Lleana, from Raintree replied:
The cook's assistant, Karen Williams, has been working at Raintree for nine years. while I knew she always did a great job, I was not aware of how good until I began cooking with her in place of our regular cook. Karen came to us through Cottonwood, a sheltered workshop for adults with special needs. Karen is part of the program that finds work for clients beyond the walls of the workshop. After spending six weeks with Karen, I am amazed at her abilities. She has repaired the dishwasher when I could not, figured out how to bake a birthday cake in our microwave oven when our conventional ovens were in use, and knows the names of all 250 of our students. Is inclusion effective? I know it is.

Shirley, from Bright Futures replied:
One of our students has a younger sibling that just joined our program as a transitioning student from the infant-toddler program. That child is hearing impaired so we are using sign language in both sibling's classrooms. We recently held a Kindergarten Teacher Panel for all families in the community who will have children in kindergarten next year. The grandmother asked the kindergarten teachers if they would be using sign language in their classrooms so that her grandchild could continue to learn and use sign language. She expects all teachers to provide the same quality education in kindergarten as is provided at preschool.

Diane, from Bryan replied:
One teacher, prior to getting a child with special needs, was very wary and insecure about the possibility. Since the child was a preschooler and had been with us since infancy, she has seen and heard from others about the struggles and successes, but felt she'd not be able to continue to select multiple options for transition including home visits, visits to the public school Early Childhood Special Education classroom, and resource materials on the condition. A support team of center staff and management was formed and the staff member could call for the group whenever needed.

The first months were still difficult for her as she built confidence in her skills. Successes came in small doses and all the staff welcomed her sharing anytime. The transition o needy, inability slowly transformed into confident competence. She began to champion the cause for others getting special needs children in their classrooms. She found specific strategies for her child that she could share with substitutes and she coached them to build their confidence. When asked today about the most significant event in her teaching career, she will reply, "Allison!" The smile accompanying that name says it all.

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