Raise the Hammer

Thanks for the question Pxtl, it's an important one. First, full disclosure, I'm the President of the Down Syndrome Association of Hamilton, although the views here expressed are my own.

The benefit to a kid with an Intellectual Disability (ID) of being included in a class with typical kids is pretty substantial, with the benefit to the typical kids being up there too. Part of the challenge is, that the idea of 'segregating' (I use the racially charged word deliberately) is an old one - people with DS were routinely institutionalized without their parents full understanding (or sometimes consent) until the 60s in Canada, and in some provinces were routinely sterilized without their consent until the 70s. When something or someone is always 'separate', they are always the other, and normal relationships and mutual respect are difficult, if not impossible.

A kid with special needs in an integrated classroom becomes part of 'normal'. He is recognized by his peers as being just one of the kids, and has a much greater chance (indeed their only chance) of being accepted into the community - and of learning those social skills that lead to acceptance, rather than the person with ID just accepting their segregation.

This leads to greater integration into the community later in life as well.

Also, I'm sure you can see that benefits flow to the typical kids as well, with many studies showing kids in integrated classrooms grow up to be more compassionate, and have a much more thoughtful view of what makes up 'ability.'

All this being said - many kids with "Mild Intellectual Delay" (most kids with DS included) benefit greatly from regular classroom instruction - especially if a little extra help is forthcoming from an EA. Segregated classrooms are also often poorly resourced, and don't necessarily lead to any more focused/specialized instruction than they would get in an integrated classroom with a qualified EA. Still, some kids with more substantial delays do benefit from being in separate classrooms part, or even all of the time (although my colleagues on the Affiliate Council of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society would be apoplectic if they caught me saying so in a public forum). The point is, the choice must be there, and the resources must exist to support those choices, or we run the very real risk of sliding quickly back to the days of segregated classes, and eventually institutionalization.