My daughter with Down syndrome is almost done with grade school. In a few days, I’ll be meeting with her current special education teacher and the middle school special education teacher to discuss what middle school will look like for my child.
I have been dreading this transition since the day she started kindergarten.
My daughter has been included in a regular classroom since she was 4 years old. She has, for the most part, always been accepted by her peers and teachers. She has never had a teacher who has successfully modified curriculum for her when she is in the typical classroom, but that is another story for another time. Through school, she has received occupational, physical and speech therapies, and she has always had a special education teacher who works with her towards academic goals — more specifically reading and math. This means that while she is for most purposes “fully included,” she has spent time outside the typical classroom for her therapies and special education program, which is therefore not considered on paper as full inclusion. If a child’s main teacher is the regular teacher and they spend a majority of time in the typical classroom, we often call this “full-inclusion,” when it’s technically not.
But how does this balance work in middle school?
This is the part where I tell you I wish I could go back in time. But I can’t.
In the last two years, I have gotten to know the middle school special education teacher from several interactions at school. I really like her. Not only that, when she saw my daughter’s name on her list of incoming students, she approached me to tell me how excited she was to have my kid in her class. I too, look forward to my child being in her classroom. But most students in her class spend the majority of the day with her, which is the opposite of what we have done to this point. I have had some conversations with the teacher and she seems very supportive of my child being included in as many regular classes as she can participate in.
My husband and I have been talking at length about what inclusion will look like for her this coming year. We have a schedule of the classes a typical sixth-grader takes, and we are taking a step back as we discuss: can our daughter really, truly keep up with these classes? Science. Math. Social Studies. English. Physical Education.
Because the regular curriculum is not accessible to her (adapted for her needs but also considering where she is at academically) and she does not have a one-on-one para, she often sits through classes she cannot keep up with. Long lectures of topics she cannot academically master leave her on the sidelines. Her reading is lagging behind compared to her peers, which also affects her ability and quality of learning. We found a video she made during a class where she tells the camera, “I have no idea what my teacher is talking about.” While it’s funny, this video also opened our eyes to the everyday reality of our daughter’s access to learning.
Because my daughter has Down syndrome, it means she has an intellectual disability. She can learn, but she absolutely needs to have an accessible curriculum and some one-on-one learning.
So for the first time we are rethinking inclusion, or at least questioning how we have been doing it. We are also considering her strengths and the areas where she needs help.
What does inclusion mean for our child?
My kid could be in a science class if we want her to, but with her level of literacy and math comprehension, is that fair for her? Can she really learn best — the basis of inclusion — in the regular classroom if she has to sit through a class lecture she cannot follow and at a level that is not accessible to her? And if she has adapted curriculum, it falls under a paraprofessional (usually) to go through the lesson, but when would this happen? Not while the main teacher is presenting, so the last five minutes? Between classes? During study hall? So while all other students get an hour of solid teaching they can access without modifications, my kid would get just a fraction of that.
I know all about the benefits of inclusion, and I do believe in them. But I also believe in setting up my child for success academically, but also emotionally and socially. For her, it could mean less time in a regular classroom as she moves on to sixth grade. And it may also mean making those times she is around her typical peers be opportunities where she can successfully join in and grow and learn.
Ultimately, we want our child to look forward to going to school. We also want her to have friend (real friends) and those friendships most likely will be found in the special education classroom rather than connecting with typical peers in large classes where the focus is academic and there is limited social interaction.
I want my kid to feel happy, valued and successful at school, and to make that happen, we may have to rethink how we do inclusion.
Is your child in middle school? What does inclusion look like for your child?
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We are “graduating high school ” this year and moving onto a program more geared towards his needs and hopefully learning how to have a job, but during our middle and high school career my son was included in mostly gym class ? they tried having him in science and some other classes but he was bored because he couldn’t understand what they were teaching so he would get up and leave the classroom, I finally just said stop putting him in those classes because he’s not learning, basically we figure the only real benefit of regular schools is the socialization he got everyone loves my son and he gets included in the football program and they lift weights with him it’s been the best part of his school career
Thank you so much for sharing, this really helps as we go into this meeting.
I was homeschooled for middle school and high school due to physical inaccessibility but had extra curricular activities to fulfill my social needs. Is this an option for you with Nicole?
This is a tough situation so I don’t think you will have an easy answer.
“We also want her to have friend (real friends) and those friendships most likely will be found in the special education classroom” I disagree. It depends on the situation and personalties of the individual children. Shared disability does NOT automatically equal friendship, but connecting with people with both shared(disability) experiences and different experiences is valuable.
