My best suggestion would be to ensure that all students with disabilities in an inclusive school be involved in social activities after school. 

School policies to support inclusion will be reinforcing mechanisms to support learning and to adapt the learning environment so that all children will be included.

Extra curricula activities should be encouraged for all students and timetabled as mandatory. Quality assurance must also be instituted. 

One great suggestion for in class lesson is to have peer help. This would ease the anxiety of these students so that they would feel more confident being in class and completing tasks. I think this is a great way for these students to feel safe and valued in the classroom. 

My best suggestion for a policy or a process to support students like Luis is: 

• all children with disabilities have extra help from peers in lessons

Inclusive schools promote respectful and supportive relationships, avoid the bullying epidemic, and build the attributes of positive peer-to-peer interactions.  Peer support is a strategy that involves placing students in pairs or in small groups to participate in learning activities that support academic instruction and social skills. This instructional approach does not require additional staff or extra funding. It is a research-based methodology that yields positive results related to student achievement and a sense of “belonging” over the course of time. Peer supports provide teachers with a learning tool to enhance instruction for students with and without disabilities. Not to mention that students learn a great deal by explaining their ideas to others and by participating in activities in which they can learn from their peers. They develop skills in organizing and planning learning activities, working collaboratively with others, giving and receiving feedback and evaluating their own learning. 

I think one way to assist Luis in remembering the tasks he has to do is by creating a simple checklist for him. In this way, he, his parents and teacher can monitor what has been done. Also, the teacher can reduce the number of tasks he has to accomplish in a day to minimize confusion on his part.

I suggest building positive relationships with our students. This can be done by creating small groups that support peer learning. Peer support is a strategy that involves placing students in pairs or in small groups to participate in learning activities that support academic instruction and social skills. Students learn well by collaborating.

I think, that two approaches would be necessary to facilitate students i order to promote fairness:

1) Activities can be altered to be inclusive. By this I mean that activities should be planed with people in disabilities in mind. For example a timed activity cannot be planned without considering Autistic children who need more time to do just a good job as other. In the case of physical activities consideration must be given in order that children with disability be involved. I should also mention that teacher should go as far as making effort to communicate with students in their own language (example sign language. Therefore facilitators can adjust to meet the needs of these students.

2) Facilities on the other hand can also be constructed in a manner that will allow inclusion in an institution. Classrooms needs wheelchair ramps, sporting facilities needs adoption for the security of all students, particularly disabled kids.

The school could have policy on how to consult with the child to find out the support they need.

A good idea would be for children with disabilities to have someone to play with at break time. This can encourage friendships and ease the level of anxiety and loneliness these children who are often left alone in the class room may feel. There could be a system such as a ‘peer helper’ system where a student is assigned to a child with disabilities and the teacher can give them ideas of games to play together. At the end of the break, the teacher can ask the child with disabilities for feedback on his contentment and ensure everything went favorably.

The best example I have experienced is having a buddy system where a student is paired with another student in the same class. They work together to complete assignments, explain how an assignment works and to ensure assignments are completed on time. They develop a connection that will organically spread to time spent during breaks, lunch, sporting events and social events. In addition to supporting each other academically, they often become life-long friends. 

I think by having a peer or peers from the classroom assisting a child with their work will be of number one value then automatically, that child will gain friends socially and during break or recess. that way, it may allow other students and friends to be more friendly and socialize with that child.

School policy is defined as a set of established expectations for specific behaviours and norms that promote a well functioning, safe and effective learning environment.

The norm to be set is inclusion. The expectation is that Principal, teachers, parents, students, stakeholder agencies and the community would become inclusive. 

The inclusion behaviours to acquire and display include - collaboration, sharing, turn-taking, empathy, sensitivity, tolerance and respect.

My best suggestion for an inclusion policy -

Principal - together with staff and in harmony with national or school district overarching policy and school philosophy establish a whole-school inclusion policy.

Teachers - create individual plans for scaffolding or supporting general education children and children with disabilities, e.g., step by step instructions for student friendly worded assignments with checklist to foster independent learning, self-esteem and memory or recall. 

Students - participate in established classroom roster for peer mentoring, and building friendships.

Parental involvement - attend workshops that sensitize on inclusion, roles as parents and ways to become involved in school inclusion practices, eg., male/female football coaches volunteering their time and services to help children develop football skills, coordination, and fitness. Parents can also organize school concerts/talent shows, plays, playdates and parties.

