Inclusion is not just for children with disabilities. Inclusion has something to teach each of us.
1. Inclusion teaches us how to be more accepting of others.
By learning and playing alongside of children with different abilities, children learn to accept everyone regardless of their adaptive equipment, computer assisted speech, hand flapping, or different facial features.
2. Inclusion teaches us how to be more tolerant of differences.
When children see that some students read better than others, and others run faster, and still others play the piano better, they learn to recognize that each person has something to offer. They also learn that everyone has an area for improvement. Soon, they recognize that differences are a good thing and that those differences are actually what makes the world a better place.
3. Inclusion teaches us how to help others who may need assistance.
Children learn to incorporate a variety of strategies to help each other. When they learn alongside children with different learning abilities, they are also learning how to help others succeed. Jesse Jackson said it best, “The only time you should look down on a person is when you are helping them get up.”
When Inclusion Does Not Teach Us
Dumping children with disabilities in to general education settings without the necessary supports and services causes harm to everyone.
- The student with disabilities does not receive the necessary support and as a result struggles in environment both socially and academically.
- The peers in the classroom are negatively affected when their teacher and classmate are not supported.
- And finally, the general education teacher needs training to know how to teach and include children with disabilities, how to manage a variety of challenging behaviors, and how structure a class that welcomes children of varying abilities.
We all have something to learn from inclusion. But each of us can only learn when the context supports learning. Educators and administrators in education have the responsibility of providing the appropriate supports and services to ensure that everyone can benefit from inclusion.
We are linking up again over at Yeah Write. Hop on over there and check out all the other great blog posts.
Hi Missy! I ready like your blog and I’m glad that you mentioned inclusion when I asked for inclusion for my son that is non verbal and academically begin, but with not really any behavioral issues that will interrupt the class if he has an aid, I got an email from the director of special education saying why that wasn’t a good idea and how having to much help could end up harming him. My son is 5 years old and when he was in a special education classroom before, he was picking up bad behaviors from other kids. (e.g. biting, yelling, etc.).
My son now goes 10 hr. a week to a Parents day out program with a therapist and that works great, we have seeing a big improvement of his skills with this setting.
The school is offering my son 5 min./week of inclusion to start with a maximum of 30 min./week if he does “well”.
I’m posting here part of her email to see if you can tell me if she is right:
Inclusion and the 1:1 aide:
We are required by law to put a child in the least restrictive environment that the student can make meaningful progress. We can’t put them in regular education just because they have an aide. In order for the student to go into the regular classroom with a 1:1 aide for inclusion, the student will need to exhibit certain skills which are prerequisites for that placement. For example: can the student sit and work on the curriculum presented during instruction without disrupting the other students? Can the student do the work presented in the regular ed. Classroom? It would be best practice to put the child in a special education classroom and model the behavior/skills necessary to go into the regular classroom. When we have enough data to support that the student has those skills, we would then move them to a lesser restrictive environment. However, a 1:1 aide in a regular ed. classroom is very restrictive. I would think much more so than a special education classroom.
I am attaching articles and information regarding 1:1 aides for students with disabilities. Below are some resources with research:
Giangreco, M. F., & Broer, S. M. (2007). School-based screening to determine overreliance on paraprofessionals. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 22, 149-158.
Giangreco, M. F., & Broer, S. M. (2005). Questionable utilization of paraprofessionals in inclusive schools: Are we addressing symptoms or causes? Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 20, 10–26.
Giangreco, M. F., Broer, S. M., & Edelman, S. W. (2001). Teacher engagement with students with disabilities: Differences based on paraprofessional service delivery models. Journal of the Association for Persons With Severe Handicaps, 26, 75–86.
Giangreco, M. F., Edelman, S. W., Luiselli, T. E., & MacFarland, S. Z. C. (1997). Helping or hovering? Effects of instructional assistant proximity on students with disabilities. Exceptional Children, 64, 7–18.
Giangreco, M. F., Halvorsen, A., Doyle, M. B., & Broer, S. M. (2004). Alternatives to overreliance on paraprofessionals in inclusive schools. Journal of Special Education Leadership, 17(2), 82–90.
Giancreco, M.F. & Suter, J.C. (2008). Numbers that count: Exploring special education and paraprofessional service delivery in inclusion-oriented school. Journal of Special Education, 43(2), 81-93.
Giangreco, M. F., Yuan, S., McKenzie, B., Cameron, P., & Fialka, J. (2005). “Be careful what you wish for . . .”: Five reasons to be concerned about the assignment of individual paraprofessional
Thanks,
Well, I find the response you received to be quite pathetic. I don’t mean to be harsh but we all know that a child is placed in a setting based on his/her IEP. The IEP drives everything. If the goals and objectives can be addressed in an inclusive environment (with all the necessary supports and services), then the child should be placed there. There are NO pre-requisites to inclusion. NONE. ZILCH. ZERO.
There are some aspects of LRE (least restrictive environment) that require educators to consider the needs of other students. Thus, as long as your child’s behaviors do not interfere with the learning of others (AND THAT IS WITH ALL THE NECESSARY SUPPORTS AND SERVICES IN PLACE), then your child should be placed in an inclusive setting.
I am not an attorney and I am not giving you legal advice. I do think, however, that you would benefit from the assistance of an advocate or attorney. Please visit COPAA to find one that is right for you.
thank you for stopping by and even more thanks for taking the time to post.
Thanks Missy, I already started to legal process I just wanted a second opinion 🙂
thank you! of course, I’m going to want to know how it goes! Good luck!
