Different exceptionalities have different learning and instructional needs. At the same time it is important to keep in mind that children are not only learning, but they are rapidly developing over their 12 years in school. This includes physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. Finally, school settings are supposed to be microcosms of the outside world where students can safely acquire and practice skills necessary to participate productively in the adult world.
Trying to accommodate these three disparate needs can prove a challenge. For example, children with learning disabilities may need intensive and specialized instruction to address reading difficulties which can best be delivered outside of a normal classroom. But the reading disabled child may be developing normally with respect to their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth. A child who is deaf may feel isolated in regular classroom and may wish to share communication and social interaction with fellow deaf students. Children who are developmentally delayed, autistic, or who lack appropriate social skills may benefit from the modeling that takes place in a regular classroom. At the same time techniques such as Intensive Behavioral Intervention, an instructional technique that can have dramatic benefits for children with autism cannot be delivered in the regular classroom.
It would seem that the two-way street, one lane withdrawing students from regular classes and the other integrating students from special education classes would be able to address the various needs.
The main debate centers on whether today’s educational system really needs both lanes. Do students really benefit from a special education classroom, even with partial integration? A number of arguments against congregated or self-contained classrooms have been advanced