Category: Severe Disabilities

This means that children who are disabled are guaranteed free public education that will suit their needs. Going against this is considered a violation of their constitutional rights. The principle of zero reject is both a good social policy and a civil right under the equal protection doctrine, rooted in the social and individual utilitarianism of educating all students.

Zero reject applies to students aged between 3 and 21 years, irrespective of how severe their disability is. As defined by the IDEA, the goal of this principle is to ensure that all students (from 3 through 21 years) will have a free appropriate public education (FAPE) provided at public expense, no matter how severe their disabilities are. This principle is applicable for the state as well as all of its school districts, state-operated programs, like schools for students with auditory or visual impairments, private schools (in case the public system puts a student into a private school), psychiatric hospitals, and organizations for people with other disabilities.

To benefit from the zero reject principle, the following two eligibility criteria need to be met:

1.  A student must have a disability covered by the IDEA

2.      Due to the disability, the student requires special education and related services

Thus, under the IDEA, if no disability is determined, the student won’t have any right to receive special education or any additional assessment related to special education. However, if the evaluation reveals that the student has a disability, the evaluation process must classify special education, along with related services the student will get. This information is crucial to devise a suitable plan for the student’s education and decide where that student will be educated.

Under the zero reject principle, IDEA also regulates how students with disabilities are eligible for protection and how schools may discipline them using several general principles, some of which are:

·         No cessation: The school may not suspend or expel a student with a disability for over 10 school days in any single school year, irrespective of the violation of a school code.

·         Equal treatment: The school may, subject to special provisions, discipline students with disabilities to the same extent and in the same way as their counterparts without disabilities for the same offense.

·         Unique circumstances: To discipline a student with a disability, when the school is determining if it should change the student’s placement, it may take into account any unique circumstances relating to the student, including behavior in violating a school code.

This means that children who are disabled are guaranteed free public education that will suit their needs. Going against this is considered a violation of their constitutional rights. The principle of zero reject is both a good social policy and a civil right under the equal protection doctrine, rooted in the social and individual utilitarianism of educating all students.

Zero reject applies to students aged between 3 and 21 years, irrespective of how severe their disability is. As defined by the IDEA, the goal of this principle is to ensure that all students (from 3 through 21 years) will have a free appropriate public education (FAPE) provided at public expense, no matter how severe their disabilities are. This principle is applicable for the state as well as all of its school districts, state-operated programs, like schools for students with auditory or visual impairments, private schools (in case the public system puts a student into a private school), psychiatric hospitals, and organizations for people with other disabilities.

To benefit from the zero reject principle, the following two eligibility criteria need to be met:

1.  A student must have a disability covered by the IDEA

2.      Due to the disability, the student requires special education and related services

Thus, under the IDEA, if no disability is determined, the student won’t have any right to receive special education or any additional assessment related to special education. However, if the evaluation reveals that the student has a disability, the evaluation process must classify special education, along with related services the student will get. This information is crucial to devise a suitable plan for the student’s education and decide where that student will be educated.

Under the zero reject principle, IDEA also regulates how students with disabilities are eligible for protection and how schools may discipline them using several general principles, some of which are:

·         No cessation: The school may not suspend or expel a student with a disability for over 10 school days in any single school year, irrespective of the violation of a school code.

·         Equal treatment: The school may, subject to special provisions, discipline students with disabilities to the same extent and in the same way as their counterparts without disabilities for the same offense.

·         Unique circumstances: To discipline a student with a disability, when the school is determining if it should change the student’s placement, it may take into account any unique circumstances relating to the student, including behavior in violating a school code.

Your kid may say that they get lost in class. They may say that they hate it when people talk too much. They may say that they don’t understand what is going on in school.

Your kid may feel like ‘word work’ is a lot of work. Some kids do not have a way with words. Children with subpar vocabulary or word knowledge have problems with verbal comprehension. They may struggle with new ideas in school.

Kids with poor comprehension may know the meanings of words but struggle to learn or recall the definitions. They may have issues explaining which words go or share a common category. For instance, cats, dogs, and horses all go because they are all domesticated animals. This skill is called categorical knowledge.

Your kid may have trouble finding a similar word to explain their ideas due to insufficient knowledge of synonyms or grade-level vocabulary. If your kid struggles with vocabulary or general comprehension, they are likely to have difficulties in school, particularly in language arts.

