Tony Roque
ESEP 530
3. If you could change the way we provide services to children with disabilities, what would you recommend?
The way I would change the way we provide services to children with disabilities is to provide more of the same with better funding. For early identification of disabilities funding should be provided for those of the lower economic scale to identify disabilities early on because this is ware we see the bulk of the students come from. The earlier that a problem is diagnosed the there is a chance to help that individual. Medical services should be provided for those children with out insurance so that health problems do not worsen and result in the child missing a great deal of school do to these health problems. Psychological services should be more readily available for those students in need. One of my professors said that students that have been diagnosed as emotionally disturbed only receive a half an hour a week counseling at the most. This is eventually going to lead to disaster if those children dont get the help they need. I know that these counselors case load is probably booked, so the only way we can remedy the problem is to better fund these programs. If we dont find funding for these kids we will no doubt find or selves in another Columbine situation. Occupational therapy is another area that needs to be expanded or better funded. For many of these kids a four year collage is not a option. I am not suggesting tracing kids into vocational occupations but there should be exposure to these kinds of occupations. So all in all I think that what we provide is good but the amount we provide is lacking considering the tremendous need.
ESEP 530
3. If you could change the way we provide services to children with disabilities, what would you recommend?
The way I would change the way we provide services to children with disabilities is to provide more of the same with better funding. For early identification of disabilities funding should be provided for those of the lower economic scale to identify disabilities early on because this is ware we see the bulk of the students come from. The earlier that a problem is diagnosed the there is a chance to help that individual. Medical services should be provided for those children with out insurance so that health problems do not worsen and result in the child missing a great deal of school do to these health problems. Psychological services should be more readily available for those students in need. One of my professors said that students that have been diagnosed as emotionally disturbed only receive a half an hour a week counseling at the most. This is eventually going to lead to disaster if those children dont get the help they need. I know that these counselors case load is probably booked, so the only way we can remedy the problem is to better fund these programs. If we dont find funding for these kids we will no doubt find or selves in another Columbine situation. Occupational therapy is another area that needs to be expanded or better funded. For many of these kids a four year collage is not a option. I am not suggesting tracing kids into vocational occupations but there should be exposure to these kinds of occupations. So all in all I think that what we provide is good but the amount we provide is lacking considering the tremendous need.
