Reflection

Inclusivity - Accepting Exceptionalities in Schools

My entire childhood I grew up thinking that it was acceptable and normal for students with disabilities to be removed from regular classrooms. 

   

Russell and I - Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida

Have schools been doing a better job at integrating students with exceptionalities into classrooms?

What have been your experiences with inclusion/exclusion and belonging?

    Growing up and all throughout elementary school, I personally saw a lot of segregation for people with disabilities and exceptionalities. Reflecting back to my experiences in elementary school, specifically in the intermediate grades, students who identified with intellectual challenges were removed from the "regular" classroom and taken to the resource centre for one on one support. I never could wrap my head around this. Could the homeroom teacher not help the student? Was the disability outside the realm of expertise for my assigned teacher? Another time that shocked me was in gym class. I clearly remember a time when a student with a physical disability was unable to participate in gym class and was sent to a room with another teacher to do school work. All I could think was - how terrible. How come the teacher couldn't adapt the class to make it inclusive for this student? Did this student want to miss out on gym class? I had so many questions when I was younger, none of which were answered until now. 

    High school wasn't as bad, but that's sugar coating it. Students were still removed from classrooms to get additional assistance with work. If their teacher couldn't help they would send the student down to the resource room and call them to give the teachers a heads up/warning. Also, I remember that we had a room right across from the gymnasium where it was most of the students with "special needs". When reflecting now on this derogatory term that was constantly used to identify these students is disgusting. All I can do is shake my head in disbelief. One thing I can say was positive in my secondary education was the encouragement of the peer leadership class. I was grateful to complete two peer leadership classes where I assisted students with exceptionalities in a specified class. Luckily, I was able to help in two similar settings. One experience was in a personal fitness class, where I helped one-on-one with a student who had various challenges, both physically and intellectually. The other experience was in a physical and health education class with a multiple students who identified with disabilities. These taught me patience, understanding, acceptance, and empathy. 

Are there reports that are alarming, troubling, interesting? 

    After reading the educational report - If inclusion means everyone, why not me?, I was astounded by the concerning statistics that prove educators are still not integrating students with exceptionalities into their classrooms. The following are alarming facts about student placement in classrooms:

• 21.5% of students attend a special education class with partial integration
• 7.2% of students attend a regular class with withdrawal assistance
• 27.5% of students attend a regular class with resource assistance
• 27.9% of students attend full time special education class
• 15.9% of students attend regular class with indirect support

Likewise, this research highlights many significant barriers and problems that students who identify with an intellectual disability experience when accessing the education system.

• Academic and social barriers:
• 53% of parents reported that their child was not receiving proper academic accommodations
• 67% of parents reported that their child had been excluded from the appropriate curriculum based on their level of learning
• 62.7% reported that their child had been excluded from extracurricular activities
• 32% of parents reported that their child did not have access to additional support staff when it was needed by their child (e.g., EA)
• Exclusion:
• 45% of parents had to keep their child home as a result of a lack of accommodations and/or other services
• Approximately 11% of parents said their child had been expelled from school for disability-related reasons and 23% reported that their child had been suspended for similar reasons
• Approximately 25% of parents had simply been told not to bring their child to school
• 76% of parents reported that informal exclusions were communicated verbally, rather than in writing;  41% reported that the rationale for the exclusion was not clearly stated
• 54% said their child had to leave school early and 39% said that their child was required to arrive late
• Conflict:
• Approximately 67% of parents had conflict at the classroom level;
• 74% had conflict with school administrators;
• 56% of parents had been in conflict with their school board;
• 69% of parents involved in a conflict reported that they were not given access to necessary information during the process
• 64% of parents reported that their knowledge of their own child was not recognized by decision-makers
• 45% of parents felt that they were not treated respectfully when they had a disagreement with the school
• Planning and communication:
• Approximately 40% were not told that they had a right to initiate an IPRC meeting to determine their child’s identification and placement
• 34% of parents were discouraged from attending a scheduled IPRC meeting
• Leadership:
• For the children who had their day shortened, in 60% of cases, it was administration that broached the idea of shortening a child's day, while in 62% of the cases, it was administration who made the actual decision to shorten it

From this data presented, it is clear that educational systems are still segregating students with exceptionalities and not at all accommodating to their educational needs what so ever. Unfortunately, these statistics aren't the only concern that I came across. Below is an article that was discussed during one of our classes this semester. It specifically explains how one education system recently fail a student with autism. It basically explains that they struggle to accept students with educational challenges into "normal" classrooms. 

Example of Inclusion vs. Exclusion & Segregation vs. Integration 
of Students with Exceptionalities

What does this tell society about students with exceptionalities in school systems?

    In reading Educating Grayson - Are Inclusive Classrooms Failing Students, I was shocked at the disservice from Upper Grand District School Board and John McCrae Public School in Guelph, Ontario. Grayson, a 7 year-old diagnosed with autism, experienced many negative educational repercussions as a result of his disruptive and threatening behaviours. He would become aggressive if rules change or the work becomes too difficult. Rather than finding solutions to the "problem", the schools easy fix was to send Grayson home or expel/suspend him in incidents that involved physical attacks. 

Did you know:

• 48 per cent of elementary-school principals and 40 per cent of high-school principals reported asking that a student with special needs not attend school for the full day, citing insufficient classroom support.

