2024 Inclusive Education Forum
Successfully including students with complex learning profiles
Start: precisely 9am! The Forum is interpreted (AUSLAN). Excellent work, everybody. Lara gives housekeeping announcements, inc. quiet spaces.
The MC for today is Dr Glenys Mann.
Welcome to Country played.
What are we doing today and why?
(first speaker, Prof. Linda Graham)
“Students with complex learning profiles” defined. It was made up for the pink book (IE for the 21st C., 2nd ed.) because the other terms were even worse. (I have an issue with the term ‘complex,’ because people use it to mean that I’m too hard to handle.) Replacing terms like “severe” and “profound” disabilities, and “complex support needs”.
Students with disability don’t have ‘needs’ for which they are dependant on others to fulfil [burden context]. They have rights.
The term ‘support’ was removed because
Students with disability do not go to school to receive support. They go to school to learn.
Linda doesn’t have as much of a problem with ‘complex’ when it’s combined with ‘learning + profiles = intellectually challenging work’.
“It’s a problem that we have to apply our intelligence to solve.” I am not a problem! I do not cause problems! Societal ableism does. This still has a deficit model.
“Are you saying that [insert most extreme example you can think of here] can be included in a mainstream school…?
“Inclusion is a nice idea, but what about…?”
“These are the ‘what about’ kids.”
“Tell me what to do on Monday morning for THIS kid?”
[transcribe photographed slide here]
Dr Glenys Mann is the next speaker. She speaks about how today we want to foreground stories of and by students. “Once we’ve heard from students […] we’ll hear from our QUT researchers to add some insights”
Will Robertson is a 16-year-old year 10, and active in extracurricular life. He’s an accomplished and skilful presenter. His mum Ainsley has over 20 years of primary teaching experience.
Will is using recordings of his AAC voice with slides. He says he is, among other things, an adventurer.
“I am Autistic and I have several other brain differences listed here.”
“In recent years I have become an advocate for inclusive education.”
His friend Spencer from year 6 is now also an advocate for inclusive education.
“I was the first AAC user at my high school. They agreed they had much to learn but were up for the challenge.”
He studies standard English curriculum books like R+J. “I am included in all regular classes. [..] This year I have found that I particularly enjoy visual arts.”
“Being included at school is much more than learning with my peers in class. It is also about building belonging outside of the classroom.”
“Last term I completed my first work experience. […] my family and school have bee learning about an approach to employment called ‘customised employment’.”
“It was very successful and I am now seeking a paid part-time job using this personalised approached to employment.”
I know inclusion of students like me who are nonspeaking is very rare. When I have [an opportunity to advocate and present] I grab it with both hands.
Mary Oliver quote! “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
After finishing year 12 he plans to do further study and/or have a well-paid job, live in a place of his choosing, etc.
Now Ainsley Robertson, Will’s mum, presents. Their vision for Will works as a compass to “live in hope rather than fear for the future”.
“Our vision for Will is not different to any family’s for their child. [Although it’s the vision we had for him since he was born, when he entered primary school it got swept away]. Will, like most kids, was born included.” He was keen to start prep, but “by Easter time we had a very different boy”.
[cartoon of Bob Jackson research – bigger life (inclusion path) and smaller life (segregation path)]
[Very similar to my experience.]
Will is now leading school meetings and sharing what adjustments work well for him.
“Will is perfect as he is. It is the world that needs to change.”
“Inclusion should not be a lottery. And that’s why we’re here today.”
Irene Mauga, Wynnum State High School: School Perspective: How are we doing it?
Irene is one of Will’s teachers. She’s inclusion head of department.
“required us to shift our thinking about what successful communication looks like from a curriculum POV.” YES. YES.
Notetaking derailed already because I am emotional. I’m so glad some people are getting this.
Aspirations and how opportunities build capacity
Dr Lara Maia-Pike
“the capacity to aspire is not evenly distributed”
Four Fs – the perceived career pathways for people with intellectual disability are Food (hospitality), Filth (cleaning), Flowers (gardening) & Factories (manufactre).
