What Can We Do to Promote the Social Integration of Students with ELN?

I feel that the earlier the age we can integrate typical and atypical students in the classroom setting, the more likely inclusion can be successful for students with disabilities.  I was fortunate to do my School Nurse Practicum at Fairhaven Developmental Disabilities School.  The Fairhaven Preschool Program has integrated classrooms where atypical preschoolers have daily opportunities to interact with age eligible typical peers.  Both the typical and atypical preschoolers can benefit from this early interaction.  The typicals can learn to respect and understand the diversity of ability in others.  Typicals can also learn patience, tolerance, empathy and can serve as role models for the atypical preschoolers.

I am not a teacher in the classroom, therefore I do not have any direct classroom experience to evaluate the interaction between students in an inclusive classroom.  I can only assess what I see and hear in the school health clinic.  I have witnessed students with exceptional learning needs (ELN) who have many friends and are treated with kindness and respect from their classmates.  Many of these students have disabilities that their classmates can see physically, such as a mobility or medical issue. I have also had many students with disabilities become “frequent flyers” in the health clinic.  The school health clinic may provide a temporary escape from a classroom in which they feel either isolated or overwhelmed.  I have noted that most of these students’ disabilities are ones that are not outwardly visible.  They may have varying degrees of autism, or emotional disturbances that can affect their social interaction with their classmates.  Their behavior may also be disruptive in the classroom which also may makes bonding with other classmates difficult.

In Education For All: Critical Issues in the Education of Children and Youth with Disabilities, Jiminez and Graf state that “when trust exists, there is an implicit understanding of safety and a shared perspective on children and schooling.” (p. 58) As a school nurse who cares for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses it is imperative that my relationships with the families be one in which there is mutual trust and open communication.  If they are to entrust their children in my care in their absence, they must feel confident in my assessment and clinical skills.   I include the parent’s input while making up a student specific Individualized Healthcare Plan and Emergency Action Plan. It is also important to be cognizant of families who are culturally diverse, living in poverty and the roadblocks they may face by providing them with information on services available to them and a careplan that reflects their values.    As Jiminez and Graf discuss the absence of all voices in the families who receive special education services as a limitation in the review and assessment of families and their experiences.  The future is looking toward how to strengthen the parent/professional relationships for all families in all schools (Jiminez and Graf 2008).

Creating community and national awareness of issues and problems that students with disabilities face is also a critical issue.  We need more human interest stories like that of Jason McElwain scoring 20 points in the final 4 minutes of his one and only high school basketball game.  Millions of people heard and saw this story and were deeply touched by its impact.  To see the basketball team and student body storm the court in Jason’s support at the conclusion of the game has to be one of the greatest moments its community has ever witnessed.  We also need more people like Jason’s coach who saw an opportunity to realize an autistic boy’s dream and take the initiative to act upon it.  He provided a teachable moment to an entire community that showing compassion towards others is far bigger than winning a basketball game.  His act also created public awareness on a national level.  With awareness of the difficulties facing individuals with ELN, can come a change in attitude of how we interact with them.