
The most important part of the survey was that the results emphasize how important it is to look at the whole child, and not just the child’s special need. School programs need to be created that take into account the whole range of problems that kids who have special needs face. They need assistance with the academic and social aspects of education.
Image by hpeguk on Flickr