It is recognised at the very core of the EYFS that every child is unique and develops individually. As a sector, we seem to embrace this principle – until it comes to children defined as having special educational needs or having a disability (SEND).
According to Honeybourne (2018), the moment a group is labelled, they are automatically marginalised, and there can be a tendency to view conditions such as autism and ADHD as signs of abnormal development.
Historically, some models of disability view the person with SEND as a problem to be fixed, but more contemporary approaches recognise that children think, learn and develop in diverse and divergent ways (Crutchley 2017). Therefore, as educators, we must go beyond the myth of the ‘normal’ child and recognise that inclusion involves us embracing and welcoming all differences.
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