Extra curricular activities - integrate extra curricular activities outside the school as activities that can be had in the school, eg., fieldtrips to the library, zoo or science fair can be enjoyed by all students as visiting book mobile, petting zoo on wheels and Science bus.

An inclusion policy such as this can contribute to all children's educational and social needs and experiences including Luis.

I believe that all children with disabilities have social activities after school.  I believe that all of us have unique talents and children with disabilities are not the exception. Some of the special need  children might not be good academically but definitely they might have some good skills maybe at painting, dancing, singing etc. so, the social activities will help them socialize with others and at the same time do something that they would like.

My best suggestion would be that all children with disabilities have extra help from peers in lessons. I think that peer work is crucial in helping a student who has down syndrome. Peer work encourages support in learning such as sharing of ideas, evaluating the ideas, working together to solve problems, and having someone to be their when the child is stuck in a problem. Peer work encourages socialization and communication. This allow the child to bond with this person and knowing that he can get help without being frustrated. 

My 'favorite'  idea

Promote the talents of children with special needs by encouraging their participation in school activities, such as singing and dancing.

I think along with the after school activities mentioned before, there should also be parent support groups. Within these groups parents should be encouraged to engage the children in activities together, for instance, car pooling. Car pooling could create friendships among the children. This can also aid in the children reminding each other about what is needed for the following day so that they don't forget. In these support groups, the assignments can be sent to the parents as well to ensure that all the children do the school work and that Luis will not feel discriminated against for forgetting what needs to be done. 

MOVIE night! 

and in class have them select a peer to work with. They can select randomly; names in a bag, pair by shirt color, etc. 

A policy to support students like Luis should state that all children with special needs is the communal responsibility of the school's leaders, teachers, and the broader school population. Teachers should have open, honest, respectful dialogue with the students, using strategies like puppetry, role playing, brainstorming, storytelling ... to impress upon their youthful minds the importance of including every child with special needs during break time and after school activities and that no one likes to feel left out. Students must see genuine care and kindness modeled to them by the administration, teachers and all adults connected to the daily running of the school. Everyone linked to the school should have a strong sense of belonging in 'our school.' In such a school the 'Luises' would never feel isolated and left out.

I believe modelling can be helpful in terms of encouraging peer social interaction. The teacher can join the children in play at key moments. The teacher can step in and play a supporting role in order to keep the interaction going, or take a second to explain a child’s actions that another child might not understand.

Another way is to give students like Luis a leadership role in the classroom. To lead a part of an activity, or distribute materials. It can help to build their confidence

Some basic ideas for Luis would be

1. Adjust teaching strategies/methods to allow Luis to complete is homework right after the lesson in class to minimize the chance of him forgetting to complete it at a later date. 

2. Try to diversify play time activities. rotate every day what type of playtime activities they are engaged in and include activities such as singing or dancing to better engage him.

3. Try to engage him in social activities outside of the school life so he would learn something more than beyond the "walls" of the academic environment.

My favourite idea from the given list was that

- all children with disabilities have social activities after school

I really believe this is important for the holistic development of the child.

My suggestion would be to ensure that teaching activities, methods and strategies to cater for children with disabilities. Allowing the children with disabilities to complete their homework soon after the activity is recommended as this could decrease the chances of them forgetting the information rather than if it was done at a later time. Diversifying play time activities is a strategy that can also be used and this can help in fostering their socialization skills.  

In my opinion, I believe that the statements “all children with disabilities have someone to play with at break time” and “all children with disabilities have extra help from peers in lessons” can work hand in hand. In my experience children love to and look forward to being a helper, line leader or being given a task or responsibility from their teacher. They take pride in the fact that they were chosen to fulfil a particular role. We can build on this and encourage all children to be advocates of those with disabilities.

 I have observed a case where, a child with Down’s Syndrome was admitted to a mainstream primary school. The teacher prepared the class and children understood that they were to be helpers. During break time, this child was escorted around by her peers who were protective, empathetic and caring. While I was not fortunate to observe ‘in class’ interactions, I believe the level of acceptance and caring shown by children during break time could very well translate into opportunities for peer tutoring.

