This is a fictional first-person account, meant to portray the real pros and cons of inclusion for a child with special needs through the eyes of a parent. Although the characters in the story are not real, the facts about inclusion and the suggested questions and process are.
My Introduction to Inclusion
I walked into the meeting wondering why the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team had been called. We already had an IEP in place for my son, Conner, for the first four months of school, and the program was reportedly working well. I sat in my usual place, and began chatting with my child’s special education teacher and regular classroom teacher. Right before the meeting began, someone I had never seen before entered the room and it seemed that everyone knew him, except me.
The special education teacher, who served as the committee chair since she was the case manager, started the meeting by asking for quiet, then stating that perhaps we were wondering why this meeting was taking place. It was obvious that I was the only one confused as to why we were meeting. She then introduced Dr. James Millfield, the Director of Special Programs for the district.
So that’s who that strange person is, I thought, but I was quickly drawn back to the conversation when Dr. Millfield announced, “This year we are going to be running the special education program in a different manner.” He went on to explain that research states that programs that include children with disabilities in the regular classroom improve student performance more than pull-out programs, those that remove students from the regular classroom for a part of the day for special instruction. He further told us that push-in programs, those in which the special education teacher enters the classroom, seem to be more effective and that the school had been working for the past couple of years to create the best possible inclusion program, based on a great new inclusion model for mildly disabled children. Dr. Millfield explained, “We call it a co-teaching collaborative program. It is different than the old resource room, in that instead of the children with mild disabilities leaving the regular classroom to receive special education services, Mrs. Lee, Conner’s special education teacher, will be going into the regular classroom and working in a collaborative team with Ms Smith, Conner’s regular teacher.” He explained that, in every respect, these two teachers would work as a team during the subjects in which Conner has IEP goals. “This is not what we call a “full-inclusion” program,” Dr. Millfield continued. “It selects when the specialist is in the classroom and focuses on giving appropriate instruction to a child with special needs in conjunction with the regular class. It maximizes our resources to all children, not just those with disabilities.” Then he asked if anyone had anything to add, or had any questions.
I wished I could verbalize one of the hundred or so questions that were circulating in my mind, but nothing came out. Mrs. Lee broke the uncomfortable silence by stating that this would be best for Conner, assuring me that she would be happy to answer any questions later and giving me her business card.
Addressing Fears
Over the course of the next few months I learned the ins and outs of what the district was intending. They knew that children’s self-images are much better when they remain in the general classroom as opposed to going to a resource room, which can sometimes lead to teasing and self-deprecating thoughts. They knew that focused instruction within the classroom seems to be better than isolated instruction outside of the classroom that may or may not directly relate to what a student is learning in the regular classroom. The district also recognized that co-teaching is very powerful as a teaching tool, but that it is dependent upon the team working efficiently.
In addition, I learned that teams from each school in the district had been researching and creating the new model for more than two years, led by an out-of-district expert from a nearby university. The administration, including all of the principals, the special education director and higher-level administrators were all involved in the process–the district was committed. The district also knew that a full-blown research study would follow the program two years into its implementation to compare its results with those of the previous program; thus, by then we would know how effective it is. This all eased my mind, but didn’t erase my anxiety. What if they are wrong and for two years Conner’s skills go backwards … can he ever get those years back?
Will My Son Fall Behind?
My greatest concerns stemmed from conversations with friends and acquaintances whose children had been placed in inclusion programs. One cousin told me a horror story about her child with a mild disability being placed in such a program. The special education teacher did not co-teach; rather, she floated from classroom to classroom to “consult” with the regular teachers, who delivered all the instruction. My cousin described it as a disaster for her child, who lost most of the skills she had learned, putting her very far behind her peers.
I called Mrs. Lee, who referred me to the research that was done on this model, which is quite different than the one our district will use. She told me that experts discovered that the type of method used in my cousin’s school district just doesn’t focus enough time on the needs of the disabled child and puts all of the responsibility on the general education teacher’s ability to diversify her instruction–in essence, going right back to where we were before the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was first passed, no special education at all.
Can a Push-in Program Match the Results of a Pull-out Program?
My second biggest fear was that I had been told about the glowing progress that the my son was making in the resource room, and I wondered if the new program could match those results. Mrs. Lee invited me to Conner’s school for a conference when I raised this question. During this meeting she pulled out some charts and graphs that showed my son’s progress, which seemed really good. But, it also demonstrated that he was learning about one year’s material in a school year, sometimes less; while this was much better than before he started going to the Resource Room, he was still remaining at least two grade levels behind his peers, and slipping a few more months behind some years. Mrs. Lee explained that the hope with the new model was to begin to close this gap, which Resource Room programs had not been very successful at doing.
The school year began and things went fairly well. After two years, my son is closing that skills gap and is much happier with school. No one teases him about going to the “dummy” room like they did before (of course he never told me about this at the time), and he loves staying in the regular classroom all day. He also loves how Mrs. Lee and his regular classroom teacher co-teach his reading, writing and math. In summary, this change turned out to be very much of an improvement for my son, but I keep hearing horror stories mixed in with the success stories.
Questions to Ask About a New Inclusion Program
If you are facing a situation similar to that of our fictional parent, there are several important questions you should ask about the inclusion model. These questions ensure that the district is following current, research-proven methods for inclusion programs.
- Will my child still receive specially-designed instruction and, if so, how will it be delivered? Is co-teaching a part of the model?
- When and how will the special education teacher teach my child?
- Are you going to cluster the students into one class, and if so, what is the ratio of students with disabilities and to students without disabilities? (No more than one-third of students in a classroom should have disabilities).
- Are difficult subjects pre-taught to children with disabilities? (They should be.)
- Are concepts with which my child struggles re-taught? (They should be.)
- Are you conducting research to measure students’ progress to ensure that the results of the new program are at least as good as the results of the old program?
Action Steps For Parents of Students Entering Inclusive Classrooms
Following these suggested steps might be helpful for parents of children with special needs who will be in inclusive classrooms:
- Identify a go-to person in the initial meeting announcing the new program, looking for someone who can answer questions that arise.
- Don’t hesitate to ask questions.
- Read all you can find on inclusion from various sources, including academic studies and online resources like this website.
- Discuss the change with other parents whose children are in special education programs, both those who have been through a similar experience and those who have not, but might.
- When the model is implemented, make sure that you have the opportunity to observe, volunteer and otherwise be involved.
Mr. Bishop,
I have a 6 year old son who told me that he is being “pulled out” of his class during centers and taken to a class where a teacher works with him on reading and writing. The problem is, they’re giving him Pre-K and Kindergarten work but no first grade reading or writing. He still needs to be introduced to first grade material.
He is having difficulty reading and writing which is so strange because he has a huge vocabulary. I’ve also been told by his kindergarten teacher that his vocabulary is larger than all of the other kids in the class. I was also told that his comprehension skills were better as well, he’s just not on a first reading level.
Can his school do a pull-out without my permission? Also, are they trying to prepare him for an IEP plan? What should I do? I know I do not want him on an IEP plan. My mother has students who have graduated from high school and still can’t find a job because they graduated on an IEP plan and do not have a diploma but an IEP certificate. I do not want that for him.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Kai C.