I wrote this piece for someone who is creating an inclusion workshop. I was asked to write about what inclusion is, and why it is important. This is what I came up with . . .
People First
One thing that a lot of people do, whether they mean to or not, is label one another. Whether you refer to your diabetic sister, your autistic cousin, or even just your disabled relative, you are labelling someone based on one aspect about them – not for who they truly are.
Everyone has their strengths, hopes, and dreams, and everyone has their weaknesses, quirks, and extra needs. And that is perfectly okay, perfectly normal. What people don't often realize is that is so easy to label someone based on a prevalent aspect about them; usually these aspects are negative.
For example: Lets say you used a hearing aid in one ear to help you hear. Would you always want people to refer to you as hard of hearing? Would you want someone saying, “This is our hard of hearing student, ______________ (name)” every time they introduced you? Probably not. Yes, maybe you would want people to be aware of that in certain situations, but that doesn't mean it has to define you.
What is often common is people saying “disabled”, “autistic” etc. rather than saying a person who has a disability or a person who has autism. They were a person first before they ever had a disability, and that needs to be recognized.
Regardless of what strengths and weaknesses one has, they deserve to be known for all the positives that they have to offer. Everyone has something to offer to the world, whether it is the ability to make you smile, the ability to make you appreciate the little things, or whether it is just the ability to provide good company.
We are all people first, and we all deserve that equality.
“With” not just “In”
If you ask some people what it means to be included they'll tell you that it means to be in the same environment as everyone else, to be a part of a community. What people don't realize is that it's more than just being in what's considered an “inclusive environment”.
There are some teachers and educational assistants who believe that students in special education are being integrated when they are eating lunch in the cafeteria, or when they are in a mainstream class despite their special needs. What those people don't realize is that being included is more than just being in a place where inclusion could happen; inclusion is when people take the time to get to know someone who has special needs, and then includes them in different ways with whatever is going on.
For example: If a student who has special needs is in a mainstream class, that doesn't mean that student needs to sit at the back of the room where they won't “be a disruption”, as some educators would say. It means that this student is just like all the other students; has a desk that they do their work at, participates whenever possible, and is encouraged to interact with other students at more social times (recess, snack time, etc.). Yes, a student who has special needs may need support from an educational assistant, may need to work one-on-one occasionally, and may have some “negative behaviours”, but that doesn't mean that this student doesn't deserve a chance to be included. There are many situations where students are “islands in a mainstream”, meaning that they are mostly by themselves, even though they are supposed to be included in the mainstream class. It takes more than just putting that student in the class and expecting them to be included; it takes the time and effort to allow that student to be who they are, and takes the time and effort to allow the other students to get to know the students with special needs for who they are, not for what special needs they have.
Another example: Just because the students from the special education class are able to sit int he cafeteria doesn't mean that they are being included form the rest of the student body. If you look at high schools that do this, you'll often find that the students from special education have their own table that isn't with anything of the other students. Although the students from special education are in a place where inclusion could happen, they are not being included because the other students of the school aren't talking to them, socializing with them, etc. The other students see the students from special ed. as being different because they all have to sit at their own table. Although it looks like they are being a part of the school, reality is: the students from special education aren't receiving the same attention as the other students; they are being more supervised and being more displaced as a group. Real inclusion would be students from mainstream classes and students from special education eating lunch together at the cafeteria, barriers put aside.
As a changing society we need to be able to realize that people who have special needs deserve what we all deserve: a chance. A chance to be known for who they are, and not for whatever needs they have. Inclusion is more than just being in the right place at the appropriate times; it's also about being equal to peers and being accepted for who you are.
What Anyone Can Do
Take the time to get to know everyone for who they are, regardless of what abilities they do and do not have. Make the effort to be the best that you can be when it comes to respecting people who have special needs. Don't treat people who have special needs any less than you would treat your other friends. If someone is 15-years-old, treat them like they are 15-years-old, even if they do have an intellectual delay. Have realistic, yet positive expectations for everyone.
And most important of all: Don't make any judgements too quickly.
No comments:
Post a Comment