Question

IDEA directs that education must happen in the LRE. Which of the following models of disability does NOT reflect an IDEA/LRE perspective?

	a.	the religious model
	b.	the rights-based model
	c.	universalism
	d.	the medical model
	e.	the social model

Answer 1

Answer: a. the religious model

LRE is part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA says that children who receive special education should learn in the least restrictive environment. This means they should spend as much time as possible with peers who do not receive special education.

IDEA says two things about LRE that are important to understand when working with the  Individualized Education Program (IEP) team:

• Your child should be with kids in general education to the “maximum extent that is appropriate.”
• Special classes, separate schools or removal from the general education class should only happen when your child’s learning or attention issue his “disability” under IDEA is so severe that supplementary aids and services can’t provide him with an appropriate education.

Religious/Moral Model

The Moral Model is historically the oldest and is less prevalent today. However, there are many cultures that associate disability with sin and shame, and disability is often associates with feelings of guilt, even if such feelings are not overtly based in religious doctrine. For the individual with a disability, this model is particularly burdensome. This model has been associated with shame on the entire family of a person with a disability. Families have hidden away their loved ones with disabilities, keeping them out of school and excluded from any chance at having a meaningful role in society. Even in less extreme circumstances, this model has resulted in general social ostracism and self-hatred.

The Religious Model views disability as a punishment inflicted upon an individual or family by an external force. It can be due to misdemeanors committed by the person with a disability, someone in the family or community group. Birth conditions can be due to actions committed in a previous reincarnation.

Sometimes the presence of “evil thoughts” is used to explain differences in behavior, especially in conditions such as schizophrenia. Acts of exorcism or sacrifice may be performed to expel the negative influence, or recourse made to persecution or even death of the individual who is “different.”

In some cases, the disability stigmatizes a whole family, lowering their status or even leading to total social exclusion. Or it can be interpreted as an individual’s inability to conform within a family structure. Conversely, it can be seen as necessary affliction to be suffered before some future spiritual reward.