Disability Is Natural Books and Media
Segregating children and adults with disabilities has been the historical norm, and segregation does not work. We recognize that it’s morally and ethically wrong to intentionally segregate others on the basis of a characteristic (ethnic origin, religion, etc.). So why is it acceptable to segregate children and adults based on the characteristic of disability?
My children attended an inclusive elementary school in the early 1990s. There was no segregated special ed room at this school; all students successfully learned in general education classrooms. In addition, students with disabilities (like my son, Benjamin, who has cerebral palsy, as well as children with Down syndrome, autism, and other conditions) were valuable members of the student body: they sang in the choir, competed in science fairs, and participated fully in all other areas of student life. Most of these students have gone on to college and/or have entered the workforce. The same, sadly, is not true for students with disabilities who are educated in segregated, special ed classrooms. Click here to continue.
Children who are treated as if they are uneducable almost invariably become uneducable.
Kenneth B. Clark
Inclusive Education
(or What's So Special About Special Education?)
DISABILITY IS NATURAL!
New Ways of Thinking and Revolutionary Common Sense