Special Programs, Full Inclusion, and Choices for Students Who Are Deaf

Special Programs, Full Inclusion, and Choices for Students Who Are Deaf Harvey J. Corson and E. Ross Stuckless Guest Co-editors, Reference Issue Introduction Each year, a topic of particular interest is selected for discussion in the reference issue of the Annals. This year's topic is prompted by the recent introduction of the concept of "full" or "total" inclusion into the vernacular of special education. The inclusion of deaf students in regular local schools and classes is itself not an issue. Virtually everyone supports inclusion, with appropriate special services, as one of numerous options that should be available for deaf students. At issue is the intent behind the use of the terms "full" and "total" - essentially that all deaf students should be enrolled in regular classes with hearing peers in their local schools. This extreme position has led Moores to say in a recent editorial in the American Annals of the Deaf. It seems to me that the push for total inclusion, the placement of all children in regular classes in their own neighbourhoods, flies in the face of educational developments and federal legislation over the past 25 years. Educational placement and services are to be provided on an individual basis, with the understanding that ranges of options must be available. This basic understanding is under attack . (Moores, 1993,p. 379) The following articles bring together the thoughts of several authors with three things in common; all have had extensive contact with deaf children in one way or another; all support inclusion as one of numerous educational placement options for deaf students; and all reject inclusion as the only educational path for deaf students. While all the authors support the protection of placement options, several speak also in support of "full" inclusion. What appears to be an inconsistency , is simply due to different interpretations of the term "full". Some of these articles are written with considerable fervor, demonstrating that the issues surrounding full inclusion and choice are much more than intellectual differences of opinion. All the articles were solicited by the co-editors, with few restraints other than that their articles be brief. An interpretation of full inclusion. This opening article is authored by Dr. Gary Bunch, an educator of the deaf and a spokesperson for full inclusion . In this article, he describes the positions of those who advocate full inclusion, and in closing, reflects on these positions with reference to students who are deaf. Full inclusion and the deaf student : A deaf consumer's review of the issue. Citing several important legal decisions, Joseph J. Innés, a consumer advocate and associate professor of education at Gallaudet University , traces the history of full inclusion to its 1960's origins as "normalization". He argues that full inclusion fails to recognize deafness as a unique human experience, requiring due consideration of the deaf student's communicative, social, and cultural needs. Full inclusion-. A path for integration or isolation?. Dr. Michael Stinson and Dr. Harry Lang are researchers in the education of deaf students. Both are themselves deaf. In this article, they focus on social and cultural issues pertaining to inclusion, drawing on relevant research. An administrator's view on inclusion for deaf children. Dr. Oscar Cohen is president-elect of the Conference of Educational Administrators Serving the Deaf (CEASD). In this article, he discusses actions that should be taken to protect schools for the deaf and other educational placement options presently available for deaf students from policies that promote mandatory inclusion. Inclusion as a practical matter. Dr. Brian McCartney, a school administrator and himself deaf, points out that wherever deaf students are taught, there remains the need for a variety of qualified specialists and other resources, including deaf peers and role models. Consequently, inclusion is impractical for many deaf students. Human resources and full inclusion in the education of students who are deaf. Dr. Stephanie PoloweAldersley is a public school board official and past-president of the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf (CAID). Citing the quality , availability, and costs of human resources required to meet the educational needs of deaf students, she concludes that "policies of full inclusion in many cases mitigate against these basic requirements." American Annals...