Handicapped Children

Teachers At RiskMuch is said these days about the inclusion program in the Baltimore County schools. The term is a euphemism for placing emotionally and otherwise handicapped children in ordinary classrooms with the general school population and with teachers who are rarely equipped or trained to handle many of the extraordinary problems that these children display.Little consideration has been given to the disruptive effect of these children, and especially the severely emotionally disturbed, on the general school population and how their presence suppresses learning by children who are not handicapped or disturbed.

Randi Wixom is a little more optimistic she will be playing the flute along with her friends in band class as a senior at Catonsville High School this fall. Soon, she may know just how convenient that will be.Wixom, 16, who has an undiagnosed neurological disease that keeps her from walking, is the focus of negotiations between attorneys from the National Disability Action Center and the Baltimore County Board of Education.Yesterday, the attorneys held a conference telephone call with U.S. District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis to discuss alternatives to help Wixom move throughout areas in the school now inaccessible because of her condition.

Washington -- HBO, the cable movie channel, showed a film last week called ''A Private Matter.'' The story was about Sherri Finkbine, who was ''Miss Sherri'' on a children's television program called ''Romper Room.'' She and her husband Bob, a high school teacher, had four children.When she became pregnant again, she took a drug that Bob had bought for her in London which was supposed to help her sleep. The drug was Thalidomide. It was discovered to cause severe birth defects when a woman took it during pregnancy.

WESTMINSTER - Parents attended a workshop on special education yesterday at the Carroll County Public Library."Understanding Special Education" discussed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, how to write an Individual Education Plan and understanding a child's needs.In other special education news, the Learning Disabilities Association of Carroll County had a meeting Wednesday on "Parent Information and Training."Parents were told how to interpret tests and become an advocate.

A bull roast to benefit the Ruth P. Eason School for handicapped children will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27 at the Earleigh Heights Fire Hall on Ritchie Highway in Severna Park.The event is being held in memory of Megan Ensey, a former student at the Millersville school who died in 1991, and her mother, Diane "Dee" Ensey, who was killed in an automobile accident in February.Tickets are $23 each.For more information. call Renee Alvarez at 850-9126.

25 Years Ago (Week of Aug. 18-25, 1968):* Unitec Products Inc. announced that it would construct an automated factory in Howard County to manufacture lightweight concrete roofing tiles. The facility would employ about 25 people.* Allview resident Herman S. Preiser was elected to the board of directors of the National Society for Autistic Children. He and his wife had been involved with the proposal to establish the Child Study Center in Howard County, where handicapped children were tested and placed in a classroom environment best suited to their individual needs.

Harriet H. S. Steinberg, 75, early childhood specialistA memorial service for Harriet H. S. Steinberg, a retired childhood development specialist in the Baltimore public school system, will be held at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, 7401 Park Heights Ave.Mrs. Steinberg died April 13 of cancer at her home in Mount Washington. She was 75.Her concern for the plight of underprivileged and handicapped children began in the 1930s, when she worked with an aunt who operated a free camp in Western PHOTO Maryland for needy children.

1978: PASSING OF AN EDUCATOR A girl born in Glen Burnie in 1898 grew up to become the supervisor of Anne Arundel County schools by the age of 27. Ruth Parker Eason died Nov. 28, 1978, leaving behind a legacy as an educator that included winning the Pioneer Woman in Education Award in 1956. Eason started her career in a long-lost era, teaching in one-room schoolhouses for 10 years. She showed her talent early as a principal in those same small rural schoolhouses. She later served as the county's supervisor of schools from 1925 to 1947.

Nonprofit health leadership team votes to shut down The board of directors of Howard County Health Improvement Leadership Team has voted to cease operations as an independent nonprofit organization. The board transferred HILT's current projects to local health organizations April 28. A final celebration of HILT's history and accomplishments is scheduled May 31. Remodelers group modifies playground for disabled The Woodlawn-based RemodelersCouncil of the Home Builders Association of Maryland modified and expanded the playground at the Therapeutic Recreational Riding Center in Glenwood on Saturday.

The following are recent filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland, Baltimore City:May 12* Trek Rek Deck Inc. of Baltimore, a science fiction convention organizer, filed for Chapter 7. Principal: C. Weston Scrimger, president. Assets: none; liabilities: $22,324.84* Society of Underprivileged and Handicapped Children of Maryland Inc., 8640 Guilford Road, Columbia, a charitable provider of medical assistance, filed for Chapter 7. Principal: Samuel Edwards, president. Assets and liabilities are under $50,000 each.