Honoring Special Education Day

Celebrating Accessible Learning for ALL! 

Each little one is unique, and all have different preferences in preschool activities and specific needs when it comes to education. However, some little ones have had to work harder to make sure that their needs are met by education systems, which is why it’s important to celebrate Special Education Day! Falling on December 2nd, Special Education Day was enacted to commemorate the signing of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, otherwise known as IDEA, into law in 1975. This law is in place to ensure that people with special needs (like autism in toddlers) are able to access free and quality public education. Special education is a topic which carries with it clouds of misinformation, which can be really harmful to anyone with disabilities who relies on the support of acts like IDEA, so celebrating Special Education Day is a really excellent way to ensure that misinformation about special education, autism in toddlers, and special needs in general is not being spread. Additionally, it’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the educators who work tirelessly to help students with disabilities reach goals in preschool activities and learning. 

In 1972, a district court filed a lawsuit called Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, which ruled that the denial of funding for children with special needs in public schools was unlawful. Because of this, more acts were able to be passed, such as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 — the first official law to protect the rights of those needing special education. In the years afterwards, more and more schools were provided the means for increased accessibility for little ones with special needs, and continued to develop to include more support for parents and teachers as well as the name change in 1990 that gave us IDEA. On the 30-year anniversary in 2005, Special Education Day was celebrated for the first time!

So how can we all better educate ourselves on the importance of special education in schools? First, it’s good to get some fast facts about special education itself and the little ones it impacts! For example, statistically speaking, young boys are as much as four times more likely to be diagnosed with a learning disability than girls. Another important thing to remember is that there is a difference between individuals with intellectual disabilities and those with learning disabilities. It can be easy to mistake one for the other or to conflate the two, but making the distinction is crucial. One of the most frustrating things to learn is that special education laws also usually provide only for primary and secondary school levels, meaning autism in toddlers is supported, but once those individuals try to access higher education, their needs are not mandated to be met by law.

Reading the IDEA legislation is an excellent way to learn more about who the act protects and provides for, and volunteering is one of the best ways to get out there and hear from individuals with firsthand experience. When we can recall that our differences make us special and that understanding one another more completely will help us to build a stronger community, the educational environment will be better for us all!

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