Students with Intellectual Disabilities Coursework

Students with Intellectual Disabilities - Coursework Example Students with intellectual disabilities face the dilemma of high-stakes testing. Some students with intellectual disabilities are expected to complete such tests although the tests are beyond their capabilities. The expectations set by professionals are too high as students with intellectual disabilities are expected to learn from the same curriculum as those without disabilities. In some institutions, they are seen as the cause of school failure to attain federally mandated goals of sufficient yearly progress. Even though learning the core curriculum is essential for students with intellectual disabilities, there are several disadvantages of setting the standards too high. Students with intellectual disabilities face the challenge of self-determination during their transition from childhood to adulthood. There is a difficulty of understanding the concept of self-determination in the transition process. They receive little assistance from parents and teachers in using their self-dete rmination skills. In the end, they are not sufficiently prepared to face the IEP team and participate in meetings. In addition, teachers face some barriers in teaching self-determination. Firstly, based on traditional special education instruction models, teachers assume that students with intellectual disabilities cannot comprehend the decisions made during transition and IEP meetings. Secondly, the program design for the individual needs of students is not compatible with the expectations set by IDEA and NCLB.