Research
For this project, I ended up doing a lot of background research on this topic. Here is a summary of some of the key things I learned.
Background Research
What classifies a child as a "special needs" student?
Special needs students either have a physical, mental, or emotional disability. For the purpose of this project, I am focusing more on the students with a mental/emotional disability. Essentially, someone is qualified for special needs if they need to receive benefits or assistance for their well being or growth. More specifically, if the child meets the definition from IDEA 4 or the definition provided from the state.
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IDEA's Definition:
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“Emotional disturbance means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
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An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
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An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
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Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
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A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
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A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.
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Different mental illnesses that can classify a child as "special needs/education"
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Depression (not always but can include)
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Anxiety
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autism spectrum disorder
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OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
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other personality or behavior disorders
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Terminology for specific disorder groups
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Children who have emotional or behavior disorders may be identified for special education under the federal category of emotional disturbance (ED).
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Some states might use different names:
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emotional behavior disorder (EBD)​
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emotional impairment (EI)
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behavioral disorder (BD)
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Struggles
Special needs students face many challenges-several academic and several socially. For the purpose of this project, I will be focusing on the social problems these kids face.
"With potential restrictions on their lifestyles, those who are disabled in childhood may be more isolated from peer influences and less likely to engage in risky behaviours. Similarly, they may have fewer chances to take part in social activities, and to form friendships and relationships," a study about 'growing up disabled' in England concludes.
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Unfortunately, kids with special needs or learning disabilities tend to be picked on more, seemingly just because they are different in that way. Many special needs students face bullying at school, usually from other peers.
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"Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are 31% more likely than students without disabilities to experience high levels of being bullied." Source
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Even if bullying doesn't happen in the direct, "traditional," way, there's several types of bullying coming in the form of ignorance or micro-aggressions. For one the popularized term to refer to children without special needs as "normal kids" is extremely harmful language and perpetrates a stereotype/stigma saying that special needs students are not 'normal.'
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Theres also been a lot of observations of attempts to blatantly avoid special needs students by general ed kids, which isolates these kids socially and can be viewed as another form of intentional/unintentional "bullying."
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This truly compromises and limits a child's social life, and has lead to more mental illnesses to develop in special needs children/students. It also impacts their entire school experience and can have harmful impacts on them in the future socially.
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Other than bullying, it is much harder for a special needs child to function the same way socially as general education students, heavily because of their disorder. Many disorders and conditions compromise one's ability to understand social cues the same way general ed kids do. Simple things like facial movements, physical touch, ways to express emotion, etc., are not interpreted the same way as general ed students do, and can often lead to discomfort and isolation for the kid themselves.
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For example, for kids on the autism spectrum, it is quite difficult to make eye contact with someone--however, most general ed kids are taught to do this as a child. The simple explanation for this is that there is increased activity in the amygdala, and they are more likely to feel anxiety or agitated when making eye contact. This is because their brain perceives this direct eye contact as threatening.
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Things, socially, that are easy for general ed students to do can be extremely difficult for special needs kids, which helps widen that social gap between the two groups. All of this can be quite detrimental to the social lives of these children, and impacts how they are viewed by others and how they view others as well. This can also contribute to the disproportionate amount of bullying that special needs children face, as general ed kids are not used to this behavior and do not have the resources or time to actually understand it.
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