Inclusion Class - Can someone explain it to me?

[princesspumpkin]

What exactly is an inclusion class in school? My DD is in a new school this year and was placed in a class that, from my observation, seems to have a high number of children that have special education needs or learning disabilities (parents were talking about their kids being on medication, DD talking about some kids being pulled out of class to go to another room to take class, a second teacher comes in to help with reading and math to DD's class, but not to every 3rd grade class). The principal stated that my DD was placed in this class (without saying it was an inclusion class) randomly, just to even out the numbers in each class. If DD was in an inclusion class, would I have been informed of this by the teacher or principal? Are all children in inclusion classes those that need some assistance with learning? Thanks

 

[TimeforMe]

An inclusion class is one where students with special needs (usually of a high degree) are placed with kids without special needs. Not all students require extra assistance and you wouldn't (necessarily) be notified if your child was in one. (unless of course they had special needs)

 

[believe]

I don't think you would have been informed. Not all the children are special needs children. When I did my practicum with an inclusion class there was a second teacher that removed those having special needs for math and reading, she also assisted during the remainder of the day.

 

[Microcell]

You can use it as an opportunity to teach your child about helping others. The idea of inclusion is that kids who need special education broaden their horizons and are not just in the class with all special ed kids. It is supposed to help with social skills mostly. Alot of times the special ed kids can be paired with a non special ed kid to work out academic work and social skills. It helps the special ed kid get one on one that the teachers do not have time for, and it helps the non special ed kid learn about diversity, and can make self esteem go up by helping someone. The drawback for your child is if their learning time suffers as a result of behavior problems or if any time is taken away by helping the other child (if that class does that). If your child is smart and does not struggle at all, chances are they will be fine.

 

[princesspumpkin]

Thanks for the quick replies. How do they decide what other children without special needs get put into the class? Does anyone feel that the extra number of children that need extra help actually hinders the learning of the others? If there were just a few children who needed extra help, I'm sure it wouldn't be too much of a struggle to keep the others learning at an average level. But when there are a great number (like one third) of children who need special help, can't that take away from the class as a whole progressing at a normal pace? Sorry for all of the questions, just trying to understand what's going on in Dd's classroom. For some reason, I don't think that the teacher or principal really want to admit that this class is an inclusion class. Thanks again.

 

[BethanyF]

An inclusion class is basically a regular classroom that includes some special needs kids. Could be that they have speech delays, high functioning autism, aspergers, physical limitations, etc. These kids are mostly 'normal' (although I hate that description), they just need a bit of extra help. My son is high functioning autistic and is in a regular classroom. He gets pulled out for speech and OT, along with a couple other kids in his class. In our school almost all of the classes have some special needs kids, so it never seems unusual to the other kids.
I prefer this over putting him in a class with kids that are lower functioning than him. I think it teaches the non-disabled kids tolerance and diversity. And it gets the special needs kids the socialization and education they deserve.
To have the school notify all parents of it being an inclusion class would be against privacy laws. Kids can be mean enough to special needs students, they dont need a note to come home labeling each child in the class.

you replied at the same time I did....
in my son's class there doesnt seem to be any kind of hinderence on the other children's learning. The kids that get pulled out lose more than the kids that dont. The teacher does not stop her lesson to wait for the kids to come back from speech. My son ends up with more homework because he misses part of the lesson.
You seem offended that there are special needs kids in your dd's class. Like I said, having the special needs kids in class teaches everyone tolerance. Another plus to having the special needs kids in class is the fact that there is more help available for all the students. Part of my son's IEP includes tme with a social worker. The social worker actuially cames to the classroom and does a small lesson for all the kids. She teaches things like friendships, sharing, etc.

 

[binny]

What exactly is an inclusion class in school? My DD is in a new school this year and was placed in a class that, from my observation, seems to have a high number of children that have special education needs or learning disabilities (parents were talking about their kids being on medication, DD talking about some kids being pulled out of class to go to another room to take class, a second teacher comes in to help with reading and math to DD's class, but not to every 3rd grade class). The principal stated that my DD was placed in this class (without saying it was an inclusion class) randomly, just to even out the numbers in each class. If DD was in an inclusion class, would I have been informed of this by the teacher or principal? Are all children in inclusion classes those that need some assistance with learning? Thanks

thats the definition of an inclusion class. To put children with special needs in with "typical peers" . Not all children have special needs that are in this class. The goal is to intergrate children with special needs into a class with kids without special needs. Many special needs kids have only been in special needs classes so they are trying to ready them for regular classes.

My dd is in an intergrated kindergarten class, she is one with special needs. I would view it as an opportunity for teaching your child the wonders of the world. How we are all different yet we all have value.

