The Problem with Placement

This week I started working in a high school life skills class. When I think of life skills I imagine students in wheelchairs or that they have low-functioning autism or have intellectual disabilities to the point of having limited verbal communication. I was surprised when half my class had intellectual disabilities and could carry on a conversation with me.
So then the question on my mind is why is a young man who has a first grade reading level and can function with minimal assistance in the same class as student who has cerebral palsy? Blame it on the system. When determining placement the IEP team has to look at every option. The problem is that in between being placed in a life skills class or pulled out in a resource room, there are few options for these students.
I can't even imagine how those higher functioning students feel being placed in a class with kids that are so much more academically and socially below their level. It would be like placing a sophomore in high school in the same class as a kindergartener. They have such very different needs.
The students with intellectual disabilities put up with the students who have autism or down syndrome. They treat them with the same patience an adult might with a small child. One young man was very happy when I came into his class. He has an intellectual disability and was grateful to play catch with someone who could throw the ball.
So it is in this strange world where we assume that all people with the same disability need the same levels of support. Therefore we put them in classes with their disabled "peers" and assume they can benefit from the same level of academic and functional supports. I will try not to complain. It is just that the bottom line is that special educators need to understand that these students are on INDIVIDUALIZED Education Plans because they are individuals.