MAINSTREAMING SPECIAL ED STUDENTS INTO EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

GRADES K-12

Our students with special needs often excel, or just feel good about participating, in all of the “extras” at their school. Music, drama, art, student council, sports, drill team, etc., are only a few examples of activities which may be valuable for our special education students. In addition, everyone benefits through greater understanding of each other as a result of this extra-curricular contact.

However, a couple of steps need to be taken in order to ensure that the special ed. student has a valuable, rewarding and successful time while under the direction of a regular education teacher in an extra-curricular setting:

• In order for these students to participate, everyone, including the students themselves, must be comfortable with the situation and behavior expectations. It is up to the special education teacher to prepare the student properly–especially with behavior expectations!
• It is also up to the special education teacher to assure the regular ed. teachers the appropriateness of placing the student into the activity.
• The students need to know that they are responsible for the requirements of the activity: practice, memorizing, asking questions, taking notes, etc. If they have trouble with any portion of this, they need to find a solution: practice with a friend, ask for help from their special ed. teacher, etc. An example: A friend of mine directs the Musical Theatre production group at a magnet school for the performing arts. Although the members of the group are almost always exclusively taken by audition from the magnet population, he also allowed two home school, special education day class students to audition. They both passed, and were let in as full performing members of the group. The only adaptation that the teacher had to make (and was fully willing), was to allow the two students extra time to memorize words of songs, (since their disability involved language processing). However, this adaptation was not a hindrance to the group, nor a burden to the teacher. An end result was one of these special ed. students had a singing solo at the major show of the year!

If all parties accept the expectations of the students, the teachers, and the program itself, success is almost always assured. These students in the special ed. program are there for specific needs…much, if not most, of their talents and personalities are the same as students in the regular education program. Therefore, why shouldn’t they participate fully whenever appropriate?