Inclusion of disabled at Head Start school helps teach tolerance

Angela Soo

Friday, Oct. 19, 2001 | 4:22 a.m.

Preschool programs that allow disabled children to interact with the rest of the class provide lessons in tolerance and will gain the federal government's support, says the regional director of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Josh Valdez, the new regional director for Nevada, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Guam, and parts of other Pacific islands, visited the Reynaldo Martinez Early Childhood Development Learning Center Monday.

"The philosophy of inclusion is so wonderful," said Valdez, who was appointed by President Bush in August and is the youngest Hispanic to fill the position. "I guarantee the Head Start program will continue to grow."

The Head Start preschool, not to be confused with the Reynaldo Martinez Elementary School, is one of two facilities opened last month that follow a "full-inclusion" policy.

Children who are diagnosed with a disability interact and play with typically developing children the entire school day, whereas similar schools allow some interaction between the two groups but mainly keep them in separate classrooms.

Rosie Merback, an early childhood specialist at the preschool, said her students learn valuable lessons in acceptance and patience when playing with disabled kids.

"They learn to work with children of disability, and then learn that disabled children may have strengths in one area to make up for a weakness," Merback said. "They learn to accept people in general."

Vanita Ditto, who oversees the daily operations of the preschool, said many children become protective over the disabled children after seeing past the differences.

"They don't look at it as a disability," Ditto said. "We have a little boy with Down syndrome and they act as his protectors."

About 20 percent of the children at Reynaldo Martinez, 2901 Harris Ave., near Eastern Avenue and Bonanza Road, have a diagnosed disability. The Economic Opportunity Board and Clark County School District joined to open the school for children of low-income families.

Families must be at the federal poverty level to enroll their children. In return, children will have access to comprehensive health services that include dental screenings, physical exams, development assessments, and vision and hearing tests.

The Head Start school also helps parents earn associates degrees by paying for tuition and books with the promise that the parent will become a trained employee at a Head Start school.

Flora Woratschek, a program manager at EOB, said providing a broad range of support services to a family is crucial in maintaining a child's healthy development.

"Children don't learn if they're hungry or if they're homeless," Woratschek said.