i
Nebraskan
Thursday, April 28, 1994
INCLUSION PROGRAM
Top: Kristi Larson tries to get
Brian to pick his name from two
name card options.
Top right: Brian aets a head butt
from classmate Scott Sweeney.
Sweeney has become one of
Brian’s closest friends through
the inclusion program and Circle
of Friends.
Above: Brian takes time out to
think during nap time.
Right: Lynette Snyder, a
paraeducator at Hawthorne,tries
to convince Brian to finish a run
around the playground during
physical education class. When
Brian gets tired, he often gets
stubborn.
Photos by
Damon Lee
Count them in
Inclusion helps disabled pupils
By Damon Lee
Staff Photographer
Brian Holtzcn was so success
ful his first year in kinder
garten , h i s pa re n ts an d leac h
ers decided to hold him back.
Looking back on his second year,
Brian’s teacher, Kristi Larson, has no
regrets. ,
“We’ve seen huge, tremendous
growth in Brian,” Larson said. “All of
a sudden, Brian is walking; he’s talk
ing all the time.”
Walking and talking may seem
like small achievements for two years
of kindergarten, but for Brian, they
are the first steps in a rewarding kind
of education.
Brian was bom withccrebral palsy.
after watching his classmates brush
their teeth, he wanted to do the same.
Now, Brian can brush his teeth by
himself.
And although Brian’s speech may
sound mumbled, it has definitely im
proved.
“To those of us who know Brian ...
we can understand him,” she said.
“Brian definitely talks—a lot. And a
lot of times he has to be asked not to
talk, which is a neat thing to do.”
The benefits of inclusion reach
beyond disabled students, though.
Larson said the other students learned
that differences were not always lim
iting.
Students also learn to make friends
with disabled children, Larson said.
This has been encouraged with a pro
in me past, nc
would have
been isolated in
a special-educa
tion classroom.
But at
Hawthorne El
cm entary
School, he has
been able to take
part in a regular
classroom as
part oran inclu
sion program.
-44
Brian definitely talks
— a lot. And a lot of
times he has to be
asked not to talk,
which is a neat thing
to do.
— Larson
classroom teacher
£1 <1111 l tt II t u
Circle of
Friends. Wilh
Circle of
Friends, a
small group of
students meet
wilh Larson
and Brian and
lake part in
special activi
ties.
Brian’s
friends learn to
Inclusion is the
latest method in the Lincoln Public
Schools’ special-education program.
Hawthorne introduced it 2 1/2 years
ago after four years of more limited
integration practices.
Inclusion means different things
in different schools, Larson said. For
Brian, it has meant being involved in
all the same activities as his class
mates. Brian works on the same les
sons, she said, but his objectives and a
few materials are different.
The benefits of inclusion arc sub
stantial, Larson said. In separate spe
cial-education curricula, self-help
skills arc stressed through repetition
of activities. With inclusion, students
with special needs have better incen
tives to learn skills.
“They have their regular-educa
tion peers as models," Larson said.
“They really want to do what they see
the other kids doing.”
Having regular-education students
as peers helps with social skills, she
said. Disabled students become better
behaved children, especially in pub
lic.
Brian’ssocial andphysical progress
is evidence of the benefits of the regu
lar peer group, Larson said. She cited
his ability to brush his teeth as simple
yet significant proof of his learning.
Brian wouldn’t even hold a tooth
brush at first, she said. He haled going
in to the boys’ room to groom. But
w w think about his
needs, she said. They establish real
friendships, rather than just trying to
be helpers.
Larson said she foresaw inclusion
becoming an integral part of educa
tion, and she said she would welcome
the change.
“My dream is to sec the labels
taken away from children,” she said.
“That way, teachers can just be teach
crs.
But there is a price to pay for
inclusion.
“It’s twice as much work,” Larson
said. “I’m covering two jobs, and I’m
getting paid for one.
“But the benefits arc twice as re
warding,” she added.
One benefit is knowing that Brian
will be able to move on to first grade
next year.
The adjustment to lirst grade might
have been tex) mueh for Brian last
year, Larson said, because he used to
be apprehensive with new people. But
making the transition with his new
friends will be easier. He has been
getting a head start by meeting with
his future teacher the last few weeks.
First grade will be similar to kin
dergarten as far as inclusion is con
cerned, Larson said. The same oppor
tunities will be there, along with more
individualized attention because of a
smaller class size.
“That will be nice for Brian,” she
said.