Wendy is not only one of my best friends, but she is one of the most passionate and hard-working educators I know. I’ve known her for nearly two decades, and I can’t believe I didn’t pick her brain on one of the topics closest to her heart until now! Now, you all get to hear her perspective and learn from her experience as a special education teacher. Whether you are a teacher or a parent, there’s a lot we can learn about this population and how to love and serve them better!
We decided to go with a question-and-answer style for this post, where I posed the questions. I know she put a lot of thought and time into sharing this information with you and I believe you will benefit SO MUCH from reading it! Please leave your encouraging comments below and share what you learned! ~JoEllen
Inclusive Education
This post originally appeared on http://www.cfah.org/
Please tell us about why you decided to go into special education
I knew I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was in high school. Back, then, I thought I would be an elementary school classroom teacher. During my senior year of high school, I volunteered at a class geared towards kids with Down syndrome. I fell in love with those kids! It was my first experience interacting with children with disabilities and it helped me to see that in so many ways, people with disabilities are just like the rest of us. They, too, need love, respect, meaningful relationships, and a good education. Then, in my time at Cal, I took some classes on Disability Studies. I started to learn more about the social justice aspects of inclusive education and how, as recently as the early 1970s, people with disabilities were often stuck in institutions and denied enrollment in public schools. Since the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children with disabilities are now educated in our public school system. I felt called to be the best teacher I could be for students with disabilities. I wanted to help find ways to facilitate students with disabilities participating in their general education classes, help them reach their academic and social potential, and be full members of a school community. I have stayed in this field because I feel that it has really allowed me to think about and teach each of my students as individuals.
What is inclusion all about? Why do it?
Inclusion in a very general sense is when children and people with disabilities are full members of our society. In the education context, inclusion means that all students with and without disabilities are full, valued members of the class and larger school community. Students with disabilities participate in the general curriculum and in class/school-wide activities alongside their non-disabled peers. Services and supports are given to students with disabilities in the general education setting so that these students can access the general curriculum and make progress towards their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals.
Inclusion highlights the fact that every student – including students with disabilities – learns differently. When teachers offer differentiated instruction, incorporate multi-modal teaching practices, and utilize principles of universal design, the learning experience for all students is enriched for everyone, not just for students with disabilities. Students with more severe disabilities may need modified materials or technology to engage in the general curriculum. These supports allow all students to access the general curriculum on some level. Inclusion operates on the assumption that a student is capable and can become competent. One must assume that a student can, and realize that it’s just a matter of figuring out how they can join in, learn, and show what they have learned.
There are many reasons why schools should educate students with disabilities in an inclusive setting. First of all, inclusion is the law. Under IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), districts are required to educate students in the Least Restrictive Environment. This means to the maximum extent possible, students with disabilities should be educated with their non-disabled peers. Also, there are many benefits to inclusion. In an inclusive setting, students with disabilities are more likely to see models of positive behavior from their peers. Conversely, in a special day class where students with disabilities are segregated from the mainstream, if all or many of the students in the class have behavioral challenges, there is no positive behavior for students to emulate. When teachers and non-disabled peers talk, they constantly flood the learning environment with language. This input is extremely beneficial for helping students with speech and language related disabilities. Students who are given access to the general curriculum can often achieve more than what was initially thought possible. When high expectations are set for their learning, students often rise to the occasion. General education students in inclusive classrooms learn empathy and have opportunities to be an ally to someone with a disability. Friendships that are formed are mutually beneficial for both students with and without disabilities. Inclusion is an issue of equity. We give students what they need to have access to the general curriculum, even if what they get is not exactly the same as what everyone else gets. Inclusion should be a goal, not just for schools, but for our society at large.
What are needed components to make inclusion successful? Are there times when inclusion doesn’t work?
There are many factors that make inclusion difficult to pull off well. Inclusion requires the buy-in from the entire school community to treat all students as equal members of the school community. Classroom teachers need to feel ownership over the student with disability’s education and well-being just as much as the special education teacher does. There needs to be time to plan and work together. Inclusion requires resources such as access to needed technology, training for instructional aides who support the students, a willingness to change or adapt instructional practices, constant collaboration among all parties that work with the student, a network of peers who are willing to support the student, just to name a few. Even without all of the necessary pieces, an individual teacher’s efforts to help include a student can be a catalyst for that student’s academic or social achievement. There are certainly times, however, when a student may need time away from an inclusive setting. For example, if a student is a repeated risk to himself or his peers, the student may benefit from some time in a more structured or therapeutic environment. The goal should always be to get the student back into an inclusive setting and plan should be written to backwards map how and when the student will eventually return to a less restrictive environment.
Can you give some examples of what inclusion might look like?
- To provide access to a 7th grade student with a 1st grade reading level who is reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian in his class, the inclusion support teacher creates a slideshow “book” that includes pictures, repetitive sentence structures, and sentences that include sight words that the student is working on to provide access to the core curriculum at the student’s level.