The policy that I would to suggest is regarding support for students and their family. The policy would address student's in need of support be referred immediately for counselling to enable them to cope within social environments. 

The policy will look at the  continuous psycho - social support for students like Luis, to enable him to cope with socialization challenges they may have. 

Use a buddy system, so that Luis always has someone to interact with.

Let's have a Whacky Wednesday Club Time with the special kids. the counsellor or special Ed. coach can organize a club day on wednesday  afternoon. which will have whacky fun games where every special child will be looking forward every week.

To support students with disability,  one policy suggestion is to structure out of class activities such as play to include what the student with disabilities can or is interested in for them to feel included.

A bi-weekly buddy system can be in place. Student from the same class or neighbouring class can be allowed to play and spend time with students who have difficulty playing hardcore sports/activities. If outdoor activity is not their idea of play then an area of the school can be used for indoor play time, or quiet time. Participation from peers can be added where they can assist in extra lessons or peer learning during class time when the student is finished with class work.

The teacher should encourage the children to socialize with children with a disability and the teacher should have activities that would allow the children to work together.

A suggestion I have with respect to Luis being involved in after school activities, is having maybe a Parent or members of the community volunteering to facilitate sessions or to form a club centralizing on Luis' likes such as dancing or music. It can be once or twice a week. And then gradually offer other areas of students' interest. 

• My best suggestion for a policy or a process to support students like Luis is for all children with disabilities to have social activities after school. Social interaction can help children with disabilities to connect with others aiding socialization and reinforcement of social skills which may be difficult for them. 

A policy that schools can implement can be to partner with special needs institutions that may be putting on events or that have lessons/extra-curricular activities and ensure that families are aware of them through notices.

Schools can also encourage parents/ask for volunteers at PTA meetings to pair or create groups outside of schools to support these families and include them in their own out-of-school activities.

I think the 'buddy system' will be very beneficial to Luis. Children learn best when they are happy and comfortable. Having someone to play with and include him in social activities will give him a sense of acceptance and inclusion.

All children with disabilities in an Inclusive Education system should be given the opportunity to engage in social activities. What can make the activity easier for the child, is if the child is paired with a friend, someone who is willing to assist during the activity, someone that they are comfortable with.

I would say that they be included in activities they show interest in.

Luis likes singing and dancing he can be included in Christmas activities like caroling etc.

All students with disabilities be included in extra curricular activities.

Yes I agree policies are necessary to set clear guidelines for the way forward to assist children who are struggling to become competent confident socially being.

I totally agree, If children are given opportunities to access effective programs which includes, proper training, social and physical interaction progression will take place.

Hi All,

It is really important that all inclusive schools should have policies to include all students in all activities at the school. School should include policies to have students be in groups for during break activities and during other planned events.

Students should also be provided with a study buddy to ensure they have support during work sessions and teachers can also provide additional individual assistance when needed by each student.

Regards, Michelle

My suggestion for a policy to support students like luis will be to put the children into groups that rotate daily, with each group engaging in a different physical activity each day.  After each group have had a chance at each activity, the groups can then be rearranged, so that all children interact with each other and therefore, even the one with disabilities will have someone to play with at break time. 

My favorite idea from the list was all children with disabilities have someone to play with at break time.

Play is essential to the holistic development of children. It helps children to model positive behaviour and learn problem solving skills. A teacher can make accommodations for Luis during his breaks to rotate his peers. In this way he can continue to build his trust and self confidence.

When you have children with disabilities at your institution, social interaction with others is very important. However we should educate other children on the do's and don't's of how to play with that child. Each disability is different and should be tackled differently. If your students understand how their classmate works and what is good and bad for them, it makes play easier as they would not play games or otherwise interact with the child with disability in ways that makes them feel sad or uncomfortable. This can also empower the child with disability, improvign their self-esteem, confidence, among other things.

Peer learning is an effective strategy that allows children to share/learn from each other in a supportive, cooperative and motivating manner.  For the most part, children relate better to their peers. Further, peer learning can help them to develop self-confidence and the ability to express thoughts and ideas freely without fear. Additionally, the social experience can benefit children tremendously as they are better equipped to establish meaningful relationships with others.

Some suggestions to support students like Luis:

1. Teacher could use a visual checklist to help him stay on task

2. Provide simple props that the students can use during recess to stimulate pretend play with class mates

3. Parent Information Sessions on topics like: Inclusion, Diversity, Respect so as to increase the school parent population knowledge on issues related to disabilities

4. The school could host some Parent & Child activities so as to encourage both groups to socialize in an informal setting.