Well, so far we can see she has much better connections and true friendship interactions with other kids in her special education classroom. Her friendships with her typical friends have changed into a sort of “big sister” relationship, which is fine, but they are not inviting her to hang out outside of school anymore.
I’m so sorry Nicole is having a harder time socially with able bodied kids. Middle school is particularly hard for all kids, but peer pressure for girls seems even worse these days. I’m glad Nicole has been able to make connections regardless of where it comes from. Judging from your daughter’s video and your comments about which friendships she naturally gravitates to Special Ed does seem like the more realistic route. I love being around other people with CP as well(Shoutout to Nina!). Just be wary of IEP or special diplomas if Nicole wants to pursue any kind of college or certain types of work that require a “General Ed” diploma. Some people I know got stuck in jobs they hate because they got a diploma that was not considered a “real diploma” . Make sure the academics line up with her actual goals and greatly respect her intelligence. Your daughters all have great futures ahead of them!
Yes! And thanks for pointing this out because I think this is what needs to drive the meeting. What is our goal upon her graduating and what needs to happen so she gets there.
You’re welcome Ellen! Yes Nicole’s own goals should always be front and center. I know for a fact community colleges tend to be more accessible if you intend to go that direction. I thought these posts on Inclusion written by someone with CP may help you https://independencechick.wordpress.com/2019/05/13/when-inclusion-hurts-what-if-it-isnt-best-for-everyone/
https://independencechick.wordpress.com/2019/05/23/a-service-not-a-place/
Like the new website design!
My 12y/o girl has awesome friends, and they’re in sped class ! Those are the friends we go to birthday parties and play like kids should play. When a typical kid is staring at my girl … my girl asks me are they scared of me? But never a Sped kid … my girl is such a helper, she helps out by showing her piers how to be a student . Everyone in her class has a bond. She’s included In pe,music,computers,library,science. Never an invitation from one of them. Her education I don’t believe has suffered, she reads at 4th grade, and is diving into 2digit multiplication all taught by her same teacher a wonderful teacher for the past 3yrs. I do love all the fully included classes, but I know her best environment is small blocks of learning personalized at her level.
We had the same experience and perspective. Inclusion made sense when our son was in grade school, but once he was in middle school, it did not. He never had a friend after 4th grade and while we wanted him around kids like him, “privacy” rules prevented the school from connecting us with similar famlies. He was unable to learn even close to grade level. It was almost silly to have him in a regular class and doing so was actually to his detriment. Inclusion can definitely mean exclusion after a certain point.
Yes, and we need to stop saying that inclusion is the only acceptable option,but instead it is one of the many options of what an individualised education can look like.
That was really well said. I find the “privacy” idea annoying, as if parents are embarrassed to have kids in special needs classrooms and want to keep it a secret. It prevents networking and allowing kids to spend time together outside of the classroom.
I agree. The “privacy” bit drove me batty when I worked with kids who had autism. I can totally understand why you need “privacy” if the child has bathroom needs that are embarrassing for example, and nobody should be forced to disclose to people they don’t want to disclose with etc but it hurts kids’ ability to connect and tells them disability is so taboo they can’t even bring it up. That taboo attitude causes stigma and barriers later that leads to emotional insecurity in the disabled child. I’v seen it myself as a disabled woman.
My twin girls are in grade 10 in a Special Education School. They too were in the mainstream classrooms throughout elementary school. For middle school, I hoped they could attend the regular school at the end of our street and had even commented to the principal my wish. He patronized me and in the end I knew it wasn’t realistic. Both of my girls had required a one-on-one TA (para) and qualified for one since they’re “medically fragile” as well as globally/intellectually delayed. We visited the contained classroom (within a typical K-8 school), they were to attend for the 3 middle school years. We fell in love immediately and those years were life-changing and excellent for them both. We cried many tears when grade 8 grad came around. They (especially Audrey because she loves it), were included in various musical performances and loved attending all assemblies that happened in the school. Their classmates all had ASD&DD and my girls were among the most verbal and highest functioning. They still say the names and phrases they associate with their classmates, teachers & TAs from middle school. They request lit watch the beautiful video the staff made for the grads from their class, which included many highlights from their years there. Although they are unable to express outright, their pleasure, it’s obvious middle school shaped them in the most positive ways and their memories are incredibly full of great things. They were taught, loved, well cared for and included into the life of the school. Children from typical classes read and interacted with them regularly, though less than in elementary. I believe they made friends with some of their peers and a few are actually at their present school, which is sweet. High school has also gone very well so far and just this year a teacher from the adjoining (typical) high school invited them to join in his drama class. This has happened a few times but my girls were a bit shy about it. This typical teenage response is a good sign in my opinion. ? Inclusion is a fluid term, depending on the needs of the individual and I agree that as you approach middle school, re-evaluation is prudent. These years are difficult for most adolescents and kids naturally outgrow one another. Much is said about bullying, which I know is there but I also believe some are simply at different stages than one another. My eldest daughter (neurotypical) was seemingly left out of a group but upon further inspection, she was really just at a different spot in life. The girls who seemed to exclude were allowed to do different things and were generally non-Christians. Her friendships with girls at church blossomed and she drew closer to Jesus too. I want my girls to be included but if they need a quiet space at church, I take them out of the service because it’s what THEY need, not so much because I’m worried about whomever is nearby. I do consider others as well though when Annie’s in a particularly chatty mood during the sermon or either of my girls seems agitated and needs a walk or a break. Although it’s double the work, I am fortunate that my girls will always have each other but I do long for them to have real friendships, which I can’t say for certain they’ve had or haven’t had up to this point. They know and that’s what matters most. I will always advocate for inclusion but just what that looks like may change as they change too.
