Yes- it is a thorny issue- as EBD person- I have followed the deinstitutionalization movement, first started in the Carter administration I believe- under the auspices of social justice- but is which is a
cautionary tale of be careful for what you wish for…it began as a noble goal of inclusion- but- ”Dying with your rights on” is an old term from the original deinstitutionalization debate that continues to resurface.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mental-health-care_b_871274
And yes- many of the institutions needed to be shut down- or reformed in substantial ways- but the supports that were supposed to follow never materialized or were forgotten about as new administrations came
in and new priorities emerged and the old ones forgotten about- and you see the impact all around us with people who are homeless- but are so because of some sort of mental illness and self-medicating with street drugs- would be the worst case scenario for
special education- but still worth thinking about. MDB
From:
Kathy Ewoldt <kathy.ewoldt@utsa.edu>
Date: Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 11:43 AM
To: Burke, Mack <Mack_Burke@baylor.edu>, project.leer@lists.it.utsa.edu <project.leer@lists.it.utsa.edu>, project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu <project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu>
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] [Project.diverse] Inclusive Education in Portugal
In my first Intro to Special Ed class, we watched a VCR tape about a student with Down Syndrome who was forced into full inclusion. He was lonely, isolated, and didn't understand what was happening
around him - except that he was not happy at school.
(I don't recall the name of it, but I'll try to find it.)
Full inclusion does not meet the needs of all students. They need the continuum of available placements.
Kathy B. Ewoldt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Special Education
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Department of Interdisciplinary Learning & Teaching
1 UTSA Circle
San Antonio, TX 78249
Office: MB 2.240
Cell: 702-900-8864
ORCID:
0000-0002-4832-5379
Book an appointment:
https://calendly.com/kathy-ewoldt/meet-with-dr-ewoldt
From: Burke, Mack <Mack_Burke@baylor.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2024 11:22
To: project.leer@lists.it.utsa.edu <project.leer@lists.it.utsa.edu>; project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu <project.diverse@lists.it.utsa.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [Project.diverse] Inclusive Education in Portugal
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**EXTERNAL EMAIL** |
Dr. Lopez from University of Minho in Portugal shared this one he just published- so thought to send along- in this case- Portugal terminated special education and replaced it with Full Inclusion- Over the last 40 or so years they have
moved from enacting special education to partial inclusion to “full” inclusion- “all mean all”, “all the time,” for “all disability groups” phasing out most of the special education services or reallocating them- and so many of us are following the developments
to see how it turns out- as that is the move here in the US as well- it is not the inclusion part- it is the “Full” part that has so many people worried- we are in an age of extremes, even in special education. MDB
Mack D. Burke, Ph.D.
Department of Educational Psychology
Applied Behavior Analysis and Special Education Programs
Behavioral Education & Assessment Research (BEAR Lab)
School of Education, Baylor University