Kevin is 25 years old. He is intelligent; however, he has very limited oral language skills and displays many characteristics expected of an adult with severe autism. When Kevin was 3 years old he was diagnosed with autism. He was immediately enrolled in a pre-school program for children with disabilities under Part H (now Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. At the age of 6, Kevin transitioned to kindergarten. He was in a self-contained special education classroom for children with severe disabilities for the first three years. Beginning in the third grade, Kevin was included in a regular classroom for a small portion of each day. Surprisingly to his parents and many teachers, he did better in his new placement than the special education placement. His behavior improved; his oral language improved; and his general academic performance improved. As a result of his success, Kevin's time in the inclusive setting was increased over the next several years until he was included for approximately 80% of the school day by the sixth grade. Kevin continued to progress. When he went to junior high school, Kevin's time in a special education setting was again increased; he was placed in some regular classes, mostly those with a lower academic expectations. In high school Kevin's placement in special education settings increased again, primarily because of his difficulty with higher academic tasks. His IEP focused more on functional classes and pre-vocational activities.
Since Kevin completed his high school program at the age of 22, he has been attending an adult day service program. He recently moved to a group home for individuals with moderate to severe disabilities. Kevin's educational program provided him with many benefits. Had he been born 20 years earlier, he would have been school age before the passage of Public Law 94-142. This likely would have meant that Kevin would not have had access to public education; his parents could have easily placed him in an institutional setting because there would have been no other programming options. While Kevin would have likely benefited from more inclusion in middle and secondary schools, his earlier inclusion improved his social skills and enabled him to learn some basic academic skills that he still uses and enables him to live semi-independently.
Please answer each question.
1. How would Kevin's life be different had he been born in 1950 rather than in the 1980s? How?
2. Would more inclusion in secondary schools have had a positive or negative impact on Kevin's future success?. How so?
3. Has IDEA been a success or failure for Kevin and many other individuals with disabilities? Explain your response.