Inclusion Classroom Benefits

Children with Disabilities

Children with disabilities are the focus of IDEA's inclusion values. The value of inclusion for children with disabilities is seen in the socialization benefits available. With previous practices of placing children with disabilities in separate classrooms, there was very little interaction within the school between regular and special education classes. This led to children with disabilities having trouble becoming participants in society. By having children with disabilities included in the regular education classroom, they learn to deal with their own abilities in relationship to those of their able peers so that when they enter society beyond their school, they have an understanding of what to expect.

While the benefits for students with disabilities are the basis of IDEA, the benefits for regular education students are also evident. In the same way that there are socialization benefits for students with disabilities, regular education students also benefit from being in an inclusion classroom. An inclusion classroom creates situations where regular and special needs children interact and cooperate in order to accomplish tasks. This creates teaching moments, where regular students learn to deal with differences and find the similarities between themselves and children with disabilities. Students can apply these lessons outside the classroom, as they enter the workforce or community and deal with people of different abilities, beliefs or cultures.

While the students benefit from an inclusion classroom, so to does the teacher benefit from leading the class. With the implementation of IDEA legislation came opportunities for teachers of inclusion classrooms to receive extra training in adapting activities for the specific needs of their students, as well as dealing with issues that arise specifically in inclusion classes. Teachers can apply much of what they learn not only to identified students, but also in dealing with students who may have an unidentified or minimal disability, but are part of the regular education class. Teachers learn to modify their approach for each student depending on the needs of the student.

While the direct effects are visible in the lives of the students, residual effects are passed on to the families of both regular and children with disabilities. Families of students with disabilities receive the opportunity to interact with families of other classmates. As well, it allows parents to see their student in a positive light regardless of their disabilities, as they watch their student interact in a regular educational setting. Meanwhile, families of regular education students can interact and grow with families of disabled students, allowing them the opportunity to grow, while learning to understand and accept the differences of others.