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Inclusion is a goal families reach from different paths. You are the people who know your sons and daughters, and the opportunities in your communities, best. In our community, all diversity of opinion and experience is welcome.
This issue is centered on the online resource, the Down Syndrome List Serv, brought to us by the charming Bill McGarry, wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com
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These are some of the responses to the recent TV show,
Turning Point, that featured a boy with Down Syndrome
who integrated a regular first grade classroom, from the DS
list serv:
Date: 94-09-09
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am
Barbara Davis, the mother of a multiply handicapped 8 year
old, and a support services teacher, 12 years in a
segregated classroom and the last five working as an
inclusion specialist in our K-6 elementary school. As
such, I was most interested in the Turning Point program on
inclusion.
I, too, had some varied reactions, but was left with a feeling
of uneasiness. As I attempted to analyze why I felt this way,
I have come to the conclusion that, it is my feeling, that this
program had some serious "holes" in its portrayal of
inclusion.
1. It was interesting that we did not see any children in the
segregated educational setting misbehaving. I have taught
in these settings for many years, and can tell you from
experience, that children in segregated settings misbehave
as much, if not more, than children in inclusive settings. We
only saw Sean misbehave, never Bobby. This smacks of
some creative, and misleading, journalism.
2. It was interesting, with so many inclusion programs in our
country running smoothly, that this program choose to
showcase a neophyte program. The segregated program
had been in existence for years, having the opportunity to
"fine tune" their act. This inclusion program was in an infant
state, needing alot of fine tuning ( for instance, at our school
there would have been a PT and/or aide in p.e. with the
child...but this takes time to figure out). Why did they not
share some information on programs that are working?
3. The special education teachers , in the segregated
school, were very adament about their opposition to
inclusion. I would suggest, that they, too are feeling
threatened by change. It is well documented in the
literature that special education teachers are often the most
opposed to inclusion, because they are being asked to
make the biggest change in the way they do business. This
is something I have felt, and experienced, first hand.....and if
a teacher is being honest about their feelings they will
admit it. I never heard this issue addressed.
4. In the final wash the comparison of skills learned, in both
settings was so subtle that I am afraid it may have been lost
on the uninformed viewer ( Sean learned how to socialize
in a community, Bobby learned to stack cans). Meredith
Viera should have drawn a stronger comparison.
5. In school districts where inclusion is just beginning, I
think this program could do alot of damage. It may raise
concerns, especially on the part of parents of typically
developing children, that would not have been there had
they not watched the show. I think every inclusion program
deserves a fair shot, and every child deserves the
opportunity to be included with his/her peers. Turning Point
may have taken that away from some children.
Over the years, we, who experience the joys that inclusion
can bring to our children and students, have weathered this
type of misinformation. But at what point well our civil rights
tide turn....and our children once again become excluded?
It was not my impression, that Ms. Viera was well versed in
current inclusion research and models, for, if she was, her
questioning would have been more complete,
knowledgable, and equitable. While she attempted to
portray both sides of an issue, she failed to do so
knowledgably. I hope there was not too much damage
done.
Barbara Davis
Date: 94-09-09 16:32:14 EDT
I read with interest all of the responses so far, and
figured I'd add my thoughts.
I was incensed by the show. Early on, it glorified the
violent reaction of some parents, without ever telling us
whether this was typical of large numbers of them or not.
This seemed to me to present the story in a confusing
context, one in which I might have felt compelled to watch,
even if only to find out what these folks were so angry about.
The coverage of Sean showed a child who had never been
mainstreamed, who had only a younger sibling for a peer
role model, and who had behavioral problems that showed
up in every clip. While Sean's mother came accross as
caring and committed. the juxtaposition of her arguments
and the troubling footage of Sean disrupting gym class, the
playground, or cafeteria made her seem too extreme. With
the hurtful comments of the teacher (or was it the other
mother) who thought Mrs. Begg was trying to MAKE Sean
normal when he never would be, the editing made Mrs.
Begg seem irrational. We COULD SEE that even if she only
wanted what was right for Sean, his inclusion was being
forced on an unwilling teacher, on unsuspecting parents,
and on a gym teacher who was clearly ill-prepared. The
show brought into the sharpest possible focus the concept
that "special-needs kids" can only be served in the
mainstream at the expense of the other children. This is a
damning position from which the show never fully retreated.
