How to Communicate the Importance and Benefits of Inclusion to all Parents
Due to the insufficient experience of today’s generation of parents with inclusion in their childhoods, but also their adult lives, it can be more difficult for adults (parents or grandparents) to accept the inclusion implemented in a kindergarten with compassion and without bias. Fear and concerns about the unknown naturally lead to prejudice and rejection.
For this reason it is important to give enough time and space to informing all kindergarten parents about what inclusion actually means, how it is being implemented at the kindergarten and all the positive benefits it can bring them and their children “without differences”, either during joint meetings or through informational emails and web pages.
It is also good to create a space for the parents where they can express their concerns, assumptions or beliefs in an atmosphere of openness, respect and acceptance, for the benefit of all children.
Inclusion helps children with disabilities or “differences”, by:
- Having the opportunity to observe and imitate children at a regular developmental level and to communicate with them.
- Enter into friendships with their regularly developing peers in their neighborhood and community. The ability to build friendships in early years is key to creating relationships later in life.
- They are provided with services in the context of a regular classroom, without being isolated.
- They learn in the company of their peers.
- Their social competence is being developed, something they need to be able to become active members of society.
The inclusion of children with disabilities helps their families by:
- Creating contacts with other families in the community.
- Ensuring that their children with disabilities are capable of prospering in a regular class and ensuring ongoing specialised support.
- They can appreciate the benefit their children receive from playing with their peers.
- They learn about diversity and different people’s strengths.
Inclusion also provides benefits to children without disabilities and their families, by giving them the opportunity to:
- Develop empathy, understanding and learn cooperation.
- To interact with children who have a limited range of skills and to learn to understand the difficulties that people with disabilities must overcome.
- Gain sensitivity to the needs of others and better understand the differences between people.
- Experience a situation where everyone is able to overcome hardship and achieve success.
- See and practically experience situations where their friends may be different, but treating that as a common occurrence and respecting them for who they are. We can show them that not all children are born perfectly healthy and that if they have any such friend, it is natural to help them.
- Recognize that we are all vulnerable as human beings. For these reasons it is important to take care of one’s health and prevent accidents and illnesses.
- Furthermore the presence of children with SEN in the kindergarten can lead the other children to accept illness or other barriers as a part of life.
- Children also learn creativity, ingenuity and searching for new solutions in nontraditional settings, which may be more common in the lives of children with health disabilities.