Keys to Promoting Inclusion

There are things you can do to nip exclusion in the bud in your classroom. One is to talk about disability in a way that normalizes it. Then, lead by example. Teach social skills as you go along.

The Belonging Collection
The Belonging Collection (767.91KB, PDF)

The Belonging Collection is intended to make inclusion work in the school environment. The kit contains both the PlayFair Teams material and the L’Arche DVD, “Choosing Our Future: Jean Vanier in Conversation with Secondary School Students.”

What to Look for in Schools that Practice Inclusion
What to Look for in Schools that Practice Inclusion (253.66KB, PDF)

This Nova Scotia Department of Education list may be helpful in assessing the way inclusion is being implemented a school.

Peer Mentoring Leads to Understanding and a Career
Peer Mentoring Leads to Understanding and a Career

In high school I took a peer mentoring course that strongly impacted my life. Through this simple but powerful program I developed friendships with wonderful peers whom I probably wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to come to know. Some of my new friends were people who had been diagnosed with autism and various learning disabilities. As part of my duties in their classrooms I helped with the training for the high school Special Olympics. I also helped my peers one-on-one with their school work and I shared fun moments of play with them. The more I got to know these students the more I came to understand how separate their high school experience was from that of other students. I learned that they were sometimes called names, laughed at, often misunderstood and worst of all – ignored. Through this course I earned more than a credit. It brought me to my calling of working as an Educational Assistant alongside people with intellectual disabilities.

EA, ON

Share |
| Page Text Size + -