Accommodation and inclusion – FHCtoday.com
The district works hard to ensure student inclusion in alternative learning settings
Right Raina
A Bond Between Brothers: Junior Jason Kuhn stands tall with a supportive hand on the shoulder of his freshman brother Jeremy Kuhn during a track event. Jeremy grew up with Jason by his side as a supporting figure in all of his endeavors. Jason has always been protective of his younger brother and will do anything to make sure his brother is safe, comfortable and happy.
As the rest of the track team begins to warm up for their afternoon practice, junior Jason Kuhn is working with his brother, rookie Jeremy Kuhn, to make sure he understands every drill. . As the team begins training, Jason walks alongside Jeremy to offer support and ensure he is on his best behavior. This is all done to ensure that Jeremy has the best track experience possible.
Growing up, Jason always sought to be a supporting figure in his brother’s life. Knowing that his brother has a disability and might not be able to defend himself, Jason wanted to provide him with a defensive voice and a relationship where Jeremy would always have someone by his side, ready to support him when needed.
followed by the event that occurred that day. Jeremy joined the track as a way to con-
bond with the student body and have a fun high school experience
without his disability holding him back. With the invaluable help of Jason, his
brother, and the school has Jeremy been able to get on the track and
come out of its shell. (Raina Straighter)
“It really always felt like I wanted to watch out for him because I strongly believe that if someone can’t stand up for themselves physically or mentally, they should always have someone who can,” Jason said. “So that’s always been the role I’ve tried to play for him. Try to make sure he has a friend and whenever he needs help with something around the house, or just in general , I always do my best to be there.
Even though Jeremy has a disability, his family has always tried to make sure he has as normal a life as possible. So, a few months ago, the Kuhn brothers’ mother brought up the idea of Jeremy joining the track in order to get more involved in the school community and the family agreed with her.
“We all want him to have that normal high school experience. We don’t want him to be limited to anything,” Jason explained. “So we just wanted something he could do. And ever since I wrestled, I knew Coach Breuer and I’ve known him for a long time. So we knew he would be okay with Jeremy doing track, so we did.
Jason wanted to make sure his brother was adjusting well and understanding everything during practices, so he decided to join the track as well. During practices, Jason stays by his brother’s side to help with warm-ups and drills.
“I just help him with warm-ups and stuff like that,” Jason said. “And since I can’t run, I just like to stay behind him and walk away behind them, just to make sure he’s doing everything right all the time.”
Additionally, the track program did their best to accommodate Jeremy and ensure he felt as included in the program as possible.
“[Coach] Breuer let me take [Jeremy] to the side and do individual exercises with him. After everyone leaves, he runs alongside Jeremy,” Jason said.
The inclusion of students with disabilities in daily activities such as sports practices is the single most important accommodation the school can make to support people with disabilities. Lindsey Palmer, paraprofessional and FHC graduate, remembers how happy the students she works with are whenever other students simply make an effort to recognize and include them. According to her, a situation that particularly brightens the days of the students is when the student-athletes take the time to come and play sports with them.
“I’ve seen a few athletes be able to come with our kids and play basketball with them if they really like basketball,” Palmer said. “And how that makes this kid’s day because [they’re] obsessed with basketball and having someone on the basketball team or playing super athletic with [them] kind of marks [them] feel good.”
joined the soley track so his brother could join the sport. Jason is there to provide him with any additional help he may need. (Raina Stratter)
Additionally, Palmer commented on how allowing students to participate in pep talks benefits them in the sense that it makes them feel valued by their peers.
“When we have the cheering subsets… Like when our kids would go out and dance and stuff or [when] Jeremy [Kuhn] says you know, ‘Welcome FHC!’ during the assembly and everyone went crazy, it’s been his day, you know? described Palmer. “Or when they dance and everyone stands up. It gives me chills, so I’m sure I can imagine how they feel. They’re probably over-stimulated, but they love it because everyone accepts them. It’s those times [that mean a lot to them].”
However, issues such as noise levels prove to necessitate further accommodations to ensure that these students can participate in certain activities without their comfort levels being compromised. Alternative learning teacher Dr. Michelle Burkemper described how the department provides students with headphones to help cancel out some of the noise and make specific experiences more enjoyable for them.
“Noise is a big distraction for them,” Dr. Burkemper said. “Some of them are afraid of loud noises. We usually alert them to any upcoming exercise due to their aversion to crowd noise…Many of them wear headphones during assemblies…just to distort the noise.
Overall, the school district has worked hard to ensure that students with disabilities receive the support and education they need to thrive in life. However, the main area where there is room for improvement is peer accommodation. Most students tend to avoid classmates with disabilities at all costs, leaving them out of conversations and other miscellaneous endeavors. This leads to students with disabilities becoming almost alienated from the rest of the student body. According to Dr. Burkemper, the best way to solve this problem is for students to simply reach out and talk to their classmates with disabilities.
“They want to be talked to and have friends as much as anyone else,” Dr. Burkemper said. “If you see someone, include them, talk to them, talk to them. Our Essential Skills children usually sit together, but the other students in our Alternate Learning department do not all sit together. Some of them are sitting alone, so just include them and tell them about their life [makes a difference]. They are like you and me. They may have communication problems, but they are able to get their message across in other ways.
Jason also gives examples of what students can do to make their peers with disabilities feel more included.
“Pay attention to them, really,” Jason said. “Like you see them in the hallway, say hello to them, give them a thumbs up. You know, just start a conversation with them like you would with anyone else.