Students with disabilities experience significantly higher rates of mistreatment and restraints in schools. As an education and disability advocate working to change this, I frequently encounter well-intentioned arguments that students with special needs should be segregated from the general student population.
Many parents and teachers express sympathy but also a desire to keep certain groups of students apart from the general student population for a variety of reasons.
“Is it a good idea to include children with special needs in mainstream education if it interferes with other children’s learning?”
“What were the other 20-odd kids in the classroom doing while the teacher spent most of her time tending to your child with a disability?”
“It’s unfortunate when children with special needs are integrated into mainstream education at the expense of other children. This is a wonderful story, but it means this woman’s child was receiving far more support and attention than other children.”
These are the kinds of comments we see in parent forums and in responses to articles about autism and other disabilities in the classroom, as well as from teachers who face serious behavioral problems and poorly integrated classrooms. Resistance to the practice of inclusion itself remains strong.
Many teachers and parents are unaware of the pedagogy behind inclusive education. Inclusive education does not mean throwing kids with disabilities into general education classrooms without the supports or tools and leaving teachers to clean up the resulting mess. When schools integrate thoughtlessly, they fail to meet everyone’s needs.
Additionally, these schools do not meet the legal requirements set out in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees every child the right to a free and appropriate public education, including that students with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment possible, without being segregated or isolated from other students.
Inclusion works when educators work together, have the support they need, and believe in the value of all students.
For teachers and students (and parents), learning about and accommodating students with disabilities in their schools may be an inconvenience at first, but there is no inherent right to be free from inconveniences, and perhaps it’s time to take a closer look at why, as educators and parents, we are demanding it in the first place.
Inclusion, by definition, is a careful assessment of a child’s needs and the implementation of a strategic plan to support that child within the general classroom environment. This is done by a special education team, not a single general education teacher. The team offers options such as teacher training, team teaching, push-in special education instruction, classroom equipment (standing desks, computer workstations, etc.), and interpreters or classroom assistants who are added to the classroom for part of the day.
My son has autism and has an assistant in his regular class who supports him and several other students as needed. His other accommodations have little impact on his classmates. He writes on a keyboard, meets with a school counselor when he’s having trouble, and receives social skills instruction. His school staff meets and works together to incorporate children of all abilities into regular classes. Test scores and academic achievement remain high, even with the push-in of a severely emotionally disturbed student from a countywide behavioral program. General education students are doing well.
Cost is often a central argument against inclusion. Of course, it costs money to adequately support students with special needs in mainstream classrooms, but it is much cheaper to provide assistants and training than it is to have a separate classroom with a special needs teacher or to send a child to a specialized private school.
The time cost is even greater. Inclusion requires teachers, schools, and entire school systems to follow the model. It requires training and a holistic rethinking of the role of education and the unique value of each child and their learning experience, regardless of whether they have a disability.
But inclusion is best for students with and without disabilities. Research shows that when inclusion is done well, the entire class benefits. Focusing on one group doesn’t marginalize others; quite the opposite is true. Inclusion increases kids without disabilities’ abilities to cooperate, collaborate, understand and appreciate different perspectives, think critically, and even perform better on tests.
Yes, research shows that the majority of general education students perform as well or better on standardized tests when educated in the same classroom environment as their peers with disabilities. Classrooms containing a few unsupported students with severe behavioral disorders are exceptions. However, such diagnoses are rare, and additional support for such students appears to be key.
With the right training, tools, and support, teachers in inclusive classrooms understand and serve different learners and individualize instruction to better meet the needs of all learners. Students with and without disabilities have different needs and strengths. Teachers in inclusive environments learn how to address this, which enables them to teach better.
Empathy cannot be measured quantitatively, but it is important: How children view their peers who look and learn differently than they do is something they will also consider when they become adults and enter communities where they live and work with diverse citizens — a key factor in whether communities and workplaces can function and thrive.
Finally, and most importantly, students with disabilities can achieve success. Their gifts and talents are diverse, just like those of all students. They have a legal right to an appropriate public education, but they also have much to offer their non-disabled peers, teachers, and schools.
Inclusion works when educators work together, receive the support they need, and believe in the value of every student. It’s time for schools and teachers to reevaluate long-held biases and make the initial financial investments necessary in training and staffing. This is also the law.
Inclusion is the least expensive and most effective way to educate students. It starts with administrators making it a priority. When administrators model inclusion and teachers help implement it, the culture of the entire school (and school system) changes. Test scores rarely get worse and often go up. More importantly, kids become better citizens.
Inclusion is best practice and, quite simply, the right way to teach.