Do we need special education anymore? Some parents might say no—that a regular class with high expectations, possibly some support, is all that is necessary.
Arne Duncan has stated that students with disabilities should rise to the same level as other students. He has called for a “major shift” in how special education students are treated. What do you think that means? I think it means no more special ed.
This anti-special ed. notion showed up to me recently in an old King of the Hill episode about NCLB and testing. To increase test scores, a stereotypical, lazy principal stuck equally lazy students (who would lower the scores) into a self-contained special ed. class. There they could get out of the test. Hank found out and got the students to work hard and they eventually got stellar scores. The takeaway—NCLB is great and self-contained special ed. classes are useless (for anyone), and teachers running such classes are dunderheads. Yes, the teacher of the self-contained class was portrayed as such. The class was insulting.
For such a silly show, this message packed a punch. The special ed./no special ed. argument has always run parallel to NCLB. Having taught in this area for many years, high expectations have always been part of the profession that I know, so much so, that when NCLB advocates began attacking teachers with the “soft-bigotry of low expectations” line, it seemed ludicrous. Why would any teacher go into teaching without high expectations? But why must high-expectations always mean the same expectations? Race to the Top and Common Core State Standards are no better.
Shouldn’t there be a demand for more and better assistance to address young people with learning difficulties instead of pretending these difficulties and differences do not exist? Should we not have evolved to a better place in public schooling? I thought we were the country that embraced diversity.
My fear is that by saying special ed. students can and should do Common Core and master the tests like their peers, parents will see outside services dwindle. Instead of embracing differences in children, there will be (already is) a sense that if any parent seeks special assistance they aren’t expecting the best (always inclusion) for their child.
Inclusion isn’t always a perfect solution. AlterNet recently posted “Is Your School District Taking the Right Approach to Special Education?” By Laurie Levy, which showed that all might not be well with inclusion classes and she argues for a continuum of special education services. But the idea that all students with cognitive or intellectual disabilities or mild learning disabilities should master regular class material has become sacrosanct in some circles. IDEA pushed this thinking and Arne Duncan might seal the deal. This push for sameness is troubling.
Don’t forget, getting rid of SPED services will cost less.
I would argue that a good self-contained classroom could be a lifeline for students with disabilities. I’m not talking just about severe disabilities. Children with an array of learning disabilities, including autism, not easily addressed in a regular class, with a regular teacher, thrive with extra attention and assistance in a well-run self-contained class, or a class or two with the resource class model. Students get more individualized attention, with fewer students, and a teacher and assistants and aides with special preparation.
One of my favorite examples justifying special education involves the late great psychologist Bernard Rimland known for throwing out the ridiculous notion that autism is caused by cold, uncaring mothers. Rimland’s child had autism and this is what he wrote about his son’s class:
Much as my wife and I would like to have our autistic son Mark be able to cope successfully in a normal school, it is very clear to us that he could not have done so. He has come along much farther than we ever dared hope, and we are quite confident it is because he was always in special classes, taught by experienced, skilled, caring teachers, exhibiting monumental patience, who had gone to great lengths to train themselves in methods that would help Mark and children like him achieve their full potential.
Certainly, with such classes in regular schools now, care should be taken to include students in regular school activities, and students without disabilities should be educated about the importance of student acceptance. Buddy tutorial programs, recess, sports and the arts might all be well-designed to include students with disabilities. Students with disabilities should be able to float effortlessly into an array of regular classes and special classes with more support.
Inclusion, with support, should always be an option. But parents should not be made to feel bad if their student would benefit from a self-contained or resource class. These classes should be bolstered and incorporated into the overall school setting. They could and should bring out the very best qualities in students. We should be proud, not ashamed of this.
The reality is that discrepancies in learning should be evaluated honestly, that no child is like any other child for the most part, and that it will help all children if we embrace differences instead of pretending they don’t exist. I’d like to see an IEP for every student.
If we don’t do this—what will become of students with differences, who don’t conform, but with the right kind of support might succeed? What about children who don’t master the Common Core State Standards or the tests that go with them? Without special ed. where will they go?
B. Rimland. (1995). “Inclusive Education: Right For Some.” In J.M. Kaufman & Daniel P. Hallahan (Eds.), The Illusion of Full Inclusion: A Comprehensive Critique of a Current Special Education Bandwagon. (p. 289). Austin, Texas: Pro-Ed.
