Inclusion Always Works

If you say inclusion didn't work, it wasn't inclusion.

Dec 04, 2020

group shot of nine people, standing near a podium, smiling at the camera — [IMAGE] A group photo of nine people at the TASH Conference in Atlanta, GA, from 2011.

Hey Y’all,

It has been nine years since I, along with a dedicated group of educators and advocates, presented at the TASH Conference in Atlanta, GA, in December of 2011.

If you don’t know already, TASH is an organization that advocates for human rights and inclusion for people with significant disabilities and support needs.

At this conference, I first met Carol Quirk (now my boss), who was the Board of Directors President of TASH and the CEO of the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education (MCIE).

I remember going to one of the TASH committee meetings and sitting among people who had been advocating for, writing about, and implementing inclusive education for decades. I felt that I was home. And I never wanted that feeling to end.

Here are some of my reflections when I wrote for the TASH blog about my experience.

Going to the TASH Conference was sort of a homecoming for me in the way that the same ideas and values that gave me a passion for inclusion and working with students with the most significant disabilities, were as present as the day they were as I sat in on my first lectures about inclusive education.
One of my biggest takeaways from the TASH Conference was a question Norman Kunc raised at the Welcome Dinner and helped shape my experience for the rest of the time at the conference. When you see a person with a disability, where do you locate the problem? In the person with the disability (meaning they are broken and need to be fixed)? Or, in the environment, that there are systemic problems that keep a person with a disability from accessing full membership in their schools and communities.
Too often, like John O’Brien spoke about it his keynote address, people with disabilities are invisible. As a teacher for students with severe and profound disabilities, I see our children continually be underestimated (sometimes even by myself) and undervalued in the community at large. It is difficult to change your paradigm when your presumptions are faulty. Even with the best circumstances and attitudes, “They can’t” or “They’re not ready” are some of the first words that come out of people’s mouths.
If anything, the TASH conference renewed my vision of who I want to be as an educator. Someone who takes the “Least Dangerous Assumption” and presumes competence, has high expectations for all students, and focuses on human dignity.

Inclusion Works

This year, Carol gave the keynote to open the 2020 TASH Conference - Virtual Edition. Here are some highlights.

April Regester @AprilRegester

“If you say inclusion doesn’t work, it wasn’t inclusion”-Carol Quirk #2020TASHconf

Tim Villegas @TheRealTimVegas

#2020TASHconf "In a truly inclusive community, you not only share interests and common understandings and shared experiences, but you also value the uniqueness of the individual and the differences that they bring." @CQ_MCIE

Tim Villegas @TheRealTimVegas

#2020TASHconf "Students who believe they have a voice in school are 7 times more likely to be academically motivated than those who do not feel like they have a voice." @CQ_MCIE

One of the most common complaints about inclusion is that it just isn’t for everyone. Or it just doesn’t work for my child or student.

Let me be as clear as I can, and echo what Carol said during her keynote. If inclusion didn’t work, it is because it wasn’t actually inclusion. Saying inclusion doesn’t work is like saying freedom doesn’t work, or justice doesn’t work. Inclusion is an idea that is bigger than just kids with disabilities in a classroom with non-disabled peers.

I love this line from Carol’s talk as well:

Tim Villegas @TheRealTimVegas

#2020TASHconf "The baseline for inclusion is physical presence, but we all know that physical presence in and of itself is insufficient to be included." @CQ_MCIE

Inclusion always works because it is about creating a space of belonging. And to steal from Dr. Quirk again, “when people are included, they are happier, experience less stress and depression, have more positive social relationships, increase academic performance and motivation, and experience more pleasure in life.”

If you are an inclusionist like I know many of you are, we need to advocate for more than physical presence. It is insufficient.

Homecoming

Despite 2020 being the absolute worst, I feel again like it is a homecoming.

I’ll be presenting my story of inclusion at the TASH Conference on Monday. If you are attending, I’d love to connect with you.

And even if you are not at the conference this year, hit reply and tell me why it is important for you to stay connected to people who believe in inclusion.

The next edition of the Weeklyish will be our last of 2020, and it will mostly be a compilation of what Think Inclusive has published this year and a look at what is in store for 2021.

Until then, we can all live vicariously through this GIF.