This: “I will always advocate for inclusion but just what that looks like may change as they change too.” I thin that is what we all need to keep in mind.
This perfectly sums up our experience as well with our daughter. We resisted a “self-contained classroom with integration where suitable” for a few years in early primary, but as we saw those academic and developmental gaps with her peers grow ever wider, and she was “shutting down” from even trying anymore, we reconsidered. She has thrived in her classroom and whatever she does with the student body is then a positive experience. She will be finishing high school next month, and so we will be embarking on the next frontier of challenges….adult supports and services. All the best to you and your family as you make these decisions!
My next big transition worry is what happens after she graduates high school!
I have found the transition out of high school to be SIGNIFICANTLY EASIER than transitioning from elementary to middle, and middle to high school!!!!
Well then, I have my guide for then… and for now too 😉
Our son is going into 4th grade and we have been wrestling with this question as well. Thanks for being so vulnerable and putting this topic out there. So many of us really struggle with these decisions so the experiences of others who are on the same road are so valuable.
THANK YOU. So much of what you wrote really resonated with me. My son has epilepsy and a wide array of related learning challenges, with most scores falling in the low / very low range. He’s been in a self-contained K/1/2 class and has thrived, his teachers are wonderful… yet I’m nagged by worries about his lack of social interactions with neurotypical kids in his grade and with how and if the self-contained curriculum aligns with what is happening in the gen ed classes. And every year come IEP season we have the same conversation – could he move to a gen ed room? How would that work? What supports would there be? Would he rise to the occasion and surprise all the nay-sayers? Ever year, I let myself get talked down, and we’re back in the self-contained class. This year I was determined, we were going to make the switch. But I still have doubts, really big ones, and reading this really hit home. Because if I’m honest with myself, I know that so much of the curriculum even at grade 3 is beyond his abilities. He really can’t do it on his own. With one-on-one help (which he doesn’t qualify for), lots of repetition (LOTS of repetition) and nudging, and guiding, he gets there. But without that help, he, like your daughter, would most likely spend much of the day having no idea what the teacher is talking about. And there really isn’t much value in that, is there?
Our daughter is navigating HS. Middle school were the best years for her. She was in ESE math and reading – gen ed for everything else. You make some good points about inclusion however, keep in mind that our kids will more than likely miss all the great literature that their peers are exposed to if they spend time in ESE reading. For that reason I insisted that she be in 9th grade English with everyone else this year and we found modified versions of Romeo and Juliet, for instance. In Florida many kids learn on access points (modified curriculum) while in the gen ed classroom. There are lots of things that can be done to help them during the lecture time. Pre-teaching at home, providing appropriate written curriculum at their level that they can use while the lecture is taking place. Annie’s 6th grade teacher would ask the best students to video a lesson for Annie to watch on her lap top at home and at school when the lecture was over her head. Spend time in the proposed ESE classroom. Are the expectations high? Who are her peers? Will they set a good example or poor one for behavior? So much research shows better academic outcomes in gen ed with support. Just my opinion and experience. These decisions are excruciating, I know! We wish you the very best of luck navigating MS! <3
I was a special education teacher for 30 years, and I saw the pendulum swing from one extreme to the other. In the end, what our kids really need is balance, as well as equitable materials and instruction. Once of the reasons I left the classroom was due to the pressure to “push in” to serve my students, and provide modified materials for them in place of instruction. Modifications are not instruction. “Support” by a paraprofessional, no matter how talented and dedicated, is not instruction. The vast majority of special education students should be included in their general education classrooms for all or most of the day. However, let’s not waste their time. I have argued for years, that it is not OK for my students to sit during lectures they don’t understand in the name of full inclusion. I’ve been told that this is good for socialization, even when socialization is not allowed. Time spent out of the classroom should be short and instruction should be intensive. Time spent in the classroom should be targeted and meaningful.
