School Inclusion
Jannai and Hannah are identical twins. When they were born in 1993, their mother, Karen, was told they would have very different lives. When they were five years old, Hannah went to the local elementary school while Jannai was sent to the nearest "special" school to have "all her needs met." All of her special needs, that is, not her ordinary needs.
Hannah never understood why her sister didn't come to school with her. In January 2001, Karen finally let Hannah have her way. Applying the knowledge, skills and courage she had gained from the Partners in Policymaking program, Karen moved Jannai into her sister's third grade class at the local school.
Jannai is now being successfully included, making friends and learning. We have a parent who is willing to teach a school about how to support her daughter. We have teachers and staff who are willing to learn and children who don't understand what all the fuss is about.
As Karen says, "we have to remember that everyone's need for support is someone else's need to support."
Copyright © 2002. The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities. All rights reserved.