Relevance to the SRV Theory

Through the readings for this course, it came to my attention that creating and
implementing a plan to support Laura was not only important but extremely necessary
as her self image and self confidence and competence were at risk. The three main
changes included in my implementation plan were, 1) to decrease the direct one on one
involvement of the EA with Laura, 2) to plan activities which allowed for flexibility in
showing understanding (so Laura could use her gift of drawing in place of writing) and
3) to use fluid groupings where Laura would have opportunity to interact and work with
the maximum number of classmates. These three changes were used to work towards
the goal of improving Lauras social imagery and academic competency in reading
comprehension and writing.
Laura was a new student to the school with significant learning needs which put
her in a vulnerable situation. It was an opportunity for her to forge a new identity for
herself with new friendships; if those around her were given the opportunity to connect
with her and see her gifts and talents. At the beginning of the year, Lauras EA
supported her exclusively with a lot of pull-out programming. This format did not allow
for the natural development of peer relationships for Laura as it did for the other new
students in the classroom. It also began to form a barrier between Laura and her
classmates as they saw her as being different from themselves. At the heart of the
devaluation process is the perception of difference. If a person or group of people are,
or become, different from others in ability, behaviour, or appearance and that difference
is valued negatively by the majority of by powerful groups in society, that person or
group becomes not only different but devalued (Race, 1999, p. 27). Lauras social

imagery was suffering from the way programming was being done for her. During the 6
weeks (and the weeks since) of the implementation plan, the EAs focus was removed
from Laura and instead used to support all members of the classroom. Laura was able
to work with her peers without an adult hovering at her side. This allowed for the
natural interactions that happen among group members and for her group members to
step in and offer support where the EA had previously done so. Laura was not enjoying
having to work with an EA all of the time and often said that she could do her work on
her own. It was nice to offer this to her and she appeared much more content doing the
same activities with her classmates and not having the constant attention and support of
an EA. This significant change allowed for improvement in her social imagery by raising
the appearance of her competency. As Wolfensberger states,the more competent a
person is, the more that person is likely to find social acceptance and recognition by
others (2013, p. 94).
The second change that was made as part of my implementation plan was to use
more open ended activities with opportunities for students to process and show their
understanding in different ways. This allowed for Laura to use her artistic gifting which
showcased her strengths rather than deficits to her peers. Drawing was also a key way
for Laura to process what she read and deepen her comprehension. Designing flexible
lessons allowed for students to choose to work in their strengths. This added to Lauras
competency as she was able to complete all of the assignments without constant, direct
EA support. It was identified early on that Laura enjoyed art and drawing and was
documented as a strength of hers yet was an area with very little focus for her
programming. Artist was a positive role that she held, yet she very rarely was given

opportunity to express herself in this way. Wolfensberger tells us that, If the previous
role inventory has identified any positive roles already held by a party, then a relevant
measure is to explore what can be done to further valorize these roles (2013, p. 109).
By offering activities in literacy which focused on the comprehension strategy of
visualization, Laura was able to excel and further develop her competency in the area of
reading comprehension.
The third change that was implemented as part of the plan was fluid,
heterogeneous groupings for literature circles. This allowed students to work through
the novels at their own pace. It also allowed for Laura to be exposed to a larger number
of her classmates as everyone cycled through the different books. Laura was also able
to become the student who was further in the book as new students cycled into the
group. Race indicates that in order for imitation to have the maximum opportunity to
encourage valued behaviours in students with intellectual disabilities,the model or
models need to be present and in large enough numbers, or for a significant proportion
of time (1999, p. 146). By implementing this change, Laura was spending a
significantly larger portion of her day interacting with her peers during discussion groups
and comprehension activities.
Throughout the year the class was also exposed to regular lessons on empathy,
inclusion and respecting diversity. Maintaining and upholding these type of lessons
during my implementation plan was another key way to promote the theme of
interpersonal identification from the SRV theory. Wolfensberger states the importance
of facilitating positive interactions between two parties as well as fostering an
empathetic viewpoint which helps one to view the world through the eyes of another

(2013, p. 148). Race also states that if different individuals and groups, particularly if
the differences of some of them are devalued, can make contact and communicate with
one another, then they will discover sufficient elements of their common humanity to
begin to identify with one another (1999, p. 141). While it was important to give Laura
the opportunities to work in groups with her peers, it was just as important for her peers
to have opportunity to work with Laura and get to know her as a person. With the
proper training in accepting differences and putting themselves in anothers shoes this
gave the students a starting point in their interactions and then as they discovered
common elements the relationships could develop on a more deeper level.
Opening the door to inclusions means equipping our students with the strategies
and understanding of acceptance as the first step. The second step is giving them
opportunities to connect. As long as we are segregating students with needs within the
walls of our classrooms and calling this inclusion, we will be unable to make progress in
teaching our students what it truly means to be inclusive.