Research that Benefits Children and Families—Uplifting Stories

 If I can choose any topic related to early childhood education I would have to select the importance of mainstreaming children who have a disability with those who do not. I feel it is important that young children realize that everybody is different and that it is acceptable to be different. I feel that if a child shows that they are smart in a certain subject and can sit still in a classroom the student should be able to be in the regular education courses. I feel that a study in this particular field would really benefit teachers, children and parents because many times children who have disabilities are in special education courses and are never mainstreamed into the regular education courses. This is a special topic to me because my brother was in special education from kindergarten all the way up to his freshman year in high school. I remember when my brother was in the sixth grade he did not receive a progress report because the teachr never graded his assgnments because my brother was more advanced than his classmates and the teacher was afraid that my brother's level of intelligence would upset the rest of the class. My brother has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) which affects his attention span, but not his academic ability. When my brother had been a sophomore in high school he had decided to take all regular education courses and had done really well in school. I feel that if he had been forced to stay in special education coures he might not have been as successful.

Your Personal Research Journey

The topic I have chosen to do my research paper on is Aspergr's Syndrome. I am focusing on
successful strategies for working with children with Asperger’s. I had done a little research on this topic when I was an undergrauate and I also had a friend whose family was going through a horrible time. My friend's brother had originally been diagnosed with Autism and for many years he was being treated for Autism. My friend had borrowed my text book which talked about Autism and Asperger's Syndrome and after doing some reading she had realzied that there was a possibility that her brother had been misdiagnosed. My friend and I spent time looking up on the Internet and realized that Asperger and Autism have some similar characteristics, but many differences as well. Th topic is very interesting and I would love to explore this topic more to see if there is any way a person with Asperger's can be successful in school and in life.

If anyone has any suggestions on articles I can read and look at I would really appreciate it.