HANDICAPPED a, rie Ete CHILDREN Integration urged This is the third in a series on North Shore education. WHEN EIGHT-year-old Michael Whittman was given an invitation to a classmate’s birthday party it also gave his parents a reason to celebrate. Whittman is severely handi- capped. He is a spastic quadriplegic with impaired vision, has cerebral palsy and_ lacks speech. But he’s also a boy of normal intelligence, whose parents have worked hard to ensure the experiences he has are normal. “For that one kid, who I didn’t know, to say ‘I want Michael to come to my birthday party’ was so real, I was in tears, but that's a By KIM PEMBERTON News Reporter nosmal experience for kids,’’ said his mother, Jackie. “It gi.es me so much hope that the world is opening to the handi- capped and vice versa.” She and her husband Marty, a college instructor at Capilano Col- lege, believe progress will only happen if handicapped children are fully integrated into the school system. Coordinator of Special Educa- tion in North Vancouver lan McEown said children are in- tegrated into the school system to varying degrees. “We do a bit more each year,’’ he said. He said the district strives to place physically and mentally handicapped students in their neighborhood schools, so that they can have as normal an educational experience as possible. He said the amount of integra- tion in a regular classroom de- NEWS photo Mike Wakefle TEACHING AID Kari Bennett gives six-year-old Scott Harris some help at Boundary Community School. Scott's Down’s syndrome has uot prevented him from being fully integrated in the North Vancouver school. * New ertrance from Hotel lobby (bay window) More booth space Dark ceiling Darts Carpet Oak dance floor Vertical blinds Stand up bar ) ° DJ. (taking your requests) LONSDALE QUAY HOTEL 123 Carrie Cates Court, North Vancouver, B.C. Phone 986-6111 (FREE PARKING AFTER MARKET HOURS) “Ankle basher | apologizes | PAGE pends on the degree of the child’s handicap. McEown said children with multiple handicaps take part in a program involving ‘reverse in- tegration.’? He explained children from the regular classroom will visit the children frequently in these special classrooms. But Whittman, whose son at- tends a semi-integrated program in MacCorkindale school in Van- couver, said full integration for all handicapped children is the goal. “Special classes are not total in- tegration,” she said. ‘ “When you have special classes, in my mind, you put kids with disabilities together so they don’t have proper role models.’’ McEown said he sees the benefits of full integration, and noted the district is studying the possibility of enacting such a pro- gram for the severely handicapped in the near future. Whittman said if her son wasn’t in some kind of integration pro- gram she doubts he would have improved his language skills. **] think it’s that group dynamic in the classroom that make these children just blossom. At the school Michae?'s goiiz. to now he’s spelling. His motivation has in- creased. “We've tried to give him as norma, an experience with our family and we want the school to mS OO 8605600685065 1445 Marine Drive North Vancouver @ ) @ 35--'Sugday, May 24,°1987 ~ North Shore Newd 36 / NEW ADULT PATRONS ONLY * BASED ON 24 MONTHS im schools offer that too,”’ she said. Whittman said children who are in the same classroom as the hand- icapped also benefit because they gain an understanding of the hand- icapped. Pam Harris said her son Scott, six, began his first year in a full- integration class this year at Boundary Community School in | North Vancouver. Scott has Down’s syndrome and mild cerebral palsy. ~ “¥ don’t think they (the school staff) were too sure they could handle it, but it’s working out real- ly well,’’ she said. “His speech has realiv come along, and he’s becoming so much more assertive. For the first time he had to sit out in the “‘time out,”” and 1 thought that was great. If it had of been one of my other children I might not have been as happy.”* Harris said she’s pleased Scott can attend the same neighborhood schoo! as her two other children, ages five and seven. In| West Vancouver District special needs coordinator George Stuart said two children who have multiple physical handicaps attend schools in North Vancouver. ‘We couldn't offer them a simi- lar program anid the students are 10 minutes away. They are able to See NVD Page 36 FACILITIES & SERVICES C EXCLUSIVELY. FOR WOMEN © INDIVIDUAL LOCKERS c * LIFECYCLE AND FAN BIKES * PAIVATE DRESSING BOOTHS # AEROBIC CLASSES @ [ae * CUSHIONED FLOOR © FREE-WEIGHTS ® WHIRLPOOL @ * SAUNA . © PRIVATE SHOWERS &D 1902000008 ©8086 8080696906600 606000