Special education and trauma: Are we correctly identifying our students?

Students with special needs are often placed in specific settings to allow them to receive interventions that allow them to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. These students are frequently separated from peers and placed in an environment designed to meet their specialized learning requirements. At the same time, students are experiencing significant traumas in their everyday lives that impact them throughout their school day. This trauma also requires specialized instruction to help students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. However, while the needs appear similar, if not identical, they are not the same. Trauma can be overcome, while learning disabilities (even if compensated for) remain for a lifetime. As part of her argument for including trauma as a subcategory of emotional disturbance, Winder (2015) proposes providing additional training for educators and parents to help them understand the nature of trauma and how it impacts the learning process. Bagley practical and help parents learn to manage their child’s behavioral challenges. This pilot study seeks to determine if students with trauma are over identified as students with special needs and if the two should be identified as separate disabilities.