President's Message - Winter 2010

ON THE INSPIRATION OF ADVOCATES AND PERSPIRATION OF RESEARCHERS

Jean B. Crockett
University of Florida

This message is being written on November 29, 2009, the 34th anniversary of the signing of PL 94-142, the landmark American legislation known as The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Much of what was signed into law in 1975 by President Gerald Ford is currently enacted in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. There is much to celebrate on this anniversary. Early intervention programs are now provided to almost 300,000 infants and toddlers and their families, and more than 6 million children and youth receive special education and related services. Although I am not aware of any official commemorations this year, the importance of research and advocacy—as well as advocacy for research--to the success of this legislation are paramount as I share these thoughts.
 
I like the way Doug and Lynn Fuchs (1988) once characterized the delivery of special education as dependent upon “the inspiration of advocates and the perspiration of researchers” (p. 126). From my perspective this characterization acknowledges the power of advocacy to make a difference in the lives of children who struggle with academic, functional, and social learning, while honoring the efforts of CEC-DR members who tirelessly investigate better ways of teaching students with or at risk for developing disabilities. I also appreciate the Fuchs’s observation that in trying to make things better through public action and empirical study, there is often "too little of the latter" (p. 126).

As I reflected on the impact of research and advocacy, I had the good fortune to pluck a book off the shelf that featured an interview conducted in 2003 with the late Joseph “Joe” Ballard (Hulett, 2009). Ballard joined CEC’s Governmental Relations team in 1972 and spent the remaining 34 years of his life attending to “the protection and further nurturing of the IDEA” (p.xxi). Along with CEC colleagues Fred Weintraub and Al Abeson, Ballard was among the key people engineering the initial passage of the PL 94-142. Much of what Ballard had to say is instructive, especially for those unfamiliar with the evolution of special education policy. Today, though, I found the words describing his reaction to the signing of the legislation to be most affecting:

I think in the first moments, when we realized that the President had in fact signed it, we were in a suspended state of both shock and relief. In the next moments, I distinctly recall thinking to myself, “This is the most important thing I will do in my life.” Though now having nearly doubled my years from the ripe old age of 33 at that time, I still believe it was “the most important thing.” And then a few moments later I thought, “Life does not get any better than this. They will never get rid of our children now.” (Ballard, in Hulett, p. xiii)

Three decades later, special education is woven into the fabric of American public education and students with disabilities are eligible to receive specially designed instruction. Advocacy, however, remains a pressing need. The reality is that many special education students remain underserved in schools where teachers hold low expectations for their success or fail to use evidence-based instructional practices. Again, Joe Ballard’s words provide insight:

Given the multitude of national priorities and endless struggles in the carving up of the fiscal pie, let us be realistic. Grassroots advocacy must be created, and it must be sustained on a permanent basis. (Ballard , in Hulett, 2009, p. xxvii)

For members of CEC-DR, grassroots advocacy centers on the need for continued partnership with organizations, local, state, and federal education officials, and parents to promote the advancement of rigorous research related to the education of students with disabilities, those who are gifted,  and their families. This is DR’s mission. Such efforts include cultivating a community of scholars among our members - from novices to experts; supporting initiatives linking research to practice; promoting fair and appropriate funding for special education research; and stimulating the submission of high quality proposals for federally sponsored special education research. This is incredibly important work that occurs behind the scenes to support the development and education of infants, children, and youth in our communities. Scientific research, and advocacy for it, has long been central to special education policy and the mission of CEC-DR. Offering a variation on a theme, the perspiration generated by the methodological labors of our membership is quite simply inspirational. Indeed, the delivery of effective special education depends on the synergy of inspiration and perspiration.

Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. S. (1988). Evaluation of the adaptive learning environments model. Exceptional Children, 55, 115-127
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Hulett, K. E. (2009). Legal aspects of special education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.