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Case Study

SPELLING INCLUSION SUCCESS WITH FOUR C'S IN CONIFER COUNTY

Creativity
Inclusion success did not happen overnight in Conifer County. It has been over the course of ten years that these gains have been made in the county, as inclusion has evolved into a standard and expected practice. As the Linking Agent emphasizes: "You have to have people available to provide support for the programs you put in place. Whether you call them facilitators, or coordinators, LRE teachers, whatever, they have to be there, even if there is resistance at first." These people are the "ground forces" upon which inclusion is built. Counties interested in implementing inclusion need teachers in the system who are "motivated and believe," who are "committed to the whole idea."

In Conifer County, these committed teachers and staff members are the people who have moved inclusion forward in the county, and have developed greater and more expansive programs as the need arose. For example, these innovators saw a need for augmentative communication devices for students with autism, particularly in cases where the children had limited means of communication. Conifer County innovators researched technological advances for children with autism, and presented their ideas for a communication system to the county. The Director of special education describes the process of adopting an appropriate program:

With a communication system in place for kids with autism, we thought we may see a decrease in the some of the behaviors that may have prevented children from attending their community schools. So we developed a program to address that, the Challenges Program. We had a consultant from [Jefferson University] work with us, and she helped us develop the program over a two-year period. We went to different counties in [two nearby states] to look at programs for other children, and then we created our own program for the county.
In the Challenges program the classroom environment is engineered for total communication. Whatever the child does, there is a means for communication. We saw the dysfunctional behaviors decrease. In the first year we only had five students, and that was the goal. Some of those children were transitioned back to their own community schools; some went on to the Challenges 2 program for grades one through five. The majority of our Challenges program students are now being included in their community schools.

In a county with so many creative and innovative teachers and staff, motivation to create an appropriate program to meet students' needs as they arise is high. Teachers developed not only the Challenges program, but also a comprehensive Functional Life Skills program. This was possible due to the significant amount of community outreach staff in Conifer County are encouraged to conduct. In the Functional Life Skills program high school students work on their job skills, hold their own job in the community, and develop a special relationship with a Job Coach¹ who serves as their mentor and guide in the workplace.

Where does a small community find so many resources, both inside and outside the school district?
Conifer County staff and teachers have been no less creative in locating resources than they have been in developing exceptional programs. Resources have come from grants, committee members, and parent advisory groups. Teachers and administrators are eager to hear from parents, and recognize their important role in committee meetings. Special education staff were able to put coordinators and facilitators in place. Part of the facilitators' job became networking in the community to find people interested in pairing up with Conifer County teachers. Once those connections are made, teachers are more than capable of finding a way to involve a business partner in their classroom curriculum, creating benefits for all students.

1. Job Coach- A job coach is a person in the community, such as a work supervisor or manager, who is responsible for helping special education students maintain a level of success while they are learning real-work-world skills. Job coaches serve as mentors to working special education students, encouraging them to execute their job tasks correctly, and are committed to their happiness and success in the workplace.

Conclusion

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