INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN UZBEKISTAN

Kireeva Ra’no Fyodorovna, hearing-impairment specialist, a member of the medical, psychological and educational Commission of Tashkent city, participant of the Training under the Project “Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs in Uzbekistan” held on July 14-16, 2015, in Tashkent oblast.

“As a hearing-impairment specialist, I would like to note that the level of “the ability to understand verbal communication” is the most difficult for children with hearing impairment. But at early diagnostics, hearing aid and trainings with a hearingimpairment specialist our children can study at the mainstream school. In order to assess the level of cognitive development of the child with hearing impairment we recommended a test “Draw a Man”. Such exercises are easy to organize, and children really enjoy them.The way which children use to draw a person shows at what stage of development the child is. (For more details about this exercise please read the Bulletin No. 2).

Conversation with parents is very important. It is necessary to provide information and ideas to parents, family members for creation home speech environment stimulating the development and learning of the child and to help to strengthen parental competence. I am satisfied with the content and form of the seminar; I have clarified and expanded my knowledge onsubject: What is inclusion; I got acquainted with recommendations on the functioning of the MPPC taking into account introduction of more inclusivepractices. I am grateful to the Project staff for organizing this workshop.

At the last workshop we have paid special attention to teaching methods in Inclusive Education. These methods may include, for example, a methodof interaction, method of the family, local communities, etc.I would like to highlight these two abovementioned methods. Interactions between adults and children, as well as peer interactions are essential to support the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of children. Their role is also extremely important, as these interactions contribute to the continuous development and training of children, helping to share knowledge, experiences, feelings and opinions.

It is through the interaction children develop their own «self» and a sense of belonging to a certain community, as well as acquire knowledge about the world. The role of the teacher is to provide children with the opportunity to be included in interaction and to participate in the processes of joint construction of knowledge and meanings.The teacher carefully supports the development and education of children, as well as models (demonstrates on own example) respectful and friendly relationships between all adults relevant to the lives of children.

The First Bell is for children one of the most memorable events in their lives. Teaching staff of schools and kindergartens use all their skills and mastery to make this holiday memorable and printed in the memory of children as a bright holiday. I am sure that a lot of warm and sincere congratulations, beautiful poems, heart-touching songs and many other interesting performances took place at the Celebratory Assemblies at all schools today. On a day like this, of course, the most solemn is the moment when a first-grader proudly rings the bell and makes a circle of honor in-among the audience and with this he symbolically informs everybody on the beginning of new academic year.

About the same scenario was developed in our pilot School No. 11 of Namangan city. Beautiful decor, school–flags, balloons, silk ribbons, flowers were rapidly blossomed for the holiday. Welldressed children – boys in white shirts and with ties, girls with beautiful white bows and with the bouquets of flowers. Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, worrying not less than the firstgraders waive their flags and colored ribbons. Here and there, flashing camera flashes, video cameras shooting the festive story, interviewing journalists with microphones and a lot more that it is difficult to convey.

The atmosphere in the school was mysterious and solemn. For example, I myself was so excited about what is happening that when a reporter asked me for an interview, I was taken aback, began to stammer, not knowing where to begin and how to proceed. Of course, there were several takes. Although actually, there was something to worry about… After all, this very day children with special needs went to school for the first time along with their peers. Some children I had met before, and some of them I saw for the first time. Some of them came to the school after learning about it through friends and the media, and some were directed by MPPC.  How much was spent and passed so that these kids, holding hands tightly, could sit today at the desks in ordinary schools and kindergartens.

Not just sit at their desks, but study equivalently, be in action, in the learning process. How much we all still have to do. Of course, I could cite the figures, for example, that about 15 children with special needs enrolled in this pilot school this year or that there are more than 20 such children in the region. But the essence is not only that, in my opinion, the most important is the fact that society understood and supported the idea of Inclusive Education.  Every child is dear, we love everyone. Today, looking at the happy faces of children and parents, I am convinced that all our work towards Inclusive Education has been done only for the good. I would like to sincerely hope and believe that these happy emotions accompany them for many, many years.

«Educational system is adjusted to a child, but not the child to the system” - Nasretdinova Zulhumor, Deputy Director of school No. 10, Khorezm, participant of the Training in the framework of the Summer School on Inclusive Education on August 20-22.