Integrated education may not be ideal for all special needs kids

Dino Trakakis
Director of Autism Recovery Network

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Jakarta / Fri, March 3, 2017 / 02:42 pm

Integrated education may not be ideal for all special needs kids

Illustration for a classroom (Shutterstock/File)

More educationists have been advocating for special needs children to be integrated with other children in mainstream schooling. This is a movement that is generally welcomed and supported by parents of children with developmental delays and disabilities. In some ways, programs that promote inclusion of special needs children sound like an excellent idea. Both special needs children and their typically developing peers should benefit under such an arrangement. Children with developmental delays get the benefits of mainstream schooling and typically developing kids get to interact with them and learn to be more patient and accepting. Both groups of children would also have the opportunity to learn from one another. However, we urge caution and consideration from involved and interested parties like parents, schools and the government before implementing such a p...