More educators learn that secluding special-education students isn't the answer

By AMY FLOWERS UMBLE

Date published: 2/29/2004

STOP BY Nicholas Howard's class at Falmouth Elementary School and the 9-year-old wouldn't stand out--except for his mop of golden curls.

Stay a few minutes, and you'll notice Nicholas isn't quite like the other kids. He has trouble following conversations and sometimes flaps his arms.

Nicholas--who has autism--spends about half of his school day in a regular classroom and the other half in a classroom for students with autism.

Nicholas is one of 79,184 special-education students in Virginia who spend part of their day in regular classes, said Charles Pyle, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Education.

Nicholas and the other special-education students are part of a practice known as inclusion.

In its most basic form, inclusion is simply the act of putting all children in the general education curriculum.

In practice, it's not that simple.

"There is no definition, it's just perception," said Carolyn Mills, director of special education for Culpeper County schools.

Sue Clark, Stafford County's director of special education, said inclusion is more a philosophy than a specific practice.

"When you walk into a school, you can feel if all children are welcome," she said.

At Falmouth Elementary School, three boys in the hallway set the scene for Clark's words. Gail Thyrring, the school's principal, stops to talk to the trio. One of the boys doesn't answer as fluently as the others.

In his hand, he carries a blue plastic photo album. It's filled with picture symbols so the student, Tyler Haney, can communicate even with his verbal language delays.

Thyrring chats with the boys and learns they are Tyler's buddies this morning, bringing him from his special-education resource room to their classroom for calendar time.

Tyler's resource room is empty for the moment; all of the children in the class for moderately mentally retarded students are in regular classrooms. Some are with a kindergarten class during computer time. Others are doing circle time in another kindergarten class.

An hour later, most of the students are back in the resource room--affectionately called "the hugging room" by the teacher, LuAnne Clatterbuck. She and the para-educators work with the students, going over what they've learned in their regular classes.

Date published: 2/29/2004