Last week I attended a community event in Grenada and watched as a young man with additional needs took part in the celebrations in his own unique way. No one challenged his presence or deterred him from taking part. You can watch a video of my thoughts here. The whole experience led me to think about ‘inclusion’ and what it really means for individuals with neurodiverse needs to be included and how this impacts their families too.

I feel as though there are two aspects to inclusion. Firstly, ‘How can we support someone to have the skills needed to reach their full potential and to be independent? Secondly, ‘How can we educate people to accept others in spite of their differences?’

The idea of inclusion often changes as a result of society’s views at the time, which can be heavily impacted by local authorities, educational and employment resources, skills and requirements, and social ideologies.

However, I have personally come to understand inclusion as a broader concept which requires an individualised emphasis, with the aim of fulfilling the individual’s potential alongside all their peers (neurodiverse and neurotypical).

In my opinion, true inclusion is not about being like or doing what ‘everyone’ else can do. It is about truly embracing your journey and, as far as possible, understanding the journey of others; making room for each other without judgement or question.

In a society which is geared towards a standardised educational system, a standardised workforce, and a stoic view of society, it is often difficult for many who embrace individualised inclusion, such as parents, to understand why their child is not being treated the same as other children in the class, as they seek ‘inclusion’ for their child.

Seeing and hearing the differences in thought about inclusion, it is evident that our cultural understanding, community standards, personal knowledge or experiences, shape our ideas of including others. We, therefore, respond to others according to our experiences and values.

We often believe that to be inclusive we must treat everyone as equals, which sounds great, but if we look at that on a deeper level what does that really mean? We are not all the same and, therefore, may need to be approached differently? An individual with learning needs is just that, an individual, who may need an individualised approach to be truly included. Without this, it is evident that treating individuals with additional needs like those who don’t, may lead them to feel isolated, frustrated, and excluded.

Miller and Katz (2002) defined inclusion as: “.. a sense of belonging: feeling respected, valued for who you are;  feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so that you can do your best.”

This is a great definition and reminds us that regardless of our culture or community, we should be focusing on the individual that is before us. Perhaps the questions we should be asking ourselves include;  ‘who is this individual, what do they love, like, dislike?’  ‘How do I respect that in the classroom, staffroom, or boardroom?’ ‘How do I care and support people on their journies to the best of my abilities?’

I would love to hear your thoughts on inclusion and how you achieve it in your daily lives.

Emma

Reference:

The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity Miller and Katz (2002).

Written by Rebekah Louise a freelance writer for hire.