I have a Master degree in Inclusive Education, and this post works for me on two levels—it addresses WHy we should do it and basically HOW we should do it. When I was doing it, I worked in a co-teaching model with the regular ed teacher and that seemed the most effective. It was also the most challenging to get right, I worked with four teachers and each one had different feelings about it and reacted differently to me int he classroom with them. Those that welcomed me and worked with me AS A TEAM had the best results not just in behavior, but in academic success. Loved this piece, keep it up, Erin
Thanks Erin! I appreciate the feedback. TEAM work is the way to go. Thanks for stopping by and for making the time to comment!
Nice post! I’m new to all this (2 preschool kids) but had heard such horror stories I started questioning the whole idea of inclusion. A good friend is a teacher and 6 of her 17 kids are high needs. And generally it isn’t working which led me to wonder if this was just a big mistake. But you’re right, it’s not a mistake, the lack of support she is receiving is a mistake. Thanks for opening my eyes a little wider on that front 🙂
Yay! We love hearing things like this. Many people have negative ideas about inclusion. I truly believe those ideas stem from improperly supported inclusion.
Thanks for stopping by! and thanks for sharing!
The inclusion lessons are good for general life as well not just in regard to kids with disabilities.
🙂
Susie, you could not be more correct! Thanks for stopping by!
yes! We should be inclusive, but all children should function in supported learning. love this.
Thanks Tara. Glad you could come by for a visit! We hope you will come back.
Immersion education has been great for my kiddo, *and* the kids in her class. They’ve all learned some sign language. They’ve all learned how to communicate with people who use different methods to communicate. I’m so grateful that she was in an inclusive school district and classroom setting.
Ben, isn’t it great when all the children learn sign language. I’ve been teaching my bonus daughters that you can sign to your friends without getting in trouble for talking! 🙂
Interesting! I do think its super important that we do “do” inclusion right – or else it IS more harm than help (for everyone)
Thank you for stopping by. Love, Love, Love your blog!
i love this post for so many reasons. I can’t tell you how inclusion done right has changed my daughter’s life.
Thank you! and thank you for stopping by! Please come back and share your thoughts again!
If only every class and teacher could create the environment you so describe. Having been on the teacher end of fabulous inclusive classrooms and witnessing less than ideal situations, you hit the nail on the head here!
Thank you Jackie! If only……
This was an interesting post.
Thanks for stopping by Michelle!
I have a 9 year old who is severely special needs. He was mainstreamed in Pre-K and for 2 years of Kindergarten. The difference between year 1 and year 2 of Kindy was night and day. Year 1 had a relatively new teacher who had limited knowledge/experience with inclusion. My son struggled all year long and it was a horrible year for all of us. Year 2 had a seasoned veteran teacher with years of special education training. My son blossomed under her care and it was a beautiful thing to watch. Thanks for this post!
Thanks Delilah, teachers have the power to make it or break it for our children. We have to come up with a better way of evaluating teachers. We cannot put all the weight on achievement tests. Clearly, the Teacher in Year 2 had something great going.
Great post! I’m passing this along to my mother and sister, who are both teachers and advocates of inclusion.
Thank you!! we love it when our blog gets shared with others! The greatest thing about it….it’s free!
Hear, hear! Inclusion teaches tolerance – applies to us grown ups too 🙂
Thanks Alison! So glad I’ve gotten to meet you! Congrats on your one year celebration!
[…] What Inclusion Teaches Us (appliedbehavioralstrategies.wordpress.com) […]
Inclusion..I wonder what would have happened if the gentleman who shot Tryvon had learned about about inclusion. Maybe he would have offered him a ride home out of the rain? Just wondering.
Great point Cathy. Inclusion has something to teach us all. I long for the day that violence against each other is extinct.
I really like your #3. I believe we all have a tendency to be selfish at times, not just as children but into adulthood as well. That’s why it is so vital to teach children to help their peers. I had never thought about this being taught in the context of inclusion, but when it’s linked with the 3 points you have outlined, it seems like it would be the natural progression (accept others, recognize differences, help those who need it). Love the quote you included as well.
Thanks for your kind words and thanks for stopping by! Please come back!
I taught for 7 years and agree that inclusion is a fantastic idea. Unfortunately, in my experience, it’s rarely carried out as it’s meant to be, and I believe lack of money is a big part of that. That said, the benefits you lay out are not to be ignored, and our school systems should strive to implement inclusion effectively. (I feel like I just wrote the end of a paper in a masters course, but I really do mean it!)
You are so right! Money is usually the reason. However, under IDEIA (the federal law that public schools must follow for students with disabilities), money cannot be an issue in determining placement for students. All of your writing is outstanding…not just the comments here. Your blog is brilliant!
[…] 6. What Inclusion Teaches Us […]
I agree with you!! However, my girls are in an inclusion class but are regular ed students and they complain and cry daily about how school is no longer fun. I am so frustrated and so tired of having to make excuses for their classmates. Please, before you bash me, I am also the parent of a gifted child who if he so much as sneezed the wrong way I was called in to the office because of his behavior! So, I have bent over backwards to make sure that the other kids in the classroom weren’t affected by his ADHD, seen numerous therapists, experimented with diet, different meds and doseages, yet no one seems to care about my other two kids’ right to an education either. The teacher’s management skills are poor. But, I also think she has little to no help in the classroom and that in my opinion is wrong! It is a disservice to ALL of the kids. And, when these kids have no parental support at home, then what? I am sorry to vent my frustration here, but I would love some help in helping my girls’ teacher!! I have asked and begged her to let me volunteer and help! She FINALLY said yes!! So I will be going in two days a week in the afternoons when there are no specialists coming in and out. What can I do to help her? How can I help these students understand that everyone is entitled to learn and that in the real world their is no ‘normal’? They are second graders and quite honestly, I feel like second grade is one of the toughest years!! No longer babes, but not yet mature enough either! I hope I didn’t offend anyone! I have been on both sides of the fence!! Thank you!