Teaching preschoolers about the disabled aids in their inclusion.
As of 2004, more than 11 percent of students in the United States who enrolled in post-secondary education reported a disability, the National Center for Education Statistics reports. More than 14 percent of those students were considered independent. Educating children at a young age about those with disabilities aids in their inclusion in school and society.
About Disabilities
CVS Caremark notes that 7 percent of children ages 5 to 15 have a disability; of those, 62 percent have a development disability. Those with disabilities often are involved in what CVS Caremark calls a "cycle of de-conditioning" that further perpetuates physical and mental disabilities and can lead to secondary disabilities. While rehabilitation and medical care are important in helping the disabled maximize their abilities, CVS Caremark suggests it also is important for the disabled to be involved in cooperative learning and inclusion.
Inclusive Learning
According to the National Institute for Urban School Improvement's booklet on inclusive learning, disabled students attending school with other students does not in itself help learning for the disabled. The booklet's new models of inclusive learning reveal that individualized teaching can help disabled students feel that their needs are being met. Focusing on individual strengths provides the best learning environment. The booklet recommends more cooperation and attention to those with disabilities, as well as "experimental, hands-on and inductive" learning to create an inclusive environment.
Teaching Preschoolers About The Disabled
Preschoolers can learn about the disabled or inclusion through the use of role play. Using items a disabled person might use, such as a wheelchair, or using dolls with pretend disabilities, such as blindness, allows the child to understand the disability in a human context. Storytelling and picture books generate an understanding for the disabled. The Word Pool website lists many books for preschoolers that teach about the disabled.
Goals For Preschoolers
Understanding that all people have weaknesses and strengths is a major factor in teaching preschoolers inclusion, notes the Bright Hub article "Inclusion Starts At Preschool." Emphasizing all students' strengths allows preschoolers the chance to accept and appreciate the disabled. Modifying lesson plans for disabled students in teaching about disabilities is often a necessity.
Tags: disabled students, with disabilities, about disabled, aids their, aids their inclusion, disabilities often, inclusive learning
