Picture a classroom where all of the children look, act and develop exactly the same. You won’t see extensive learning opportunities on the part of the teacher or the children. Inclusion is necessary for fundamentals to be learned and expanded. This is what my son, Daniel (who was born with Down Syndrome), brings to his daycare class and the other two-year olds he interacts with, just as they bring these things to him and each other. Daniel has been part of an inclusive classroom since he started daycare at 4 months old. He is accepted as just another child by the other kids in his class, and as a learning and teaching experience by his teachers.
Daniel’s teachers have learned much more about child development as they have seen even the tiniest of changes in what he does. With many other children, they progress so fast that these changes go unnoticed; such as the way your entire body has to learn how to walk up stairs, not just your legs. Or in the way your mouth, arms, hands and trunk of your body has to mold itself and build up muscles in order to drink from a straw or an open cup. This has allowed the teachers to creatively help other children who are struggling, know exactly what tips and tricks to use to help the others in the classroom as well as Daniel. They have realized that nothing we do is automatic, that our bodies adjust to even the slightest changes and as teachers, we can promote these changes in order to help with development.
Daniel’s friends (his classmates), benefit from this since their teachers are more aware of how a child physically develops. Many of them are learning to help Daniel, by holding his hand and looking out for him even though he is quite capable of doing most things on his own. They realize that Daniel isn’t exactly like them, just as each of them is different from the other. Is Daniel thought of as different or special? No, he is a part of their circle of friends and accepted be each person. This is what inclusion is all about; if acceptance starts with the little ones, then it will be part of the big world.
This semester, I’m taking a communication class and a mental health class, and I’m taking an independent study on computers. I get help from my peers, and I get help from the teachers in my program. My peer helpers will send me emails, or help me to make flash cards and talk to me on the phone. I can meet with the professors and go over notes with them, too. When I take tests and exams, someone reads them to me.
I also get to complete assignments in different ways. For example, in one class I had, all the students had to write a paper about the Bush versus Kerry election, and the teacher asked me if I wanted to do a videotape instead. So I did an interview with Elizabeth Bauer of the Michigan State Board of Education about her job.
I am reminded of an incident during one school year when a new student arrived and was not only new to the district, but also new to the culture of the United States, having lived in a different country prior to moving here. The Circle of Friends befriended him and asked him to join their meetings and activities. It was this group of youth that helped him feel welcomed in a new environment. This was a wonderful example of taking the term “special needs” to a new dimension…I think that these young people understand that there are many forms of special needs that need to be addressed and nurtured.
I moved to suburban Detroit from out of state toward the end of fifth grade, when I was ten years old. I found myself as the much maligned new kid amongst 75 or so children who’d been together since kindergarten. What easily could have meant disaster for my self-esteem instead became a love affair with my new friends. I was almost immediately embraced, welcomed, and included by Micah and his peers, a group known as the Circle of Friends.
It turns out that being the new kid is a blessing in disguise. I’m sure Micah at the time thought little of what he had done. But look, that’s the whole point! To him I was merely a new friend. A quick display of friendliness and compassion on his part meant the entire world to someone else, that being me. I won’t ever forget that day…Circle of Friends more than opened my eyes; it opened my heart and opened my mind.
I no longer see the world the way I used to see it. No more cool kids and weirdos or jocks and dorks. No more retards. Micah, his family and his circle have taught me to view and accept people as individuals without classifications. Just because someone stutters doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of conversation. A blind man would certainly enjoy being read aloud to. Someone who can’t run so fast may still get satisfaction from being a member of a track and field team. A child who has poor penmanship could well be a magnificent writer. Luckily, the standards by which society measures people are evolving, if ever for the better…
Thanks to Micah and his Circle of Friends, I feel as though I am a better friend, a better person, leading a better life.
I met Micah in the first grade, and that day we met will stick out in my mind for the rest of my life. You see, my desk was kitty-corner to Micah’s, and Katie’s (still one of my best friends today) was right next to his.
One day we were all sitting there at our desks, and Micah got sick, real sick. It ended up on his desk, my desk, Katie’s desk and so on; I think you get the point. Just about every single person in the class started laughing and saying “sick, ughh,” but I didn’t. At that time I had absolutely no clue who Micah was, but that was not the point. I didn’t know Micah had what some may call a disability or wasn’t able to read or write like most of us were learning, to me he was just like everyone else. To this day I feel the exact same way, he is just like everyone else…different.
No, Micah can’t read as fast as you can, but when you read something to Micah he will remember it better than you will. That is what I wanted to explain my whole entire life to people who look differently at Micah. They see this kid, and some just don’t want to give him a chance, but Micah has made me want to succeed. My whole life he has looked up to me, acted like me, and in no way could I ever let him down.
After first grade we didn’t really meet again until third grade when Circle of Friends was started. Circle of Friends was an after-school program created to give students an opportunity to interact with Micah. Each year a different group got to hang out together, but each year is was the same idea, to have fun. We did many things such as community service, visited a local tv news broadcast station, went to sports events, and so on. We met at least one time a week after school to discuss with the school social worker things we felt Micah was doing good with and things we felt he needed to work on. After the talk we went on to eat, play, and have fun with one another.
This blog is written/edited by SpecialQuest community members and does not necessarily reflect the perspectives of SpecialQuest Birth-Five or funders. 
