Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education
William L. Heward (Author)
* Hardcover: 704 pages
* Publisher: Prentice Hall; 7 edition (Jul 23 2002)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0130993441
* ISBN-13: 9780130993441
Ingram
This leading text in the market comprehensively examines all aspects of disability. Using a categorical approach the authors provide students with a discussion of characteristics, etiology, and educational implications. Numerous boxes, profiling individuals with disabilities, emphasize the humanistic views of the authors and encourage students to view persons with disabilities in a positive way. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap
Special education is an ongoing story of people. It is the story of a preschool child with multiple disabilities who benefits from early intervention services. It is the story of a child with mental retardation whose parents and teachers work together to ensure she participates in classroom and extracurricular activities with her peers. It is the story of a middle school student with learning disabilities who helps his parents and teachers plan his instructional program that builds upon his strengths and addresses his weaknesses. It is the story of the gifted and talented child who brings new insights to old problems, the high school student with cerebral palsy who is learning English as his second language, and the young woman with visual impairments who has recently moved into her own apartment and rides a city bus to work. Special education is also the story of parents and families of exceptional children and of the teachers and other professionals who work with them.
I hope you will find the seventh edition of Exceptional Children an informative, accessible, and interesting introduction to the ongoing story of special education, a rapidly changing field that is still in its formative years. Whether you are an undergraduate enrolled in or thinking of applying to a preservice teacher training program or a general education teacher with years of experience, I encourage you to continue your study and involvement with children and adults with special needs. For you, too, can make a worthwhile contribution to the still unfinished story of special education.
TEXT ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE
My goals for this book are to present an informative, readable, and responsible introduction to the professional practices, trends, and research that define the field while at the same time conveying the diversity and excitement that characterize contemporary special education. To this end, the book begins with "A Personal View of Special Education"—eight perspectives on the purpose and responsibilities of special education—followed by fifteen chapters organized into two parts.
Part 1—Foundations for Understanding Special Education—includes four chapters. Chapter 1 presents an overview of terminology, laws, policies, and practices that are consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the exceptional child's right to receive an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. Chapter 2 examines the referral, assessment, and placement of students in special education. Chapter 3 describes how to respect, appreciate, and respond appropriately to the cultural and linguistic differences that some children with special needs bring to the classroom. Chapter 4 discusses the important role parents and families play in the decision-making process for planning the individual education needs of their children and how special educators can form effective partnerships with parents.
Part 2—Educational Needs of Exceptional Students—is organized around nine categorical chapters within a developmental lifespan perspective. Chapter 5 opens Part 2 with a look at early childhood special education and the critical role early intervention plays in nurturing the development of young children with special needs and those who are at risk for acquiring disabilities. Chapter 15 closes Part 2 with a discussion of transition from secondary school and the responsibility educators and parents share in preparing students with exceptionalities for adulthood. Chapters 6 through 14, the chapters that fall between early intervention and transition, introduce you to the definitions, prevalence, causes, historical background, assessment techniques, instructional strategies, placement alternatives, and current issues and future trends for specific categories of exceptional educational needs, including children who are gifted and talented.
KEY TEXT FEATURES ESSAYS BY SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS
New to this edition, each chapter opens with a first-person essay by a special education teacher. For example, you will get to know Douglas Jackson of El Paso, Texas, a special educator with 17 years experience who uses puppet plays to teach students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Diane Ellis shares some of her multifaceted responsibilities as a special educator who selects and designs assistive technologies for students with autism and severe disabilities in Nebraska. Michelle Fundora San, just beginning her second year of teaching students with emotional and behavioral disorders at a middle school in Miami, describes her experience and perspectives as a newcomer to the profession. Jeanna Mora Dowse shares her experiences working as an itinerant teacher of Navajo children with visual impairments in Arizona. Drawn from urban, suburban, and rural school districts across the country, the 15 featured teachers share personal experiences and wisdom on topics such as "what I like best about being a special educator," "my biggest challenge," "my most significant accomplishment," and "suggestions for someone considering a career in special education.
FOCUS QUESTIONS
Each chapter begins with five questions that provide a framework for studying the chapter and its implications. These Focus Questions serve as discussion starters for introducing, overviewing, concluding, or reviewing.
CEC PERFORMANCE-BASED STANDARDS AND PRAXIS II TESTS
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