Exclusivity for Inclusion

A special surfing group for ASD kids seems to be meeting with success. Reminds me of ASD night for both kids and adults at the Long Beach Aquarium. And also, some recent dances. What all these activities have in common is that they are exclusive to people with a specific set of needs. Is this a problem with "inclusion?"

Concepts of inclusion have always been hard for me to come to terms with. On one hand, I do not (obviously!) want to be discriminated against, denied an education, or denied any sort of opportunity I may want to seize. On the other hand, I frankly do not want to be included in most "community activities" and often resent the insistence of others that I be included. Good grief, the last thing I want to do, for example, is go shopping at a mall (or as I call it "maul")! Include me in a quiet afternoon hike instead, please! I often feel like that the word "inclusion" is used to mean "participate with all the others in all the same activities" which has never sat well with me.

At the ADA Section II and III talk, the speaker gave a fascinating example of inclusion. People with disabilities are to be included in the same activities as non-disabled people, except in the situation where in order to enable equal access, the activity needs to be modified. For example, a museum tour for people who are not blind would involve not touching the art; however, a special museum tour for people who are blind might involve people being allowed to touch the art.

In the rush to include include include, its important to not loose sight of what inclusion is supposed to be doing. It is not meant to simply fill a seat, to say, yes, this autistic person is in the same setting as non-autistic people of the same age. It is meant to actually include--to enable us to participate effectively in activities that are also open to others. Should we want to participate! (Never lose sight of self-determination.)

This may mean that, like the blind people at the museum, activities need to be created just for us. This isn't bad--it's good. It's the reason why some civil rights laws were created. For us at times, being included does not mean being forced to do the same things in the same way as others, but to do the things we actually want to do in the way that works best for us.