I believe that it is an absolute must to educate children without disabilities about how to be accepting of others who may be different from them. We must be able to help children without disabilities understand that, their peers who may be different from them, feel the same emotions when it comes to being set apart from a specific group or activity. I think this might lead children to understand that their peers with disabilities are, first and foremost, people. To encourage this idea of acceptance, we may suggest to children without disabilities that they are role models and mentors for children with disabilities. This type of leadership role may encourage our children without disabilities to take action in including our children with disabilities in different activities.
During our summer sessions at The Rich Center for Autism, we have siblings, friends, and relatives of our students who come in and act as peer role models. They follow a classroom schedule, just as any one of our students would, and are encouraged to help their fellow classmates in various activities. It is incredible to see the impact on both our students and their typical peers. Over the course of the summer, you are able to see the confidence that develops in our students, as well as the patience and compassion that come from our peer role models.
Looking at the story of Jason McElwain, one could see he had a huge boost in confidence as he helped his team win their last game of the season. He took pride in his accomplishment and the praise he received from his teammates and coaches. This leads me to the idea that we, as educators, must support and advocate for our children with disabilities to be included in various activities. We must start by educating others about how important it is for children with disabilities to be accepted as any other child. We must make clear that socialization is extremely important for any child, whether they have a disability or not. It is an innate need that must be met and if we do not foster that type of environment, we are not meeting the needs of all of our students.
I really like the approach that your taking here. Educating students without disabilities. I couldn't agree with you more!! Regular education students tend to label or make fun of students with exceptional needs because they are different. By equipping them with the knowledge that all students have feelings and the ability to learn will bring awareness to a topic that they may have been unaware of. I also agree that this nurturing, friendly environment needs to be encouraged by the teacher. We have the ability to be inspiring role models for our students!!
ReplyDeleteWell said Catherine! As I stated in my blog post I have witnessed social isolation as a teacher as well as a family member. It is heart breaking to watch. Teachers have the power to change a child's life. Making the extra effort to educate the students and plan cooperative activities is paving the way for social interaction and possible friendships. I love the idea of having non-disabled peers participate in The Rich Center's summer program. How rewarding for all students involved! I also enjoyed the Jason videos. It was wonderful to watch the student body cheer him on. Last weekend I watched my(ELN)step-daughter march in the band for the very first time. This was a long time coming. In fact, there were many times that we didn't think she would ever want to participate in any type of group activities. I really attribute her progress to the collaborative efforts of her high school staff and peer buddies assigned to her. Educating non-disabled peers and staff is the starting point in changing the lives of our ELN children.
ReplyDeleteThe peer modeling that you do sounds like a wonderful program. I have read that some school districts offer that to students who may just fall below the age to begin school. They allow them to attend the year prior in inclusion settings to act as models. A program like that, just like the video of Jason shows that these type of programs and events help ALL students not just ENL.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point Catherine! It is crucial that both regular education and special education teachers, get children without disabilities exposed on a more regular basis to students who have disabilities. Often we see children with disabilities labeled by their regular ed peers as you mentioned, and often times it is simply out of fear that these students who has disabilities are unlike the regular ed students. Once the regular education students spend time learning and bonding with special education students we see these labels and fear of the unknown disappear.
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