 We do have some comments that are coming in from Calgary. Here's the first one from Calgary. What is the stance in terms of pull-out programs? Is it okay to pull out children at various times for additional supports? I'm sure you can appreciate this one's a big sensitivity. Deborah, can you weigh in on the notion of pulling out kids? Sure, you know, it's a Oftentimes we have an image of what is our role as resource teachers and Because many of us who did experience any inclusion of kids with disabilities, we remember that pull-out room We remember the special ed room being down the hallway I think overall there's been a real move away from that pull-out type of programming in Favour of finding a way to work on children's individualized goals within the peer setting now Of course sometimes that's not possible as an example if you're working on Speech therapy goals and the room is extremely loud It might make sense to take the child into a smaller setting where you can control the noise level But in that case the recommendation would be to bring one or two Typically developing peers along so that you can continue to work on one child's goals as part of That peer group experience so in many cases We wouldn't be working on a one-to-one with children. I think we're seeing overall a move away from that approach and Again, it's back to us to think about what are the children's goals and are there ways that I can you know We've this into what I'm doing with the children I was out at a program not that long ago where I saw a child with some extreme physical challenges He had some specific exercises that he needed to do every day and Sometimes those were quite painful for him because they involved having his legs stretched out He has a tendency to sort of pull in and the truth is when they were working on those in a one-to-one He would cry and scream and it would frighten all the other children and the staff didn't even want to do it when they found a Way of working on his exercises at circle time where all the children like the eight kids in the group were working doing the same Exercises that little guy became a lot more Enthusiastic about doing it and the children gave him a lot of encouragement and they found five minutes to all do the Exercises together so we have to be thinking all the time on our feet about how can we make this work Thanks, Deborah a couple of comments that have come in on on the screen here And this is an interesting one because it came up Repeatedly in the setting the direction consultations that were conducted over across the province The challenge one person has described is that teacher training needs to be revisited while there may be a Willingness to change attitudes and to be truly inclusive There are some skill development and capacity building issues that will need to be Visited at the at the training level any thoughts on that. I I think it's just is a Recognition that we need to do better in our training programs whether it's early childhood education or Education as a whole I know for example in mount Etobah They recently brought in a curriculum change to the bachelor of education program where all students will now graduate with at least One course on inclusive education So that's our new grads are coming out where they've had at least one course on it But there's many many teachers who've been working in the system who haven't had that and then we're really depending on opportunities like this to come together and to continue to learn and develop and sometimes we have to rethink practices You know things that we learned 20 years ago. We're doing things a little bit differently today So lifelong learning and that's really today's message Here's a comment from Grand Prairie who make the point that one of the challenges in Introducing these principles of inclusion in smaller communities is finding qualified or skilled Staff to work with the children who have particular needs that it's hard to often find the people there may be an Absolute willingness, but that the resources in particular the human resources may not be may not be available That's a reality it is the reality, but you know that was the reality in Glacier Bay Nova Scotia 30 years ago And those staff didn't even have ECE training and there was no puff funding or any other kinds of programming Supports that were there so I I have to believe that first it comes from our positive attitude And then we can make it work Another comment that we get we've just had also from Grand Prairie is that one of the challenges They often face is getting parents on board that Finding that commitment and follow-through on the part of parents is often a challenge as well Regardless of how enthusiastic the program might be Now if you're talking about parents of the typically developing children Many of them haven't seen inclusion work before they can be quite frightened by what they're seeing if they come in to Pick up their child at the end of the day, and there's a child who's having a temper tantrum We don't know whether that child is temper tantrum in because he or she has autism and is reacting to being overstimulated Or whether this is just a tired child at the end of the day having a temper tantrum, right? The behavior can be quite similar and yet, you know for families They may be quite startled or frightened by what they're seeing. So I think again, it's back to public education It's about sharing the message about what inclusion means here in Alberta and it's about helping parents listen to other parents And so having parents like Laura Catherine's mom that I showed you just before the break That's a big part of what she does is go out and speak to parent groups about why children with cerebral palsy Need to be included in the school system. So parent-to-parent is a really powerful kind of way to get the message across They're having a great discussion in St. Paul and one of the issues that has come up there is how to address the discrepancy and funding between Provincial and federally funded program unit funding students And I would imagine that's partly to do with the children some of the children who are being educated on reserve Versus off reserve one of those discrepancies that that's important to clear up if we're going to have a truly inclusive system and In Calgary they are echoing the sentiment that you've shared Debra that the bottom line is attitude acceptance of these principles is essential it they need to form our core values and That the toilet training example that you gave is the kind of barrier that can come up repeatedly But attitudinally we need to break that down Any more thoughts from Edmonton Then as we wrap this discussion portion up. I want to share with you a Story about a little girl a three-year-old girl who is in a community-based preschool Which has made a commitment to being an inclusive setting a celebration of learning took place and the staff who've been working with her have reflected on her growth and Have given some words to that that journey that she's been on this is Marin who's three I Am soft and gentle with a beautiful smile and a quick laugh even when I'm having a bad day I put a smile on my face and the faces of others before I go home There are a lot of things that I'm working on Sometimes it's a little overwhelming for me But I always persevere and let others know when enough is enough my teachers Help me face my challenges. I have lots of friends in preschool Lots of the children like playing with me and I like playing with them too. I am a leader even though I am small