Disability by Damien and Ian

Some argue that inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classrooms will bring about great benefits for the child. By exposing children with disabilities to a myriad of subjects taught in regular curriculums, the child would be able to maximize his full potential and bring out the best in him. Given the opportunity to develop himself, the child would not only not become a burden to society, he would also have something to offer. John McDonnell, the chairman of the Department of Special Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Utah, stated that his data suggests that inclusion in general education classes, especially in vocational education courses, is associated with improved post-school outcomes. However, I believe that inclusion will bring more harm to the child rather than benefits. Students with disabilities like dyslexia tend to be intellectually slower and need more time to process information. Definitely, they would need much more time to learn the same amount of content than kids without disabilities. But due to increasing competition in classrooms, children with learning disabilities might not be able to cope with their academics due to the fast pace and will lack behind the rest. Being the straggler in class would only inflict unnecessary stress on the child. In fact, inclusion, in which students with disabilities go to school with their same-age peers rather than in separate schools, does not necessarily lead to the best outcomes for students with disabilities, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics. Furthermore, Researchers E. Michael Foster and Erin Pearson of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Johns Hopkins University conducted a research on the comparison between autistic children who were enrolled in general classrooms and those who are not; and concluded that there is “no systematic indication that the level of inclusivity improves key future outcomes.” These research datas question whether inclusion really provides the best outcome for students with disabilities and have proved that perhaps, inclusion is not the best option for these students. Hence, I feel that inclusion is not necessary as it might not necessarily reap any real benefits for the child.