On another note, one of the biggest obstacles to success in the classroom is the lack of age appropriate curriculum materials. No 14 year old with skills at the 3rd grade level wants to be seen reading “Henry and Mudge”. Unfortunately, special education teachers do not have the time to re-write entire lessons for each student on their caseload each day. (They are also torn between providing instruction and responding to behavior issues, but this is a whole other issue.)
Kids with special needs have the right to be included. They also have the right to quality materials at their level and targeted instruction by trained teachers. Thanks for listening!
Deb, thank you so much taking the time to leave this thought out response. So good for all of us parents to keep in mind.
I homeschool my children and read this article, really loving it. I would think the purpose of inclusion is to do what’s best for the child as well as their peers and the change to the middle school years is a big change for those in schools as well as homeschooled children. My daughter has ID and ASD and is now 13- I’ve seen friends transition to middle schools where little is offered to encourage those with ID with learning the way they do (discussions? hands-on? videos?) and they sit through classes where they have little understanding of the concepts. I’ve even experienced that with my own- when I thought she understood something, I found out quickly that the understanding didn’t happen. I have a hard time understanding what teachers do in the public school system that have no experience with ESE kids. My daughter’s friend passes through grade levels and often no longer wants to go to school. She and my daughter play with MLP and watch funny videos when they are together more like they are in 8 than 13. But even with all our groups and events with homeschooling, eventually the children who cannot advocate for themselves are left out unless the teens are very in tune to making sure everyone is included (which still happens but less and less). It’s a hard time and I really got a lot out of your article. Personally, I wish I had been in classes or events with children with different abilities when I was growing up- any one with a difference was sent to a different school or was in a separate classroom. I could have learned a lot and learned compassion for those with differences. I was saddened when my son’s friend mentioned to me about a girl who had been “held back” and was 13 in a 5th grade classroom and how the girl had hygiene issues no one helped her with- clearly the system was letting down this girl who deserved better. My neighbor taught chemistry in high school and commented on her class of special-needs students and said disrespectful things about them. Anyone can learn some concepts and should be in a safe, caring environment to do so but our school systems let these children down, no matter how hard parents fight for the right, inclusive environment. I liked a book called An Uncomplicated Life but wondered why the parents continued to fight for inclusion, including a certificate program at a college, when it did not appear to be in the best interest of their daughter. They sued for many things, won every time, but it didn’t change what their daughter was able to do. Making these decisions is so very difficult. I love inclusion but not at the expense of my child.
My son is now 25 and he was in a self-contained class from kindergarten through age 21 and it was the best decision for him. He loved school and with the self-contained class he would have the same teaching team for 3-4 years at a time – this was terrific for him as they all got to know each other really well and they could tailor the learning to what his interests were. The class size was small (5-7 students) and they were very involved in other events at the school.
We homeschooled our other 3 children and we believed that our disabled son was included in all our family events and in our community. He needed to go to school to learn and for therapy and for him, that was best achieved in the self-contained classroom. He is extremely disruptive and I really do not think it would be fair to the other students to have him try to stay quiet and still in a typical classroom for the sake of “inclusion”. We were not interested in torturing our son, other students and teachers by requiring “full inclusion” which for him would mean putting a straight jacket on his quirks and things that make him such a joy to work with and be around.
We made this very clear from the beginning that we were not interested in sending him to a typical classroom. We collaborated well with his school team and still to this day are friends with his middle school teacher and her family. You need to make the decision that is right for you and your daughter – just because the “experts” say something is true, it’s not always the best option.
I have two girls who have Down syndrome headed to the middle school next year. And I have a son who will be in 11th grade who has Down syndrome. I believe in inclusion, but with that said, I have to fight for inclusion. It is not freely given. My children come from a background of trauma, and with that comes more learning needs, along with vision and hearing impairments, and aac devices. My 3 kids are all at different schools and I have attempted to have inclusion at each school, it is exhausting, and sometimes when they tell me that inclusion isn’t best I start to believe them. But then I see a glimpse of something working with my own eyes, and know it is worth all the hard work. I believe they need to change. Not me, and not my children. My child should be a part of all the discussions in class, not in the back with a para. The kids should be learning from each other, the teachers need collaboration time to adapt the curriculum so it means something to my kids and sped teachers should be doing co teaching, the teachers need to help all kids with all different learning needs in the classroom setting. We parents see a broken system, and in that broken system we give up. I get it, I feel it. But for me I will keep up the good fight, and my hope is that the district will change, and one elementary school who does inclusion right will become the norm, and eventually it will just be. Kids doing life together, that transitions into adults doing life together.
