The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (formerly the Handicapped Children's' Act of 1975, IDEA)
IDEA which deals with the above IEP program which allows for parents to meet with teachers, principals, and other professionals to determine the best route to go in terms of a plan that will educate the disabled child in the most productive way. The child's plan is to be evaluated each year to make sure that the child does is still getting what he/she needs to grow and develop in a productive way.
Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
IEP: If you are a parent of a disabled person whether physical, mental, or learning disabled you should be aware that you have a right to ask your school for an IEP plan which will help you and the teacher come up with a better way to educate the child if what they are getting in the classroom is not enough. There should be no reason why the child should be excluded from every activity that normal kids go through but there may be a few times when they need extra help and assistance that would make it better for them that they get more one-on-one instruction.
When I was in school I am not sure they had IEP's but I was taken out of the regular class for physical education (PE) and put into an adaptive PE class because of the fact that I had motor coordination problems. The schools now are required by law to do that as well as offer extra help in academic subjects, if needed to better educate the child.
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) ADA
Parents are luckier today then I was because of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) because this allows for reasonable accommodations to be made when educating persons with disabilities. I was able to take advantage of it in college but before that the last law that was past to aid in giving the disabled support was The Rehabilitation Act (1973) but is mainly to do with employment.
Speak up if You Don't Agree
As a parent of a disabled child, don't be afraid to ask for an IEP meeting if you think your child is lagging behind in any way because there are things the school should be able to do. In most of the bigger cities there should be enough resources in the school district so that you will not have to move the child from the school where they have already made friends. Unfortunately, in rural areas that may not be the case but if you can get to a city usually they can assist you in getting the education the child deserves.
The one thing I would add is to remember that you know your child the best. Also do not let the school pigeonhole you into thinking that the child will amount to anything just because they do have a disability. I am certainly glad that my parents never allowed that happen because I would not be educating you today if they were to listen to some of the schools in my life. I thankfully only have a physical disability that got in my way at school and even then by the time I got to junior high school I was not in any special or adaptive classes whatsoever.
Resources
This will give you all the laws relating to disabled persons.
