ADHD How Has Inclusion and Mainstreaming Worked in Vocational Schools Term Paper

Instructors can be sympathetic to individual needs, especially with regard to disabilities like ADHD because they can be made aware of them without the potential for discrimination or early recourse, as would be the case in employment. (Lemaire, Mallik & Stoll, 2002, p.39) in vocational training, under the shop/shop models people with disabilities, including those with ADHD are given a bridge opportunity to transition into a workplace setting through the guidance of a program that mimics work and has many of the same expectations, but that does not place them at risk fro the common occurrence of repeated failures, resulting in a resume that marks them as unreliable to future employers. They are offered the opportunity to learn a real world skill, of their interest while being supported through personal growth that will allow them to function appropriately in a work setting. Success with future employers is the key to transitioning any student from school to work, and post-secondary academic instruction does not always successfully do so. A class size of sometimes hundreds of students in a lecture hall does not offer the instructor any real time to address special needs and though students with disabilities such as ADHD who have transitioned through vocational education may have success in this setting in the future the idea of offering such students a transitional position in a shop/shop environment seems one that should answer for many future successes in the workplace. Giving students the opportunity to evaluate opportunities through such an environment can be essential to future success because it can potentially give them a sense of accomplishment and specialized care and attention that build confidence for future endeavors, be they academic or work related.

The kinds of issues associated with instructor training in a shop/shop environment, should be minimal, as student load is often lesser in such an environment and most instructors demonstrate through experience the ability to deal with individual issues through smaller class size and demonstrative goals for students, that they are clearly aware of at the beginning of every goal set. Additionally, like the workplace, only more so, the instructor is aware, through experience, that individuals learn different things at different times and do not always expect everyone to work on the same timeline for goal success.Additional training about the particulars of ADHD should be done so instructors are aware of the individual needs of the student with such a disorder and can more easily apply such knowledge in the shop/shop environment.

References

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Lemaire, G.S., Mallik, K., & Stoll, B.G. (2002). Expanding Horizons: A Model Academic and Vocational Training Program for Out-of-School Youth with Disabilities. The Journal of Rehabilitation, 68(2), 39.

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Proctor, T.J., & Baker, B.R. (1995). Inclusion: One Way a Professional Development School Can Make a Difference. Childhood Education, 71(4), 224.

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