There are certain things that every single student in the U.S. learns in a typical class. A person with an intellectual disability doesn’t have to learn details others learn when in a typical class, but I believe learning the essential things allows the person to participate more in the world. You don’t realize how much of what we learn in school permeates our lives. If you’ve never heard of Hitler or Nazis, then when watching a movie, like the Sound of a Music, you really don’t know why the Nazis are bad. You may figure out that they are the bad guys, but you really don’t know why. If you’ve never had the chance to read or listen to Romeo and Juliette, you don’t know what being called “Romeo” means. If you’ve never learned how the Senate and the House of Representatives work, you don’t understand what you’re voting for when you turn 18 and start to vote. If you’ve never learned that your body is made up of cells and what bacteria is, those very words-cells, bacteria-are like a foreign language. It is tough, there is no doubt, but research shows better outcomes academically, socially and after school ends for students who have been able to be included. Certainly, not every child can be successfully included, but if the child can be, I think it’s worth it. It opened up our child’s world in so many ways. It allowed her to understand more of what is being discussed. It didn’t preclude her from having friends (in fact, she knows more people) or being pulled out for extra help. If inclusion is done right, it should not leave a child feeling left out or behind. It does sound like a para might be beneficial if that is what is happening. I know it’s a hard decision. Good luck.
It seems like you wrote this post for me today. I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot this week. As we head in to 5th grade in the fall and our last year of elementary, middle school is very much on my mind.
My daughter is a sophomore in high school and she spends part of her time in gened classes – English, history and chorus – where she has lots of friends who have been with her since elementary school but for science and math she is in the life skills classroom. I have also found as she gets older she relates to her classmates with special needs and wants to do things outside of school with them rather than her other friends in gened classes. In middle school we had the same kind of division of classes also and it worked for her.
It makes sense she connects better from people from her own community.
Rachel graduated high school last year and attended a semester of college this year. She was included in middle school for everything except math which was in resource. She had some teachers that worked well with us and others who did not. We also had an outstanding special education teacher/case manager who along with me helped to be sure her accommodations and modifications were done. Rachel loved and loves school. High school was about the same. It was exhausting and I am still tire,d but it was so worth it. In middle school, Rachel was involved in theatre, several clubs and was selected to be a WEB leader. WEB leaders were 8th graders selected to lead orientation and mentoring for incoming 9th graders. They worked in pairs. A young lady with Down syndrome was in the incoming 6th grade class. She was in Rachel’s group and told her mom how happy she was to have someone like her as her leader. That’s powerful. I blogged a lot about middle school and high school. I, too, was fearful of middle school but it was such a great experience for Rachel. It was important to her to be with the other kids and learning the same things the other kids did. Some of my blogs talk about what she learned and how this impacted not just her, but the other students and the teachers. Was she on grade level? Other than exceeding expectations in the area of boy craziness, no. But with the combination of parent advocacy, teacher commitment and self-advocacy by Rachel, it was a meaningful and successful experience.
Thanks for sharing Rachel’s story, Jawanda…that is our story too. It is possible. Work for it every day. Our kids deserve it.
My son, Patrick, who has Down syndrome is turning 20 in July. He was fully included all the way through high school. However, he did not experience what your daughter has.
I’m a teacher who now works at a university helping teachers become teachers. I’m in a lot of classrooms and learning from a lot of great educators.
Inclusion is NOT sitting in a classroom with other typical kids and having the content go over your head. Here’s a secret truth that teachers never reveal…if it’s going over your daughter’s head, it’s going over other students’ heads too!
There are plenty of typical kids in a typical classroom who are reading below grade level.
There are plenty of typical kids who struggle with understanding complex subjects or abstract ideas.
Having your child in the classroom with typical students should force the teacher to learn how to make the context accessible to all students.
The teaching should get better.
Your post says that it hasn’t.
That’s a shame…a missed opportunity and a loss for all the students in that school.
We know how to make the content accessible…we know what good teaching looks like.
It is Universal Design for Learning….it includes EdTech used in innovative ways…it includes peer mentors…visual supports…high expectations.
I am sorry to hear of your daughter’s experience.
Although she was in the classroom with typical peers, her education was not exemplary. For that i am sorry…but, I want you to know that truly inclusive, strong, excellent education is possible for students with Down Syndrome…and I can tell you which schools to visit to see it in action.
That would be my first recommendation to any teacher or administrator…go see it in action.
Second step: professional development for all teachers. Start with the best professional development you can find for teaching second language learners. Even if you don’t have any second language learners. Why? Because it is just good teaching…and good teaching helps all students.
My son is now in an inclusive college program. He had a fantastic freshman year, living in the dorms with support…taking classes on campus…learning to live on his own.
