Our Personal Pros and Cons of Inclusion in the School Environmnet
Pros
· Social interaction with peers
· Access to the general education curriculum
· Diversity- raise awareness and create acceptance
· Natural and stimulating environment
· Transitioning to the real world
· Child centered practice- finding out individual needs of children
Cons
· In some cases, an inclusion classroom may not be the child’s least restrictive environment
· Less individualized instruction
· More planning – more accommodations and modifications
· Some teachers may not have special education backgrounds, which may make it more difficult for the classroom teacher
· Not enough supports for the general education teacher / lack of funding
Please share your opinions (pros and cons) of inclusion in the comment section!
· Social interaction with peers
· Access to the general education curriculum
· Diversity- raise awareness and create acceptance
· Natural and stimulating environment
· Transitioning to the real world
· Child centered practice- finding out individual needs of children
Cons
· In some cases, an inclusion classroom may not be the child’s least restrictive environment
· Less individualized instruction
· More planning – more accommodations and modifications
· Some teachers may not have special education backgrounds, which may make it more difficult for the classroom teacher
· Not enough supports for the general education teacher / lack of funding
Please share your opinions (pros and cons) of inclusion in the comment section!
PEAC Conference on Inclusion
On November 8, 2011 we attended the first annual Inclusion Conference in Eastern Pennsylvania, which was presented by Pennsylvania’s Education for All Coalition, Inc. Keith Jones was the keynote speaker for the conference on this date. Keith is the President and CEO of SoulTouchin’ Experiences, as well as an African American community activist and entrepreneur with cerebral palsy. He participates actively in various issues that face people with disabilities and holds a strong desire to get the disability community more involved in the issues that concern their own lives. We all enjoyed getting the opportunity to hear Keith’s speech. At the conference we were also able to attend various sessions that dealt with various aspects of inclusion. At the end of the conference we asked twenty-four conference participants the same poll question that is presented on this blog. The conference participants included teachers, college professors, paraprofessionals, therapists, parents, college students, and children and adults with special needs. Below are the results of the poll question:
Do you feel inclusion benefits ALL students (even the students who do not have special needs)?
-yes, always (13 votes)
- yes, in certain cases (10 votes)
- no, never (0 votes)
- no, in certain cases (1 vote)
Zach Anner
The main focus of Keith Jones' keynote speech at the PEAC conference was focused on inclusion not only in the academic setting, but inclusion for individuals with disabilities into society as well.
Last year, Oprah Winfrey held a contest in which one contestant would be receiving their own show on the Own network. Zach Anner was one of the candidates in the running for his own show called "Rollin' With Zach."
Zach Anner, a 27 year-old man who is wheelchair bond due to cerebral palsy, is a great example of inclusion into society. In his videos he travels all over America showing viewers different tourist attractions, in a light and comical manner. While creating these episodes he also shows just how inaccessible things within the community can be for individuals with physical disabilities.
Last year, Oprah Winfrey held a contest in which one contestant would be receiving their own show on the Own network. Zach Anner was one of the candidates in the running for his own show called "Rollin' With Zach."
Zach Anner, a 27 year-old man who is wheelchair bond due to cerebral palsy, is a great example of inclusion into society. In his videos he travels all over America showing viewers different tourist attractions, in a light and comical manner. While creating these episodes he also shows just how inaccessible things within the community can be for individuals with physical disabilities.
Interview One: (Parent Interview)
Interview: Parent of a 7 year old with autism and a 3 year old with pervasive developmental delay
Question: What is your general outlook on inclusion? Do you feel inclusion benefits all students? How do you think it affects you and your family?
Parent Response:
-Overall my opinion is that inclusion should be the ultimate goal of any child on the spectrum. All parents should be working towards moving their child into the public school system and into a typical classroom even if it's with a support of a TSS. But I don't believe inclusion should be forced. The child needs to be ready or you will take the risk of the child regressing.
For Z (7 year old)- We had to fight to have Z's placement be at Vista. When Z was 3 and he transitioned to the IU, the IU recommended placing Z in an Early Intervention (EI) classroom. This classroom had children with varying special needs - not all had autism. They said that although Z received an autism diagnosis their rule was to place children in the least restrictive environment and they thought at the time he didn't need to be in an autistic support (AS) classroom. Of course as his mother, and knowing nothing about autism, I was just so happy to hear that they didn't think my son needed that extra support so I agreed. After 3 months in the EI class, we noticed that he had regressed and started pushing for a Vista placement. The IU quickly offered to place him in one of their AS classrooms but since the IU had already failed us once, we weren't willing to take the chance that they would fail Z again. Vista had such a good reputation with proven results. Our fight with the IU ended in Mediation (one step before taking them to court). We had the data to prove that they failed Z and were ready to go to court and they finally agreed to pay for Z's placement at Vista. Once he was there, the IU and eventually Manheim Township didn't fight us on keeping him there. I think it was clear to them that Z needed to be in this 1:1 setting and had needs that they wouldn't be able to address within the IU or the public school system. For us to force inclusion for Z would not benefit him nor the other students in his class. He would require more attention from the staff which would just take away any 1:1 time with the teacher from the typical students and he would most likely disturb the rest of the class during lessons. We've tried including Z in a Sunday school class with kids his age and it didn't go well at all - even with a TSS assisting him. So now we don't send him to Sunday school anymore.
