The Least Restrictive Environment

The federal government's goal for instruction of mentally retarded students is their education in what is termed the least restrictive environment (LRE). This goal is set forth in the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (amended in 1986 then reauthorized and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1991. The LRE has been broadly defined as the handicapped student's full integration into his or her family, home, and community. This concept is also known as mainstreaming. Mainstreaming even mildly mentally retarded students has met with resistance in the nation's elementary and secondary schools, based partly on the perception that students identified as mentally retarded are more severely and clinically disabled. The future implications of this trend are that mildly mentally retarded students will continue to be placed in restricted learning environments, and denied access to the education mainstream.

The appropriateness of education placement decisions are made through agreements among parents, educators, and students (if able). Winton (1993) cites research that indicates mainstreaming often creates more complications for parents than placing their children in traditional special education learning programs (p. 67). Parents of children with disabilities complain about the limited interaction with parents of children who do not have disabilities. Parents also complain about the difficulty of finding appropriate integrated servi

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g. Betancourt-Smith (1994) surveyed mainstream teachers who taught or had taught LD students in Southeast Texas. The majority of the teachers responded that their training had been inadequate in equipping them to instruct these students. Teachers also noted numerous constraints to effective mainstreaming including lack of time and lack of knowledge about the characteristics of students with differing disabilities. Only a few teachers responded that they were able to obtain support from colleagues in accommodating disabled students. The strategies used by teachers in the Betancourt-Smith (1994) study were generally those that were easy to implement and required little or no preparation time, outside help, or additional resources. The strategies were mostly "whole group accommodative" methods which could benefit the entire class as well as the disabled student. Methods which involved the sense of hearing were especially useful: teachers read material aloud, and employed the technique of oral review and repetition. Concepts were also demonstrated by the teacher visually. Another whole group strategy used was writing things on the chalkboard. Individual strategies used by teachers in the Betancourt-Smith (1994) study in

Category: Psychology - T