Inclusion…authentic inclusion…is possible.
Work for it every day…and call it out when it is subpar…we can do better. Our kids deserve it.
Good teaching for kids with disabilities is plain good teaching. But, not every general education teacher is willing or knows how to make learning accessible. But that was then and now we are moving on to middle school. With all of that, the same issue remains, classes that are largely lecture base are not great for her and it would take a dedicated teacher to be willing to change things up. In my experience, many don’t know what to do because with our education system, they have to teach to standardized testing.
The world is changing. Lecture based classrooms need professional development. Teachers want to get better. They want to do their best. If a student is not successful in the classroom, it bothers them. I would work with other parents in your district to fundraise and provide professional development. I would have them visit other schools. I would encourage collaboration. There are teachers there who want to do it…they just need to be provided an opportunity. Title II Federal Funds can be used for professional development as well. Your daughter is not the only student who is not accessing the content. This is a big learning moment for the school. I hope they are nudged, prodded and encouraged to learn from the subpar outcomes for your daughter and others.
It’s possible to change your school district! Anyone who is still doing a lecture based class is not educating the students for the future. You don’t have to throw up your hands and accept subpar education for your child.
We can help. Sean Smith will help. Tim Villegas can help. TASH can help. There are tons of people willing to support your school or district as it works to get better.
The only way that change happens is by pushing it forward bit by bit.
If your daughter is not successful there are plenty of other students who are not successful too. We owe it to all of them to ask for better education.
My son, Patrick, is almost 20 and has Down Syndrome. He was fully included the whole way…successfully. It is possible to be fully included and to have access to the content. It is possible to learn science, history and other difficult subjects. My son is not some gifted and talented person with Down Syndrome. He does not read at grade level. He needs support. But he was able to understand complex literary stories and add to the discussion in his classroom. The simple stick figure pictures that we made to explain the plot of stories like Les Mis, Shakespeare, To Kill A Mockingbird and others were used with the whole class to give support to others who needed it as well…typical students.
I am a teacher. Now I work at a university helping teachers become teachers. I am in a lot of classrooms and one of the school districts we work with has been fully inclusive since the 1960’s! That district has a culture of inclusion with an inclusion specialist at every school.
Here’s the dirty secret that some people in education don’t want to say out loud: there are plenty of kids – typical kids – who are not at grade level in reading. There are plenty who need support and need the content of the course to be made more accessible.
What happened for your daughter was not exemplary. It was a subpar education and I am sorry for that. But guess what? If we were to check on the typical students in that classroom who needed support as well, I bet their education was subpar too.
We know what works. We know what best practices look like. It’s not a mystery. Here are a few: Universal Design for Learning, Educational Technology that uses innovative ways to access the content, visual supports, peer mentors, Every classroom should be using these teaching techniques.
Usually what happens when a student with significant learning needs is included in a typical classroom is that the teaching gets better. It has to…if it doesn’t, what happened to your daughter is the result. That’s what the educational research tells us…and we have gobs of it.
So, what happened in your daughter’s school was a huge missed opportunity. If I were to make recommendations for your school, I would start with having key people visit a truly inclusive school and have them see it in action. Secondly, I would provide professional development for the whole staff. But the development would be on how to support second language learners. I imagine that they are not very successful at this school either. Whatever we do to support second language learners supports students with disabilities. Why? Because it is just best practices.
My son is now fully included in an inclusive college program. He was a freshman this year and lived in the dorms with support. He took classes on campus. He had a job on campus. It was amazing. Imagine the future teachers and doctors and business people who are attending college with Patrick – game-changing. Inclusion is possible. Work for it every day. See it in action. Share best practices…and demand better. Our kids deserve it.
I think I am surprised reading these responses and parent’s experiences and wondering how much their children really do understand of what they are learning or when teens are being sent to college to “learn to live on their own”, how much that really benefits them. Why is “living on their own” such a goal? I’m looking for mine to have a safe group of family/friends around to support her, not isolate her someday so she can be “independent”. Mine will surely need a guardian and someone to manage her finances and to help her with medical needs. I guess I don’t see how inclusion has anything to do with that and the comments I’ve read about parents whose children are successfully learning the same information that others are in high school- I don’t see how someone with an IQ of 60 or 70 can do that unless their child has a much higher ability to understand concepts. Sitting through a lecture on Hitler, as someone suggested, would only mean for mine that he was a “bad man” and “killed a lot of people”, the nuances of the rest of the lesson would not be understood. Most information for those with ID is absorbed only in relation to oneself and what it means for them. And that’s okay. I guess I see too much of teens “playing” as buddies or for inclusion and having few true r elationships with the teens with ID; in our area, teens get volunteer hours that are needed for graduation and scholarship. I wonder how many would participate in buddy programs if that incentive wasn’t there and it was truly a voluntary service.
