Mainstreamed

One constantly battle being fought by parents and educators is whether or not we should mainstream disabilities students. This is a sensitive issue we face because there is a severity of disabilities so it is hard to classify students as a whole. So I would like to break it down as an individual situation, using myself as an example. Being a student with ADHD I was placed in a special needs class as a youngster, slowly but surely I mainstreamed myself first with math in the 3rd grade and finally with English fully mainstreamed by the 10th grade. Now this process took a lot of time and hard work by not only myself, but mostly by my mother who is a huge advocate for my education and I owe a lot to her for it. But during my processes of mainstreaming myself, I faced several walls. My socialization skills were at a low when I first started moving out of the special needs class, as well as my presence with my peers was known as “a special kid” this can cause many issues for young students, when acceptance is such a crucial part of the school system. Of course most parents are going to say education is the most important part of mainstreaming, but you have to look at the success rates of students who’s social skills were hindered by not being mainstreamed, you will see a low correlation between the two. Students need a good social environment to have good academic success. Now reality is, more goes into mainstreaming than just a social aspect, but it is a huge help when we look at student