Jupiter Mom says
I agree. It’s silly for Arne Duncan to say such things when the law is clear. I’m no attorney but we learned (and practiced) in special ed that students must be given the “Least Restrictive Environment” for learning that they could function in. And another Fed law- that is the ADA along with other very relevant laws, make it so Special Ed is here to stay.
However, because of the toxic testing mania, all who can hold a pencil are tested. This is what Duncan’s message translates to- all kids need to take the test. We just learned that all our courses in FL will now require an end of course exam (EOC), which measures growth. All courses means everything with a course number. Well, speech therapy has a course number. It would be laughable if it weren’t so harmful to education.
Here in FL, it is really time to push back against this ridiculousness. I have appealed to our local school board and now they are looking into how they can push back. I hope it is not just talk.
Thanks for your blog!
Nancy Bailey says
Thank you. You are right that the testing is very much out of control. Thank you for appealing to your school board. Let us know what happens. Hoping for a turnaround.
Leah says
As I sat in a meeting today regarding one of my students with disibilities . It was concludec that the student is SDD but still won’t ever be able to retain or learn any grade level standards, but will remain in a Gen Ed setting because of high cognitive scores. My question was so the student will just me passed on and relieves pull out services. My question why is there not a placement for these types of students especially if we know then will never grasp standards at least there could be s setting where they still attend school still folllow but be taught life skills , survival skills and the basics reading , writing, and arithmetic, It worked for our grandparents who raised us it could definitely work for today.
Nancy Bailey says
Good question, Leah! I think a lot of changes happened after the reauthorization of PL 94-142 to IDEA. Many parents want general education and don’t realize that the class size might be too large, or the general ed. teacher might not have the preparation to work with the child. Goo
Debbie says
I share this concern and have been teaching children with special needs long enough to wonder how a generation has gotten so far from where we started.. How have we fallen for the standardization of our children and each other? Why we can’t walk the talk of celebrating our differences and diversity we know to exist? We all know the uniqueness/differences in others – our actors, artists, philosophers, inventors, quirky friends, our spouses even our own children. So why -WHY do we think all children learn the same way , at the same pace, or need to learn the same things based on their age/grade. I see too many children struggle (gen ed or special ed ) with being able to shine & be the best they can be .. the standardized box is a pretty illusion we try to stuff every child into at great cost to the child.
Nancy Bailey says
Excellent point! We really need to expand instead of narrowing programs offered to students in school. That’s what I hear you saying, Debbie. I love your emphasis on the arts and quirkiness. Thanks!
Erwin Rysz says
I no longer know what special ed is….or was.
The simple truth is that all children have different abilities and many have difficulties and yes, disabilities. My own daughter is just one step above being quadriplegic and certainly mentally retarded – in addition to being blind and having hearing loss.. I don’t know how she’d fare in a public high school. Nor do I know how most special ed kids would do in her facility. One thing I am aware of however, is that so much funding, resources and spending is now going to places where it was never intended.
In general terms the scores for American students have remained flat for over 20 years and we have nothing to show for how much we’ve spent in that time. Look out a bit further and note how Title 1 has similarly been a bottomless pit with a similar lack of progress. The Americans with disabilities Act was so well intended…
until the ed schools, the local school administrations and the state and Federal departments of education got their mits involved.
The real issue is focus and funding.
For whom were these schools and programs built? the easy, politically correct answer is to say “for the kids”, but if that’s the case, then expect more of the same.
in truth, the schools and the whole range of programs and methods which follow, were done for who pays the bill-. the kids are the product. We the taxpayers are who the schools are for and we’ve been had.
Nancy Bailey says
You are correct that students have differing abilities. But on your other statements I couldn’t disagree with you more. Our public schools have served the masses for years! And they have done quite well. I am curious, did your child with disabilities attend public schools? Why are you so bitter towards a free public school education for all children? Thank you for your comment even though it is negative.
Willow says
God forbid a parent of a student with disabilities says something negative about self contained classrooms that excluide students from General educaion and curriculum in the name of a “continuem of services”
If a student with disabilities disaplays safe behaviors and is able to attend to instruction in a General Educaiton Classroom it is the school district’s responsibility to provide supports in general educaiton. Period.
Erwin actually doers make a very good point, that school districts have been able to use the contuem of services to circumvent the intention of IDEA to provide inclusive education by creating cost effective jails for students at their local school.
