Essay about Inclusion in Practice

A. Disability legislation increases the recognition of actively involving individuals with a disability into community based projects and adapting mainstream projects for the involvement of others with a disability. This encourages inclusion for disabled individuals into the community and helps with other factors such as disabled access for wheelchair users and individuals with impaired mobility in the likes of schools and universities as well as local shops and community centres. Encouraging inclusion of disabled individuals into the community “normalizes” disability and encourages a positive

OUTCOME 1 Understand the legislation and policies that support the human rights and inclusion of individuals with learning disabilities.

Inclusion is about ensuring that everyone has the equality of learning opportunities for all children and young people, regardless of disabilities or background. Meeting their needs is an important right which needs to be met, and children need to be seen be part of the community. Promoting including is important, valuing diversity is an important way of doing this, and by been open to others we can include everyone in activities in a way which doesn’t exclude anyone. A number of different policies and procedures are in place are in place to make sure that this is done. Legislation’s are legal documents that are put in place for setting to follow and offer guidelines for this.

Children with disabilities need to be recognized as individuals as well as be valued for the people they will grow to be. In the classroom the growing process can be difficult to achieve depending on the nature and severity of the disability. Not all children will be served by full inclusion, some students have disabilities that require medical attention or physical facilities such as specially equipped bathrooms, ramps or elevators that may not be found in the traditional school building. For example, a child with severe cerebral palsy with severe limb constriction, lack of bowel control, inability to feed themselves and confined to a wheelchair, inclusion could cause more harm than good. This student requires medical aid to care for physical

This shows from the research they have done they have come up this definition of what inclusion is and how we can go about making an inclusive environment for all. From this research it shows that an enabling environment should be created in the environment in which individual with special educational needs participates in, for example in Education the environment in which the child learns needs to provide resources within the environment to ensure that the child can feel respected and they’re able to progress their development and learning this is inclusion. “Inclusion is a process. Inclusive education is not merely about providing access into mainstream school for pupils who have previously been excluded. It is not about closing down an unacceptable system of segregated provision and dumping those pupils in an unchanged mainstream system.

Inclusive education is a move towards a learning environment where ‘special school’ learners are integrated into ‘mainstream’ education. According to Nind et al. (2005) ‘Education and educational provision is shared by both ‘normal’ pupils and those with a disability, at the expense of differences in the specific nature of each child or young person and her/his particular strengths and areas of weakness, and consequences that these differences have in terms of educational needs’. This means that the aim of inclusive practice is to create a neutral learning environment.

Before coming into this class, I didn’t have a clear understanding of what inclusion was, what inclusive practices were, and I didn’t quite understand the point of inclusion. “IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) ensures students with disabilities have access to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE), just like all other children. Schools are required to provide special education in the least restrictive environment. That means schools must teach students with disabilities in general education classroom whenever possible.” According to the Overview of Inclusive Practices webinar power point, “inclusive practices are academic and behavioral supports and strategies provided to students with disabilities in general education settings.” Also according to the power point, the goal of inclusive practices is to,

Inclusive practice is the way in which children and their families are valued and support is given regardless of age, disability, race, background, gender or lifestyle in order that children and their families can benefit from the services and opportunities available. Children are seen as being part of the community even if they require particular help to live a full life within a community.

Reflecting on the scenario in which I was able to witness a case with the young boy in a wheelchair, I was able to see an act of inclusion firsthand, and appreciate how important it might be for a young boy his age to indeed feel included. At the same time I realize this was very important to his mental health, I couldn’t help but also be concern about his safety around those activities that are so crucial to his development. The textbook reads “Regardless how many children are in the setting and how long, the first priority is to provide for their health and safety”…Therefore programs for children must establish policies that provide for the protection, service and education of child health and safety at all times. (Gordon and Browne, 344).

In their research both Trowsdale and Hayhow (2013) discovered just how much people were enabling the capability of thoses who have disabilities. Together they found that school environments and

The whole child must be planned for, not just the parts that are different,” (Deiner, 1999). Inclusive education facilities give all children a chance to work together and be brought up in a diverse classroom. Inclusive classrooms will also give all the children a chance to see others differences and be aware of and accept diversity.

We need to always be conscious of our attitudes, views, and understandings of all children whether disabled or not. It is essential to keep in mind the inclusion of all students rather than assuming their abilities. I’ve observed that people do not have the same expectations for people with disabilities as they do for able-bodied people, and that feeds into the misconception that people with disabilities “can’t do” because they are often encouraged to underachieve. Through my experiences i have learned the difference between a person with a disability and a disabled person. A disability can truly be something that just puts a person at a disadvantage. This fact may limit some; however, it certainly does not define their capabilities. As a teacher I would be sure to always keep that in mind in order to not prejudge my student or doubt their capabilities. As educators in general we need to keep this in mind to avoid underestimating or excluding any of our

Inclusion in education is the act of including children with special needs into general education classes. Students learn side by side in the same classroom with the support of a team of professionals vested in the success of these

Inclusive education also recognises that learning occurs both at home and in the community and therefore the support of parents, family and the community is vital (Department of Education, 2001). Truly inclusive schools understand the uniqueness of every child, that all children can learn and that all children have different gifts, strengths learning styles and needs. These schools then provide the appropriate means and support through which these needs can be met (UNESO, 2003)

Marginalisation has manifest in distancing people with disability from majority of society, in separated institutions and excluded from wider social opportunities (Hall, 2010). Professionals therefore need to focus more on including individuals in social interactions, this is where teachers can be part of the process in effectively educating children. It is suggested that each person wants to participate effectively in life and in doing so it keeps people healthy and happy (Phelan, 2011). A studied identified the causes of social exclusion was discrimination and prejudice, lack of education and employment opportunities, and systems and structures that permitted the marginalisation of the needs and interests of people with disability. Social constructs are made, excluding individuals that don’t fit into the “nondisabled” view of participating in life (Phelan, 2011). It is important to consider the context in which such norms have been constructed, as they are also situated in a particular historical and temporal period (Phelan, 2011). Prior research recognizes the importance to people with disabilities of feeling excluded from activities (Goodrich, & Ramsey, 2013). Although exclusion can be related to social activism, it is a relatively independent factor which may or may not be related to the other disability factors, depending on the individual (Goodrich, & Ramsey, 2013). Those with a physical disability, either as a result of poor accessibility to activities or from being