- A student with a disability comes in from elementary school with an established lunch bunch group. New members join the group and they meet weekly over the course of middle school. The group participates in social activities together outside of school and works together in school to educate other peers about the student’s disability and launches a schoolwide campaign to end the use of the R-word (retard/retarded).
- A student who is still working on number recognition is given the grade level general education math worksheet to work on that goal. The general education teacher devotes some time during independent work time to work with the student and provides feedback.
- The teacher calls on a non-verbal student who uses an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device to contribute thoughts and ideas to a class discussion.
- A student with a significant disability is given the job to pass out writing folders or read names off equity sticks. This helps the student learn the names of her classmates.
- A student who needs regular breaks is taught to self-monitor his emotional state using a timer and a visual tool (such as the Zones of Regulation). The student can request a break using a break card when frustrated.
- When planning a field trip, the teacher and inclusion support teacher collaborate to figure out an accessible route for their student who uses a wheelchair. That student’s whole group takes that route with him.
What are some things you wish you could tell the other general education teachers, students, or their parents?
- Everyone is an individual.
- It is important to recognize that everyone is an individual. Everyone has different learning styles, everyone has different strengths. This includes people with disabilities. Just because you know someone with Down syndrome, it doesn’t mean that the next person you meet with Down syndrome will be exactly the same as the first. There will certainly be some similarities, but the individuals will likely have different interests, different skills, and different areas of difficulty.
- Every flaw is a need in disguise.
- If you get annoyed by a person with a disability, you can ask yourself, “Why does she do that?” If you take some time to figure out why the person behaves the way she does, it may change the way you see the situation and how you might respond. This is not to say that people with disabilities should get away with annoying or harmful behaviors. I believe that students with disabilities need to be held accountable for their behavior. Instead, it is an encouragement to try to see the situation from their perspective. Everyone needs healthy doses of empathy, especially when life gives you a condition that you cannot control or change. It can also be a powerful teaching opportunity when you are able to identify and name the reason why a person’s behavior is displeasing and offer some suggestions for how they can get what they want in a less bothersome way.
- Everyone has something positive to contribute.
- If you take the time to get to know someone, you will be able to find something positive about anyone, even someone who may initially seem like they have very limited functioning.
- Use respectful language.
- Use people-first language. A person’s disability is just one aspect of who they are. It would not be fair to have that be the primary label. Instead of saying “I have an autistic in my class” or even “the autistic person”, refer to that person as “the student with autism” or “the person with autism.” People with disabilities are people first and foremost. That should be reflected in the way that we talk about them.
- Do not refer to having a disability as a joke or insult. There are plenty of people in the world who are “slow” because they have a processing disorder or have been medically labeled with “mental retardation.” It hurts them and the people who love them when “retard” and words like that are used as an insult. (Sidenote: The medical and educational community have recently changed the diagnosis label of mental retardation to intellectual disability. So technically, no one is “retarded” anymore. Took them long enough!!)
- Model inclusive interactions
- How the teacher treats students with disabilities will affect how students in the class treats those students. The teacher is a model for those interactions. Students pick up on whether or not a classmate with a disabilities is included in class discussions, spoken to with kindness and respect, shown patience when struggling, and held accountable for behavior. Parents can also try to encourage their children to get to know students with disabilities and to include them in out-of-school activities such as playdates and birthday parties.
What should I do if I suspect my child has special needs?
First of all, it is important to point out that the function of special education is not to accommodate every child’s individual learning need. It is the job of the general education teacher to ensure that her instruction is reaching an overwhelming majority of the class, even students with disabilities.
If your child is in preschool or younger and you suspect a disability, it is best to consult your pediatrician. Your doctor may be able to help refer your child to be evaluated by additional specialists. Early intervention has been shown to be incredibly beneficial for children with any sort of developmental delay. If your child is school-aged, the first step is to talk to your child’s teacher. Does the teacher share your same concerns? Has your child received any interventions? Are there any interventions that your child could be receiving that he/she currently is not (ex. a regular check-in with the teacher, a prompt from a peer or teacher, academic intervention such as targeted small group instruction, etc). If your child is already receiving interventions and does not seem to be making progress, you can request having a SST (Student Study Team or Student Support Team) meeting. During this SST team, the team will look at your child’s specific strengths and areas of need. The result of the meeting should be an action plan detailing the specific interventions that will be put in place to help your child improve in the areas of need. Generally, there is a period of time where interventions are to be implemented after which the team will reconvene to evaluate the efficacy of the action plan and interventions. If it is pretty clear that a student has a disability that affects educational progress, some parents jump directly to a request for assessment and skip the SST. The request should be in writing as that officially begins the district’s legal timeline for providing a response. If there is the possibility of a disability, but it is not for certain, the school may set up an SST first to try some interventions before initiating a special education assessment.
In any case, be empowered to advocate for your child! Ultimately, parental/guardian involvement is essential for students with special needs to succeed.
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Wendy, thank you for sharing! I’m glad there are teachers like you 🙂 I’m sure it’s not easy but you are making a difference in each of these students’ lives.