Steps to inclusion

Steps to

inclusion

The vision of Beit Issie Shapiro is to work for a society that guarantees children and adults with

varied disabilities the right to maximum opportunity for growth and participation in the life of the

community. We therefore attribute great importance to creating inclusion programs from early

childhood, in the belief that the child and the family are part of a community, and have the right

to take part in the life of the community in which they live, and enjoy its services. We see the

rehabilitation daycare center as a stage in the life of the family, an initial starting point for the

family's journey of raising a child with disabilities. At the same time, we do not forget that the

family lives in a community, and even if the child leaves it during the week, he / she returns on the

weekends, and is part of the community together with the other children in the family. Hence the

importance that we see in creating a connection between the child, the family and the community

from a very young age. We feel a sense of joint responsibility to ensure that the child and his/her

family can integrate in the community, according to their needs and abilities.

Based on this approach, The Aaron De Lowe Early Intervention Center at Beit Issie Shapiro holds

a variety of inclusion programs, affording different levels of exposure to the regular environment.

These include a reverse inclusion program, group inclusion, and individual inclusion in the

communities of origin.

The purpose of this booklet is to present the models of inclusion that exist at the Aaron De Lowe

Early Intervention Center , and to give those who are interested the tools for building similar

programs. The booklet has four chapters: The first chapter contains a theoretical review of

mainstreaming in general, and mainstreaming in early childhood in particular; the second chapter

describes inclusion at Beit Issie Shapiro; the third chapter includes various models for inclusion;

and the fourth chapter relates to specific issues, such as successes, challenges and dilemmas

in the different types of inclusion processes. The last part of the booklet contains appendices

intended to help build inclusion programs.

Introduction