For T (3 year old)- Although he was high functioning we were super conservative and insisted on an IU AS classroom placement when he turned 3. I'm pretty sure the IU was just happy we weren't asking for a Vista placement so i think they would have been willing to give us anything we wanted :) This past year we transitioned T to a daycare where he is with typical children with the support of a TSS. We were very excited for T to be included in a pre-school and believe it has greatly helped him. He's really improved his imaginative play and interaction with peers (not just parallel play). And he's learning the typical pre-k skills. We are hoping he'll be able to start kindergarten on time in a typical classroom - possibly with the help of a TSS. The only affect T being included in a typical pre-school has on the other students is that they may think he gets special treatment because he has a TSS with him and is treated slightly different because the TSS and daycare following his treatment plan on how to deal with different behaviors and not the school policies - specifically self-coping skills, compliance in following a direction and transitioning between activities.
Question: What is your general outlook on inclusion? Do you feel inclusion benefits all students? How do you think it affects you and your family?
Parent Response:
-Overall my opinion is that inclusion should be the ultimate goal of any child on the spectrum. All parents should be working towards moving their child into the public school system and into a typical classroom even if it's with a support of a TSS. But I don't believe inclusion should be forced. The child needs to be ready or you will take the risk of the child regressing.
For Z (7 year old)- We had to fight to have Z's placement be at Vista. When Z was 3 and he transitioned to the IU, the IU recommended placing Z in an Early Intervention (EI) classroom. This classroom had children with varying special needs - not all had autism. They said that although Z received an autism diagnosis their rule was to place children in the least restrictive environment and they thought at the time he didn't need to be in an autistic support (AS) classroom. Of course as his mother, and knowing nothing about autism, I was just so happy to hear that they didn't think my son needed that extra support so I agreed. After 3 months in the EI class, we noticed that he had regressed and started pushing for a Vista placement. The IU quickly offered to place him in one of their AS classrooms but since the IU had already failed us once, we weren't willing to take the chance that they would fail Z again. Vista had such a good reputation with proven results. Our fight with the IU ended in Mediation (one step before taking them to court). We had the data to prove that they failed Z and were ready to go to court and they finally agreed to pay for Z's placement at Vista. Once he was there, the IU and eventually Manheim Township didn't fight us on keeping him there. I think it was clear to them that Z needed to be in this 1:1 setting and had needs that they wouldn't be able to address within the IU or the public school system. For us to force inclusion for Z would not benefit him nor the other students in his class. He would require more attention from the staff which would just take away any 1:1 time with the teacher from the typical students and he would most likely disturb the rest of the class during lessons. We've tried including Z in a Sunday school class with kids his age and it didn't go well at all - even with a TSS assisting him. So now we don't send him to Sunday school anymore.
For T (3 year old)- Although he was high functioning we were super conservative and insisted on an IU AS classroom placement when he turned 3. I'm pretty sure the IU was just happy we weren't asking for a Vista placement so i think they would have been willing to give us anything we wanted :) This past year we transitioned T to a daycare where he is with typical children with the support of a TSS. We were very excited for T to be included in a pre-school and believe it has greatly helped him. He's really improved his imaginative play and interaction with peers (not just parallel play). And he's learning the typical pre-k skills. We are hoping he'll be able to start kindergarten on time in a typical classroom - possibly with the help of a TSS. The only affect T being included in a typical pre-school has on the other students is that they may think he gets special treatment because he has a TSS with him and is treated slightly different because the TSS and daycare following his treatment plan on how to deal with different behaviors and not the school policies - specifically self-coping skills, compliance in following a direction and transitioning between activities.
Interview Two: (Reading Specialist)
Interview: Reading specialist at a local elementary school
Question: What was your general view of inclusion? Do you feel inclusion benefits all children?
Response:
I believe inclusion for the most part is a good thing. All children should be given the opportunity to learn with each other. Physical disabilities should not be an excuse for a student to not be included in the general education setting. Certain cognitive disabilities, when severe enough, may affect including that child if it is not their least restrictive environment.
Question: What was your general view of inclusion? Do you feel inclusion benefits all children?
