Jun 11 2008
Working Toward Inclusion
kids playing in sprinklers - in swimsuits, not clothes
From the Oxford Compact Dictionary:
Include: verb 1 comprise or contain as part of a whole. 2 make or treat as part of a whole or set.
I give Gus’s school credit for making good attempts at being inclusive. There are two self-contained classes in the school, and they are mainstreamed into certain classes (i.e. music). When there is a school event, like an assembly, the classes take part. Today they had field day and the special needs classes competed in the events with the rest of the school. There were relays of all kinds, giant beach-ball volleyball. Fun was had by all.
They try to be inclusive, yet in some ways, they miss the mark. I recall going to one award assembly where the two special needs classes’ award recipients weren’t called until the very end. Yet these are the students who have the most trouble sitting through such a gathering.
Today was no different. The students were all intermingled (to the credit of the organizers), but almost all the events involved water. No one seemed to consider the students with the sensory processing issues. It wasn’t tragic; the boys all coped pretty well, and it was hot enough in the sun that the wet clothes felt good. Slightly more foresight next year would see someone informing the parents to send in a dry change of clothes for afterwards.
Inclusion isn’t just about letting the kids into the playground. It means making sure they have as full an experience as everyone else. Sometimes that doesn’t take much more than a little foresight and consideration.
I was reading just yesterday that the practice of putting special needs into seperate classes or groups further hampers their educational goals. Part of learning is learning from our peers and if we are only subjected to a class of disability couldn’t it then be argued that we are teaching disability?
As a child I spent much time in psychiatric settings. Because I have autism, I largely mimiced the behaviors of those around me. I would talk, walk, and even act like them.
It is now known that there are huge benefits for children with disabilities to be as integrated into general population as possible. There is still a need for one on one interation and special guidance.
But total segregation will soon be a thing of the past!
YEAH!
Autistic Jessie