inclusion

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Home : 2002 : September : 12

inclusion
By Joan

While inclusion seems pretty frightening to most of us, it is not always a negative experience. When done properly, many studies show the results to be dramatic. My close friend's child is autistic and was fully included
beginning in the fourth grade. He was assigned a full time assistant. He was an ideal candidate as he is not violent and he has promising abilities in some subject areas. My friend was very nervous about taking this step, but the results were amazing. He grew almost three years in math and over a year and a half in reading in only one school year!!! Also, the students in his class

learned a lot from having him in there. I am sure that students who have shared a class with Jason are a bit more compassionate, understanding, and informed (and possibly have a better sense of humor).

The word inclusion has a bad ring to it because of some poor choices that have been made. Inclusion candidates should be well-screened to ensure that they will not hinder the learning that takes place in the classroom and that they will benefit from the new learning environment too. In my tenure as a teacher, I have seen more positive (two Downs Syndrome and one Autistic) inclusions than negative (an emotionally disturbed child... yikes!). Great strides have been made in the area of special education, and inclusion, in my opinion, is one of them.