Response:
I believe inclusion for the most part is a good thing. All children should be given the opportunity to learn with each other. Physical disabilities should not be an excuse for a student to not be included in the general education setting. Certain cognitive disabilities, when severe enough, may affect including that child if it is not their least restrictive environment.
Interview Three (Parent of a Typical Student)
Interview: Parent of a typical ten year old child.
Question(s): Has your child ever been in a fully inclusive classroom? What is your personal opinion of inclusion in the school environment? Do you feel inclusion benefits all students?
Parent’s Response: My child has never been in a classroom where full inclusion has taken place. She currently is in a fifth grade classroom that is made up of 18 typical students and two students who are English language learners. A few of those 20 students in the class get pulled out for learning support services during certain parts of the school day. In the school building there are separate classrooms for those students with severe or multiple disabilities and those students who have a severe emotional or behavioral disorder. In my opinion, inclusion is not always the best choice for every special needs student. Inclusion should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Some students in my opinion would not best be served in a general education classroom for a whole school day. I also believe that there are not enough supports and staff available in most general education classrooms to support the needs of those students with severe or multiple disabilities. I believe that inclusion would not benefit all students in my daughter’s classroom, because there is only one adult currently in the classroom, which is the general classroom teacher. Inclusion may work in some school environments and for some students, but in my opinion is does not benefit all students.
Question(s): Has your child ever been in a fully inclusive classroom? What is your personal opinion of inclusion in the school environment? Do you feel inclusion benefits all students?
Parent’s Response: My child has never been in a classroom where full inclusion has taken place. She currently is in a fifth grade classroom that is made up of 18 typical students and two students who are English language learners. A few of those 20 students in the class get pulled out for learning support services during certain parts of the school day. In the school building there are separate classrooms for those students with severe or multiple disabilities and those students who have a severe emotional or behavioral disorder. In my opinion, inclusion is not always the best choice for every special needs student. Inclusion should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Some students in my opinion would not best be served in a general education classroom for a whole school day. I also believe that there are not enough supports and staff available in most general education classrooms to support the needs of those students with severe or multiple disabilities. I believe that inclusion would not benefit all students in my daughter’s classroom, because there is only one adult currently in the classroom, which is the general classroom teacher. Inclusion may work in some school environments and for some students, but in my opinion is does not benefit all students.
Interview Four (Learning Support English Teacher and General Education English Co-teacher)
Interview: High school learning support English teacher and general education English co-teacher
Question: What are your feelings on inclusion?
Response: I love the idea of inclusion, when it is the least restrictive environment. I teach the same students for both learning support and general education, and I find that they definitely benefit from being pulled out, but also benefit from being included. I think this type of set up is great, because I can focus on what they need help on and provide the individualized attention during learning support English, and then they receive the whole group instruction during general education English. During learning support English I only have five students, so providing them with the attention they need is a lot easier. I know they would not receive the same amount of support if they were only taking general education English. I have seen such improvements with my students during their time spend in learning support. I also see such great peer interaction in both classroom settings. I feel like there is such a push for inclusion, and the system that our school has is a great way to include students while providing support.
Question: What are your feelings on inclusion?
Response: I love the idea of inclusion, when it is the least restrictive environment. I teach the same students for both learning support and general education, and I find that they definitely benefit from being pulled out, but also benefit from being included. I think this type of set up is great, because I can focus on what they need help on and provide the individualized attention during learning support English, and then they receive the whole group instruction during general education English. During learning support English I only have five students, so providing them with the attention they need is a lot easier. I know they would not receive the same amount of support if they were only taking general education English. I have seen such improvements with my students during their time spend in learning support. I also see such great peer interaction in both classroom settings. I feel like there is such a push for inclusion, and the system that our school has is a great way to include students while providing support.
Interview Five (High School Student)
Interview: High school student
Question: What are your feelings on inclusion?
Answer: I think inclusion is a good thing. I am in both a learning support class and a general education class. I like being included in the general education class, but I don’t think I would be able to participate and understand the material without my learning support class. Mrs. A is really good about teaching us the things we will apply in general education. I feel like I’m ahead of the other students since we do a lot of the work we will do during general education English during learning support English. I like this because I know what to expect. I don’t mind my learning support class, but I definitely like being in general education classes too. It’s also nice to have that class with my friends.
Question: What are your feelings on inclusion?
Answer: I think inclusion is a good thing. I am in both a learning support class and a general education class. I like being included in the general education class, but I don’t think I would be able to participate and understand the material without my learning support class. Mrs. A is really good about teaching us the things we will apply in general education. I feel like I’m ahead of the other students since we do a lot of the work we will do during general education English during learning support English. I like this because I know what to expect. I don’t mind my learning support class, but I definitely like being in general education classes too. It’s also nice to have that class with my friends.
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