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Show Special Education Dept. offers fellowships in training retarded children By Darrell Leo Staff Writer A child with a mental disability can be aided, but only by trained specialists. When working with these children, people must remember, "They're just retarded, not dumb. Sometimes it's the teachers who are dumb," said Judy Buffmire, faculty member of the University Special Education Department. Special Education is a field which is rapidly developing in Utah. Dr. Don Logan of the University's department stated, "We can't train people fast enough. In Utah, the people we train are grabbed up immediately." Brain Drain One problem lies in the fact that most trained specialists are going outside the state to accept jobs. "In this field," said Dr. Logan, "Utah is just not that competitive. Although this University recently received one of four national grants for development of teaching and aiding the mentally retarded." Finances, in the past, have been a particular problem, he said. "Of course, it has only been in the last four or five years," he explained, "that there was any special training for researchers in the educational psychology field." Presently, University students are being offered traineeships and fellowships in the education of the mentally retarded and the education of the deaf. Sponsored by the University through federal aid, the fellowships provide a $300 stipend for the junior year and $800 plus tuition for the senior year. At the graduate level, fellows can receive a $2,200 stipend plus an additional allowance of $600 for each dependent. They also will receive tuition. Applications may be obtained at the Institute for Special Education, Milton Bennion Hall 128. The objective of these fellowships is to assist qualified students interested in preparing to teach mentally retarded or deaf children. The University special education department offers a class in micro-teaching techniques. This class, aimed at developing talents in individual tutoring, utilizes both fumed, televised and recorded sessions with emotionally disturbed or mentally retarded children. Working on a one to one basis, tutors aid a child in one specific area, helping him to face his problem. "If there is a motor handicapped boy," said Mrs. Buffmire, "we'll try to work with his problem. Sometimeswe'll play football with him." "Not only does this aid the child," she stated, "but it adds to his experience and, we hope, aids him." Tutors who are filmed then have the opportunity to see themselves at work, criticizing what they have done wrong and developing individual approaches and philosophies to tutoring. Specialized Research The department also carries specialized research. "We ol course tie our research to the classroom," said Dr. Logan. At the present Dr. Logan is engaged in a research project on the learning and retention behavior of the mentally retarded. "We need to find what learning characteristics are for the retarded. We want to get away from typical labels which tie a child down as uneducable." The department also is planning an exchange program with faculty members of the University of Oregon. The two faculties will exchange developments, meet and discuss problems they both i encounter. "We hope we can i exchange useful information, and both profit," said Dr. Logan. |