special education

Who are students with special needs?

Students with special educational needs are those students with or without disabilities who present more difficulties than other students of his or her age. They present special talents and to be given appropriate attention they need to be provided with support resources, modification or accommodations to one or various aspects of the school curriculum and to the educational facilities.

Categories of disabilities are:

• specific learning disabilities
• Speech or language impairments
  
• Emotional/behavioral problems
• health impairments
• Deaf/hard of hearing
  
• Deaf/Blindness
• Visual Impairments
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Orthopedic Impairments
• Multiple disabilities
• Autism
• Intellectual and other developmental disabilities
  

What about special education in Belize?
The country of Belize has only seven educators whose focus is special education. The average primary-school teacher/student ratio is 1/31, with no aides. Except for severely disturbed or severely limited children, all students with special needs are in regular classrooms. The education system is close to 100 percent inclusive. However, teacher preparation for dealing with student impediments to learning varies considerably throughout the country.

Why couldn't Belizean teachers develop their knowledge and skills for special education through higher education? Access to higher education is limited in Belize, as it is in other developing countries. There are only a few colleges, a limited number of college faculty with expertise in special education, and limited access by potential students because of cost, distance to college sites, and little discretionary time of primary school teachers for advanced learning.

e Special Education Unit (SEU) of the government of Belize is committed to providing appropriate educational support to children and youth with special educational needs. The nature of the need may be physical, sensory, intellectual, behavioral, emotional or multiple. Services provided under SEU include screening, diagnostic assessments, teacher-training, parent and school support and specific therapies for students with special needs. The SEU operates on the philosophy that it is the human right of ALL children to have the opportunity to achieve his or her individual best in all aspects of life. The SEU recognizes its response to pupils’ needs not only as a moral duty but also as a genuine social responsibility and obligation to the equitable development of all children.

Two major principles must govern the provision of education for children with special education needs in Belize: the principle of Inclusion and the principle of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Inclusive education demands a system which seeks to develop a better quality of life for all without any form of discrimination and that recognizes and accepts diversity as a basis for social coexistence. The principle of inclusion is based on the affirmation of the same right of equal education for every person to learn within his or her own community. The Least Restrictive Environment recognizes the wide range of diversity among students at either end of the learning continuum as well as for unique forms of need. This principle recognizes that where it is not in the best interest of the child to be included in the class he or she may need a different setting for the teaching learning process, for example special schools and classes, resource classrooms and home schooling.

Special education is provided at a central school for children who are severely challenged physically and in terms of learning ability. The approach to special education has changed from exclusion, to mainstreaming, to inclusion. District Centres provide support to parents whose children have special education needs.

In Belize special education has changes from seclusion t mainstreaming to inclusion. It includes schools in areas such as:

1.Special Needs Association of Toledo- is a community based organization that started as a support group for parents, friends and well wishers of children with special needs in Punta Gorda Town . The organization started in September 2005 and to date has a membership of fifty women, men and children with special needs. Its mission is to improve the quality of life of people with special needs by advocating for the creation of an enabling environment for them to lead economically and socially productive lives; allowing them to develop to their fullest potential while safeguarding their legal rights, and addressing their social and cultural needs. This is a very new organization and they have just recently put their mission, goals and objectives in writing. One challenge they face is finding dedicated people with loved ones with special needs to participate in the planning and fund-raising for the organization. Some families are already burdened and have difficulty making other commitments, other families are embarrassed or just don’t care enough to participate in this kind of organization. This is a wonderful idea and could be of great benefit in the community.

2. Currently the Anglican Diocese of Belize operates:

• 2 Special Education Unit

3. At Orange Walk there is the special education Unit -St Peter's School

4. At Corozal there is the special education Unit - Mary Hill R.C School

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