Children with and without special needs attend the same class. IIP Photo Archive, CC BY-NC

by Jean Crockett | Professor and Director of the School of Special Education, School Psychology, & Early Childhood Studies, University of Florida

“When Alan joined my class in September, I knew he needed help.

“So did I.

“Alan had lived in an orphanage ever since he was an infant and faced many challenges: he was older than the other kids and did not want to play with them. He didn’t use words – although he could make sounds. He was very different from his classmates and stayed to himself.

“But then, every afternoon he was a bundle of energy, imitating the barking of a dog and crawling on the floor around his classmates at circle time. He also had a passion for shredding my teaching materials.”

Read this article at The Conversation in its entirety, click here.