    To me this is quite concerning. The article goes into greater depth and detail about the lack of accommodations the school and board could provide for this student with a developmental disability. This makes me wonder... what other students who may identify with exceptionalities are not being helped or supported? According to the article, this incident highlights that there are still growing challenges that parents and educators face when it comes to accommodating special-needs children in the public school systems. One of the comments in the article stated that "teachers report an uptick in violent incidents disrupting classrooms, tensions arise among families who feel the safety and learning of their own children are at risk, and school districts struggle with embracing inclusion while providing a safe environment for staff and students. Meanwhile, families with children who have intellectual and developmental disabilities are increasingly being asked to pick up kids early, start the school day later or simply keep them home for the entire day".      

Lisa Kahn and Grayson

    When Grayson was in grade 1, he had a successful school year with no suspensions or calls for early pickups. At this point in time there was help from an educational assistant. Then when he began grade 2, he showed more aggressive behaviours. The mother met with school administration to ensure there was a plan in place at the school to deal wth the challenges. It's important to note that the principal 'attempted' to make an effort. Apparently the schools argument was that they made significant efforts to accommodate Grayson's needs through drawing up support plans, providing him with a full-time educational assistant support and having the board's mental-health clinician observe hime. Additionally, they provided Grayson with 2 educational assistant's throughout an entire school day, in which Ms. Kahn (his mother) distinctly said would not help because Grayson doesn't do well with changes in routines or schedules. It is clear that the principal did not take into consideration the educational needs of this student, in order to properly support him. 

    Due to the repeating unfortunate incidents that took place, along with other issues, Grayson was expelled after striking an educational assistant. Sadly, the repercussions of his unsafe and troublesome behaviour resulted in Grayson being forced to stay home, while the school board provides him with home instruction. Alternative options and programs for Grayson included therapeutic schools, as well as switching from French Immersion into the English stream. This could have been beneficial as there is an intervention program that teaches self-regulation skills and frustration management. Rather than discuss and offer alternative approaches in planning for an individualized education plan, implementing universal design for learning (UDL) or differentiated instruction, the school got to point where they thought it was appropriate to exclude a child with exceptional circumstances that they couldn't deal with. They agreed it was out of their control and that Graysons inappropriate actions were a safety threat for other students and staff members. This incident is extremely disappointing and sad. It is obvious that this school system is clearly broken when a 7 year old is expelled and can't be properly accommodated. Overall, this is just one case that describes the daily struggles that students who identify with various disabilities and exceptionalities face in the public school systems. 

Don't Limit Me! 

    The most necessary step in making a significant change in the education system is that educators must adjust their attitudes and beliefs. For instance, it's not about changing our "actions", it is about changing our thinking. When defining students because of their disability, it creates many problems rather than solutions. This separates them from the rest of the students and as a result, makes us accountable for exclusion and segregation. Hence, the leadership on behalf of board personnel, administration, and entire school matters. Secondly, it's important for the school, staff, and parents/guardians to develop a relationship with open lines of communication. This will allow for trust, commitment, and respect on all parties working with the student. Similarly, when everyone is involved in the individual education planning based on the students learning needs, it shows a commitment to student learning. Lastly, teachers are responsible for creating a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment that emphasizes a sense of belonging for all students. When students feel comfortable making mistakes and are given opportunities to take risks, this will contribute to positive school experiences. When schools and educators are accessible, tailor lessons while integrating differentiation, include accommodations and/or modifications, as well as implement UDL, students with exceptionalities will be successful. As the message from the video above highlights, don't limit them! Don't choose the paths for students, let them create their own and focus on building a better world in the school system. Moving forward, I will do my best as a teacher to ensure that I tailor my lessons to all of my students, including those with exceptionalities. As an educator in the schooling system, I will make sure to be proactive, not reactive to acceptance, accessibility, inclusivity and integration. Overall, it is important to incorporate all students in regular classrooms, no matter their disability and despite their difficulties or behaviour issues. Be inclusive! 

    Before concluding, I wanted to touch on the picture that I've attached in the beginning of my post. This photo was taken from a trip of a lifetime that I was grateful to attend as a student volunteer. I was apart of an amazing group of individuals who assisted 9 life skills students to Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida,  in April 2015. We spent approximately 10 days here, where I learned and developed many skills that prepared me to work with students of various exceptionalities. The relationships I made with these students will last forever! Sadly, there is still this common misconception that students with exceptionalities are motivational and inspiring speakers or that living with a disability makes you exceptional. Every student is unique, they're no different than our peers. Yes there are times when they have challenges and difficulties, and may have to overcome things. However, there is no reason to have low expectations of them. As educators, we must challenges these negative perceptions about disabilities and the stigma surrounding it. These experiences can help us learn a lot from students with exceptionalities, such as patience, respect, empathy, humility, kindness and understanding. As I was once told by one of my educators, enjoy the journey! 

Walt Disney World
Teachers, EA's, parents, and student volunteers!

Resources:

• Bennett, S. (2020). Rethinking the Familiar: It Is Not About Changing Our Actions, It Is About Changing Our Thinking, Exceptionality Education International, Vol. 30(2), 19-31. doi:10.5206/eei.v30i2.11079
• Calder Stageman, K. & AuCoin, A. (2017). Inclusive Education: Stories of Success and Hope in a Canadian Context. Toronto: Pearson
• Reid, L., Bennett, S., Specht, J., White, R., Somma, M., Li, X.,  Lattanzio, R., Gavan, K., Kyle, G., Porter, G. & Patel, A. (2018). If inclusion means everyone, why not me? https://www.inclusiveeducationresearch.ca/docs/why-not-me.pdf