I'm thinking this may be a hot topic. Both sides present some very persuasive arguments.
I guess I'd like to add mine to the fray, giving those out there a mother's view of what inclusion has meant to my son and family.
My son is 11-years-old, is in 6th grade and has been in the public school system all his life. Now we knew early on that something was up, but we didn't officially get a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome until he was about to enter 2nd grade.
That's not to say we didn't try. He was tested repeatedly through the school system, first through early childhood intervention, then by the IEP team at his elementary school. Both times we were told -- although he showed some interesting trends in testing -- he was perfectly neurotypical.
The reason for the symptoms he displayed, including social awkwardness and isolation, sensory integration sensitivities, restricted interests, etc -- were just a by-product of him being shy. Or so we were told.
During this time, he received no services at school. No aide. No OT. No nothing. Many days we would have raging meltdowns in the morning and refusals to go to school. Afternoons were no better. As soon as he walked in the door he'd unleash all the frustrations of the day.
We finally did get the proper diagnosis from an outside source and he was granted an IEP, but little changed.. Still no aide, no social skills groups and no understanding of his needs. It was during this time that he was forcibly dragged into school when his anxiety was so high and didn't want to go in. After all giving into him would just reward him for his "bad behavior."
Fast forward to today and our experience has been dismal to say the least. Bullying, misunderstanding and lack of services have peppered his short school career. My brilliant child has been labeled as slow, unmotivated and unmanageable. Throughout we've tried to get the services he needs only to be told that once again budgets had been cut and the resources were just not there. It took a serious hospitalization and a threat of private placement to finally get an aide. Even then she was not trained properly and at times did more harm than good.
In comparison I have a friend who's son is at a school for kids on the spectrum. There he is understood. He's even viewed as an asset instead of a problem. And he has friends. Lot of friends. Ones that are compassionate and understanding. This child feels accepted and encouraged, and more importantly he feels like he belongs. Since he came to this school from a public placement, his behaviors have improved dramatically.
This is something my child cannot say. His sense of alienation and isolation grows exponentially with each passing year.
I know that inclusion CAN happen,
when done properly. But from our experience the
when is an
if and a big one at that. Don't worry, we're working on solutions for my son, but in my mind inclusion is totally overrated.
And now, I'd like to open the floor to other opinions out there. Your thoughts?
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Comments (3)
As a special education teacher, it's tough. I've worked with different districts who do inclusion differently. I'm surprised though, that he received no help, no 504 Plan or anything in elementary school. In my area, we diagnose our kids left and right. As an advocate for families, I always recommend getting outside assistance in diagnosis and recommendations in order to get what is vital for their child to succeed in the regular education classroom -- where all schools keep pushing kids into.
Depending on where you live, there are many programs that are offered outside of the school district -- evenings, weekends, and summer, etc.. that could definitely help him, or even you as a family. I'm from the Philadelphia area, so we've got a lot, but KidAntics is an awesome social program in our area, and our local university just started up an Autism certificate program which I just enrolled in.
When I was a child there was no Asperger's and virtually no autism, dyslexia was a new discovery. I was not an easy child but I had the good fortune to go to Giggleswick School an English public school which perversely means it was private. There was some bullying (actually in my experience quite a lot) but generally the school was guided by a sense of fair play. The teaching staff were very committed and generous with their time. Our days were fairly rigidly structured and there was discipline. I did much better at school than might have been expected and I think that having no concessions made and having to interact (however badly) and compete with ordinary boys was a benefit. I suspect that had I been able to hide behind my diagnosis I would have accomplished nothing. I firmly believe that given a dedicated teaching staff committed to getting the best from each pupil and with adequate physical resources inclusion is the best option. Personally I would keep the diagnosis from both the pupil and his peers and allow interactions to develop naturally. Although I must admit I did not really have friends (still don't by some definitions) this is infinitely better than having well meaning adults trying to force friendships on people. My only regret is not having discipline and structure forced on me in university which somewhat undermined the good that Giggleswick had done.
Inclusion is not a part of the picture unless it involves a thoughtful IEP. Non diagnosis in a gen-ed surrounding is not inclusion. Inclusion is when the proper supports and interventions are made to make the classroom comfortable for the child to be properly included. Having your fanny in a seat in the same room as neurotypicals done not make you included.. It involves additional therapies, positive behavioral supports, social support, and assessment and/or curriculum differentiation. Unless the school has done everything possible to allow your child to be successful in the presence of his or her peers they have not tried inclusion.