Nancy Bailey says
Thank you for commenting on this older post which is still controversial. I agree that students who can learn in a general education class should be there. As a resource teacher, I collaborated with general education teachers to ensure my students progressed in regular classes and worked hard to keep them there.
However, I’ve also known large classes where one or two students act out and disrupt the whole class due to IDEA’s push, which is unhelpful for all involved. Schools do have the right to assist ALL students, but some students will get better help in a self-contained or resource class with an IEP AND parent input.
It also always amazes me that parents who insist on inclusion, get frustrated when it doesn’t work, and wind up putting their child in a special school. Tell me what that’s about please.
We need a continuum of services because not all parents think like you, and with IEPs parents should have input.
Jenni says
I struggle with this daily. My daughter is included in general education with the assistance of an aide for 4 of her 8 middle school classes. the other classes are taught in a resource room setting or in a class with other students who have iep’s and are learning at a slower pace. I see how this has greatly benefitted her and has kept the expectations high for her. She exceeds our expectations each year.
We know she would not be at her level of achievement without being included in the general education population. Self-contained rooms, especially those for students who are cognitively delayed, often turn into baby-sitting rooms at young grades and then “life-skills’ classes as the student progresses through the system.
We cannot get rid of special education because too many teachers are not prepared for it. I think all colleges and universities should require all students who are majoring in education to earn a minor in special education. We will always need special education, but we should strive for a continuum of choices for our students so that hey will indeed be educated in the LRE.
Nancy Bailey says
Thank you, Jenni. I’m glad your daughter had a good gen. ed. situation. Sorry your self-contained classes are lacking. Life skills can be good though, no? Maybe your school needs to revamp their SPED programs. I agree about a continuum of choices.
Mango says
Why are life skills bad? At some point, your daughter is either going to get a job, go to college, get an apartment/house, own a car, take a bus, train or plane, cook for herself, etc. If she cannot do those things, how can she be successful? My state added a required class in personal finance because there are thousands of general education students who couldn’t figure out interest rates, complete tax forms, or handle checking accounts and credit cards. Until last year, I taught students with Asperger’s and high-functioning autism. They are all in general education academic classes, quite a few have or are taking Advanced Placement classes. I’m proud to say one of my students was popularly elected as vice-president for the student council. and others are in National Honor Society. However, most of these students have no life skills. I spent 2 summers where my district chose to pay me an additional hourly rate to teach a student how to ride a bus, handle a debit card, shop from a list and get some very basic job skills. If we had offered those to her in school, the district could have saved a lot of money. Life Skills aren’t combing your hair, washing your face or doing laundry; its a combination of skills necessary for life. EVERYBODY needs them.
pam says
I tottaly agree. . Inclusion is not all it is cracked up to be. It is just a way to save money. I am one of those Aides who goes to inclusion classes and sits besides.children with intellectual disabilities who are made to sit beside Their peers and made to feel totally inferior.they look so sad and lost as they are made to sit in A class on grade level not knowing anything that is going on. how can you function in a 4th grade class if you are reading on a pre primer level no amount of support can bridge that gap. I go to these classes with an autistic child but the learning support children cling to me like a life preserver. when I come into the classroom they begin to ask for the help that they deserve and need. the children want me to sit beside them and help them like I do the children I Bring into the class .the powers that be never take into account how the children feel
kathleen says
What a great, well written article. I especially loved the Rimland quote. I wish the higher ups in the Chicago Public Schools would read this article. CPS has been closing self-contained classrooms and dumping the students with with disabilities into general education classroom without the needed supports. This is done to free up space in overcrowded schools and to save monies. When teachers ask for the data to support this inclusion mania we are ignored. I have seen children who scored at the second grade level on individualized diagnostic tests stay in inclusion to high school even though the score never increased past the second grade level. Services were never increased for these children inspite of little or no growth. What happened to the continuum? I was at a school where we usually made AYP until CPS increased the caseloads from 10-12 to 24+ in the inclusion programs. Scores dropped-teachers and parents complained-no one cared at CPS.
Nancy Bailey says
Thanks for sharing, Kathleen. I read about the SPED situation there awhile back, and I am sorry for what has happened to CPS all around.
