Inclusion Write Up
This is an assignment I completed for my Early Childhood Education Classes. I had to write and talk about the benefits of inclusion. This is written more towards daycare centers, but I think you could easily relate it to working in a school.
5 Arguments That Support Inclusion
- Children are no longer removed from the class for special help
- More access to other professionals that can help allow for inclusions
- More people to communicate with and talk about ways to help the child
- Children with diverse abilities will have more social interactions with other children
- Inclusion teaches children skills so they can partake in extracurricular activities
Children do benefit from inclusion. Three main arguments to the pros of inclusion are that children are no longer removed from class for special help, children with diverse abilities get more peer social interaction when they are included, and when you are trying to demonstrate inclusion in your program you aren’t alone and there are other people who try to help and make it a team effort.
Inclusion programs avoid removing the child from the entire class. They want to have all the kids together working on the same curriculum. Obviously the child with diverse abilities would receive assistance when they needed it, but this way they are still in the same class as their peers. They get to play with the same stations, eat the same snacks, and color the same pictures. “Providing therapy or support within the program requires close collaboration between educators, consultants, therapists, and other professionals involved with the child.” (Deiner , Dyck, & Hardacre, 2009) This is where the team effort comes in.
Working with other professionals is crucial and important when it comes to implementing inclusion. It is nice to have other people around when dealing with diverse abilities. Having a team and working together is a huge part in making sure that inclusion is a positive experience for everyone involved. Not everyone is trained in everything so having people to lean on and ask a question makes everyone’s jobs easier. It also helps when you have someone to bounce ideas off of. Kids are already complex enough, but when they have diverse abilities they are even more complex so having a strong and diverse team behind the kid is crucial.
Another big benefit of inclusion is social interaction with peers. When a child is separated from their peers they are missing out on important social interactions. Social development is a huge area for proper development. By letting the kids stay included with all the other children then they can improve their social development naturally. Inclusion allows the kids to build friendships that they may not build otherwise. They get to pick who they want to play with and build relationships that will potentially last a lifetime.
Inclusion is a new thing that is happening and I think it is important. Inclusion is making sure that everyone is treated equally and included. If inclusion can be implemented properly it is a very positive aspect for children’s lives.