The show chose an irresponsibly aggressive and
wholey unattractive superintendent to serve as the
professional spokesman for inclusion. While his comments
might have had some merit, he came off so poorly, he
created the feeling that the school system is a big
bureaucracy with its own agenda, and which may not have
the children's or parent's interests at heart.
In a compelling talk, Norman Kunc made the best
argument I've heard for why everyone should be included.
In short, if the need to belong must be met before real
learning can take place (Maslow's Pyramid), then drawing a
line of exclusion becomes arbitrary. A class that succeeded
in removing every child who held the remainder of the
class back would never have more than one student
present! Taken to its extreme, even if a child cannot learn a
thing, their presence in the classroom proves to each other
child that he or she belongs, that everyone has a right to be
there, even if you have holes in your knees, you can't do
math as well as Philip, or read as well as Charlotte.
Norman Kunc would have been a more articulate
spokesman than the superintendent, even if (or possibly
especially because) his thoughts and words must be filtered
through a body with CP.
I would echo Barbara Davis' comments about
the portrayal of Bobby and Sean. Sean was shown most
frequently misbehaving - at least early on - while Bobby was
engaging and getting along. Bobby's mother came off not
as a pushy mother making waves by forcing her son into a
place he didn't belong, but as one gracefully accepting her
(and his) place in the world. What horse-poop! My guess is
that Mrs. Begg cares about the other children as well - her
younger son isn't far behind - but this was never shown.
Instead we had compliance, acceptance, and conformity
pitted against irrational behavior and irresponsible
expectations.
The show made me angry beyond words at first, and its
tempering toward the end could not make up for it. I
shudder to think of how people would have been feeling if
they got depressed early on and turned it off about half-way
through. The fact that it was broadcast the evening before
the first day of school seemed almost criminally
incendiary. My daughter started kindergarten in the
mainstream yesterday, and I was haunted by the memory of
the show hovering in the bright sunshine over the early-
morning, naturally-apprehensive, first-day crowd. If I
escorted my son to his first day of kindergarten and bumped
into Lucy and me, I might well panic. "I know what this
means", I'd think,"she's just like that little boy who hits and
disrupts, and forces the teachers to spend so much time
working with him that my son won't stand a chance..." I
often feel that the label of Down syndrome, the ease with
which we all generalize, and the flow of information about
DS all conspire to objectify Lucy. Parents may think,"Oh, I
know what THEY are like, or I have seen KIDS LIKE HER."
This show did little to portray the differences among children
with DS, it seemed to have randomly but conveniently
chosen a well-adjusted, fairly engaging Bobby, isolated in
the special school, learning to stack cans and amusing
adults by his desire to grow up to be a doctor. In stark
contrast, Sean was shown struggling to cope with a whole
new set of surroundings. The possibility that the
surroundings were contributing to his behavior was buried
(but alas not missing entirely) in a comment about how
Sean preferred (or needed) to sit alone because the din of
the lunchroom was too stimulating.
My concerns over objectification stem in part from the
conversation between Ms. Viera and the class - WHICH
INCLUDED SEAN!!! - about whether he belonged. These
are kindergarten kids. Why not ask if the girl with blond hair,
or the boy with glasses, or the black kid belongs. This was
the last straw for me. I cannot imagine a more insensitive
thing to do.
To close, I thought the show was slanted,
irresponsibly produced, poorly written, badly editted,
and broadcast an the wrong night.
Other than that, it was great.
Len Morse-Fortier
Date: 94-09-10 04:26:42 EDT
Here, here, Len!
I really agree with just about everything you said. I was
especially amazed that anyone is still getting away with the
pitch that a segregated school has any value at all. Even if
a student should need some period of individualized
instruction during the school day, there is absolutely no
justification for it to take place on a totally separate, remote
piece of property. Balderdash.
Like you, I have heard Norman Kunc speak on Maslow's
Hierarchy, and the necessity for people to feel like they
belong before real learning can take place. Yes!
For those of you with younger kids with DS, I just want to
say a word about my daughter Dusty, who is about to turn
19, and is happily finishing her second week at College of
Marin, just north of San Francisco. Dusty has been
included (sometimes not 100% of the day) in regular
classrooms since preschool. She went through the Santa
Monica Schools in southern California.
