Mother of special needs child says mainstreaming benefitted her daughter

Rebecca Corley, the mother of a teenage girl with Down syndrome, said she has seen first-hand how mainstreaming enriches everyone’s education.

Mrs Corley was responding to a majority of teachers polled in a BITS Pilani study who said pupils would not benefit from the presence of special needs classmates in their schools.

“Children who are in a mainstream schools are going to benefit by having children with a learning disability around them,” said Mrs Corley, whose daughter attended regular school in Dubai for most of her academic career. “It teaches them a certain patience and understanding and kindness that some adults never learn. It’s giving them another free part of education for life by interacting with children, whether they’re wheelchair-bound, whether they’re hearing-impaired, whatever their disability may be.

“I can 100 per cent guarantee you they will say it has been an education and a delight for my child to be working alongside a child with Down syndrome.”

Her daughter, Georgina, also “blossomed” thanks to her inclusive education.

“She had the right form of guidance at home and it got followed through at school. She learnt from all her peers around her. So she learnt what was acceptable and unacceptable. She had a proper structure to her day. She learnt at her pace and that was at a very high pace,” Mrs Corley said.

“She had people and parents and parents’ children around who wanted her there and she just blossomed, she just bloomed. And that’s what we’re seeing again and again.”