Special child in the classroom: problem or luck?

In 2014, our country adopted a federal state educational standard for students with disabilities: absolutely any child has the right to apply to any school, and it is obliged to provide him with opportunities to study. As a rule, the school develops a special program, taking into account the individual characteristics of the child. If necessary, tutors are assigned to him and rooms for rest are organized. By law, two special children can study in each class.

In theory, all this sounds great, but in practice, teachers often face the fears and stereotypes of parents. Not everyone is mentally prepared for the fact that their children will study in an inclusive classroom. Together with Alexander Ezdov, a well-known Russian educator, expert in educational technologies, curator of the Inclusive Education cluster at the Moscow International Salon of Education, we tried to dispel the myths about inclusion and figure out why a child with disabilities who studies with your children is a great success, not a problem.

More attention

There is a special child in the class. Cerebral palsy, a mild form of autism, problems with the musculoskeletal system, hearing or vision … Features of the disease may not allow him to study in the same rhythm with other children. Parents are often afraid that the teacher will pay all attention to a special child, explain the material at a slow pace, and this will negatively affect the level of education. Everything is a little different. The teacher has to adapt and give differentiated tasks, work simultaneously with the class and with a special child.

“If parents are afraid that such a child will start to slow down the educational process, they need to understand one simple thing,” explains Alexander Ezdov. “The advantage is that the teacher will start to see their child too. As a rule, the teacher focuses on the intermediate level. If the teacher is experienced enough, he offers different tasks – one more difficult, one medium and one simple. Even so, the teacher only targets three students. But there are usually at least 25 of them.

The average teacher is not accustomed to differentiation because he did not see the need for it before. A child with special needs can be seen, he is different from others, and for him the teacher begins to deal with this differentiation. So the teacher begins to teach not the whole class at once, but each child. This is a fundamental transition from the “average temperature in the hospital” to an individual student, with attention to his individual characteristics. Even if he’s not in a wheelchair.”

The skill of kindness and compassion

Classmates of a child with special needs have the opportunity to help someone who really needs this help. It is not enough to teach children mathematics and the Russian language, it is important to teach them to empathize and take care of other people. Studying with such a child helps to develop responsiveness, understanding, mercy. As a rule, children in inclusive classes feel better and feel their involvement in good deeds, they develop emotional intelligence.

“To teach kindness is very important for the upbringing of a harmonious personality,” Ezdov believes. – If the teacher uses this opportunity in his work, then the class gains a lot. You can explain who volunteers are, or you can show them by the example of classmates. You can talk about charity and associate it with a person who transferred money somewhere, or you can talk about another type of help when a student went home to a child with disabilities and explained new material to him or offered to play together.”

Valuable social experience

Friendship with a special child shows children that the world is bigger and more complex than they used to think. They will realize that their classmate is just like them. That he is just as worthy of friendship, love and respect. This is a unique experience.

“Parents can take the position “this should not be in our class, we are against it,” says Ezdov. – And if such a child is next to yours on the street, on the playground, in the theater? Close your eyes and hide? These people took to the streets. Not only because the environment has become more accessible, but also because society has begun to accept them. More and more people want to help. A social need is emerging.

At the school where I used to work as a director, there were only such children. And the teacher, who is engaged in theater, staged performances. It was amazing how children with special needs were revealed in these productions. I remember how children with cerebral palsy played monkeys in the play “Mowgli”. Thanks to their complex spasticity, they perfectly coped with the stage task, were beautiful and comical. A healthy person would not be able to do this.

Ability and willingness to help

The teacher can invite the class to organize a mini-patronage of a child with a disability. For example, someone, if necessary, will tell you how to deal with new material, and someone will lead you to the dining room. Sometimes such help is needed not so much for special children (as a rule, they work with them at school according to an individual program), but for the rest of the class – so the children feel personal involvement and need. This will form a friendly team where everyone learns in an atmosphere of mutual assistance.

“This practice will have a good effect on the team. But since children with disabilities are very different, patronage and an active desire to help can greatly interfere with someone. First, these initiatives should be discussed very carefully with specialists,” advises Alexander Ezdov.

The ability to appreciate what is

Every day, these children face disproportionately more difficulties than their healthy peers. Even the road to school can be a real challenge. Life teaches special children to overcome obstacles, and their example will show classmates how important it is not to give up and fight for your goals.

“Special children are an example of masculinity and determination. They teach us how to relate to life, – Alexander Ezdov is convinced. – I remember such a scene: a girl in a wheelchair rides along the corridor of the school, greets me and drives up to me. She smiles openly and joyfully. And I know that she has almost incessant back pain. At such moments, you think about how serious or far-fetched your personal problems are. I would be ashamed to complain about them to this girl.”