Jessica says
I teach in Michigan where we have center based schools (still public schools) for students with severe and moderate cognitive impairments. I teach at one and I spent 6 years in an Severely multiply impaired room (6-12) and I am starting my fourth year in a moderately impaired room (ages 15-26). I have great respect for inclusion but for our gen ed teachers, can they be responsible for tube feedings throughout the day? Diaper changes, catheterizations, therapies etc. Is that fair to the rest of their class? Is it fair to the teacher? Even if you have an aide, it’s incredibly busy. My MOCI students can’t keep up with the CC standards but there are the highest standards for them in all academic standards (and yes we work on life skills and work skills). I am equally concerned for my students and students in gen ed as this common core train keeps rolling through- taking the love of reading and learning away from them. Arne Duncan’s idea of no special ed is needed is ignorant in my mind. While there are plenty of special ed students who do benefit from inclusion there are plenty who would suffer greatly. Not only that, there are plenty of teachers who would be over- burdened more so than they already are. Then there are the students, I thought we were in the business of providing the best education for everyone. This doesn’t sound like a win for students or teachers.
Nancy Bailey says
Jessica, I am marveling at your work experience and I agree that regular ed. teachers would have a difficult time working with students with more severe disabilities. I understand the challenges your moderate students must face with CC. I wish you the very best.
Kathy says
I have taught children with severe disabilities for almost 36 years. I currently teach in a self-contained classroom with 6 students and 5 adults. One student has a 1:1 nurse. Another has a 1:1 paraprofessional. I also have 2 classroom paraprofessionals. I send 2 students out to mainstreaming when appropriate. I have seen one student, who has multiple severe disabilities, become more alert and aware of his surroundings. He is able to use simple communication devices to communicate. He went from not looking at objects/pictures/words/etc to being able to identify many of those. Another student, no longer in my class, went from self-contained with some mainstreaming to losing his MI eligibility and going to regular ed with a 1:1 para to meet his physical needs. I could go on and on. There needs to be a continuum of services. I hold my students to high standards. They may not be Arne’s idea of high standards, but they are for my students. I believe they can learn. I know they will learn. I pray that some will move to less restrictive settings with the proper supports in place.
Kathy
Nancy Bailey says
Kathy, Thanks! This is a beautiful explanation. Every child is different and special ed. should offer services at different levels. IEP! Thank you for a great example!
Stefanie Paul says
I am a teacher of the deaf working in an urban public high school. I see this trend as very threatening to my students. We, as case managers, work with the IEP team to find the best fit for every student. That means inclusion, self contained or mainstreamed and that is done for every class the student takes. More and more, I see the students coming into our program with IEPs which insist on inclusion for everything whether it fits that child or not. I am afraid some of their parents have been sold a bill of goods that says inclusion is the only way to go. Our self contained classes challenge our students with the same curriculum as the mainstream with adaptations and accommodations needed in a smaller group with pacing that leads to success. While their IEPs still require a teacher of the deaf if they are “included”, I fear that parents will be misguided into thinking that all that child needs is an interpreter in the mainstream so that we, as a program will be less costly. The parents, wanting to see their child as no different than any other, may just take the bait and bye bye special services for some of our most needy deaf children. Worrying to say the least.
Nancy Bailey says
Stefanie, You make a serious point which goes to the heart of the inclusion push. Have the reformers used the emotions of parents to get rid of special ed. services? Thank you and good luck with your students.
Laurie Levy says
A follow up to Lily’s story included in my AlterNet post referenced in your piece: After failing to meet her needs for two years, Lily’s public school sent her to a private school for children with significant learning challenges. The public school had been reducing pull out and special education support services due to financial constraints. Rather than viewing each child as a unique learner and following the child’s IEP goals, the school district tried to push most of the children into inclusion classrooms, with the “leftovers” being placed in a limited number of self-contained classrooms. Lily didn’t fit into either model the school district had adopted. So far, she seems happy and comfortable in her new school, and hopefully it will meet her needs. Thank you for this excellent article.
Nancy Bailey says
Laurie,
Thank you for this update and for your article. Isn’t it interesting that Lily is now in a private school for students with special needs when the initial plan for her was inclusion in the pubic school? It is sad to hear about the financial constraints of the public school. This seems like your typical privatization scenario.
But I hope Lily thrives in her new placement.