Kids who read well but who do not understand what they read could have reading comprehension problems. If your kid cannot tell a story back to you after reading it or cannot answer questions about a book you read, they struggle with comprehension.

It may also be that your kid learns a lot on topics of interest but gleans very little from content learned in school. Although your kid might understand and remember non-fiction, factual, and black-and-white contents, they may struggle to read fiction books with a more open-ended nature.

Kids with poor verbal comprehension have a harder time writing. Your kid may have trouble writing because their thoughts don’t quite make it onto the paper.

It may be that they can think of the words but are not quite sure how to spell them or construct complete sentences. This skill is called written expression. Often, a kid with verbal comprehension problems can verbally share many creative ideas but struggles to express them in written form.

Problems in verbal comprehension can impact social skills. In younger kids, verbal comprehension may not be as essential because it is less essential to social interaction. A young kid can play and interact on the playground without talking too much. However, as your kid gets older, they will be expected to understand what other kids say and follow a fluid conversation by making comments, sharing emotions, and drawing meaningful conclusions.

Your teenager may need to describe something to a friend. If your kid has poor comprehension skills, they may not follow the discussion or maintain social interaction. This is a nutshell, explains why verbal comprehension is so essential. If you want to what do when your child struggles with verbal comprehension, click here.

If your child is having issues with verbal comprehension, It may be comforting to know that it is a skill that can be improved with systematic instruction. That is, if your kid struggles with vocabulary and word knowledge, it may be that they or they need more explicit practice.

Activating background knowledge: Educators can introduce new topics by showing pictures, maps, or information about places the kid already knows about or has been to before. These cues will trigger the brain to connect something unknown to something known. Making connections to background information and giving context to new learning can help kids grow in their comprehension.

Visual learners: Visual learners tend to appreciate pictures, images, and visual models. In class, non-verbal prompts are best. For instance, the educator can point to what to do next or physically model how to do a task. Giving checklists, graphic organizers, and visual schedules can also aid in comprehension for a visual learner.

Kinesthetic learners, must ‘touch it’ to get it. Educators can give manipulatives, objects, and experiential opportunities to help them learn best. The educator might tap your kids’s paper, hand them their contents, or pat them on the back. These non-verbal prompts can be much more efficient and less distracting than verbal directions.

Kinesthetic students learn better when they can integrate movements with their learning. Doing a ‘walk and talk’ or some other learning activity that involves movement may help. Kinesthetic learners may learn new spelling words by writing them in the sand or dirt.

Some kinesthetic kids learn the best while outdoors. Knowing that your kid is a visual or kinesthetic learner rather than a verbal learner can go a long way to help make learning fun and to avoid frustration.

Can you think of any additional ways to help a child that has issues with verbal comprehension?

If your child is having issues with verbal comprehension, It may be comforting to know that it is a skill that can be improved with systematic instruction. That is, if your kid struggles with vocabulary and word knowledge, it may be that they or they need more explicit practice.

Activating background knowledge: Educators can introduce new topics by showing pictures, maps, or information about places the kid already knows about or has been to before. These cues will trigger the brain to connect something unknown to something known. Making connections to background information and giving context to new learning can help kids grow in their comprehension.

Visual learners: Visual learners tend to appreciate pictures, images, and visual models. In class, non-verbal prompts are best. For instance, the educator can point to what to do next or physically model how to do a task. Giving checklists, graphic organizers, and visual schedules can also aid in comprehension for a visual learner.

Kinesthetic learners, must ‘touch it’ to get it. Educators can give manipulatives, objects, and experiential opportunities to help them learn best. The educator might tap your kids’s paper, hand them their contents, or pat them on the back. These non-verbal prompts can be much more efficient and less distracting than verbal directions.

Kinesthetic students learn better when they can integrate movements with their learning. Doing a ‘walk and talk’ or some other learning activity that involves movement may help. Kinesthetic learners may learn new spelling words by writing them in the sand or dirt.

Some kinesthetic kids learn the best while outdoors. Knowing that your kid is a visual or kinesthetic learner rather than a verbal learner can go a long way to help make learning fun and to avoid frustration.

Can you think of any additional ways to help a child that has issues with verbal comprehension?