Public schools welcome students with disabilities as full members

Children Today, March-April, 1991 by Linda Davern, Roberta Schnorr

A growing number of schools and districts across the United States and Canada are moving in the direction of welcoming all children--regardless of their learning, physical or emotional characteristics (including students with the most severe disabilities)--as full members of their school communities. Full membership means that children are based in regular classes and participate in a variety of learning activities with children without disabilities while pursuing individual goals appropriate to their success in the present and future. The parents of these children and the school staff involved in such efforts believe that "inclusion" is important for the general knowledge development of these children and young adults as well as the following:

* Language/Communication Development. If we expect students with special needs to develop effective verbal language (or other forms of communication), these students need to be immersed in rich language environments with their nondisabled peers.

* Social Skills Development. A long term goal for our children is to live and work successfully in their communities. For children with disabilities, this same goal applies (although they may need additional support). The appropriate place for such preparation is regular classes and activities in schools. It is here that children can learn from each other. Every parent and teacher knows that children and young adults imitate each other. In order for students to develop the critical social skills which are vital for success in work and personal life, children and young adults need role models throughout their day and throughout their school years.

* Building Friendships. Friendship is very important in the life of a child or young adult. It is an integral part of their sense of well-being. In order to develop friendships, children need daily shared time and experiences with others their age. Schools can be a source of friendships that last a lifetime.

It is interesting to listen to what parents have to say about "inclusion" and their children:

"Now what has integration meant for my son Daniel? [2] Well first of all, Daniel likes sameness and familiarity. He has been able to walk in the exact same footsteps as his brother and sister, which is something I never imagined was possible when he was two years old. Both his older brother and sister went to [the same elementary, middle and high school] and it has been just lovely that Daniel has been able to follow the same pattern of schools. The development of language has been just tremendous because he has been surrounded by normal speech--bombarded with it six hours a day.

"What has integration meant to our family? First, it has made a big difference in how isolated and different and lonely and set apart we felt--because we really did feel that way when he was young. . . . I would say what is most important is that his school and work experiences combined have taught us a family that Daniel is capable of leading a reasonably ordinary day-to-day life--like the rest of us. When he was little it seemed impossible that he could lead a kind of 'regular life.' It has helped us feel hopeful and guardedly optimistic about his future."

How does the presence of students with special needs affect other students at school? The majority of students in our public schools learn very powerful lessons when students with special needs are separated from them. Since they do not get to know these students well, they often come to believe that these children and young adults are different and scary, and should be separated from them. When students with differences are not in their classrooms, these classrooms do not reflect society and do not adequately prepare our children for the future. If we want graduates who welcome others--regardless of their learning, physical or emotional characteristics--as neighbors, co-workers and friends, daily shared experience among students will be essential. As one parent expressed it:

"These [graduates] are going to be his job coaches; they may be the staff that work in the home where he lives. They're going to help him scrub his teeth, participate in selecting what he wears, and comfort him when he is ill--they'll be involved in very personal and intimate ways in his life. Some of them will be growing into positions of responsibility. They'll be running the program he's in. Some of them are going to be moving into positions of bureaucracies . . . they'll be directing policies that will determine the kinds of programs he's in. I think they will serve him better and be richer human beings themselves because they've had the opportunity of spending time with students like Daniel--because that was part of their normal school career."

How Are Individual Education Programs Carried Out in Regular Education Settings?

By law, each child and young adult who is identified by a school district as having a "handicapping condition" has an Individual Education Program (I.E.P.) developed by school staff parents (and hopefully students). Schools which welcome all students as full members are finding ways for students to work on the individual goals which are important for them, while remaining with students without disabilities throughout the day. To show how teaching staff achieve this, we will present information on Jamal, a first grader.