SPED, a field in which you will always be needed

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SPED, a field in which you will always be needed

by Sharon Maroney

Jan 25, 2016

After listening to one more news report on the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, I am just so very sad.

I first heard the news of Flint’s water about three weeks ago and have been following the story ever since. While many questions are yet to be answered, there are a few things we do know. We know that following a change in the water source 18 months ago, the drinking water in many homes in Flint has contained and does contain dangerously high levels of lead. We do know that an alarming number of children in Flint are experiencing developmental deficits and unacceptable high levels of lead in their bodies. We also know a lot about the effects of lead and/or lead poisoning in children from considerable research over the past 50 years. We know that lead can cause - • Delayed language or motor milestones in infants and toddlers • Poor speech articulation • Poor language understanding or usage • Problems maintaining attention in school or home • High activity level ...See MoreAfter listening to one more news report on the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, I am just so very sad.

I first heard the news of Flint’s water about three weeks ago and have been following the story ever since. While many questions are yet to be answered, there are a few things we do know. We know that following a change in the water source 18 months ago, the drinking water in many homes in Flint has contained and does contain dangerously high levels of lead. We do know that an alarming number of children in Flint are experiencing developmental deficits and unacceptable high levels of lead in their bodies. We also know a lot about the effects of lead and/or lead poisoning in children from considerable research over the past 50 years. We know that lead can cause - • Delayed language or motor milestones in infants and toddlers • Poor speech articulation • Poor language understanding or usage • Problems maintaining attention in school or home • High activity level and hyperactivity • Problems with learning and remembering new information • Rigid, inflexible problem-solving abilities • Delayed general intellectual abilities • Learning problems in school in reading, language, math, and writing • Problems controlling behavior • Problems with fine or gross motor coordination • Poor academic learning and performance • Learning Disabilities • Problems paying attention • Disorganized approach to learning • Poor work completion • Increased risk to drop out • Poor social relationships • Communication deficits • Impulsive/hyperactive behavior • Problems sharing and taking turns • Increased aggression • Increased need for adult supervision © 2016 Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital

As has happened too many times during my career in special education, I am once again reminded of something a professor said more than 40 yeas ago. In one of my first special education courses the professor (and I apologize for not remembering his name) talked to us about entering the field of special education. His words were something like this, “I’d like to be able to tell you that someday there won’t be any jobs for you – but I can’t. It seems that we continually find ways to create disabilities in our world. I believe you are entering a field in which you will always be needed.”

In my experience there have been far too many examples of how the changes in our world and the decisions we make keep special educators employed. For example -

• With the invention of each new recreational street drug come the babies born addicted to those drugs. Cocaine, meth, crack, heroine, and bath salts addicted babies in addition to children with fetal alcohol syndrome have filled and will fill our classrooms.

• As the number of drivers has increased so has the number of traumatic brain injuries. Our government attempts to protect children with stronger and stronger laws regarding car seats and seat belts but motor vehicle accidents are still the number one cause of traumatic brain injury in children. We will now wait to see how the too-frequent use of cell phones while driving impacts this situation.

• Prominent in the news is the accepted link between sports-related concussions and brain injury. As the number of pee-wee sports leagues and America’s love of youth sports continues to increase, so have the number of concussions and more serious brain and spinal injuries in children and youth.

• The increased frequency and intensity of violence on television, movies, video games, media, and communities has resulted in increased behavior and socialization problems. Various forms of physical and emotional abuse, to include specific forms such as shaken baby syndrome, add students to our classrooms.

• In the 1970’s approximately 15&37; of America’s children were considered to be living in poverty, today the figure is approximately 23&37;. Children born and living in poverty have an increased likelihood of being disabled due to pre-birth, during-birth, and after-birth factors. Schools now provide breakfast, lunch, after-school, and weekend meals, medical, childcare, counseling, and social services, and financial assistance and community linkages to students and their families - in attempts to combat the negative effects of poverty.

• The MIT researcher, Stephanie Seneff’s current claim of the strong research base for the link between the use of certain lawn/farm chemicals and autism draws attention to an ongoing debate. Is the use of more effective chemicals in farming, lawn maintenance, and pest management justifiable when the results are disability and disease?

Drug and alcohol use and abuse, motor vehicle accidents, sports-related brain injuries, the violence surrounding our lives, increased poverty, chemical use in our crops, lawns, and air, and lead poisoning in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan are all factors that can cause disabilities in children. These are changes in our world and decisions we make. As I said at the start, I am so very sad. I would rather that special educators were not so needed.

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