Integration of orthopedically handicapped children in regular school programs

Includes bibliographical references (page 20)I am a teacher of the orthopedically handicapped (O.H.) and am presently teaching in a special segregated school. During the regular school year I work with E.M.R., O.H. children, but this summer I had the experience of working with 5th grade O.H. children of normal intelligence. I saw\ud these children in a new light and kept asking myself why were they not with the other children at summer sessions in regular school programs. They were doing exactly the same work as any other 5th grader as we used the same graded texts and study materials. These children were handicapped\ud by various disabilities including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy and heart disorders, but they were not affected in ways they learn to read, write or study science. They may have psychological and emotional hurdles to clear, but the learning process is the same in these children as in children who are not handicapped. These very children that the teachers wish to help might under certain best be helped in a regular classroom, but educational apartheid policy affecting teacher-training institutions, public school administration and the orientation of regular classroom teachers strike out against this child's attaining his potential. I feel that some changes are needed in the present education system. It seems to me that classes should be designed to accommodate the special and particular needs of the child, rather than trying to fit the child into an existing situation. There are adjustments needed and I feel they ought to come from the school system, rather than from the child. (See more in text.