Full inclusion and the
value of students with severe disabilities

Michael W. Smull


"What are the six core values that should be taught to every American child?
Respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, caring, justice and fairness, civic virtue and
citizenship - all according to the Aspen Declaration on Character Education signed
by the 28 leaders of US youth and Education groups..."
World Monitor, October 1992


How are these core values to be taught? Simply adding them to a curriculum will
not work. These are values that are learned by being practiced. While occasional
excursions to segregated settings may acquaint you with elders, or others who benefit
from your gifts, the real lessons are learned from every day experience. One of the
best ways for children in regular education classes to learn these values is to include
children with severe disabilities in their classrooms. The capacity for students with
severe disabilities to teach these core values should be a major part of our argument
for full inclusion of children with severe disabilities in our community schools. While
the benefits that children with severe disabilities derive from being in regular
classrooms are clear, we have not emphasized the benefits that the regular education
students receive.

When school budgets are being reduced, when a good year is defined as one
with no cuts, the cost of special education is often seen as a costly, legally required
burden. Any additional costs required to implement full inclusion may be seen as too
much money going to too few students. Acrimonious debate erupts where those
concerned about the education of the regular education students often use code
phrases (or simply assert) that special education students are less worthy. While this
is partially a reflection of the mean spiritedness of our times it also reflects how badly
we have educated the parents of regular education students about the contributions
that students with severe disabilities can make.

We should ask the parents of regular education students, who are from all
economic and ethnic groups, how we can teach these students the core values that
these youth groups have articulated? Every parent who has had a successful full
inclusion experience will be able to answer. Every parent that I have had the privilege
of listening to has told me how the students in their child's class have found a friend,
have discovered the rewards of giving care, and received more than they have given.

One of the powerful stories that I heard was from Andrea's mother. Andrea is an
enormously charming girl who was in the fourth grade and her first year of full inclusion
when I met her. Andrea lives next to her neighborhood school. When she was being
bussed to a segregated school, her contact with the regular education students was
across the back fence. Andrea was teased with painful words and phrases. Andrea's
mother feared that full inclusion would mean that the occasional cruelty that Andrea
endured at a distance would now be constant and immediate. Since Andrea had a
tendency to scream and bite her arm when she is upset, the concern went beyond a
mother's worry about teasing.

The reality was the opposite of the fears. Andrea's classmates are not only
accepting they are protective. To be Andrea's friend is desired and valued. When her
classmates wrote about their first year with Andrea they remarked on how much she
had benefitted from the experience. She yells less frequently and rarely bites her arm.
She models her behavior after theirs and they have noticed. They feel more
responsible. When asked to write about their experiences with Andrea, one student
titled her paper "My Happiness with Andrea". Jose wrote that "Andrea makes me feel
happy that we can help her out." Stephanie noted that "She only hugs you when you
want one" and that "She can say words in a different way but we understand her".
Stephanie closed by saying that "She makes me more caring to people and she makes
me get better with other people."

This story is from Nebraska. There are similar stories where ever full inclusion
occurs. The stories are told with different words but the results are the same all over
this country. Children learn the core values. These are the values that we want our
children to learn and people like Andrea are the best teachers. When we look at
Andrea's contribution to the education of her classmates, Andrea is seen as valued. If
the parents of regular education students were informed about these contributions they
would fight to get an "Andrea" to be in their child's classroom. They would see the cost
as being minimal when compared with the benefit.

We need to reshape the debate over full inclusion. Parents of students with
severe disabilities should be provided with information and stories on the benefits that
the regular education students receive. Students with severe disabilities are some of
the best teachers of these core values. They are not part of a problem, they are vital to
a solution.

Baltimore
October, 1992

Michael W. Smull
Support Development Associates
4208 Knowles
Kensington, MD 20895
(301) 564-9572 or (fax) 564-6657
E-Mail: mwsmull@compuserve.com

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