Blog Post #2) What Can We Do to Promote the Social Integration of Students with ELN? Danielle Hackett

As educators it is our duty and should be our passion to ensure that all students needs are being met regardless of the disabilities they may or may not have.  However, as we all know this isn't always happening or at least to the degree that is expected and required by law.  When you think of least restrictive environment you may think of disabled students getting their education in the general education classroom with all of their non-disabled peers.  Do you think of much more beyond that?  Consider this analogy, you are put smack in the middle of a board meeting at a large marketing firm.  You have so much to offer, your insight and experience could offer the company tremendous benefit.  However, you are not introduced by the team leader, your unique skills are overlooked because everyone around you is caught up in the fast paced manner of the meeting.  All that you got at this meeting was the opportunity to view some presentations and some handouts.  What is the benefit of that?  This is what I feel  is happening with many disabled students in the classroom.  Sure they are present and getting fed information on some level, but they are not involved.  Learning is always enhanced when one has the opportunity to interact with others in multiple ways.  Our duty as teachers is to make sure that our students have those opportunities.  If we do not promote an environment that is conducive to meaningful interaction and cooperative learning between all students, we should consider ourselves as failures.  In Education For All by Terese C. Jimenez and Victoria L. Graf,  it summarizes Principle Four: Least Restrictive Environment of IDEA 2004 and makes a note of what challenges come with that.  One challenge "is finding the means to include these students with nondisabled peers" (21).  We need to ensure that including students with exceptional learning needs is not a challenge in our school districts.

   

Starting small is what it usually takes to do great things.  If we as educators can take our one voice, our simple idea and promote it to make a difference, we are sending a message to all of our students that one person can and will make a difference.  In the YouTube clip “Jason McElwain Autistic Basketball Player”, we saw how one coach made a difference by recognizing what this student could offer to the basketball team by giving him the position of team manager and ultimately a chance to play.  That was a small start that spread through Jason and then through the student body of both schools during that final game and sent a message to the community and beyond.  We are here and have something to offer is being heard loud and clear because of these small differences made by educators and coaches alike.

To promote social integration we need to introduce these students to our classroom at a very young age with the use of literature, video clips, and by creating small peer groups that promote meaningful socialization.  The resources are endless in these three categories and it will take time to find the best approach, but hard work always pays off and will make a difference in the lives all of students and will make our job more fulfilling.