Is your child in a mainstream classroom?
Amy writes about how an inclusive education has provided great opportunities for her daughter
Photo by krossbow via Flickr
In honour of Inclusive Education Month, Community Living Ontario shared a story from a small Ontario town. The writer’s 10-year-old daughter has been the classmate of a child with special needs since kindergarten. When asked about the importance of inclusion, her daughter said, “Inclusion is something you shouldn’t have to think about; it should just happen.” Smart kid.
Until the end of Grade 8, Talia was fully included in mainstream classes. Here are some snapshots of what inclusion has meant to her: Writing and delivering speeches, awesome scores on spelling tests, performing African drumming with classmates on stage, attending sleepover parties, travelling to Quebec City for a week-long trip, working on projects at a classmate's house — the list goes on.
At the high school level, Talia is still continuing to learn. And she loves school and her teachers. But the options for inclusion at a highly academic public school are limited. In Grade 10, she was enrolled in an innovative program called CELP (Community Environmental Leadership Program). Highlights included a one week canoe trip, visting a water treatment plant and collecting fresh eggs from a chicken coop! Now, Tal's in a self-contained class with some integration. Once weekly, she goes to a lunchtime Global Outreach (social justice) club. She sometimes attends classes, such as personal fitness or cooking.
Fortunately, high school does give Tal some amazing opportunities for inclusion in the community. With a job coach, Tal’s had work placements at restaurants, a childcare centre, senior centre, office, a hotel and even at a university animal research facility.
I'd love to hear about your kids' school situation. Are you home-schooling them? Are your kids in a mainstream classroom or self-contained classroom? Do they have support? Is this working for your child?
Photo by krossbow via Flickr
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Amy Baskin says ....
@SerenaJora That's fantastic that your daughter is doing so well in school. Having the right support in the classroom makes all the difference!
SerenaJora says ....
My daughter has PDD-NOS. She is currently in a regular classroom (gr. 2). This is the first year she has had a support person (EA) in her room. Being in a regular classroom has been fantastic for my daughter! She has difficulty with speech (forming sounds and conversing) but made so much progress starting in kindergarten that my husband and I know we made the right choice for her. In addition, she is less disruptive this year - she has been maturing emotionally in leaps and bounds.
We so rarely know that what we do for our child is the right thing; but I can say that the regular school system is the right place for our daughter.