I remember while on training a grandmother came to enquire
about enrollment for her grandson who was Intellectually Disabled. I remember one of the teachers saying that he is acting strange and he is not
for this school. One day she
blurted out, ‘They need to send someone for this boy. I not qualified for
this.’ The other children in that group were moving their chairs away from him.
I remember going over and stretching my hand out and leading him to where my
class was. The children looked at him and were acting like the children from
the other group but I took him and placed him next to me and started talking to
him. One boy asked what is wrong with him I told him nothing is just that he is
in a new place and needs help with how to behave around other children. He
stayed with me for the day and the children started helping him with getting
toys, showing him where to get his bag and where the bathroom was. He ended up
staying with me for the month he was at the Centre. His grand mom came and said
they had to leave the area but disclosed something to me that I never told the
teachers. The day the teacher blurted out her statement she was outside just in
case he “acted up”. She was coming to take him but heard when I was speaking to
him and she decided that he would stay. Looking back now I started my own
journey on inclusion and I didn’t even know it.