In the last few decades, a lot has been discussed relating to school improvement, school reforms, and restructuring. However, little has been done regarding the provision of quality education to students with disabilities. Inclusion is one of the most successful strategies being applied by schools in the country in ensuring special education students receive quality education. According to Chiu (2015), inclusion is the process of offering instructions and support which is specially designed for students with special needs but in the context of the general education students. Today, students with Low Mild Down Syndrome are being enrolled in inclusion classes, but there are special attributes that the classroom are expected to have. Some of the attributes of classes that support both special education and general education students include having more experimental, hands-on learning and inclusive sessions, as opposed to general classes where there is more time spent on basal readers and textbook reading. Also, in an inclusion class, there is active learning with the attendant’s movement, noises, and collaborations being encouraged, unlike the general classes where the less noisy students are rewarded. Additionally, inclusion classes are more heterogeneously grouped classrooms, with enactment and modeling of democracy being encouraged. Lastly, inclusion classes are more collaborative, cooperative, and the classroom is developed as an interdependent community, to ensure the general education students contribute to supporting the special education students.
Student Profile
Low Mild Down Syndrome refers to a chromosomal abnormality and the most common type of genetic disorder. The condition is associated with thick tongue, small oral cavity, low muscle tone, mild to moderate intellectual abilities among others ( Kauffman, & Badar, 2014 ). Carlos is a 4 th -grade student at St. Paul Elementary school in Minnesota. Unlike other students in his classroom, Carlos is suffering from low mild down syndrome and hence resulting in a need of supporting his learning through language or speech interventions, and better ways of offering direct instructions. Mr. Handy is Carlos current teacher, and he uses different strategies to ensure positive reinforcement which is believed to be the most effective method of running classrooms with low mild Down syndrome students. However, although Carlos suffers from different conditions, Mr. Handy use the same behavior management methods that he uses on general education students to Carlos who has Low Mild Down Syndrome while argumentative or facilitated methods of communication are essential for students with this condition. Carlos tends to experience short attention spans, which make it difficult for the teachers to conduct long sessions with the students. Lastly, He is easily distracted, meaning the classroom needs to have fewer activities to reduce destructions, but it depended on the nature of subject the students are undertaking.
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Instructional and Support Strategies Used with the Low Mild down syndrome Student
Due to the increasing need to ensure students with Low Mild Down Syndrome acquire a quality education, school managers are supposed to employ diverse instructional and support strategies. Some of the strategies include the development of inclusion classrooms to ensure teachers are fully supportive when offering education to the students ( Fulcher, 2015 ). Having an inclusive environment means having both special education and general education students learning in the same classrooms, but the classroom needs to be less stigmatizing and is able to offer an environment that is more natural so that peer relationships can be encouraged ( Chiu, 2015 ). Secondly, the physical characteristics of students with the condition will tend to contribute to lowered self-esteem. Therefore, teachers need to find strategies that will instill pride and boost self-confidence in these students. Due to the issue of short attention span which is common among students with Low Mild Down Syndrome, teachers need to offer direct instructions and ensure they are offered in a short period while incorporating small chunks of activities to support learning. Lastly, distractibility is a common characteristic among students with Low Mild Down Syndrome; hence, teachers need to use facilitated communication or augmentative communication, and patience models to ensure effective interaction in the classroom ( Armstrong, 2016 ).
Effectiveness
Both public and private schools have various special needs students due to the inclusion model. Using the model, students are given the opportunity to learn the meaning of being a full member of the school community ( Kauffman, & Badar, 2014 ). Also, the model encourages teachers to treat all students as valued learners. Although teachers lack adequate knowledge on how to deal with the Low Mild Down Syndrome students, the use of this model has contributed to effectiveness and improved quality of education in schools.
Recommendations for Improvement
Much has been done in ensuring the special education students such as Carlos are provided with quality education just like the general students. However, few changes need to be made to ensure these students fit in the today’s education system. Firstly, school principals need to understand the need for students with disabilities in their schools and hire adequate personnel including support and aides ( Armstrong, 2016 ). Also, for the existing personnel’s including teachers, it is important to offer adequate staff development and technical assistance based on the staff needs including the use of instructional methods, team building skills among others. Looking at the inclusion model, it is clear that it has the ability to support the requirements by LRE for students with disabilities and the general students as well. However, I would recommend enhanced exposure so that both teachers and parents’ can be more positive on the model. For the teachers, training and support will encourage efficiency in the implementation of inclusive education with success and ease.
References
Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D., & Barton, L. (2016). Inclusive education: policy, contexts and comparative perspectives . New York: Routledge.
Chiu, C. L. C. (2015). The External Factors That Influence a Country's Inclusion of Multiple Intelligence Theory in Their Education Policy (Doctoral dissertation, Long Island University, CW Post Center).
Fulcher, G. (2015). Disabling policies? A comparative approach to education policy and disability . New York: Routledge.
Kauffman, J. M., & Badar, J. (2014). Instruction, not inclusion, should be the central issue in special education: An alternative view from the USA. Journal of International Special Needs Education , 17 (1), 13-20.