At every level, it was the other kids who were the strongest
force. She's a mimic. What she needed the very most was
good old average role models, plus strategies for her to
monitor her own behavior. Kids come through. They
problem solve, they help out, they empathize. I remember
in the 3rd grade, there was one little guy who organized a
posse which flung into action if anyone tried to tease Dusty,
because she was a member of his class and he wasn't
going to allow it. This guy eventually dropped out and
joined a gang, but he was always good to Dusty.
Well, the students at the community college are very nice to
her today. She's not taking calculus and French. Instead,
dance, swimming, art, chorus, computer applications, and
working part time at the book store, are more her speed
(with support). But that's just fine. She's having a terrific
experience. She's not going to transfer to the university, but
she's enriching her life. She's out there. She's in the
game, and boy is she proud of herself! (And Dusty does not
have particularly strong cognitive talents. She's just a
young adult who has DS.)
Community based, functional curriculum was an important
step forward at the time (late 80's). Now, I think we know
that kids with DS, and most kids, learn what it takes to do a
simple job very quickly when they are adults. They don't
need years and years of training for that. What kids need
are opportunities to learn how to interact successfully with
others. That's what employers want the most. That's what
everyone wants in their adult peers. That's what you learn in
regular school. That was probably the most important thing
we all learned in regular school, because the content we
learned is now out of date. And our interaction with other
kids was the very most important thing to us all --right?
All kids need functional curriculum, to the extent that it
should be relevant to their lives. I think all classrooms are
moving in that direction. It's an appropriate place for Dusty
now. Earlier, her "community" was the high school campus,
not the market.
One other thing. Supports in the classroom are not to be
minimized. I felt that the supports shown in Sean's
classroom were depicted as outrageously extensive. It
seemed as though they were saying that the "four special
ed. teachers" had no other duties. Wrong. Don't you
imagine that it was a resource specialist, a speech
specialist, an aide, and maybe a vision person?
All of whom had a normal size case load, and were
attempting a consultative model? I think so. It did seem like
a bit of overkill to me, though. Sean would have learned to
walk to the lunchroom, for example, much more quickly
if the adults had stepped back and let the kids take over.
They would have gotten Sean there, or they would have
given up, and Sean would have missed lunch for the day.
The next day, he'd go! Kids are great problem solvers.
And teachers and aides who know how to hold back and let
natural supports fall into place are geniuses. Working out
strategies with the other kids is always a good option for the
special ed. teacher. Modifying materials, however, is a
critical task for the special ed. staff.
Enough rambling...
Donna Dutton
Date: 94-09-10
I watched the entire show and was more pleased at the end
than during the first half-hour.
I'd like to hear other's opinions, but after watching the show
I'm sure glad I live where I do! We call it "main streaming"
but it's been standard procedure here for years and years.
Never any controversy even close to the scale seen on
Turning Point. I live in a college town of about 100,000.
My other comment is that they seemed to have picked a
particularly troubled child. I'm not sure if it was just "him", or the fact
that he'd spent so much time in a "sheltered"
environment, but the 4-5 yr old kids with Downs in our
community seem far more socially skilled than that 8 yr old.
LSC (aka Larry Chapman)
For information on the upcoming workshops by Libby
Kumin, the newsletter, Communicating Together, or her
book, Communication Skills in Children with Down
Syndrome, A Guide for Parents, send email to
mjl51543@aol.com; Phone or Fax: 410-995-0722
The pamphlet, Welcoming Your Baby with Down Syndrome (WBwDS), is available by
email to print up and send to your local hospital nurseries for October,
National Down Syndrome
Month. Email pmwilson@aol.com for your copy.
If you have video or book resources that you feel would be
beneficial for new parents while they are in the hospital,
please send ordering information to pmwilson@aol.com for
the cover letter.
The Inclusion Chat is held every Thursday evening, 10pm
Eastern (that's 7pm here on the West Coast) on America
Online in the Health and Medical Chat area (keyword
Health); at 10pm Eastern (7pm for the West Coast) we are
in the private room off the lobby, named Down Syndrome.
Host is KarenL2888@aol.com
From: DOWN-SYN@vm1.nodak.edu
Subj: Re: Turning Point on DS Child and inclusion
kdavis@sos.sos.net
From: DOWN-SYN@vm1.nodak.edu
Subj: Turning Point:
Lexington, MA
lfortier@mit.edu
From: DOWN-SYN@vm1.nodak.edu
Subj: Re: Turning Point:
(donnad13@aol.com)
From: DOWN-SYN@vm1.nodak.edu
Subj: Re: Turning Point
chapman@swttools.fc.hp.com