It is important for children of all learning levels to be
able to participate in a learning environment that best suits their abilities
but also pushes them to achieve higher goals.
It is not easy to offer the wide range of learning areas in every school
or city but it is important to acknowledge
every level of learning. This
does not mean that we have to segregate the severly disabled from the highly intelligent. It just means we need to find a better
solution to providing the appropriate education at every level.
Allowing disabled children to attend regular classes helps
to build their self esteem and integrates them into society. It also exposes normal children to the lives
of the disabled and increases their understanding of how they live and that
even though they may act and look different they are still human beings who
need love and understanding.
I have a friend who has downs syndrome and we do not allow
his disability to control his life . He
has always been treated as an equal and this has helped him to grow and develop
mentally and physically. He will be
graduating from high school in the spring and a lot of his success has been due
to the fact that we accepted him as our equal.
If you don't segregate the children with developmental disabilities, what happens to them if they fall behind because they learn at a slower pace or have difficulty understanding what is being taught?
ReplyDeleteI do like your idea that integration can help with self-esteem and even increases awareness on behalf of students.
I don't think complete "segregation" is at all an appropriate solution here. Having developmental disabilities does not equal an inability to learn, and if the students fall behind or work slower than their peers, then they'll just need a little more help. That is ok. Also, I think Tawni addressed this in her post-- she mentioned placement being appropriate to one's educational needs, which is generally determined according to their IEP, in order to give children access the best learning environment they can have. Also, not all developmentally disabled kids perform at the same level, and special ed classrooms may have students ranging from very low functioning to very high functioning. Your idea of segregation perpetuates negative stereotypes about disabilities, and it would be unfair and harmful to the high functioning kids who may be able to be mainstreamed successfully and may benefit, just as Tawni's friend did, from not allowing their disability to define them or stop them in their educational goals.
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