I've been contemplating what my first official post should be about, and it's a hard choice. There are a lot of ideas tumbling in my head, but the one begging to get out is controversial even (or especially?) in this enlightened age: inclusion. Although I used to think that mainstreaming children with special needs was now the norm, I have since learned that the debate rages, and even with protections such as the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) it is challenging to decide exactly what the LRE is for each child. Is it better to send a child into a regular classroom if they can participate there with the assistance of a one-on-one aide, or would it be better to limit the child's time in the regular classroom to activities when they don't need an aide. The letter of the law might imply the former, but in general practice the latter is more common. It's going to take me several posts to eventually get all of this out of my head...and the end may be more controversial than the beginning. So consider this a tease. Next post we'll examine Biblical wisdom on the topic as a start.
Part two Inclusion
Part three Inclusion
Part four Inclusion
Part five Inclusion
