To better understand what is happening in the world of school regarding inclusion, we asked for opinions and reflections from some representatives of the major disability associations. In this issue we report a brief interview with Patrizia Armellini, head of the School Observatory of the AIAS of Milan Tel 02/3302021
Let us take for granted that the Law for scholastic integration was the right choice, from which there is no going back; we ask you for an overall assessment of how the inclusion of children with cerebral palsy (spastics) has taken place over the 20 years since the Law was passed.
The first years were ones of intense experimentation, despite the difficulties of a cultural revolution. At present, inclusion is an established fact, but true integration often remains a project and even more often an unverified objective, without the support of strategic thinking. Where, however, the school makes intelligent use of tools and collaboration, the results are good and — this is fundamental — everyone benefits, not only the disabled pupils.
Can you give us a few brief examples of a successful inclusion?
There would be many, and at all levels of schooling. But the integration work was a good and serene experience with two children at different times at the Scuola Media Mameli in via Linneo in Milan. The work of the support teacher was fundamental — a true "mediator" with regard to knowledge and with regard to the class council; the project planning, the evaluation, the deep motivation, the accompaniment rather than the substitution even at the moment of guidance, transformed inclusion into true integration.
In these two very different situations, I was able to verify how much more the school can give compared to the family and the rehabilitative environment, and what the school's proper function is — an indispensable, irreplaceable context for a child's growth.
Can you point out the most evident causes in cases where inclusion has not produced the hoped-for outcomes?
The non-involvement of curriculum teachers. The lack of a project within the school, the absence of integration objectives in the POF (Piano Offerta Formativa), the incorrect use of tools such as the functional diagnosis, the dynamic functional profile, and the individualised educational plan.
The cause may also be external to the school: lack of support from social and health structures, when the incapacities are emphasised and the potential for development of the disabled pupil-subject is not valued.
It is undeniable that the essential condition for the successful outcome of any integration is the involvement of a good teacher... You, as a teacher with long experience of inclusion, what fundamental advice could you give to teachers and professors of good will?
Listen, try to get to know the pupils, encourage communication, build a sense of group. Recognise motivation: a pupil who is even very "severe" (a debatable adjective) can have a motivational level very similar to that of peers and is often treated like a small child.
Can you define the preparation and duties of the "personal assistant", the figure recently established to help the disabled person in school?
They allow the disabled pupil autonomy. They must be competent in the helping relationship, and therefore must not substitute themselves. They must integrate into the school context (this does not depend on them alone) and work in synergy because learning objectives and objectives with educational value are inseparable. They must not act as a shield but as a bridge with respect to relationships with peers. They must not collude either with teachers or with the family. They need supervision. They must participate in planning. If I may give a small example, they must be capable of turning even accompanying a pupil to the toilet into an educational project — something that seems to be nobody's responsibility.
You have already told us: "inclusion means that the child must be in class with the others". But does this mean: always... as much as possible... only when he shows he is comfortable?
It is important, first of all, to set up a modularity of projects and personalised work with the child that anticipates the teaching units and reinforces his basic competencies. Only afterwards will it be possible to establish how and how much he will be present in class. One must however always remember that a subject with many problems finds motivation for learning by feeling part of a group and not isolated in a one-to-one relationship with an adult.
In the next issue we will publish the reflection of Davide Del Duca, president of the Fondazione Bambini e Autismo of Pordenone.
Can I enter school?
With the medical certification of the pupil's handicap, the request for a support teacher is initiated at the moment of enrolment in school. The pupil's previous school and family are contacted.
After a period of observation by the teachers during the first days of school, an assessment of the pupil's competencies and abilities is carried out (in technical terms, screening).
The results of the initial observation, the previous medical and school documentation, and the screening converge in the operational handicap working group (GLHO) composed of the teaching group, the representatives of the ASL — neuropsychiatrist, social worker and possibly psychologist — the parents and any other operators who work with the pupil. This enlarged group meets at the beginning of the year to draw up a thorough description of the pupil's physical, psychological, social and affective characteristics. In this description, called the dynamic functional profile, the learning difficulties — resulting from the handicap — and the possibilities of recovery are highlighted, along with the capacities possessed to be supported and stimulated in respect of the person's cultural choices. At the end of the year the GLHO will meet to review the process of integration and cultural growth. On the basis of this framework, the teaching group — the class council — draws up an Individualised Educational Project in which the objectives to be achieved in the various subjects and activities are set out according to the pupil's possibilities. The progress of the project will be verified monthly by the class council, which must, where necessary, correct or strengthen it.
The individual path followed by the handicapped pupil will be highlighted in the final reports of the class and support teachers. The assessment at the end of the school cycle will take place on the basis of the achievement of the objectives calibrated for him.