I can relate with you. The same thing happened here.
The problem is quite complicated. The Council for Exceptional Children published High-Leverage Practices for Inclusive Classrooms in 2019. This book was the effort of several sped professors from around the country. The following quotes are from the introduction, “While a range of effective practices have been identified to address the learning and behavioral needs of students with disabilities, these practices are not widely used in classrooms.” and “The need to improve teacher practice and related student outcomes has led to a national effort to improve the preparation of teachers by ‘specifying teaching practices’ and preparing teachers to use these practices in their classrooms.” So, what you experienced with your child is valid and is a big problem right now.
A solution that needs to be looked at, in my opinion, is improving special education. Even if middle school and high schools do a better job with inclusion, I feel the river is too wide at that point. It’s time to go to a class that is teaching at their level. In order to keep the great gains made in grade school moving forward, I think that high quality special ed. Is the answer. I think bringing in general education students who take “Teaching” as an elective and come to the sped class to work with the kids is the best idea. This way the gen. ed. kids actually have time to spend with them. Thanks for posting your story.
Janet Giel-Romo, Ed.D.
My sons schedule in High school is a 5/3 split. He is in 3 smaller classes for reading, math and a study hall. The rest are Gen Ed classes. He has Theology, Biology, PE, and Choir that are modified to his level. The modifications are done in advance. He has a modified outline in front of him when there is a presentation, he is given videos to watch for conceptual ideas, and his tests are modified. The SPED teacher works hand in hand with the Gen Ed teacher to be specific and concise out what main ideas are being covered, and what we want my son to learn. Its not that complicated-in a nutshell-we want the Cliff Notes version. The main ideas. The top 5 concepts that they are covering. When you say that the class is over your daughters head, I understand that. But, I also question why tools and resources weren’t in place? I also question how you know it was all** over her head? when you know our kids won’t test well-its hard to assume that they didn’t hear it, grasp it, understand it? It may have been heard, understand, and grasped-but it won’t come out in a testable or timely manner? I think of this as: myself taking a Microorganism Class Level 5 class(or something equally hard!). Hmmm. Could I do it? Yes. Would I be good at it? Well, if I preloaded in advance, if I studied, if it was brought down to my level. If it was meaningful and relevant. YES. YES. YES. It will be hard! But-it absolutely could be done. This is what we are striving for-meaningful and relevant to their lives, to their future. ** I would also go to what they main topic should be. SHE HAS A RIGHT to that instruction, those tools, and resources. SHE HAS A RIGHT to be in that classroom-and they should be creative enough to find ways to make it happen. SHE NEEDS to be in that classroom, because that is where she will be working-next to, along side, and with those students. She will be talking with them as the barista at the coffee shop, she may be baggings their groceries, or she may be speaking to them as she answers the phones-she needs to be with them. And more important-those other students need to be with her! Seeing her, knowing her, getting comfortable with her, so they will hire her, supervise her, and hopefully be friends with her!
There are some excellent replies to your thoughts! Perhaps mine are only re-wordings or echoes. If only others not “in” the world of special needs could not just rub shoulders with those are that are, but be as passionate about this so SPECIAL group. God chooses to glorify Himself in so many ways through these kids. Yet, we have blinders on!
Our autistic daughter is in the very same place and much of what you wrote is what has been on our hearts and minds. As a parent but also as a former teacher, teaching only at elementary school level for 28 years, this is a real transition from the familiar to the unknown. We had just met to formalize our daughter’s IEP and there while there is a subtle feeling of being no longer being under Mother Hen and being released to the wolves,
I think according to the “least restrictive environment” policy, inclusion should only be a part of a student’s plan if that is the best means of support. At this point, my daughter will be in the resource room for areas of academic need such as math. I do wonder if other areas of need will arise due to the stark difference in classroom teaching style. The junior high teacher needs to differentiate to accommodate all learning styles and abilities. The lecture , note taking, reading, and test taking methods need to be expanded to drama, experiments, physical activities, projects, and the implementation of multi sensory methods. Until this becomes a strong consideration so that teachers are trained and well equipped to practice real differentiation, inclusion seems to be the “old stand by”.
In terms of social and emotional support, there should be programs such as Peer to Peer and LINKS that use the peer to help educate and encourage kids with special needs. I strongly agree with the statement above about the need for typical students to interact, connect, and LEARN from those with special needs. For as parents of one, this is one big way, God has chosen to speak to us! We have learned so much from our daughter!