Lynn Manuell says
I both teach special ed and have a learning disability. I now teach theatre to pre-k -4th grade special needs self contained students who benefit greatly from the content and communication this provides. I have seen my students come into my classroom after taking a standardized test and throw desks yelling “I am so stupid…I don’t want to be here.” The oxymoron is having people with special needs taking standardized tests period. There are alternatives.
I see one eye at a time, I learned while in grad school that the reason I was totally unable to comprehend algebra was dyscalculia. If I see a letter and number together in a sequence my brain says “this does not go together.” I was previously a theatre company manager that did settlements constantly and so numbers were my life. When I took my teaching exam a friend who understood algebra tried to teach me the use of it using numbers from settlements…it didn’t matter my brain still didn’t get it.
Luckily I sent to school in the 1970’s. I opted into an active learning program that granted credits not grades and where I honed the areas I actually was good at and used in my life. I never got passed pre-algebra. I got math and science credits doing accounting and life sciences. I didn’t have to take an exit exam so I went on to two masters degrees and a national board certification in teaching – which I have to maintain as I cannot pass algebra and while in NY our scores are amortized in other places they are not. I am a published author and in Who’s Who but if I were in school today I would not be able to get out of high school.
When working with special needs students I have found many like me that excel in some areas and have a deficit in others. Rather than hone the skills that they excel in most students spend all of their time with tutors in areas they have no interest or lack skills in. It is debilitating to them intellectually and it doesn’t bring society excellence because we are focused on lack not on positives. Smaller class size, individualization and alternatives to standardization is really the key…but it appears we are going in the opposite direction. I do not understand where Arne Duncan is coming up with these ideas, but as a friend pointed out if you asked him to take a neuro surgery exam now it would be the same as asking some of our students to take grade level standardized testing.
Nancy Bailey says
Lynn,
This comment has so many interesting points! I especially like that you shared with us your experience with Dyscalculia, difficulty with numbers. Children with LD often have particular areas of weakness, which, when identified, can be circumvented. Identify the weakness and correct and/or move on to the strengths! Most of us have strengths and weaknesses and we gravitate to what we do well. Your solutions are perfect.
This is one of the reasons it is terrible that so many schools (esp. poor schools) have eliminated their arts programs in favor of academic drill.
Thank you.
Kevin Ohlandt says
I think it would be a very huge mistake to get rid of special education and I will do everything in my power to fight it. There are many reasons why special education was created in the first place, most of which was the abuse that was inflicted on students with disabilities. I don’t mean to sound offending, but they aren’t the same as everyone else. If special education were to be taken away, the freedoms and protections these students earned would be gone.
I have no doubt there are many great special education teachers. But not every teacher has a clue about special education. The only protection parents have is the law. Does it cost more money? Yes, but it’s worth it. I am a firm believer in inclusion, but sometimes I have to admit I wonder what it would be like for my son surrounded by peers who are disabled as well. But my son is considered “basic” special education in our state, and to be mixed with the more complex students would be a disservice to both my son and the other students.
Special ed is not an easy topic to grasp, for educators and parents. There is no “right” or “wrong” thing, it’s for accommodating the individual student, not the rest of the class.
Nancy Bailey says
Kevin, Thank you for sharing your story. I think you make some excellent points. Disabilities are complex and very individual. That’s why IEPs are so important. I’m hoping things turn around.
Robin says
I teach Special Education, Resource Room, in an affluent district in NJ. I witnessed firsthand the breakdown of Common Core and district Common Assessments(administered under the guise of practicing for PARCC). My hard working students reached a level of frustration that was sickening to watch and bordered on abuse. They cried, stimmed, pulled eyebrows and eyelashes out, and displayed many other forms of anxiety during testing. It created a culture of fear; for the next few days their only concern was “Do we have those tests again today?” I felt totally out of control and helpless. It was a terribly challenging week, to say the least.
ronee groff says
This IS child abuse!!!!! Where are the organizations for the protection of these kids and their teachers is a mystery to me!!!!! Just following orders or quiting does not help the kids and being upset is not an answer but a complaint. I recognize your caring and humanity but it is not enought when you are under attack but to build your numbers and beat your drum and find how to beat back these destructive administrative and public private partnerships from winning!! Special Education has been underattack this it was first made into a Federal Mandate and there is enough proof of that over the last decades but to do it in such a brutal and destructive way by making the teachers implement its destruction is tragic and disgusting!! Ask your union or your non-profits if they are shouting from the mountain tops or letting this crap (PARCC spelled backwards) destroy the golden jewels of our Democracy, that of our education system as a whole and special education as an amazing tribute to the concerns for the individual. Measuring and sorting the next workforce and finding the customers for tech corpos and the building of a monopoly for the international business of Pearson is not what this country is about….but is now!!! Why? Because everyone is protectiong themselves at the risk of losing it all. I could lnot be more disgusted!!!!!
