User:AlliH/sandbox

Least Restrictive Environment:

options for project:

-add "Exceptions to LRE" or something of the sort

-amend the existing definition of LRE in wikipedia so it is inclusive of Deaf students' variance of LRE (this may contradict the literature, which shows need for amending the literature, but that is a separate project)

-create new page "the Least Restrictive Environment for Deaf Students" or something similar

Group members:

Selena Haas Selenah (talk) 20:34, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

Potential articles to use from BU database:

"Into the turbulent mainstream" - a legal perspective on the weight to be given to the least restrictive environment in placement decisions for deaf children

Comments on the Least Restrictive Environments for Deaf-Blind Severe and Profoundly Handicapped Children.

Academic and social benefits of a co-enrollment model of inclusive education for deaf and hard-of-hearing children Selenah (talk) 20:44, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

Draft:

[Within the LRE page]

[added subsection]

Least Restrictive Environment for the Deaf

Deaf students:

The least restrictive environment states that students should be able to be educated in an environment with "non-disabled peers." However in the case of Deaf students there are many cases where a mainstream classroom is not the most inclusive, or least restrictive, environment. The NAD (National Association of the Deaf) believes that the Least Restrictive Environment for the Deaf is an environment that promotes a child's social, cognitive and emotional development with the least amount of communication and language barriers. In many cases the supposed Least Restrictive Environment leads to (linked) language deprivation and subpar educational results, and an environment with all Deaf students and those certified to communicate with the Deaf has proven to be the truly least restricting environment.

[For final draft to add more sources and cases which prove the above statement]

There are some accommodations that can be made to make a mainstream school more appropriate for a deaf child such as: Interpreters, a Deaf program within a mainstream school with Deaf peers and language models present, CART services, etc. However, these are not always successful nor the best option for every deaf child. Deaf residential and day schools provide certain benefits such as, placing Deaf students into classrooms with kids their own age, amount of hearing loss and with staff that are certified to work the deaf, that the typical LRE would not hold. Not only do Deaf schools facilitate social interaction by bringing Deaf students and staff together, but also can have specialized education equipment and extracurricular activities that are made communicably accessible to the Deaf to help promote growth emotionally and cognitively.

Benefits of the Typical Least Restrictive Environment for the Deaf

There are certain studies that have shown that the typical inclusion model for the Deaf has some benefits. A specific study found that a classroom with both hearing and Deaf and harding of hearing students actually helped improved signing development for the Deaf. It also showed improvement in certain testing scores such as reading vocabulary/comprehension and solving math problems.

[For final draft to add resources to look into each of the above accommodations and cases where they are successful and unsuccessful]

[Potential area to add: other groups where classic LRE is not always successful]

[Areas where we would like opinions: should we use D/deaf? In which cases? How is the subsection title? Should that be reworded? All constructive criticism is appreciated!]

Peer Review: Hi! You're doing a great job drafting your article! It seems as if you are making strides towards finding evidence as to why attending a mainstream school is not the LRE for a Deaf child. As long as you continue to find reliable sources and find a variety of examples that support your claim, I am sure you will have a well-developed article. I am not sure if "Exception to Classic Least Restrictive Environment" is the subsection title you are talking about, but if so, maybe you could use "variance" or "deviation from".

Good work! --Brooke hayman (talk) 04:51, 20 March 2018 (UTC)