This is what I wanted. What to do and how it can be done with students actually contributing. This Forum is the first I have attended that passes the vital bar of Nothing About Us Without Us.
“they offered it to me when he was born. ‘We can whisk him away and you can have another baby’” ← Ann Sherry AO (Chancellor, ex-Westpac CEO, etc)
Oh that’s how she did it…… had a whole team of hired support workers way pre-NDIS. Money.
“So often people don’t talk about children with disabilities and how bloody awesome they are” ← Linda
Nick went to a mainstream school and this was back at the time when the expectation for children with ID to educated in a special school. “How and why did you do that?”
“Aspiration.” All the kids played together at the local park – of course they all came to school together.
Ann’s gotten a lot of support from being rich and powerful.
“It was seen as a b-” [almost said ‘burden’] “extra [to teach any students with ID]”
“whether a student is included has less to do with them and more to do with the adults responsible for providing education” – Catia, rephrased because I forgot.
“Julius didn’t need to be fixed. The way the education system responded to children like him did.”
“there are times when it [is difficult and resources are] stretched thin. But it’s worth it because “ damn forgot what she said next but it was very good. Gotta ask for script copy.
He is one of only a few students in WA with his learning profile who are included fully in all classes with mainstream peers. 20% of students at the school, Bob Hawke College, are Disabled.
When your starting point is that everyone is in, everything changes.
-Spender-liams and Flosi, 2021
‘the resources I’ve made for Julius […] are used for every class and every student’
they’re in the same community and they’re learning how to work and how to grow as a community rather than unique silos
“He makes me want to go to class.”
being able to sit in class and not having to feel different
you’re actually just thinking about everyone because you’re supporting him, you’re supporting everybody .. and then you get really friendly classes
we don’t give them different work. We modify so they’re [..] looking at the same concepts but at an […] appropriate level
“if we include everybody, every single student and every single staff member benefits”
can you imagine this school without Julius?
Not at all.
Shared mental model, trust and belief, supports and scaffolds
people come with an idea of inclusion that’s very different to what it actually is
‘maybe Johnny or Sophie or Julius should be in a special class that teaches them life skills’ and then I very kindly pepper them with research
“we do have a fantastic life skills program, and it’s called the CURRICULUM and it’s for everybody”
Inclusive communities start here. They start at school. And this is Julius’ community and this is his community wrapping around him.
ALL MEANS ALL namedrop!
“When you start with ‘everyone is in,’ everything changes.”
“The problem is never the student. The problem is the problem.” ← Y9 ND student
right side of history! Inclusive communities start at school
projecting that challenge [of adapting curriculum] to students goes against the purpose of education
avoid creating islands in the mainstream
Including Isaac, by Dr Carly Lassig (Down Syndrome QLD, visiting fellow at QUT, Isaac’s mum)
“I love that this provides him with the” opportunity to be a “peer tutor” (rather than just being tutored).
“Getting Isaac ready for school
Getting the school ready for Isaac”
Diversity is having a seat at the tale, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard.
Kath Bunney, Down Syndrome QLD: School Perspective: How are we doing it?
- understand when they need to adapt their teaching methods
- visuals and key word sign used a lot in kindergartens
- “we have to get used to the child, not the other way around”
Beth Saggers
interactionist or social-relational model of disability ← investigate
Rosemary Kayess’ talk! She’s currently engaging with ministers across all jurisdictions to encourage a roadmap to inclusive education. “It is unfortunate the DRC did not achieve consensus on desegregation.” Quite! “This makes the task more difficult in advocating for inclusive education and entrenches misunderstandings of international human rights law.”
Education = builds ability to affect social change! Inclusive education “is a fundamental right consistently denied people with disablity”. Segregation reinforces itself and ableism and the medical model! & THE DENIAL OF PERSONAL AUTONOMY
ableism = heirachal power relation that perpetuates discrimination and inequality.
The belief people with disablity can’t be part of the community becomes self-evident, and exclusion becomes unquestions.
