JDAM - What is inclusion?

In the 70's and 80's, the buzzword was "mainstreaming".  Children with disabilities would be placed in "mainstream" classes instead of in isolated "SPED" rooms.  In the 90's and 00's, awareness developed that mainstreaming is not enough -- we must not simply place children with diverse needs among their peers, but they must be actively included in order to have their needs met.  A new alphabet soup was created, from IEP's (Individual Education Plans) to FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) and LRE (Least Restrictive Environment), schools grapple with how to serve all children, both academically and socially.

As this mother points out, however, true inclusion is not about procedure, but about expectations.  If a student is seen as deficient, through the lens of a diagnosis, no service or classroom environment will allow him or her to thrive. "Presuming competence" is the key to enabling all students to set, meet, and exceed high levels of performance in all areas.

Jewish tradition has a mixed record on this.  On the one hand, the Jewish emphasis on education creates an environment where all children are held to high expectations.  On the other hand, children who struggle with traditional educational frameworks suffer feelings of shame and failure.  Religious education often lags behind secular education in providing appropriate differentiation for different learning styles.  Creating true inclusion for all, children and adults with all abilities, is a challenge for our communities today.

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JDAM - Bat Mitzvah Inclusion

Although the details are not specified in the article, I am pretty sure that this is a kid in my congregation:

http://www.kveller.com/what-i-learned-while-planning-a-bat-mitzvah-for-my-daughter-with-disabilities/

There is certainly much more to do, but it is good to see earnest effort and collaboration to make such progress happen.

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JDAM - Inaction

Jews are often the "canary in the coalmine".  Regimes which oppress the Jews with no opposition frequently proceed to expand the oppression to other groups.  All too often, those other groups ignore this trend until it is too late.  Because of this, Jews tend to be more aware of social injustice are frequently at the forefront of organizations and movements which resist it.

This blog post connects the experience of German gentiles during the Holocaust to the general human tendency to ignore suffering until it hits close to home.   Like Jews, people with disabilities are often easy targets for marginalization and oppression.  Are we going to pretend we can't hear the train?

February is Jewish Disability Awareness Month!

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Happy blogging!

G*dcast for Shemot

Although I am not doing any weekly parsha blogging this year, I still follow the cycle as always.  Many other bloggers put out weekly essays or videos, and their insights vary from meh to enlightening.

This came in my newsfeed yesterday, starting the book of Exodus:

Another Jewish special needs website!

http://www.matankids.org/

31 for 21 - Summer Camp Inclusion

Many Jewish organizations have been slow to take up the cause of special needs inclusion, especially intellectual/developmental special needs.  Jewish culture places a high value on intellectual achievement, and seems to regard intellectual disability as a failing, either on the part of the child, or his/her parents. 

As this article points out in the introduction, this is antithetical to Jewish liturgy.  Moses himself had a speech impediment, and needed Aaron's assistance to take his prophetic message to the Pharaoh, as well as to the Jewish people.  If anything, this is a model of inclusion at work: Moses was provided with the necessary accommodations which allowed his leadership to shine.

As a counselor at the Jewish summer camp Camp Ramah, the author of the article discovered that sharing each camper's challenges was empowering for all, as both typical and disabled campers realized that we are not defined or limited by our challenges.  This echoes the insight that the mom in yesterday's post made when talking with her children.  We all have our unique strengths and challenges.  Society arbitrarily labels some of these "disabilities", but these are artificial constructs, not facts of reality.  The reality, which we aspire to see reflected in society, is that our value is in our common humanity and in the way we treat each other.

31 for 21 - National Down Syndrome Day in South Africa

This came up in my Facebook feed today:
http://www.thetreatylife.co.za/2014/10/how-one-family-is-changing-way-we-see.html

Which linked me to another Jewish Down Syndrome blogger:
http://www.metroimma.com/

Yay!

A very special wedding!

Amid all the scary news from Israel, I found this featured on the Jewish outreach site, aish.com:



A testament not only to the spirit of Israelis in the face of external, existential threat in general, but the spirit of inclusion and support for people with disabilities.

Haftorah Beam - Metzora

I really wanted to write this in a timely fashion, but.... life is what happens when you're making other plans.

Last year this was part of a double parsha, but this year it stands alone.  The haftorah recounts a story about a group of lepers who seek sustenance during a drought in a neighboring Aramean town.  To their surprise, the town is deserted.  At first, they loot just for themselves, but then they realize that this could bring relief to their whole community.  Leaving aside the issue of "international politics" here, this shows the tension between seeing those with disabilities as outcasts, vs. seeing them as "special blessings".

Yeah, I wanted to say more, but..... life.

Reelabilities - "Anita"

We are planning to go see "Anita" at the Boston Reelabilities Film Festival next Wednesday. (Spanish with English subtitles). From the website:

Anita, a young woman with Down syndrome, gets separated from her mother after a bomb explodes at their Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. As she wanders the city searching for her mom–alone for the first time ever–she discovers an inner strength few could have expected.

It will show at the

Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center
333 Nahanton Street Newton, MA 02459 

at 7p.m. and will be preceded by a reception at 6:30p.m.  A Q&A will follow.

This film connects to my blog in several ways.  It is set in the Jewish community in Argentina, and confronts the human reality of anti-Semitic violence.  It portrays an individual with Down syndrome as a multi-faceted human being, with strengths and failings, neither sub-human nor angelic. And it wrestles with the tragedy of parental loss.  

Trailer:

See you there!