Research On Related Services Of Special Education In The United States

Students with disabilities are a heterogeneous and diverse group. Their significant differences determine that special education and related services are indispensable. It is a common experience in developed countries and regions in promoting special education that improve the quality of special education through providing related services to meet the students'special needs. With the development of special education in our country, the needs for related services are increasing considerablely. It needs badly to make polices and promote the practice of related services based on raised awareness and plentiful researches. Since 1975 the United States proposed "related services" in special education law, related services have been implemented for over 30 years. Those experience and lessons may become important resources for promoting related services of special education in our country.Special education laws in the United States define related services as developmental, corrective, and supportive services which are provided for the disabled students according to their special needs and the purpose of related services was to assist the students with disabilites in benefiting from education. The diverse specificities of the students with disabilities and their natural special education needs constitute the basis for special education and related services, which also determine the important role of related services for ensuring that the disabled students actually have the equal right to education. This research takes the evolution of special education laws in the United States as a clue, traces the developmental process of special education, takes the equal right to education and specific laws that protect the rights to education for the disabled as theoretical basis, and uses Neil Gilbert and Paul Terrell's social welfare policy analysis framework for reference to present the general framework and main content of related services in the United States on four aspects including the objects of related services, the contents of related services, the procedures of providing related services and funds for related services. Then the reasearch comments and analysizes main experience and problems in related services. On this basis, considering the actual situation of related services in our country, the research proposes several recommendations in order to better promote and protect the equal right to education for the disabled and meets the expectations of the disabled and their families to the quality of special education. These recommendations include the definition of"related services"should be determined specifically in laws and regulations relating to special education, the eligibility criterion on reciving related services should be clearly established, the contents and standards of related services should be developed, the construction of related services personnel should be enhanced, researches on the mode of teamwork should be intensified, and funds for related services should be increased.