 

[princesspumpkin]

Thanks BethanyF for your input. How are inclusion classes formed? What things are considered in making one class an inclusion class and not another? In DD's school, there are five 3rd grade classes and two or three have the extra teacher come in. How is that decided? Also, I have absolutely no problem with DD being in class with children who have different learning needs than she does. My concern is when there are a great number of children who need extra help and their learning challenges may interfere with the overall progress of the class. DH and I sat in on class one day and observed the teacher constantly disciplining the same group of students (for various reasons). It seemed that after every few sentences of teaching, she had to spend almost an equal amount of time controlling the class. It concerned us because we thought that to have so many distractions might hinder the lesson. Now I am fully aware that 8 year olds do normal 8 year old stuff in class. But for this class, which seems to be an inclusion class, the number of things that the teacher had to deal with was tripled - thus taking away a lot of time from the lesson. That's my concern.

 

[binny]

I have no idea why they wouldnt want to talk about it. The inclusion program is praised across the country as being innovative and very helpful to ALL children who are in there. I know parents who pruposely request inclusion classes for their "typical" children to teach compassion and understanding.

I have never noticed that the typical children are not getting the education they deserve. Inclusion teachers are, in my expierience, miracle workers.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I think your answers completely depend upon your school, the kids in the class, and the teachers and aids that are present. I would definately go into the school and observe. Also talk to your daughter to get her feedback on the situation.

At my kids old school, the Inclusion Class was quite disruptive and poorly run. There simply were not enough Special Ed teachers or Aids to insure that things happened as they should happen. There were a high number of children with behavioral issues and placement into the class was highly disputed by most parents.

Your school could be completely different however, I'm not trying to discourage you from keeping an open mind.

 

[BethanyF]

Thanks BethanyF for your input. How are inclusion classes formed? What things are considered in making one class an inclusion class and not another? In DD's school, there are five 3rd grade classes and two or three have the extra teacher come in. How is that decided?

I could go on about this topic all day.
In our school each student is labeled with a 1, 2, or 3. Each number has a level. 1 being no extra help needed, 2 is might need a little help or is academically behind and 3 is needs lots of help and/or a discipline problem. (im not going to get started on the 3's, its a hot issue with me)
Anyway, they try to put an equal number of each level in each room. It's purely random.
We are trying to get them to differentiate the 3's. Some 3's (like my son) are wonderful students while other 3's are classroom terrors. They need to seperate the 3's.

 

[cruisnfamily]

In our school almost all of the classes have some special needs kids, so it never seems unusual to the other kids.

In our elementary school, every single class has "special needs" kids, depending on how you define it. Kids are pulled out for OT, speech, LD classes, remediation, ESOL, EH, enrichment, gifted etc. Probably 1/3 to 1/2 of every single class is "special needs". We have so many different "pull out" programs going on. There is no special needs stand alone class, every child is in an inclusion type of class. I guess if there were severe handicaps or special needs, the child would have to attend a special school if it couldn't be handled in this way. The kids think nothing of it, it's just how it is...they don't think negatively of anyone who is "pulled out" of class for anything because it's just so common. Some are even jealous that "Johnny"gets to go to Mrs. X for and hour, or that type of thing. The classes are balanced so there are not too many "high end" or "low end" students in any one class but basically they're random.
So, I guess what I'm saying is I just wouldn't worry about it at all unless you truly feel that your DD's education is being impacted. I've never given it a thought, I just assumed all schools were this way.
I do have a friend whose son is diagnosed Aspergers and he does attend a school which has a stand alone special needs class and he is in class with children that all have similar disabilities. The reason this was done is that he couldn't function in a "regular" class and he needed this. This would be the exception not the rule.

 

[luvdisney81]

Students who have special needs have an IEP, this is a "customized prescription" for each student. They are made in a collaborative meeting with the Gen ed teacher, Special Ed teachers, paraprofessional (those helpers who are coming to class), guidance counselors and other professionals. They write down what the child needs and steps to achieve it with specific goals. Then the students is placed in a standard class. Usually it is luck of the draw although schedules are the biggest factor. My last period class was an inclusion class because they had to leave early for the bus.

The goal is the help the child from the start, not play catch up once it is noticed the are behind. This is UDL, Universal Design for Learning. If you support them with technology, software and teaching methods from the beginning which help ALL students, not just some, then everyone benefits. The extra help is usually at paraprofessional who collaborates with the teacher and assists students with immediate questions and takes the aside for more specific guidance like reading comprehension and vocabulary identification, that way the rest of the class does not have to wait as much.

It is a fine balance and teachers must constantly work hard on this. It is still a relatively new idea, the last 10 or so years, so many teachers may have not had training at all with new methods. I find it works very nicely. The teacher can also use advanced students to help out the special need students by study partners, buddy learning. That way it will reinfoce what she knows and help out another student. Teaching is the best way of learning!

 

[BethanyF]

I do have a friend whose son is diagnosed Aspergers and he does attend a school which has a stand alone special needs class and he is in class with children that all have similar disabilities. The reason this was done is that he couldn't function in a "regular" class and he needed this. This would be the exception not the rule.

