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Lesson Plans


Re: inclusion to what point...?

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
Melissa Enderle (melissae)
Mon, 01 Nov 1999 22:28:03 -0600

I teach at a school that once was totally for the orthopedically impaired.
About 15 years ago when the new school was built, it changed from up to 21
year old students to an inclusive setting, from ages 3 to 8th grade. I spoke
to the principal (who has been there forever) who said that at first, they
tried to do the total inclusion for all kids - meaning that all kids were in
the "regular" classroom. She and the staff soon realized that the regular
classroom was not the least restrictive environment for some kids. Some
students' needs are best served in a different class setting, enabling them
in such setups to maximize whatever abilities they might have.
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| Melissa Enderle |
/)| melissae |(\
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__( ( art teacher/ adaptive art /_) ) )__
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Melissa Enderle
melissae

> From: PurpleArt
> Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1999 21:14:22 EST
> To: artsednet.edu
> Subject: inclusion to what point...?
>
> Hello friends, I posted this message a week ago, and just got it returned
> today as undeliverable. I am going to try again, so if you already did
> receive this once before, please disregard! I will add one point before I
> recopy my situation: I usually and enthusiastically support the inclusion of
> a wide variety of students with abilities and disabilities in my art
> classroom. However, the following is a recent concern:
>
> May I ask what your collective opinions are regarding total inclusion with
> students who are severely disabled both physically (blind, deaf & paralyzed)
> and mentally and are so
> medically fragile that they rely on a nurse and a full time Education
> Assistant to just survive the day in a public school setting? I have
> experienced severely fragile, disabled students who suffer frequent grand mal
> seizures and others who
> often choked on their own saliva. We have no way of knowing what, if any,
> benefit-educationally or otherwise-these kids derive from sitting in a wheel
> chair, or lying on a slanted table in a public school classroom all day long.
> At the moment, our school district in it's infinite wisdom is charging a
> parent
> for the truancy of her multiply, severely disabled daughter. The mother
> insists that public school is not the least restrictive, most beneficial
> placement for her daughter so has kept her home for the past few months while
> the school hounds her to send the girl to school on the bus. When do
> sensitivity and
> common sense prevail?