DepEd assures adequate education for special kids

Inclusive education for learners with special needs was assured by the Department of Education (DepEd) in line with its thrust in providing quality and inclusive basic education for all.

DepEd said that it continues to provide the necessary educational interventions for learners with certain exceptionalities through its Special Education (SPED) program.

The SPED program of DepEd provides a holistic approach in catering to the needs of learners with various exceptionalities.

According to DepEd, the SPED program caters to learners with visual impairment, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, learning disability, autism spectrum disorder, communication disorder, physical disability, emotional and behavioral disorder, multiple disability with visual impairment, and to those who are orthopedically handicapped, chronically ill, and gifted and talented.

Currently, DepEd has recognized a total of 648 SPED Centers and regular schools offering the program, 471 of which are catering to elementary students and 177 are catering to High School students.

DepEd has also recorded around 250,000 enrollees with certain exceptionalities at the elementary level and around 100,000 at the high school level in School Year (SY) 2015-2016.

The instructional programs that the SPED teachers may implement include “self-contained/special class” which is a separate class for only one type of exceptionality which serves moderate to severe types of disabilities; “itinerant teaching” wherein a traveling teacher reaches out to children with special needs in other schools or at home to provide direct and consultative services; and “resource room” wherein a designated place where the child with special needs enrolled in the regular school program goes to in order to make use of the specialized equipment, either in a tutorial situation or in a small group session handled by a SPED teacher.

Other instructional programs include the “pull-out” which is a kind of program where the child enrolled in the regular class reports to the resource room for a period of time for special instructions by the SPED teacher. Another is “inclusion” where all children with disabilities, regardless of the nature and severity of their disability and need for related services, receive their total education within the regular education classroom.

The SPED Program of DepEd also includes “integration/mainstreaming” which refers to the enrollment of a child with special needs in a regular class with support services. There are two degrees of integration: Partial Integration and Full Integration. In Partial Integration/Mainstreaming, a child with special needs enrolled in a special class is integrated with regular children in non-academic activities like work education, physical education, arts, school programs, etc. , then gradually integrated in the academic subjects if qualified.

Meanwhile, in Full Integration/ Mainstreaming, a child with special needs sits in the regular class in all academic and non-academic subjects.

To ensure that capabilities of teachers are strengthened, DepEd has been provided capability trainings on a regular basis. In SY 2015-2016, 345 teachers and 45 administrators and supervisors involved in delivering quality education to learners with certain exceptionalities were given training.

Among the partners of DepEd in enhancing the capabilities of teachers handling learners with exceptionalities and in promoting the SPED advocacy are the Resources for the Blind Inc., Autism Society of the Philippines, Leonard Cheshire for the Disabled Foundation (LCDF), and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Society (ADHD Society).

The other partner organizations of DepEd for the SPED program are the Learning Disabilities Association (LDA), Philippine Association for the Intellectually Disabled (PAFID), National Association for the Gifted (NAG), Philippine Federation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PFRD), Parents Advocate for the Visually Impaired Children (PAVIC), and National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA).