Inclusion: Practices and Concerns

Confusion regarding the definition of inclusion continues with the terms inclusion and mainstreaming being used interchangeably. Neary and Halvorsen (1995) presented inclusion as the practice of including children with disabilities as members of a school site with age-appropriate general education classrooms. This differs from mainstreaming which only includes disabled students in the general classroom for periodic instruction. These authors view this distinction as critical. The mainstreamed student does not belong in the class since they are only there periodically. Teachers view the mainstreamed student as belonging to another class with another teacher responsible for him/her. Students also view the mainstreamed student as belonging somewhere else. Inclusion allows for the student to belong in the regular education classroom, avoids inappropriate placement of special needs students, and allows for the natural proportion of disabled students in the community to be represented in the classroom. In the inclusive environment the student with or without disability moves along with their peers to each grade

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ith a special education teacher, the general teacher, and the parent and this team must be included in the development of a student plan that increases support and participation. This team must address educational priorities and activities and a concluding student participation plan must be developed. Decisions regarding the need for physical assistance, equipment, adapted materials, multi-level curriculum, instructional groupings, teaching formats, and other levels of support must be make. The transdisiplinary functional assessment process allows for the identification of the critical skills that will be needed in the classroom, the school, and other routines. These functional assessments provide a list of the needs and the requirements to meet these needs. Current levels of student performance as well as needed adaptations and teaching targets are provided to ensure inclusion success. Supplemental services are also identified. Many disabled students will requite supplemental instructional services related to communication or mobility. These services may need to be provided in the classroom and the community. The team will determine the need for social-emotional, physical, sensory, or communicative needs. The team appr
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Approximate Word count = 6678
Approximate Pages = 27 (250 words per page)

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