In the educational setting, inclusion means that all students, including those with mild and those with severe disabilities, be placed in the least restrictive environment available. This often means the regular classroom. Inclusion is not synonymous with mainstreaming. Services and supports are brought to the regular classroom as needed. The current inclusion movement challenges educators to look beyond mainstreaming to find inclusive strategies to meet student's individual needs.
Inclusion is a philosophy.
Segregated services have not resulted in adequate education for handicapped students. All- inclusive schools set an example for students' other areas of life. For example, a parents of a 12 year old boy with down syndrome living in a small community have found the community recreation programs to be inclusive for all children in the family. The parents see the benefits for their son as being enhanced self-esteem, the building of a habit of physical activity, and a feeling of membership with his siblings and peers. Children look to do what everyone else is doing.