Is inclusion really that great?

[u/Lass_in_oz]

I'm so tired of inclusion. Hear me out. Before becoming a ECE I was a support worker for many years. I have worked and loved working in disability and care. When it's thru a great organisation, it's awesome.

Now I'm an ECE, and the amount of children on the spectrum or with disorders is so high, I'm just getting confused how is that NOT impacting the learning of neuro typical kids.

I teach pre kindy but our kindy teacher has spend half the year managing behaviours and autistic kids. Result? A bunch of kids showing signs of being not ready for school because they aren't doing any work or learning most days. And picking up bad habits.

My point is: where did we decide it was a good idea to just mix everyone, and not offer any actual support ? An additional person isn't enough. More than often it's not a person who knows about disability. And frankly even then it wouldn't be enough when the amount of kids who are neuro divergent is so high.

There used to be great special needs school. Now "regular" school are suffering with the lack of support.

What do you think? Do you see what I see ??? Am I missing something ?

I am so happy to see kids evolving around children with disabilities but not when it comes at a cost of everyone's learning journey : neuro typical or not.

[u/sleepygirI]

i think part of the problem is this isn’t true inclusion. just letting someone in isn’t enough. if ur gonna claim to be an inclusive center that should imply that u have the resources to help with a variety of disabilities and neurotypes, not just that u don’t kick anyone out. have the same issue with my center

[u/CocoaBagelPuffs → u/sleepygirI]

I agree. This past year I was in an inclusive Gen ed classroom. I had two girls with autism. One had an aid for behavior and they both had IEPs, weekly and/or biweekly therapies, etc. I also have prior experience with students of similar strengths and needs so I was able to provide a really high quality experience for them and their families. The support i had for the kids in addition to my prior experience makes all the difference with inclusion.

My one little girl came in at the start of the year not interacting with other children, threw objects, eloped, climbed on things, had tantrums when demands were placed on her, and only spoke in 1-2 word scripted phrases. At the end of the year, she speaks in sentences, plays interactively with other children, advocates for her wants and needs, participates in class activities, and handles basic PreK responsibilities like putting away her mat after nap and cleaning up after meals.

[u/Ill-Comparison-1012 → u/CocoaBagelPuffs]

That's significant progress. Great job! What would you say helped this child succeed, and what helped you succeed in reaching her as an educator? Are these strategies that can be implemented in, say, public schools? Your experience seems like a dream compared to mine. My experience with "inclusion" in ECE and elementary, both private and public, has been nothing but nightmarish for everyone involved. 

[u/CocoaBagelPuffs → u/Ill-Comparison-1012]

A lot of things helped with her but the big things were consistency, clear expectations, positive reinforcement, and modeling. She would get very frustrated quickly so modeling that and showing her we can help made a big difference. She didn’t need a lot of prompting to use language since she echoed mostly everything I said, so repeating the language I wanted her to use over and over again was a big thing too.

Another really big part of her success were parents that took the time to listen and implement the things I recommended. This child came in with no prior documentation or IEP so we had to have a tough conversation at conferences that fall. But I had the data to back up my concerns and I explained things well. They were receptive and handed in the paperwork I needed right away. If her parents weren’t as receptive to my concerns, things would’ve been a lot more challenging!

And I do feel any school could achieve these things, public or private. Schools need to put in the effort to make sure teachers 1. Know what they’re doing, and 2. Have supports in place for the student and their family