In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94 142) which not only ensures an appropriate education for all handicapped children but also recommends "mainstreaming" which is the integration (as much as possible) of disabled and non-disabled students within the regular educational setting. This paper presents a case study of one disabled five year old child, diagnosed as moderately retarded, who will be mainstreamed into regular school.
The child's cognitive and academic performance is described as well as his social and emotional development. This description of the case is followed by specific recommendations for educating the parents of the child as to the educational and social issues involved.
Provided recommendations covered in the paper include: providing information to parents regarding their own reactions to the child, referrals to professional help as well as problems attending to communicating with professionals, helping parents to understand the nature of their child's condition and the variety of educational services that can be provided to him in the regular classroom setting. Problems John's parents might experience regarding service provision in the regular education setting are also discussed. Also, advocacy issues are addressed.
A description of the child discussed in this paper is provided below. The assumption can be made that the description of the child's characteristics was provided by a multi-disciplinary assessment team of educators and other relevant professionals:
Age of Child: Five years [60 months]
Can speak in two or three word sentences. (Daddy go work): names simple common objects (boy, car, ice cream, hat); understands simple directions (put the shore on your foot, sit here, get your coat); knows people by name and can use gestures to convey needs or other information if there is verbal failure.
Can interact with others in simple play ac...