Fall 1996, Vol. 8 No. 1
by Orah Raia
Including students who have disabilities in regular classrooms with their typical peers is a very promising practice. Although there are disagreements about inclusion, one research finding is indisputable - for inclusion to be successful, teachers and parents need to work together to plan carefully how the child will be actively included in classroom activities. In addition to being creative themselves, teachers and parents can turn to others who have found ways around the obstacles. For this kind of information and for directions to other helpful resources, the Internet is a bona fide treasure-house.
Below are sites on the World Wide Web which provide constructive information on inclusion. Many of these sites also provide links to additional sites and include illuminating articles which can be downloaded.
Axis Disability Rights Website
URL: http://www.almanac.bc.ca/~axis/
The Axis Disability Rights Website is operated by advocates Norman Kunc & Emma Van der Klift of Axis Consultation & Training Ltd. in British Columbia and is dedicated to the distribution of information concerning disability rights.
Sample Content:
Center on Human Policy /Syracuse University
URL: http://web.syr.edu/~thechp/
The Center on Human Policy is a policy, research, and advocacy organization involved in the national movement to insure the rights of people with disabilities. Since its founding, the Center has been involved in the study and promotion of inclusive community opportunities for people with disabilities.
Sample Content:
Family Education Network
URL: http://www.familyeducation.com
The Family Education Network is a comprehensive resource designed to help families play a more active role in their children's learning. Its goals are to:
In addition to providing helpful resources on specific disabilities and advocacy, the Network's Special Needs Channel features a monthly column on inclusion written by a parent and in the near future, by others with direct experience in inclusion, and an ongoing discussion board which regularly posts information on strategies and best practices in inclusion.
Family Village
URL: http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu
This site provides information, resources, and communication opportunities for parents of children with cognitive and other disabilities. It includes a library about specific disabilities (arranged alphabetically), with supporting organizations, mailing lists, full text articles and bibliographies of web sites related to each disability. It also includes the Post Office and the Coffee Shop which provide contact information for families to reach out to other families in similar positions, and a Shopping Mall which lists businesses supplying specific items of interest to individuals with disabilities.
The Family Village Inclusion Resources
URL: http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/edu_incl.htm
Sample Content:
Inclusion Press/Best of Inclusion Press
URL: http://www.inclusion.com/bestof.html
This site contains links to numerous articles by Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest, Judith Snow, and other international leaders in inclusion.
National Parent Information Network
URL : http://ericps.ed.uiuc.edu/npin/npinhome.html
The purpose of the National Parent Information Network (NPIN) is to provide information to parents and those who work with parents, and to foster the exchange of parenting materials. Articles presented in full text on NPIN have been screened for reliability and usefulness. Publications, brochures, and other materials that are merely listed on NPIN may not have been reviewed and are included for informational purposes only. NPIN is a project sponsored by two ERIC clearinghouses: the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education at Teachers College, Columbia University; and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; all other ERIC system components are also contributors and participants.
Special Education Resources on the Internet
URL: http://www.hood.edu/seri/serihome.htm
The Special Education Resources on the Internet (SERI) project is a collection of Internet accessible information resources which may be of interest to those involved in the fields related to Special Education. This collection exists in order to make online Special Education resources more easily and readily available in one location. The table of contents listed below is a general listing; under each category is a multitude of listings and links to additional sites.
Sample Content:
Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Resource Guide for Teachers
URL: http://www.est.gov.bc.ca/specialed/sid/content.html
This site, which is provided through the British Columbia Ministry of
Education, offers many practical ideas which help teachers cope with typical
classroom situations.
Sample Content:
Studies on Inclusion
URL: gopher://eric.ir.syr.edu:/70/00/Bibliographies/Extended/main_95
This site provides a summary of abstracts pertaining to studies on students with disabilities included in general education classrooms. Some studies included are: Teacher Perceptions: Impacts of Planning for Inclusion; Providing Peer Coaching in Inclusive Settings: A Tool for Consulting Teachers; The Effect of Inclusion Training on Teacher Attitude Toward Inclusion; Adaptive Inclusion with Special Needs Children: Inclusion That Can Work for Rural Schools. Information given includes the author, length of article, publication source and year.
Orah Raia is a graduate student in the Department of Special Education at The College of New Jersey.
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