What is your educational background?
I have a undergraduate degree at University of Kansas and a Masters degree at the University of Kansas. I am ECSE certified.

What other experiences, or staff development has prepared you for inclusion?.
Inservices, re: collaboration, team work, modifying goals, engineering the environment.

What is your job role?
To help as a team member in the classroom and to facilitate speech language learning for all children..

What is your role regarding the inclusive component of the program?
The classroom is "engineered" to meet the needs of ALL children. Group activities (large and small) facilitate speech /language skills for everyone.

How has your role changed or have you adapted your role as it relates to the inclusive program?
I have adapted my large group lessons to include a chance for everyone to participate and learn something. What were your biggest concerns about participating in an inclusive program?
The size of the classroom (18 children approximately), the time involved in team meetings and planning, and teaching roles being less defined.

What were your experiences related to these concerns once inclusive services were implemented?
Classrooms run smoothly if you are prepared and have lots of fill-in activities to keep the children's attention. Preparation in meetings gets easier as you get to know each others strengths and weaknesses. During planning, identify who is responsible for what.

What do you see as the benefits of moving toward inclusive services?
SLP's and Special Educators offer insight into why children may be behaving the way they are. Children can be overstimulated, have no way to communicate, lack of understanding or have difficulty transitioning. All these areas may require special strategies. We can help.

Can you offer one or more anecdotes that you feel illustrate the benefits of inclusion?
All children get a chance to participate; therefore all children learn.

When you learn something new you feel great about yourself.