Educating children with special needs is very controversial, perhaps all over the world. In some places, children are still not entitle to an education. In others, they are entitled but it may be denied because of lack of funding and personnel. In yet others, it may be denied because of the beliefs/biases of the decision makers. In many places, the children receive and education and specialist services but the parents struggle with determining what the best placement is.
Currently, the focus in on integration. However, nobody seems to really know what that means. Some people think it means the child is physically in the room but not participating in any activities. Some people think it means that the child is in the general education classroom but must participate either socially or academically (or both). Others think that it means that the child can keep up academically. Yet others think that it means that the child is accepted as an individual, has friends, and is part of the community. The problem is, how do you measure these things? How do you measure the success of integration? Do you measure whether or not parent/educator/student goals are met? Do you measure how close to grade level they are functioning? Do you measure it by finding out how many children think of the child with a disability as a friend (children with disabilities often over-generalize the term friend)? Do you wait and see if the child (then adult) can hold a job?
To complicate the matter, parents and teachers frequently have different goals for the child’s education. Teachers often expect/want the children to function at grade level. The parents want the children to be happy and have friends. Some educators also want the children to be able to hold a job and function as independently as possible (whatever that means).
Another complication to integration is funding and this idea of what is or isn’t restrictive. Children with special needs have special needs and require an individualized curriculum. I know that may sound obvious but I don’t know how many times I have heard general education teachers comment that the child can’t do work at grade level and therefore shouldn’t be in their class. That is what special classes are for they say. However, with the proper supports (which seem to vary per school and child and teacher), a child can be on a different curriculum than their peers and still be included as part of the class. If the principal has an acceptance of all children and the teacher is accepting, then the other children will be as well. Now don’t get me wrong, the government needs to contribute funding. Integration generally doesn’t work unless there is a team of people supporting a child. That takes money. Children with special needs may also need specialized computer programs or chairs or tables, etc. These take money. It also takes time to adapt the curriculum and make educational materials. And time can translate into money.
Even with all the challenges (which I have only touched the surface of), integration can work. It is amazing when children accept others no matter what their abilities are. I am quite happy when I hear children say that everyone has different skills. I am also happy and touched when I hear children talk about children who even 10 years ago may have been stigmatized but instead the children say how much they like the child with a disability. On a recent school visit, I heard one child tell a teacher that the child with Down Syndrome was their favorite classmate. That is what integration should be…
I agree with you that integration needs effort, understanding and funding to succeed. It’s good to know there are people working to make this happen.
For my son, there was no way he would have anything like enough help to succeed at a mainstream school. He went to a special school for a while, but I hated to see him go off from his siblings each day. That is just one of the many reasons my children learn at home, where they are all fully integrated with each other and the wider community.