n school inclusion at the kindergarten level, I spoke with the mother of a five-and-a-half-year-old girl who has been blind since birth and has developmental and language delays.
The parents chose a public kindergarten that had already enrolled several disabled children in its classrooms. Indeed, both the teaching staff and school personnel showed sensitivity to their concerns.
The mother emphasized that support teachers lack specific training. Years ago, they received monovalent preparation—meaning they specialized in particular areas, such as sensory disabilities. Now they receive polivalent training, which is broad but generic and fails to meet the educational needs of children with particular challenges. What this mother argued is that the system for training support teachers needs to be reformed. Compounding this problem is the fact that support positions are often temporary assignments that prevent adequate educational continuity.
Teachers' limited knowledge of these children's needs also shows up in difficulties exchanging information during the school's planning meetings—the GLH (Handicap Work Group)—where curriculum and individualized teaching activities are discussed and organized. These meetings include parents, the child neuropsychiatrist, therapists, and both classroom and support teachers.
Laura Nardini, 2005
