Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/welcoming-all-abilities-what-will-happen/5008826/
Fifteen years ago, a good friend who taught at a school for exceptional children asked me if I thought it would be fun (not wise, not educational, not right, just fun) to bring her kids to my center and my kids to her center. Ah, a new experience for our kids! Truly, I did not think about it for a minute. I only asked, "When?"My kids loved the special equipment, the walkers, the wheelchairs. The favorite toy was a spinner of sorts that could be manipulated with hand motions. One of the children asked if he could give a child in a wheelchair a push and then if he could have a turn. I remember so clearly that my children liked being there. They were interested in how the kids moved around, and they were interested in the children who could not move. The next day, as we sat and talked, they all asked, "When can we go back to that other school?" Transportation, insurance, money, rules, and so on prohibit these trips now; but for me it was the beginning of seeing the value of integrating all children into our child ...