Reconceptualizing Down Syndrome - Reflection

I enjoyed this weeks reading very much. Inclusion in classrooms is a topic that cannot be avoided. As a special education major I found this article to be quite relatable and interesting. I believe that it is crucial to integrate those with disabilities into learning environments with classmates who do not have a disability. As an elementary school student I never thought about why my classmates who had special needs were separated from me and other students. But now as I mature, I start to realize how wrong that really is. In my educational psychology class I just learned about Vygotsky who was quoted in this article. His words really stuck with me. "Vygotsky found that the culture of segregation surrounding people with disabilities actually teaches underdevelopment of thinking through the isolation of children from socially valued opportunities” (Kliewer, p.83).   
Educating children as a whole and together pushes away the idea that down syndrome along with other disabilities is a burden. Down syndrome is defined as a congenital disorder arising from a chromosome defect, causing intellectual impairment and physical abnormalities including short stature and a broad facial profile. It arises from a defect involving chromosome 21, usually an extra copy. 

Down syndrome can be defined as a disability, intellectual impairment, or physical abnormality but individuals with this condition do not need to be treated like they are. Like Vygotsky said, if you segregate those with special needs you are essentially isolating them from other social opportunities and experiences. A child with down syndrome may not easily understand the topics that are being taught in school, but they are certainly not that much different from the rest of us.