Where do we cross the line for what child makes it into typical classrooms?

Since we are reading about Inclusion I thought I would blog on it. Inclusion in the classroom is being pushed into typical classrooms at an alarming rate. This type of education involves rethinking the structure of the regular classroom setting. Which means that schools are going to need different types of resources. Resources like extra teachers in each classrooms, trained teachers in special education fields and medical equipment that a student might need. A typical child learns certain types of behaviors which are appropriate for classrooms settings, children with severe disabilities might not learn before their school career or be able to learn those types of behaviors in a regular classroom setting. Another concern I have about these types of classrooms is that they are over crowded as it is and the classes are just getting bigger. Now they want to add children that have all different types of disabilities. We need to carefully look at what is the best way to help all of these children typical kids included.


Don't get me wrong I am not an advocate for exclusion classroom settings I believe that children should be able to learn in the least restrictive environment, none of us like restrictions but some are necessary. I totally agree that some children would benefit from being in a regular classroom settings with typical children and typical behaviors. According to http://www.education-world.com feels that certain standards would make Inclusion easier to work out for everyone.

• "adequate supports and services for the student,
• well-designed individualized education programs,
• professional development for all teachers involved, general and special educators alike;
• time for teachers to plan, meet, create, and evaluate the students together;
• reduced class size based on the severity of the student needs,
• professional skill development in the areas of cooperative learning, peer tutoring, adaptive curriculum, varied learning styles, etc.,
• collaboration between parents, teachers and administrators,
• sufficient funding so that schools will be able to develop programs for students based on student need instead of the availability of funding, or lack thereof."

Last year during one of my field observations for my intro to special education class I saw a perfect example of Inclusion working the way it should. There was a child with one ear the was not formed all the way which he/she could not hear out of at all and the other ear was hard of hearing. The teacher would wear a microphone to amplify her voice and there was a speaker on the child's desk for the times that she was giving lectures.This piece of technology was perfect for it's purpose and the child was able to participate in a typical class. There was another class that I observed and one of the children was so autistic that his/her behavioral issues would keep him/her in a classroom that was totally sub-seperate until he graduated. This child was extremely bright but being in an inclusion classroom would do more harm then good. So I ask you where is the line drawn for children that should be put into inclusion classrooms and the ones that don not??? And how does it affect the over all picture?