CRPD refutes ableism and segregation in society, including in education. CRPD reaffirms people with disablity as rights bearers and subjects of HR ON AN EQUAL BASIS WITH OTHERS.
Human potential, dignity, self-worth, strengthening of respect for HR, fundamental freedoms, and diversity.
Inclusion involves a process of systemic reform, embodying changes in [teaching methods architecture etc] to provide students of all age with an equal and participatory learning experience and an environment that [best suits their] PREFERENCES.
Status and existing financial relations are privileged over the rights of people with disability.
Article 13(3) of ??? = “parental choice” argument, but incorrect. IHR law does not permit discrimination on the basis of disability.
IE system provides necessary infrastructure and supports for people with disability to ensure equality of education as opposed PWD accommodating the education system by [being segregated].
!!! ^ PWD ACCOMMODATING THE EDUCATION SYSTEM BY BEING SEGREGATED.
ADEs incompatible with rights to employment. Polished pathway etc.
lifelong IE is a key component to ensuring and fostering the continuing career development of people with disability. There is significant evidence to shoe that seg. Edu. Underpins the pathway to seg. Employment and a segregated life. If done successfully IE has a transformative role beginning in the formative years of preschool and school edu. It enables all students to contribute to regular school and classroom learning activities and events.
Diversity is recognised respected understood and celebrated inn the classroom and in the school. Modes of instruction and varied and responsive to the needs of all.
Deficit view diminished by the knowledge and experience of a lie that includes the spectrum of human diversity. IE has benefits for the whole community.
“pluralist”
accommodation as a word can always be both positive and negative. It depends on the intent behind it. If we’re trying to accommodate and individual that’s not getting to [] the structure systemic change that’s needed. If we’re building an inclusive system we’re not just accommodating students with disability we’re building a system that is inclusive of all learners. I think you’re right, the word accommodation is very narrow, it has a paternalistic focus with the idea we’re doing a good thing by making education variable [..] for PWD it’s not about systemic change that makes the education system holistically available for all learners.
AAAAAA Rosemary said I was right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROSEMARY SAID I WAS RIGHT. Snoopy happy dance!!!!!
Lara: How do you get politicians to do the right thing?
Rosemary: IDFK…. I shove human rights agreements at them
“For me it’s a legal obligation to start with. Secondly, we’ve had numerous reports, reviews” etc
with leaders on board with UD4L, “Desegregation will happen naturally.” “you can’t force change you ned to make sure the system has the right components for change.” “You don’t want to put so much pressure on the system because students with disability will be the ones that suffer”
cooperina townsville special school on grounds of institution. Almost all of the students lived there.
The special school in Cairns closed in 1989 due to parent advocacy! (Co-location.. next to the mainstream schools).
Senator Sue Boyce – transcribe slide!
“We want YOU to leave today thinking about how you will progress inclusion.”
Not the point of his presentation, but nice, Bailey likes trains.
“high school has complex support needs”
–Cátia Malaquias, 2024
increased peer supports
She contacted the school two years before it opened…. that’s so Cátia.
“pumping up [kids’] tyres about how important they are as inclusion leaders makes all the difference” re: peer support
Re: teachers, “if it’s something we haven’t come across before, fear is a normal response” two responses: love and fear, two sides of the same coin. If there’s fear, there’s love for the work they do. The fear that this is special work and needs to be done by special people, unpack that, remind them that nobody is in this own their own.
thought from self: fear remains as long as segregation does and is a barrier to inclusion in some of these vicious cycles
“MORAL COURAGE”
“is there one thing you can do this week to change your practice and make it more inclusive and build it into your daily routine?” Irene Mauga (Wynnum SHS)
“very thankful for Will (student) for being patient with us”
“A whole lot of TAs doesn’t necessarily make a school inclusive” – Suzanne Carrington
all governments have in principle accepted the recommendation that they need to have an IE plan – Cátia
she sits on an expert panel in WA
need get settings right , facilitate amazing work in some schools and some classrooms, actually support teachers to do this