Hi Tina,

My point is that without a standard set of the skills that could
be taught for a student with a disability who is not able to do
grade level work even with say two years in kindergarten on
readiness, it would seem to be important to have a listing of
skills to be presented. This could then be viewed by anyone
interested in a child's education at any time - a brand new
teacher, a parent, an advocate so that if the curriculum of a
self-contained classroom or a resource, mainstream or inclusive
setting just did not seem to be fitting what a student needed,
folks could assess to see where a student was really at.
Students with autism, moderate intellectual disabilities and
severe learning disabilities can learn core skills, but it may
take them much longer to do so.

A sequential "Skills curriculum" would ensure that no one could
make a quick decision that a student can't learn to read or do
math so let's "just expose them to the general curriculum" and
move them along. If in an inclusion or mainstream class and
skills not being learned, it would be a reason for smaller group
or one-on-one and/or for the use of research based intervention
materials which a school division just may not want to invest in.
While the skills may not be on grade level, materials that
"look" more appropriate can be used - just consider how one
teaches non-native adults in GED classes.

I know enough to know that if a student is reading two grade
levels or more, then he/she will not be able to comprehend and
process grade level material often times even in related
subjects. But inclusion in those subjects for general knowledge
increase and greatly modified work is one thing, but you need the
building blocks to learn to read, write and do math.

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