Inclusion:  the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure (Free Online Dictionary)

Within the disability community, inclusion means that we want to grow up in our families, go to the neighborhood school, use the same bus as our neighbors, work in jobs that are in line with our education and interests, raise families of our own, and interact in the community without physical and attitudinal barriers.

Inclusion recognizes that people with disabilities are ordinary people who have feelings, needs, and wants just like everyone else.  We don’t need to be pitied (moral model), we don’t need to be fixed (medical model), we don’t need to be told what is best for us because someone else knows what’s best for us (professional model).

Inclusion is about ALL of us

Inclusion is about living full lives – about learning to live together.

Inclusion makes the world our classroom for a full life.

Inclusion treasures diversity and builds community.

Inclusion is about our ‘abilities’ – our gifts and how to share them.

Inclusion is NOT just a ‘disability’ issue.