While the inclusion of students with special needs is not often discussed in the context of adult education, there are opportunities for this type of instructional model. I am currently teaching an inclusive ESOL class at the Haitian American Public Health Initiative (HAPHI) in Mattapan (as part of a collaboration with the Center for World Languages and Cultures at UMass/Boston). In this class, "traditional" ESOL students are joined by participants from HAPHI's Young Adult day program, which offers vocational and social skills training for young adults with special needs.

Goals for Inclusion
In keeping with the goals of inclusive education, our expectations for the class are that all students will increase their English and literacy skills, that the day program students will gain confidence in their interactions with the larger community, and that the "traditional" students will develop a heightened sensitivity about the strengths and needs of individuals with disabilities. Since we just began the class a little over a year ago, we're still learning about how to make inclusive adult education work. Some of the most important lessons we have learned are noted below.

Focus on Specific Abilities
Teaching this inclusive class is difficult at times because of the mixed-level student population. However, when thinking about a class as mixed-level, it should not be assumed that students can be placed in single, fixed categories (such as Advanced or Beginner).

For example, a "high-level" student might have strong literacy skills, but not very strong conversation skills. The reverse can also be true. In our class, respecting variations in students' skills provides an opportunity for all learners to act as resources. For example, because several of the day program students have stronger English literacy skills than some of the older students in the class, they can take on a leading role in group work that involves literacy. At other times, the older students draw on their life experiences to provide support and key information (e.g., about safety) to the day program students. In this way, specific student strengths and needs drive the curriculum, rather than their labels (e.g., special needs, high or low level ESOL).

The Power of Labels
During an evaluation in which we asked the older students how they felt about sharing the classroom with the students with special needs, a man who had been in the class for two months said, "What? When are they coming to join us? Did they already start?" Although we had explained the inclusive nature of the class to him when he began, he apparently had not labeled the students he had been working alongside as "students with special needs." To him they were just fellow class members. This was remarkable, considering that one of the day program students is diagnosed with autism, and communication with him is sometimes difficult. I believe that since the students in the class are not arranged in fixed and labeled groups, this student had not come to think of the day program students as defined by their special needs. He had never shown any reluctance to work with them, and seemed to view them as equals.

How different would his reaction have been if the staff had constantly referred to them as the "special needs students," or always began activities by noting their "disabilities?" Analogously, what type of potentially negative labeling occurs in traditional ESOL classrooms?

Respect Different Types of Development
One older student (I will call her Ms. Pierre), was somewhat uncomfortable with the day program students when she joined the class a few months ago. She would laugh nervously when they made mistakes, and she didn't want to interact with them beyond the minimum requirements. Last month, however, there was a dramatic breakthrough. The class was involved in a role play about going to the doctor. The students with stronger oral English skills (including this woman) were taking on the role of the doctor, while the other students were acting as patients. Before any students volunteered to be patients, Ms. Pierre told me that she wanted to work with the student with autism (who I will call Antoine). I was surprised, but I sent Antoine to her, and the interaction went very well. The next week Antoine was talking to me in a mixture of English and Kreyol, and he was unsure if he was making himself understood. He stood up, looked across the room to Ms. Pierre, and said in Kreyol "Madame, kijan ou di `mwen vle rete' an Angle?" (How do you say "I want to stay" in English?). She kindly informed him how, and he turned to me and repeated the statement in English.

After a single role-play interaction, Antoine had come to recognize Ms. Pierre as a helpful resource. In this moment, all of our expectations around inclusion had been met-the students were learning English, the Day Program Program students were utilizing important interpersonal skills, and the older students were becoming sensitive to the issues facing the students with special needs. This potential for a variety of growth is a key element of any class.

By focusing on skills rather than labels, and by being sensitive to interpersonal dynamics, I think our attempt at inclusion has been successful. As a final example, one student began the class by expressing both his desire to be in the class and his fears that he would be hit or bitten by the day program students. Three months later, one of the day program students had an epileptic seizure in class. For the next class we scheduled a workshop on the nature of epilepsy, and HAPHI staff answered student questions about the condition.

At the end of the workshop, I asked the students how they felt class was going, and if they still had any concerns about the students with special needs. When the same student who had been worried about being attacked said in English, "No discrimination, no discrimination-we're family," we knew we were on the right track.

Erik Jacobson is on the staff of the Center for World Languages and Cultures at UMass/Boston, and teaches at HAPHI. He can be contacted by e-mail at: jacobser@gse.harvard.edu