As of now, my daughter is on the journey to earning credit or no credit and therefore getting a certificate of completion rather than a diploma. We continue to gain insight and make decisions. The school district that my daughter resides does not read success as just high scoring data but real growth from year to year in all areas, pointing towards a meaningful life! A meaningful life lived for God is what we want for our daughter most of all.
I hope in this year we are experiencing more of what God can do. Sometimes, when I look ahead , I see nothing but trial. Yet, God is Sovereign and He does the possible in what seems so very impossible!
Tonia C Halley, as you may have seen from other comments I made on this page please try to get your daughter credited courses and a full diploma if she has any desire for education beyond high school or any type of job that requires a high school diploma. If able bodied peers are in a program with SE kids make sure they are allowed to let friendship happen naturally rather than forcibly assigned a “buddy”.
The struggle is very real. Inclusion is great when it is done right. If it is not done right, then it isn’t really inclusion. Look at all the options, but in the end follow your intuition. And remember, “God don’t make no junk”. Every individual has a god-given talent, but the rest of us are not always privileged to see it. Most of all, pray….
“If it is not done right, then it isn’t really inclusion.” AMEN TO THIS COMMENT!!!
Yes, yes and yes! Everything you wrote about the difference between elementary and middle school was true for our daughter with Cerebral Palsy. She was fully included in elem. – exactly as you described. For us, the decision was pretty easy, because our daughter was increasingly unhappy in school as the gap between her learning and that of her peers widened with each passing year. I would do it again the same way, because inclusion was invaluable for her and for her peers and teachers, as well. But in middle school we followed a similar path to the one you are heading down. And it was great!! Our program does incorporate some established peer interaction models, which hopefully your daughter might enjoy as well. They have a “buddy” program, which has a wait list of typical peers who want to participate. They receive some training about how best to interact with and a be a friend to a student with special needs, and they spend their free periods in the SE classroom, interacting with my daughter’s class in lots of different ways. The SE teachers also built an inclusion program in Social Studies, Science, Art and Music. Working with teachers in those subjects, they created an adapted curriculum that SE students and typical peers enjoyed together. In art, that was in the form of an elective class (for the typical student) that paired each SE student up with a typical peer and they created amazing pieces together. In music, it was special instruction for the SE class combined with inclusion to prepare for a special concert or musical which they performed in along with the typical class. In Science and Soc. Studies, the teachers chose units that would work well with small group project-based instruction, and the SE students were included in just those units (but not all year long) and were a part of a group of typical students for the projects. Most importantly, my daughter went from being the kid in class who knew/understood the least to being the one who often knew the most and suddently looked forward to going to school every day and was a leader in her class. The boost to her self-esteem was priceless. It was a fabulous three years.
So, on that note… let me talk then about her transition to high school. I was told that the peer interaction that the kids enjoyed in MS disappeared in HS and there was very little inclusion there. I put on my crusader hat and decided it would need to change. Then I discovered that HS is a *crazy* time for typical students, and there truly is very little time or opportunity for true inclusion during the school day. The focus in HS for SE students becomes pre-vocational training, gearing them up for that transition to adulthood and being as independent as they can be. Our focus in pursuing inclusion for her turned to social opportunities. And, specifically, I am trying to build friendships for her with her SE classmates that can survive post-graduation. Because those typical peers will go off to college or move away for jobs or get married and have kids, and I don’t want her to feel “left behind.” We are looking into a Best Buddies chapter for our HS, which would really help promote that social interaction.
Best of luck in your MS journey – I hope it is as fun and positive for your family as it was for us!
You are not alone. today went to pick up my daughter with DS from grade 2 and found her lay down on the floor while the teacher gave a lesson to the rest of the class- is this inclusion where the lesson is not modified for my child and she is left to be bored ? inclusion to me is just a word-. expecations are so high but support does not match up to it. cuts to TA support and budgets hurt our children. It hurts …somedays it hurts more.
Ellen, thank you for sharing. My daughter was being pushed into a regular academic school after Kindergarten. After a lot of thought I ended up fighting for and keeping her in the specialized school. It was an extremely tough decision to make because I wasn’t sure if this would hold her back. My reasoning to keep her there was because I felt like she would not get the services and accommodations that she needed, wondered if she would be bullied and also had concerns about the other children’s learning etc. While I am all for inclusion when its appropriate I believe it has gone too far. My daughter has GDD, ID and severe expressive language disorder. I have always wondered if I made the right decision. Because of your post I believe i have made the right choice. Your daughter is so intelligent and very sensitive. She’s going to do good things in this world. Keep these coming, I always wonder what other parents are thinking and doing and because of you I am now finding out. Thank you so kindly for opening your heart and shaing your stories. It is the support that so many of us have been searching for. ?