1. Best Practices for Inclusion
PISP District Partner Meeting
October 2013

2. What is Inclusive Education?
British Columbia promotes an inclusive education system in which students with special needs are fully participating members of a community of learners. Inclusion describes the principle that all students are entitled to equitable access to learning, achievement and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their educational programs. The practice of inclusion is not necessarily synonymous with full integration in regular classrooms, and goes beyond placement to include meaningful participation and the promotion of interaction with others.
BC Ministry of Education Policy Site

3. A Guiding Quote from a Famous Thinker
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.
Albert Einstein

4. Philosophical Orientation
The philosophical orientation we bring to this meeting is grounded in striving to provide an education for students that will result in an enhanced quality of life now and in the future
This philosophy has been articulated by John O’Brien as the foundation for designing inclusive educational programs

5. Quality of Life Indicators
Five broad indicators are suggested as the foundation for designing inclusive educational programs to achieve Quality of Life outcomes:
Community Presence
Choice
Competence
Respect
Inclusion
Adapted from O’Brien, J. (2005)

6. 1. Community Presence
The sharing of ordinary places that define community life
Without intentionality to this goal students are at risk of being separated from everyday settings by “special” activities, and different schedules
Presence increases both the number of ordinary places students know and the number of people who know them
What community settings does the person use regularly (daily, weekly, occasionally)?
To which of these places does the person go alone? As part of a group of two or three? As part of a larger group?
Does the person have any significant problem using any of these places?
What other community settings would it be in the person’s interest to use, or to use more independently?
What would it take to increase the number of community settings the person uses completely? (Consider changes in the person’s skills, changes in available support, negotiating changes in the setting)

7. Community Presence

8. 2. Choice
The experience of autonomy in small everyday matters (e.g. what activity to choose) and in large matters that define your life (e.g. with whom you live)
Without intentionality students will be passive and without voice
Valued activities increase the variety and significance of the choices students will make
What decisions are regularly made by the person?
What decisions are made for the person by others? For which of these could decision making be transferred to the person himself or herself?
What are the person’s strongest interest and preferences that make him or her unique?
What would it take to increase the number, variety, and importance of the decisions the person makes?
What would it take to increase others’ knowledge of the person’s interests and preferences?

9. Choice

10. 3. Competence
The opportunity to perform functional and meaningful activities with whatever level of support is required
Without intentionality students will be deprived of the expectations and opportunities that lead to the development of greater competence
Valued activities provide the opportunity to build competence and the opportunity to be seen as a competent individual
What skills could the person develop that would offer the most opportunity for increased presence, choice, respect and participation?
What strategies for instruction and assistance have been most effective for the person?
Are there more efficient strategies than instruction, such as environmental modification or provision of additional personal assistance?
Are there any health-related threats to the person’s continuing development? How can these be managed effectively with minimal disruption of good quality life experiences?
What would it take to increase the person’s competence in more valued activities?

11. Competence

12. 4. Respect
Having a valued place with others and a valued role in community life
Without intentionality a student’s access to valued roles will limit opportunities to be seen and valued as an individual
Valued activities challenge stereotypes
What are the valued community roles the person occupies and what percentage of time is spent in each?
Which community roles offer the person the best opportunity to express individual gifts and talents?
What images and ideas about a desirable future are available to the person?
Does the person display any characteristics that reinforce stereotypes perceptions of people with developmental disabilities? (Consider the images projected by activities, schedules, expectations and the way the person is spoken to or about)
What would it take to decrease the stigma the person experiences?

13. Respect

14. 5. Inclusion
The experience of being involved in networks of personal relationships that include close friends
Without intentionality students are at risk of being restricted to close family and paid supports
Inclusion provides opportunities to develop variety in relationships
With whom does the person spend the most time on a daily and weekly basis? How many of these people are other clients/students in the same program? How many are program staff? How many are people without apparent handicaps?
Are there other important people in the person’s social network with whom the person spends time occasionally?
Who are the person’s friends and allies? Who knows the person intimately? Who will act as an advocate for his or her interests?
What would it take to provide better support for the person’s present network of relationships?
What would it take to develop more friends or allies?
What would it take to increase the number of non-disabled people, including age-peers, who know and spent time with the person as an individual?

15. Inclusion

16. Inclusion

17. A Closing Quote from Shakespeare
The accumulation of supporting experiences of various forms eventually leads individuals to feel securely that they are capable and competent people and that they can be confident in knowing that there are significant others who believe in them, who love them and who can be counted on in a crisis. Having this social network empowers people to live more effectively and, indeed, more healthily and for longer.
Tom Shakespeare (2006)

18. It is important that these values be modeled by everyone in the student’s life so that others will come to hold them as well

19. All students benefit from inclusive education
All students benefit from inclusive education. It allows them to develop individual strengths and gifts, with high and appropriate expectations for each child.

20. Work on individual goals while participating in the life of the classroom with other students their own age

21. Involve parents in their education and in the activities of their local schools.

22. Foster a school culture of respect and belonging
Foster a school culture of respect and belonging. Inclusive education provides opportunities to learn about and accept individual differences.

23. Develop friendships with a wide variety of other children, each with their own individual needs and abilities.

24. Positively affect both their school and community to appreciate diversity and inclusion on a broad level

25. Three Approaches that hold Promise for Facilitating Inclusion
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Differentiated Instruction
Assistive Technology

26. Universal Design for Learning
The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), a leader in the field of universal design states that Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a new paradigm for teaching, learning and assessment, drawing on new brain research and new media technologies to respond to individual learner differences.

27. "The central practical premise of UDL is that a curriculum should include alternatives to make it accessible and appropriate for individuals with different backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and disabilities in widely varied learning contexts”.

28. “The ‘universal’ in universal design does not imply one optimal solution for everyone. Rather, it reflects an awareness of the unique nature of each learner and the need to accommodate differences, creating learning experiences that suit the learner and maximize his or her ability to progress." CAST

29. Benefits of a UDL Approach
allows students to demonstrate strengths, knowledge, skills, and independence,
merges the processes of instruction and assessment,
encourages the student to engage in learning that is meaningful and appropriate, and
provides multiple opportunities for measuring significant progress.

30. Online Learning Tools
Tools are available online at the CAST website such as “UDL Book Builder” and “Science Writer” facilitate development of learning materials to address a variety of student needs (e.g. text to speech, animated helpers) and tutorials on developing UDL materials.

31. Differentiated Instruction
"Differentiation suggests it is feasible to develop classrooms where realities of student variance can be addressed along with curricular realities.

32. The idea is compelling. It challenges us to draw on our best knowledge of teaching and learning. It suggests that there is room for both equity and excellence in our classrooms.”
Carol-Ann Tomlinson

33. Online Learning Resources
Appropriate curriculum modifications are essential to the inclusion process.
Online Learning Modules are available on the PISP website
and the BC CASE website
to assist teachers differentiate instruction, retrofit, and design learning materials using UDL principles.

34. Assistive Technology
Assistive technology whether low or higher tech can be key to facilitating a student’s active participation and inclusion

35. A trend we will probably see over the next few years will be to move away from dedicated assistive technologies to more generic devices.

36. Advances in generic technology hold a great deal of promise for users with severe disabilities to access technologies used by their peers

37. Local Assistive Technology Resources
SET-BC
CanAssist
PISP

38. In summary
A philosophical orientation based on an intentional commitment to Quality of Life outcomes for students with severe disabilities in combination with Universal Design approaches, differentiated instruction and advances in technology are necessary to facilitate best practice in inclusive education.

39. A Slide Show Presentation
Developed by Terry Wendorf showing examples of PISP students in inclusive and integrated settings.