Comments on: Maybe Mainstreaming Isn’t Always for Every Student

By: Legal Considerations

Legal Considerations — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:38:22 +0000

[...] with mainstreaming for a journalistic report. I’m very eager to read what she finds. Mainstreaming in the classroom is not a current goal for Charlie, who’s nowhere near his grade level in any [...]

By: The Burden and the Goal

The Burden and the Goal — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:57:22 +0000

[...] integrating and including autistic and special needs kids in classes and schools is essential, mainstreaming is not necessarily a goal in and of itself for every child all the time. I wish my son could attend [...]

By: Integration, self-contained classroom: What’s the bottom line?

Integration, self-contained classroom: What’s the bottom line? — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:41:59 +0000

[...] integration always the answer for every student’s education, or is, rather, integration in some things [...]

By: What is Treatment?

What is Treatment? — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:32:07 +0000

[...] and different ways to integrate autistic children into educational and other settings with typical [...]

By: Tammy Glaser

Tammy Glaser — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:12:33 +0000

As a homeschooler, I believe with every fiber of my being that YOU, the parent, have a better idea of what is working well for your unique child. Every child is different and need more, or less, support than other children. I think it is far more effective to focus on the I in IEP (individual) rather than make a case for mainstreaming, inclusion, special ed, charter school, special school, or homeschooling. Parents would be better off if they had choice in the environment best suited for their child!

BTW, I consider my daughter mainstreamed because she is out and about in the community, sings in the adult choir (she is 18 yo), sings with the youth/young adult choir, etc. She is also special ed in that she still needs therapies to help her with speech and relationship skills, not to mention that she is working at Grade 6 math.

By: This and Last’s Weeks Top Posts

This and Last’s Weeks Top Posts — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 00:22:43 +0000

[...] Maybe Mainstreaming Isn’t Always for Every StudentIt’s generally assumed that mainstreaming and inclusion are the better, if not the best, options for special needs children—-but a November 27th article in the Wall Street Journal reports that a number of parents in New Jersey and around the nation think otherwise. [...]

By: Regan

Regan — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 23:07:57 +0000

I wanted to post the link from a very interesting website that I found last night that is intense about inclusion, not only in school (although that is the emphasis), but also in society. There are also other links, articles and stories that I found thought provoking.
http://www.kidstogether.org/inclusion.htm

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 08:53:58 +0000

Actually, I’d go farther than some definitions of inclusion given here. The way I heard it, “If some kids are ‘regular kids’ and some kids are ‘included kids’, it’s not inclusion.” Wish I could remember the source of that quote.

But, as probably I’ve said many times before, I don’t believe in the traditional educational system, I don’t think it’s an inclusive environment even for those kids who manage in it okay, nor do I think it’s an optimal learning environment. (The fact that it takes learning, which is something children generally have great interest in doing, and turns it into something that children dread, says a lot right there.)

By: emily

emily — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:47:36 +0000

My understanding is that the IEP should address the student’s strengths AND weaknesses. ITO grade-level work: I think that sometimes depends on the nature of the self-contained class and the mix of students in that class. In my school district, one concern parents have is that if their child has, say, behavior and social issues but no academic delays, they’re not going to get challenged in self-contained. In some cases, kids are mainstreamed for part of the day when the gen ed class is learning about the child’s area of academic strength. The big issue is the flexibility of the type of integration and support: my district, which is pretty good on spec ed issues, is learning to provide a range of placements.

My daughter is in middle school in a general education setting. She started in a self-contained class and I pushed for mainstreaming mostly for social reasons: there were very few girls in the class.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:02:22 +0000

On this particular topic I believe that inclusion is not necessarily the right option for all of our autistic children. I have heard the arguments supporting it (i.e. ASD children become more verbal when schooled with verbal children, same for behavior issues) inclusion. However, for my son inclusion is not the answer. Vista is the best placement for my son. What use to really piss me off was when these so-called experts tried to make me feel like dirt because I wasn’t putting him in an inclusive educational environment. Sometimes they are as bad as the school districts who fight parents at every turn when the child needs special services. I for one do NOT appreciate having my knowledge about my son being circumvented by those who spend maybe an hour or two with him on a yearly basis.

DEB