As more students with Down syndrome attend mainstream classrooms in British schools, the pressure for them to go elsewhere is on the rise, parents and advocates say.

Teachers and parents of typically-functioning students make comments and are reluctant to accommodate children with Down syndrome in regular classrooms. And in the last two years, the numbers of students with the chromosomal disorder who have been denied special education services in an inclusive environment has tripled, according to a legal advocacy group for people with disabilities.

As a result some parents are starting to back down, choosing to move their children back into “special schools” particularly when kids move into secondary school. In fact, more parents are choosing “special schools” than did five years ago, one advocacy group says.

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That, despite the many social and educational benefits of mainstreaming. A 2002 study of the population indicated that people with Down syndrome who attend regular schools are five to six years ahead of their counterparts in segregated environments when it comes to speech and reading. Anecdotally, parents also attest that they see improved behavior among students who are mainstreamed, reports The (U.K.) Guardian. To read more click here.

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