Epilogue

In July of 2008, I spoke at an international conference on inclusion in Johannesburg. Organized by SAALED (the South African Association for Learning and Educational Difficulties), the conference was entitled “From Inclusion to Belonging: Widening the Circle”; the conference featured presenters from South Africa, the United States, Australia, and England and was attended by nearly 500 participants. The international conference was designed to address the status of inclusion in South Africa and throughout the world and to elaborate challenges and next steps.

I had the privilege of presenting both the opening and closing keynotes at the conference, and I was overwhelmed both by the magnitude of the problems facing those attempting to implement inclusion and by the incredible generosity of spirit and effort of those addressing those concerns.