Inclusive Education 2

[Guest]

thought i would start a new thread as the last one had a lot of (very interesting) responses.

 

i would like to place my views in response to some of the issues......

and just to say that i respect the views of others and have no intention for my comments to be considered as attacking or otherwise offensive, they are simply my views.

 

one of the references was about other children being distressed by the sight of a child being tube fed - i think its important that this is not hidden from children or disguised, but explained in a way that is understandable to the child in very simple terms - this way it shouldn't be distressing for other children to see. Previously when children with disabilities were in institutions they were not seen by other children - this is possibly why children are curious or stare or even call names. everyone has differences that need to be accepted

 

some children have very complex needs which are very difficult to meet in mainstream provision, if a parent has had infomration to enable them to make an infomred choice - the choice should be respected.

children have a right (if they wish) to attend the same settings as their brothers or sisters and there is a duty for supporting agencies and provsions to take the support to the child to enable this

 

integration/inclusion

 

integration is allowing children with disabilities to access mainstream provsion.

 

inclusion is enabling children to access the curriculum and develop to their full potential.

 

Geraldine

your points about Travellers were interesting and meaningful after working as Early Years development for six years in Traveller Education

how true your comments are

what can you possibly do when the media supports and promotes discrimination - it almost says its ok for anyone to say terrible things and to be discriminatory

they're not worth it and we can say anything we like becasue they don't matter - how does that fit when parents are seeing this and making comments to their children like 'don't sit next to the dirty gyppos in school'

its just perpetuating discrimination and allowing it to continue

 

when you meet with a school who are genuinely inclusive its like a breath of fresh air - such a wonderful relief to work amongst people who are acceting of diversity and difference

 

Now working as an area SENCO i find when small settings with 3 or 4 staff are approached to accept a child with additional needs they naturally worry if they will be able to cope. this is where support should be available and adequate to support their needs.

 

 

i would ask that the comments are not intended to offend but merely highlight other points of view towards inclusion and being an inclusive society which supports the social model of disability rather than the medical model.

[bubblejack]

Lesley I can't find your original thread. On the subject of tube fed children. I had a granddaughter who was tube fed from birth up to when she died 4 years ago. My daughter brought her to pre-school,sometimes she was on her pump. All the other children were fascinated by this. Children just accepted the fact that she was fed this way and was immobile.She chose to eat nothing by mouth. She would accept food but do everything with it but eat it.One little girl who is now age 8 still remembers when she reached across and took her cheese sandwich. She gained so much from attending the group and the children learnt so much from her. I will say that I could not have coped easily with her in the group if she had not had her own helper.

[Guest]

hi there - the original thread was on page 2 of this topic and is titled inclusive education

 

i agree small children accept other children's differences very easily

 

but you say you couldn't have managed without the extra help and support

 

well this is my point, inclusive education is about bringing the services to the child to enable them to attend mainstraem settings wherever possible, this may even mean they can attend provision with their brothers and sisters, friends and neighbours - and whats wrong about that.

but there should be support which allows parents to make a choice in the provision available. if the support isnt there then i would definately contact the early years partnership to ask what support they can offer and less than the best would not be acceptable to me if it was my child.

 

so always ask!!

 

thanks for your reply - its good to hear that more people are looking to remove barriers to inclusion

[bubblejack]

Yes Lesley there should be support but it is not always there. We shouldn't have to fight for it. Parents of children with Special Needs are often worn out with their daily care they often have no energy left to fight. In our area it is so hard to get a child statemented .