My best suggestion would be that children like Luis have someone to play with at break time. Schools should include a buddy system where the other students in the class be part of a rotation system and take turns in playing with students like Luis at break time. This can help establish solid peer relationships and increase the self esteem of students with disabilities.  The increased self esteem would be a source of intrinsic motivation to complete school work and the solid friendships that can evolve can be a source of extra help with school work when needed. 

Re: Ensuring that all children with disabilities have someone to play with during break time.

Firstly, it is important to sensitive the students on the value of befriending their classmates with disabilities. Encouraging students to treat others the way they would like to be treated if in a similar position can make such a difference at times.

Furthermore, introducing a 'Play Pal Heroes' initiative whereby students who befriend children with disabilities and spend quality time with them during break time are rewarded or recognized at appreciation events at school. They can even be presented with a Play Pal Hero Badge.

Honestly, I believe the first thing that needs to be done is to raise the students' awareness of diversity and disabilities.  In establishing this, students develop a growth mindset, hence exhibiting empathy, acceptance, openness and other includes attitudes. Policies and processes that ensure this is catered to across the curriculum will pave the way for all children with disabilities to have someone to play with at break time. 

(1) Break time is free and unstructured play for all students, as such, children will gravitate to their personal groups of friends or to activities that are favourable to them. Assigning children with disabilities to a play partner could increase the likelihood that they would be introduced to other children and become involved in their play.

(2) As it relates to "all children with disabilities have extra help from peers in lessons", if educators structure their classes in such a way that there are built-in "Think-Pair-Share" opportunities, all children with disabilities would benefit from this. Other than this, one feature of classrooms could be having peer groups or pair partners with the class teacher facilitating wherever needed.

(3) One of the policies should be to ensure all after-school social activities are designed to include all students and be sure that they are attractive to students with disabilities, as well as those typically developing ones.

There is not much a school can do about socializing of children outside of school.  However I know some schools do not allow children to pass out invitations for birthday parties, for example, in the school if all the students in the child's class wouldn't be invited.

Socialization activities are very important for students with disabilities. It is important that they are given the opportunities under less formal situations to interact with students without disabilities. This helps both parties to learn acceptance and inclusion as well. When we observe how children socialize, they don't have biases unless it is deliberately taught to them so they learn to adapt and accept which helps the students with disabilities to have stronger levels of self esteem.

The school can implement a buddy system where Luis is paired with a different buddy every week. The weekly buddy will take Luis outdoors and engage in playtime with him.

Schools should have a variety of extra curricular activities that cater to the needs of all students. This can be achieved through discussions with students so that they are aware of student interests. Students could also be made aware of the different extra curricular activities and what they entail so they could make a more informed choice. 

Thank you Stacey and Katherine for your good contributions.

I think the best solution would be for children with disabilities to be involved in social activities after school as it would help them to make friends and improve on their social interaction. 

My suggestions to support a student like Luis are:

A checklist made by Luis and the teacher will be a good tool to help him remember and guide him to do tasks throughout the day. 

Engaging in cooperative play via grouping Luis with a child without disability will help to boost his self confidence.

The school curriculum should also include for everyone VAPA which is the use of the visual arts, music, creative movement and dance. Since Luis likes dancing, singing and pretend play, this type of programme will allow him to express his emotions, discover creativity and build self confidence.

I think that it is important to ensure that all students with disabilities have someone to play with at break time. That informal socialization is very important for their development. 

My best suggestion is that the teacher should: breakdown directions into smaller steps

 use of repetition: repeat small chunks of information over and over again.

teach the student with down's syndrome to communicate, in addition to teaching his peers how to engage in meaningful interactions with the said students.

The best suggestion or policy to support Luis will be: All children with disabilities have someone to play with at break time.

This can be done by the teacher encouraging each child  to share about themselves (likes, dislikes) and also ensure the materials and equipment are available.

I love the policy that "all children with disabilities have someone to play with at break time"

In this case teacher should have peers volunteer to play with special needs child.

Teacher can encourage group games at break time.

This will help build self-esteem and bring about a sense of belonging.

