At Brook Forest Elementary School in Oak Brook, where inclusionary programs are in full swing, the wheelchairs and walkers in the halls indicate that there are disabled children about. But step into the classroom, and it`s difficult to spot the special-needs child.
``You`d be surprised how quickly the special kids learn to fit in. They learn socialization skills and classroom behavior just by being with the other children in the classroom,`` said teacher Cathy Norman.
Jenny is in Norman`s 4th-grade class. She is a child who has very little verbal ability and relies on the services of intern/aide Jocelyn Hunter to help her communicate. Norman is quick to point out that her entire classroom has benefitted.
``The exercises we do in class include Jenny, and the other children are learning how it is to communicate without speech,`` Norman said.
As a visitor observes on a recent school day, Norman addresses the class: ``Right now, we`re going to do some signing. You know, I have to practice my signs at home a lot, so I`m learning something new, too.``
Norman said that she had had no special-ed training prior to the initiation of the program at Brook Forest.
``When I first heard about the program, I had some real concerns,``
Norman said. ``But the entire staff here works as a team. When we have special-needs kids in our classroom, we`ll sit down as a team and discuss how we can best integrate the child into the class. We make a lot of adaptations for them if we need to. Yes, this takes a lot of work and patience, but speaking from experience, I can tell you the inclusion program works.
``Take notice of Jenny,`` Norman tells her visitor, ``and watch how she responds. She gets involved in what we`re doing as much as the others.``
The visitor, however, cannot tell which girl is Jenny.
At the front of the classroom, intern Hunter is working with the children on signing their names. The children are eager to learn and share their name signs with one another. One says excitedly, ``I saw Mikie helping to teach Jenny his name sign.``
Hunter and the children work on their name signs for several minutes. Only when Hunter finishes her presentation and sits down does Jenny finally become identifiable.
Smiling and signing (more expertly than her classmates), it is Jenny who leads the class in a round of applause.