Taking Sides: Parent Views on Inclusion for Their Children with Severe Disabilities

Written comments by 140 parents of students with severe disabilities are analyzed to identify reasons why they are supportive of, or resistive to, inclusive education programming. Reasons parents were supportive of inclusion included beliefs that the child would learn more in a general education classroom. Parents who opposed inclusion largely indicated that the severity of their children's disabilities precluded any benefit from such programs or that the general education classroom program would not be educationally appropriate or welcoming to their children. Discussion includes speculation that views regarding inclusion may often be related to perceptions of the general education system itself. Ideas regarding parental perceptions of the importance of social relationships between students with and without disabilities are also considered.