My suggestion would be to have class sensitizations, students react to students with disabilities and the attention they get from class teachers when they don't understand the behaviours and or symptoms of their disabilities exhibited by their peers.

My best suggestion for a policy to help children like Luis is to encourage peer support. A peer support strategy will help them develop new friendships and supportive relationships with other children. It would also promote their sense of belonging, they would gain confidence and have a positive attitude towards learning and interacting with others. 

My best suggestion for a policy to support students like Luis is, all children with disabilities have someone to play with at breaktime.

 This will help to promote a sense of belonging, built self-esteem and strengthens social skills. It can also lead to greater involvement in the classroom and other activities.

My best suggestion for a policy or a process to support students like Luis is that all children with disabilities have social activities after school. I believe that social interaction among peers is important for students to develop their sense of self and and help them reach their developmental milestones.

My best  suggestion for a policy or a process to support students like Luis is to 

• Continue to play the games that strengthens his fine muscles.
• Introduce Luis to materials such as plasticine, sorting , colouring, stacking etc.
• Pair Luis with a friend 
• Organize the children into interest groups , then allow them go to those groups. then allow them to change groups , in that way the children will get to be in their favourite group but also be a part of another group . Luis will have the opportunity to do the things he love ,like singing , role playing and be a part of football.
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My favourite idea from the list is "all children with disabilities have extra help from peers in lessons." Peer support create social connections and friendship that contributes to quality learning experiences. Relationships matters and creating a sense of belonging at school is dependent on authentic friendship and social connections.

My favorite idea is all children with disabilities have someone to play with at break time. Play is an essential development, it contributes to all domains (cognitive, physical, social and emotional.)Play helps children to model positive behaviour and learn problem solving skills. A teacher can rotate children with the environment to ensure someone he trust is with him during his break time. This will help him to develop his self confidence and socializing skills.

My suggestion for a policy or process to support students like Luis is to have a buddy system. This way he will be supported in class to stay on task and he can be involved in think-pair-share activities as well as collaborative learning. This buddy will also assist with social interactions outside of class. Perhaps his buddy may also introduce Luis to some of his friends and help them understand what he needs. I can also suggest after school programs that support the activities that Luis likes. He will also meet peers that have the same interest as him which would encourage his social interaction to bond over something commonly enjoyed.

To support students like Luis as an educator I would give instructions using different learning styles e.g. visual. Verbal…. Together with this there should be constant reinforcement and repetition while chunking lessons.

I totally agree with Chris Stutchbury. 

To support student with disabilities they must be supported by parents and teachers. Having a very strong support system from them especially in the school setting is very important to ensure the are provided with the best learning opportunities suited for them.

Favorite Ideas

My favorite ideas are all children with disabilities have someone to play with at break time. This makes them feel more comfortable and included in spite of their diversity as well as all children with disabilities have extra help from peers in lessons. Having extra help from peers, boost their confidence as well and makes them feel loved and included.

My best policy would be to ensure that all children with isbilitie have social activities after school.

I would also suggest that the teachers get feedback from children on which activities they enjoy most and ensure that there is peer support on the avtivities that children enjoy. Children can also be encouraged to cheer others as they play then when they interchange, the other children can also be encouraged to cheer others too.

Activity 2.5

Policy: All  children must participate in afterschool sports or activities as well as school must provide games that allow inclusion. (Partnership with Parents can be used as a resource).

For Luis at playtime or sports form teams(A,B,C) with all children. Schedule sports or games so that on different days games/sports  that Luis likes are played with his team. As well as on other days he will participate in other games he may not know but is encouraged by his team mates to play.

A Process to assist Luis forgetting: Create a reminder board for Luis using the daily schedule/ activities. The board must have pictures and be interactive where Luis can mark off or place a symbol that will further remind Luis that he has achieved the tasks for the day.

My best suggestion would be to implement a diverse extra curricular activity programme that would engage students of similar interests. Within each extra curricular activity group students should engage in learning strategies such as "Think Pair Share". In this way students will learn about their similar interests together and not in isolation. This can forge friendships that may even extend outside of the school compound.

I think policies to support inclusive education should highly involve parents as a better education quality for their children with some disabilities depends a lot on their committment and contributions in any way.  

I like the strategy that the special child had someone to play wit at break time, because sometimes they feel left our and I also loved the strategy that they got help from their peers.