Educating Students with Disabilities in GenEd Classrooms

Inclusion

• Inclusion is different from Mainstreaming (incorporating SPED students into GENED classrooms only when no additional help was needed) .
• Inclusion is different from Integration (bringing in students with disabilities only part time, which further separates them and acknowledges the segregation in tInclusion is different from Mainstreaming (incorporating SPED students into GENED classrooms only when no additional help was needed) . he first place).
• Inclusion is a practice and a belief system, that fully incorporates all student in the school's community and class curriculum, in totality.
• Inclusion requires that educators accept all students and adjust their methods of teaching to service the entire array of learners.

LRE

• IDEA's top priority is that students with disabilities be given the benefit of the doubt and be first placed in the GENED classroom.
• The new addition to IDEA, Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), reenforces inclusion.
• This amendment makes schools and teachers responsible legally to follow proper methods to ensure that the GENED classroom is not the proper fit for students with disabilities before placing them in SPED classrooms.

BEST PRACTICE

• The classroom structure is evolving, as research is showing the benefits of a more individualized instruction.
• This change of instruction not only benefits students with disabilities, who require the individualized instruction, but also the general education population.
• More individualized lessons, interactive group work, various delivery methods and assessment forms have been proven to be more beneficial for students and for inclusion.

The REsearch proves it

• Various studies have been done on the differences in progress between inclusion classrooms and special education classrooms.
• There have been no negative results with inclusion.
• Even if a child continued to struggle academically in the GENED, other benefits of inclusion positively affected students: social skills, motor skills, sense of belonging, engagement in extracurricular activities.
• Research shows that there are no negative affects on students without disabilities in the GENED classrooms that incorporated students with disabilities.

empathy

• Inclusion not only helps students with disabilities learn, but those around him or her learn as well.
• Classmates, teachers, and other educational support team members learn empathy from inclusion in the classroom.
• Attitudes from teachers are reportedly more positive, feeling more fulfilled and confident in teaching abilities.
• Classmates learn deeply rooted life lessons in diversity, empathy, and acceptance and understanding of people with disabilities.