Tuesday, September 03, 2002

By ELIZABETH SCHOLL

Most people would agree that they would like a preschool program for their child to offer as many opportunities as possible, which will allow their child to reach his or her greatest potential. A good program should also offer the child new experiences, which will help him or her gain positive social skills, including the ability to help others.

With this in mind, one might consider a preschool environment that is inclusive, or includes children who have been classified as having special needs. Having special needs children in a classroom can be a positive experience both for the differently abled child, and the child who is progressing normally. For the special-needs child, being in a regular classroom offers the opportunity to observe non-disabled children at work. A preschool age child with disabilities also greatly benefits from seeing the social interactions of “normal” preschoolers.

Education goals

The long term goal of education, is to prepare the student to be a productive member of society. An education system should offer this opportunity to all children, regardless of their needs. One goal of integrating special needs children into regular education programs is that they will begin to learn to function within the non-disabled community.

For other children, the special-needs child offers a chance to develop empathy, tolerance, and skills for helping others. Having a child with a disability in the class can help teach some of the important lessons of preschool education—how to cooperate, how to respect and accept people’s differences, and how to be kind.

Most of us have heard the term mainstreaming. Though inclusion holds some similarities, to mainstreaming, it is not the same thing. Mainstreaming allows a disabled child who is in a separate environment to participate in some parts of the school day with non-disabled students. The child may or may not have support, and often the classes they are mainstreamed into are non-academic subjects, such as art, lunch, and gym.

Inclusion means the child’s primary placement is in the regular classroom. The child may have additional instruction in other settings, but are engaged in the same or similar activities as the non-disabled students, depending on the child’s IEP, or individualized education program. In an inclusive setting, the special needs student is able to function in a general education classroom, though sometimes with the help of an aide.

Extra benefits

Inclusive programs often offer extra benefits to all the students. Adult-to-child ratios are often smaller than in a regular school program, allowing extra attention for each child. Children are also offered the opportunity of being taught by specialists such as a speech therapist; and the special needs children are able to participate in art, computer, physical education and other activities with the whole class.

If you are thinking about the benefits an inclusive program might offer your classified (special-needs) or non-classified preschooler, look into the following aspects of a program: What is the staff’s training? Have staff members been trained in special education, as well as general education? Do teachers as well as teacher aides attend in-service training workshops about inclusive education? Remember, an inclusive classroom is a general education classroom, but some changes may have to be made to accommodate the needs of the students. Staff has to be able to address various situations that will arise, ranging from physical setup of the room, to working with aides assigned to an individual child, to being a role model for acceptance of all students, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.

An interesting statistic is that there are 3,700 licensed child care centers in New Jersey, and 3,000 children in the state who have been classified as special needs students. If each child-care center was to enroll two special needs students, all special-needs children would have the opportunity to learn in an environment with other children as role models. Likewise, all preschoolers would have the opportunity to interact and become used to the idea of people with disabilities as part of their community.

Equal opportunities

According to the American Disabilities Act, all children classified as having special needs, or those with disabilities, are entitled to an equal opportunity for education in any child care center, and may not be discriminated against because of their disabilities. Therefore, unless the child’s presence in the program presents a direct threat to the safety of the other participants in the program, the special needs child must be allowed to enroll. Child-care centers must make their facilities accessible to people with disabilities.

So, legally, all child-care centers are inclusive. However, most programs do not have special-needs children enrolled, and are not advertising to do so. Of course, certain programs may be more willing to include children with special needs. These would most likely be programs where the philosophy is to develop an individual program for each child, while also focusing on the development of the group.

Tony Fordice, director of Hooks Lane School, in Fort Lee, feels the key to a successful inclusive program is communication. Special needs students who attend Hooks Lane School are often referred to the program through the district’s Child Study Team. The staff, parents, and child study team must work together in order to provide the most successful experience for the child.

In a class of 18 children, Hooks Lane classes have had as many as three students classified as having special needs, working with the rest of the class. If the child needs special equipment, such as a certain type of chair or table to allow him to work properly, the Child Study Team is responsible for providing it.

While the Hooks Lane staff has not been formally trained in special education or inclusive education, teachers have attended workshops, and are constantly doing research on the needs of their students. Some parents have been initially uncertain about having special-needs children in the class, but most, after time, have seen how inclusion can enhance the program for all children.

Inclusive education is beginning to take hold, and being accepted by teachers and parents. It will reach its goal with a good deal of outreach and training for everyone involved in the programs. Acceptance occurs much more readily when people understand how and why something works. Inclusion is likely to be accepted if not only children are offered support, but teachers as well. Additionally, parents of special-needs children must feel they and their children are being accepted as part of the class.

In order for the children to get the most out of a general education program, the staff needs to understand how the child can be best helped to reach his or her potential. All teachers who work with special-needs children should be offered training. This would include specialists, such as the art, music, and physical education teachers.

Likewise, it would benefit the entire school community if all parents were offered an opportunity to become familiar with inclusive programs. This might be done through literature sent home, or parent workshops offered in the school.

Inclusion in schools is a major step to tolerance and acceptance of all people in the community. There is no doubt that children who are exposed to special needs children growing up, will have a better ability to understand, help and work positively with those having disabilities when they get older.

Elizabeth Scholl of Hillsdale is a writer, educator, and parent.

Resources

The best way to find out more about inclusion, and obtain information about programs in your county, is to contact your local office for child-care resources:

Bergen County

Bergen County Department of Human Services

Office of Children

Bergen County Plaza 2nd Floor

Hackensack, NJ 07601

201/336-7150

www.njcommunity.com

lkriegel@co.bergen.nj.us

Passaic County

North Jersey 4C’s

101 Oliver Street

Paterson, NJ 07501

973/684-1904

www.nj4c.com

New Jersey Statewide

Susan Guider

New Jersey Inclusive Child Care Project

973/642-8100 x108

www.spannj.org/njiccp

Rockland County

Child Care Resources of Rockland, Inc.

185 North Main Street

Spring Valley, NY 10977

845/425-0009

www.childcarerockland.org

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