Lucy Kunz

EPSY 229-02
September 13, 2018

Awareness Activity Report

More than 41 million Americans or almost 15% of the population age 5 and older have a

type of disability, according to 2007 Census survey data. A lot of these children are placed in

schools that have a special needs programs. Some question that are discussed quite frequently

are, shall we allow students with special needs in a regular educated classroom? Does it disrupt

students in the regular education classroom? What is the law for students with disabilities?

Some people may disagree with inclusion for many reason. Some reasons are the

disruption of other students, students without disabilities may not be getting the attention they

need, it can reduce the class learning rate and the students might get frustrated. Some people

might agree with inclusion because it could teach other students, help excel a student with

disabilities in a different subject, and help a student with disabilities not feel like an outcast. I

believe that inclusion is extremely important and the law also requires, “to the maximum extent

appropriate children with disabilities… are educated with children who are not disabled, and

that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the

regular environment occurs only with the nature or severity of the disability is such that

education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be attained

satisfactorily. (Schools and the Law, Volume 5)” In my scenario, I was given to in class, a student

strongly disagreed including students with special needs into a regular education class. They

stated, “This is not fair to those of us without disabilities!”

 My opinion on this scenario is that students with disabilities should be included in

regular education classes. I believe that students with disabilities will learn and engage more. A

student with a disability in a regular classroom could benefit both themselves and other

children. For example, it would teach students without disabilities how to interact with one

another and not make the student with a disability feel like an outcast. It also will teach the

students with disabilities social skills and may be able to learn at a normal rate in subjects they

might excel at. Also, students that might have trouble with speech could learn from other

students by hearing them speak, they also can learn how to interact with each other by

watching each other’s behaviors and interactions. If there was a problem with a student being

loud and noisy then the student aid would remove them from the classroom, so it wouldn’t

disrupt the other students working around him. A student with disabilities included in the

classroom has more benefits than not being included.

I decided to ask a student who has a disability their thought on the scenario about

inclusion. I asked a girl who has dyslexia what her opinions and thoughts were towards this

scenario. I asked her if she agreed or disagreed with the student’s response to inclusion. She

responded with, “I think it depends on the severity of the disability. Every disability has a

spectrum. I can only speak for myself as I am dyslexic. But my dyslexia may not be the same as

other children with dyslexia.” Next, I asked where she would’ve wanted to be placed in school.

She responded with, “I found out there were other ways to succeed in class when being faced

with the more challenging things for me (reading and spelling). I also found that even though

my reading skills weren’t as high as others. I was able to pick up other subjects faster than those

without disabilities. So, if just because I was labeled as dyslexic, to put me in a special education
class may help my reading but would hinder my learning in the subjects I excelled at, but again

that’s why we have advanced classes.” I asked her what kind of advanced classes were these.

She replied with, “So there were 2 levels however, it did not separate us by disabilities, but by

our ability to understand and learn the material. I think that is a better way of learning. Placing

students in classes according to their learning ability not according to if they have a disability.”

The girl I interview made some really excellent points. She made me see it from a

different perspective through her eyes and experience. I agree with the points she made about

how it’s better to place students according to their learning ability and not according to if they

have a disability. I think it’s a better route to go with placing students, because like she said

there are different spectrums of disability and no child should be held back because of another

students’ learning ability compared to their own. No matter what, I think it is beneficial to all

students and teachers to include students with disabilities into their classroom.

Works Cited
A.(n.d.). Including Students with Disabilities in General Education Classrooms. Retrieved
September 13, 2018, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/classroom-
leadership/dec2001/Including-Students-with-Disabilities-in-General-Education-
Classrooms.aspx

Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2018, from https://specialneedsplanning.net/statistics/