Nancy Byrnes says
This is disturbing on so many levels.
DyslexiaToday says
First of all Autism is NOT a learning disability! if you all don’t even know what the 13 disability categories are in IDEA then you really have no business commenting on the issue of SPED. Second, Special education is not a place it is a continuum of services and supports and it is barbaric and old school to think that SPED means separate classrooms. Third, the majority of kids, 80% of SPED kids have average to above average intelligence and can and should be expected to achieve as well as the general population if special education is working properly and supporting disabilities appropriately. So NO SPED in not going away, it is being reshaped to be a service to those with disabilities not a separate room for them as many seem to prefer.
Nancy Bailey says
No autism is not a learning disability, but many students with autism do have learning disabilities.. Some are gifted too. Others are twice exceptional. And you don’t need to have autism and still have learning disabilities. And a continuum of services would include separate classes. Many students with disabilities–not just dyslexia–might thrive with special help by a special teacher in a self-contained classroom.
These classes were negatively portrayed because they cost more to run and some parents weren’t happy with the results. But my quote above from Bernard Rimland indicates, what many parents might still want self-contained. Why shouldn’t those services still be provided? Like Rimland, I don’t think it is fair for a few parents and Arne Duncan & others to decide that those programs need to be eliminated.
The concern here is that all SPED services are in danger.
MonicaNY says
Nancy, another great article. As you know, this is exactly what was happening with my son last year. It was why I pulled him to homeschool. Between the inappropriate placement and the Common Core curriculum, he was unable to learn and calling himself stupid. He believed he was bad and a failure (his words). We are definitely moving to a time where special education won’t be special anymore and the IEP won’t be for an individual anymore. I said from the beginning that getting rid of Special Ed in public school is part of Duncan’s agenda. It’s why he weakened the IDEA. It we only have successful learners in school, defined by assessments of course, we will look much better with regards to PISA.
Nancy Bailey says
Thank you for sharing, Monica. You are really perceptive on what’s going on. The only thing I would add is that special ed. has never been fully embraced by policy makers. Duncan follows a long line of individuals who want no more special ed. It is costly and they don’t want to pay for it. Keep me posted on what is going on.
CherylKH says
As a parent who (so far) hopes to keep my ASD child mainstreamed, this move to reduce special education is still alarming for I don’t know what the future holds for us. He’s 5 and doing wonderfully in kindergarten but the road ahead is uncertain. I’m appalled at the amount of money that’s being spent for a one-size-fits-all approach to education, yet nothing is being done to address the overcrowding in the schools. It seems so obvious that the best way to lead our children to success is to teach them in ways that they’ll learn–but how can a teacher rely on instinct and common sense with so many students and pressure to do it one way? I feel like CC, Arne Duncan and this expensive strategy is one giant experiment guaranteed to fail, and while that may be interesting fodder in the history books someday, I’m not willing to subject my children to it. But what are my options? This battle is likely to take years. What can we do now to get out of this mess?
Mark says
I have ADD or HDDD or something to that extent. I grew up in Chicago and attended special EDD rooms that I would have to go to once a day. i remember feeling so disconnected and embarrassed. My class room would be walking down a straight line on our way to gym and I would where off to the left where the special edd room was. I tried ti cover it up by saying that i was helping teachers with extra work, but they soon caught on. I feel as though they just cattled me through the school system and they helped me very little. I think one thing that would help people with learning disabilities is to sit down and talk to them about what they have, is it possible to outgrow it, or will it always be a challenge. I really didn’t get any insight of what I have and to this day I still struggle. I remember taking these weird tests in the 1970, Like shapes and reasoning, but they felt very odd, I can’t even explain, but the test alone made you feel insignificant. I realize each case is different for people with learning disabilities. One day I would love to be a speaker on this topic, because I climbed tremendous mountains. Thanks for the article.
Nancy Bailey says
Thank you for sharing, Mark. I’m glad you are doing well today and you make excellent points.