An inclusive school must provide an education appropriate to the needs of all students. Thus, it is important that schools have professionals trained in specific educational support needs. It is essential that schools are flexible and prepared to welcome any type of student, providing the appropriate educational support. The main objective is to include all types of students in the general education system.
Diversity must be understood as an opportunity for enrichment. School inclusion implies a process of improvement and innovation. A) Yes It is intended to reduce or eliminate those barriers that limit students who have particular support needs. These children, for various reasons, may feel different and misunderstood. This is precisely what we, as a society, must avoid.
What are the specific needs for educational support?
Specific educational support needs They are aimed at that group of students who need specific attention and support during school hours. These students must meet certain conditions and present a certain degree of difficulty. Within this group there is a wide variety of students. For a child to be considered a student with specific educational support needs, she must belong to one of these five categories:
- Special educational needs. They are those students who present some type of disability or ailment. For example, children with the following conditions:
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- severe developmental disorders
- Intellectual disability
- Communication disturbances
- Motor disability
- autism spectrum disorders
- Hearing impairment
- Severe behavior changes
- Visual disability
- Attention Deficit Disorder, with or without hyperactivity
- Rare and chronic diseases
- Specific learning difficulties. Children with deficiencies in the acquisition and development of basic cognitive processes. These processes involve writing, reading, arithmetic and verbal expression. Therefore, children may present the following problems:
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- Dysgraphia
- Dyslexia
- dyscalculia
- High intellectual capacities. Students who have above average abilities. Depending on the case, we can talk about talented children or gifted.
- Late insertion in the educational system. It refers to migrant students who have to adapt to a new school situation, and even to a new language.
- Personal conditions. They are usually children who are not at the level of their peers for reasons beyond their control. These causes can be:
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- Health reasons, such as children who spend a lot of time in the hospital.
- Belonging to certain social groups or ethnic minorities.
- Having had irregular schooling.
Professionals involved in the specific needs of educational support
To meet the needs of students who need educational support, close collaboration is needed between the school they regularly attend, as well as the following stakeholders in the education of the boy or girl:
- Experts in therapeutic pedagogy, listening and language, and other related professional figures.
- The family, since without family support the efforts made by professionals lose value.
- Other specialized professionals such as psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, etc.
The involvement of all these people facilitates the difficult task of the educational system to offer adequate attention and support to these children. The goal is to guarantee all students equal opportunities to get the most out of what they learn. Without a doubt, without the existence of this collaboration, no school could adequately carry out its function. Therefore, thanks to the contributions of professionals, it is possible to collect extensive information in order to create a good training offer.
The positive aspects of diversity in the classroom
Inclusive education not only allows you to provide answers to people who have specific educational support needs. Inclusive education for the rest of their peers is also useful because the level of the group is maintained. With this educational model, students grow up in an environment of diversity in which respect and socialization are encouraged among children with different abilities.
In an inclusive class there must be a climate of cooperation, very different from the competitiveness and individualism of the traditional school. In other words, the lessons must be organized in such a way that the values of being together, coexistence and acceptance are promoted and transmitted.