2019 Volume 60 Issue 1 Pages 124-136
Objective: Though various investigations have been conducted on student support systems for children with developmental disorders within the regular school system, they have for most part been limited to demonstrations of the extent of implementation within schools. Therefore, a questionnaire was administered to medical personnel to examine the present state of student support systems for children requiring special education within the regular school system to determine adequacy of the support and instruction being provided.
Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 871 physicians and 384 speech therapists (ST) and responses were obtained from 283 doctors and 122 STs (a return rate of 32%).
Results: The results revealed that only 23% of medical personnel considered both instruction and the regular classroom environment adequate for students with developmental disorders. Regarding reasons why children with special needs were not getting needed support, the medical personnel cited “lack in teacher understanding of special education” (72%) and “lack of resource rooms” (71%). Among the doctors, 71% reported experience of changing a childʼs diagnosis of developmental disorder from negative to positive (24% frequently and 47% rarely). Conversely, 58% of the doctors reported retracting diagnoses of developmental disorder at some later point in time (15% frequently and 43% rarely).
Discussion: These results indicate that special education faces challenges not only in preparing suitable educational environments but in enhancing understanding of children with developmental disorders among teaching staff. As conveyed by the majority of doctors with experience of changing established diagnoses, even if infrequent, teachers should acknowledge that the behavior of children with developmental disorders undergo change with development, necessitating continuous revision in the manner of providing support tailored to the changing needs of each to child.