Our school does have a couple fully LD classrooms for the severe cases. My son is high functioning autism / aspergers but does better in a regular room because of the structure. The LD classrooms are less structured and that would be a bad thing for my son, he thrives on routine and rules.

 

[TimeforMe]

I think you need to speak with your principal about your concerns as given the responses here, inclusion classes differ from district to district. In our town, inclusion classes are called that only if those students with severe special needs are in it. My daughter was in an inclusion class in 5th grade with a child with severe needs. He could not speak and actually used his feet to "type" as a form of communication. He was also wheelchair bound and spent a good part of the day out of the classroom. When he was there, however, it WAS highly disruptive to the rest of the class. That being said, however, my dd very much liked this child (as did the whole class) and I think it truly helped to learn firsthand about compassion, patience, understanding, etc. They ALL learned a lot from him

 

[chrissyk]

I think your answers completely depend upon your school, the kids in the class, and the teachers and aids that are present. I would definately go into the school and observe. Also talk to your daughter to get her feedback on the situation.

At my kids old school, the Inclusion Class was quite disruptive and poorly run. There simply were not enough Special Ed teachers or Aids to insure that things happened as they should happen. There were a high number of children with behavioral issues and placement into the class was highly disputed by most parents.

Your school could be completely different however, I'm not trying to discourage you from keeping an open mind.

(Putting on flame-retardent suit!) I hear a lot about this from my teacher mom and her teacher friends. Maybe it depends on the 1-on-1 aide, but PLENTY of these aides do NOTHING to keep their kids under control. My mother and her friends have to spend plenty of class time keeping certain "inclusion" students under control In one class, my mother also has to keep the AIDE under control, because the aide shouts at her student and the other kids can't hear my mother over the aide.

Mom teaches in an excellent public school system, too. BTW, my sister and I went to private school for our ENTIRE educations. Yes, my mother was a public school teacher during a good part of that time. Our private elementary school was grouped by ability (there were some special-needs kids, but they had their own class). I'm sorry if I don't sound PC, but I've heard enough bad things about inclusion from the (very stressed out) teachers to know that an inclusion classroom is not a situation that I will feel comfortable with for my own kids, whether they be regular-ed,"inclusion," or gifted students.

 

[BethanyF]

I'm sorry if I don't sound PC, but I've heard enough bad things about inclusion from the (very stressed out) teachers to know that an inclusion classroom is not a situation that I will feel comfortable with for my own kids, whether they be regular-ed,"inclusion," or gifted students.

donning my own flame retardant suit...
This to me is discrimination against my son. Granted he is an excellent student that just needs a little intervention, but to not want your (generic) child in a class with him is discriminatory.

 

[arminnie]

It concerned us because we thought that to have so many distractions might hinder the lesson. Now I am fully aware that 8 year olds do normal 8 year old stuff in class. But for this class, which seems to be an inclusion class, the number of things that the teacher had to deal with was tripled - thus taking away a lot of time from the lesson. That's my concern.

Just remember that kids are amazingly resiliant. I went to school in the baby boom generation and from K through 3rd grade attended school half days with 3 grade levels in the same room - which was by the way a converted storage room. This was in the suburbs of Detroit in a very working class neighborhood. Somehow we all still learned. I do think inclusion can be a good thing for both sides.

 

[TimeforMe]

It seemed that after every few sentences of teaching, she had to spend almost an equal amount of time controlling the class. It concerned us because we thought that to have so many distractions might hinder the lesson. Now I am fully aware that 8 year olds do normal 8 year old stuff in class. But for this class, which seems to be an inclusion class, the number of things that the teacher had to deal with was tripled - thus taking away a lot of time from the lesson. That's my concern.

That is a very legitimate concern and the same one I had. Speak to the teacher; find out how much time these children are in and out of the regular classroom and how many extra "hands" are available when they're in the classroom. Everyone has a right to a good education; even kids without special needs.

 

[chrissyk]

donning my own flame retardant suit...
This to me is discrimination against my son. Granted he is an excellent student that just needs a little intervention, but to not want your (generic) child in a class with him is discriminatory.

I didn't mean to sound discriminatory at all and I really apologize if I came off that way. Honestly, I have no idea if I will have a special-needs child, an average child, or a gifted child. I could be the parent of an "inclusion" child at some point in the future. If my child is an inclusion student, I'd STILL want that child in another classroom from the "mainstream" kids. I don't want him/her being yelled at by their 1-on-1 aide, or by the overwhelmed teacher, or by anyone else for that matter. I've seen inclusion from my mom's point of view for 20 years. In her school at least, it does not work

Also, plenty of parents are "discriminating" against inclusion by pulling their kids out of the public schools and putting them in private schools that don't allow "inclusion" students at all. I can't tell you how many of my friends have done this, but I'd put it in the majority at this point. Exactly ONE family in my old neighborhood had their kids in public school. All 3 of their kids were on IEP's. The rest of the families sent their kids to various private schools, and most readily admitted that it was because of the 100% inclusion issues at our neighborhood public school.