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Organizational and Individual Change: The Road to Inclusion
People with disabilities face many documented barriers to full inclusion in society. According to Article 3 of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, one of the primary barriers is the general public’s attitudes towards people with disabilities. (Merrells,...
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Community Living and Inclusion for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
It was not long ago that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities were cared for in settings quite separate and isolated and were deprived of full integration into their communities. Thankfully, in recent decades, the entitlement to community living and learning opportunities...
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Neurodiversity: An Idea Whose Time Has Come and A Call for Unity
When I hear the word “neurodiversity,” I immediately become concerned that it will be dismissed as simply another form of “political correctness,” and not seen as encompassing a wide variety of serious issues that affect virtually everyone in the Asperger Syndrome / autism spectrum...
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Learning the Powerful Language of Inclusion: A Mother’s Journey to Acceptance and Hope
This article on inclusion was developed from three major strands. First, the document’s inception originated from the author’s experience as an early-childhood special educator, a parent, and an administrator working with families. Second, the background came from the writer’s qualitative...
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Scaling Inclusive Practices Through Technology
While the concept of “including” students with disabilities has only recently entered the collective consciousness of educational reformers nationwide, it is far from being a new fad or trend. The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act...
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The ASD Nest: A Successful Inclusion Model in the NYC Public School System
Ten years ago Dorothy Siegel and Shirley Cohen, working closely with administrators of a Brooklyn school district, initiated a pilot for the ASD Nest program. Now, ten years later, that pilot has evolved into a robust model based in 20 public elementary schools in New York City, with continuing...
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The Benefits and Challenges of Housing for People with ASD in a Post-Facility World
Group Homes, a housing model that began in the 1960s and ‘70s, were a tremendous improvement on the dismal institutional settings that they largely superseded. Created by a partnership between the state and “voluntary” agencies, the goal of the group home model was that people with autism and...
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Make Inclusion Work! Reducing Behavioral Challenges in the Classroom for Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder
In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on including students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Over the years, Public Law 94-142, (Education for All Handicapped Children Act, 1975), which was most recently revised in 2004 under the Individuals with Disabilities...
