| In the United States there are currently more than 6,500,000 students receiving special education services in our public schools. Of those over 2,000,000 are ages 12 to 15. Middle school children diagnosed with the three most commonly occurring disabilities number 1,564,118 with almost 44,000 in Arizona (U.S. Department of Education, 2007.) The purpose of this study was to address the lack of research employing a phenomenological approach to gain insight and improved understanding of the experience of children ages 12 to 15 years who receive special education services to address their high incidence disabilities. In-depth interviews with nine children who live the intersect of middle school and high incidence disabilities were used to give these early adolescents opportunities to voice their perceptions of how the system of special education affects them and their life choices. Two major themes identified were the students' preferences for full inclusive and need for active roles in placement decisions. Findings of this study may lead the discourse toward development of more holistic and humanistic practices. |
