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Reply to "Is integration hurting our kids?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Well, some of those non-integrated kids were left/locked in basements or closets with no instruction for most if the day, which is why the pendulum swung back to LRE/integration.  And yes, it's swung too far for too long, and it will/should swing back, except those darn discreet classrooms with small teacher:student ratio, which is what many of these students need, are expensive.  And the Special Ed teachers are overwhelmed and burnt out and can make more money elsewhere.  And so, we are where we are.

The reality is, ALL students, neuro-typical or not, behavior issues or not, would benefit from smaller class sizes, but that is money the county doesn't have, and so, again, we are where we are.[/quote]

I grew up when schools were just starting to dip their toe into inclusion. Special Ed was in discrete buildings and kids with behavioral issues were either expelled, put in vo tech or put in schools for violent kids.

I was in second grade when the first kid would come into our room for reading. She was third grade age and the teacher used to say that if she had just worked harder last year she wouldn’t be a third grader taking reading with little kids. She was held up to the class as what happens to kids who are lazy.

In third grade we had our first kid come to spend lunch with the class. She was made fun of and anyone who became her friend or was nice to her was ostracized.

I eventually became a social worker and worked in institutions and other programs for people with disabilities. By that time we were more enlightened and we’re starting to move people into the community with supports. During that time, my geriatric residents would tell me stories of what life had been like and it was awful. And, getting institutionalized happened for so many reasons that are horrifying. Like promiscuity in a teen girl, homosexual tendencies, blindness with no other issues.

LRE has resulted in such significant positive changes in the way we treat people and the way we view people. It’s not black and white anymore - there’s a continuum of abilities. And just because there are deficits in an area or some areas doesn’t mean you don’t have average or superior abilities in other areas. As a result of LRE, inclusion and ADA, we treat people with disabilities so much better.

Yes the pendulum has swung far from where we started. But people with disabilities have really benefited from this swing, including those on this board who are having difficulty getting their kids what they need. We have work to do, but the time before inclusion was nothing that any of us would want for our kids.

And to the RICA poster, I get it. Mine was in ESESES and the journey to get there was tough. Glad your child got a spot. [/quote]

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