Reverse inclusion is a reversal of perspective. This fall, the Rosemont Library is adopting this approach by offering activities primarily designed for children living with Down syndrome, but open to all audiences.
A resident of Rosemont, Flora Kasyan did not dare participate in the activities of her neighborhood library with her daughter. Alissa, 7, has Down syndrome. She loves books, she loves learning, but she also moves around a lot. “She will listen to the story, but she will want to walk around, sometimes make noise, take the hand of the girl next to her,” explains Ms. Kasyan. In these moments, what we would like is to remove the child, but that is not the goal. They are themselves whereas in our society it is more: “I sit and I listen.” »
During a borough party, she expressed to library representatives her desire to have access to inclusive activities. A little over a year later, the Rosemont Library offered a series of story times, parent-child and parent-teen cooking workshops hosted by the organization C’est moi le chef! as well as creative activities for adults, all designed in reverse inclusion. Around half of the places are reserved for members of the Regroupement pour la trisomie 21. The rest is open to the general public, a way of ensuring diversity in the groups. Most activities for young people are sold out. There is often even a waiting list.
On November 18, participants discovered Mexican cuisine. Some were regulars. Little Christian wore his chef’s hat and Élise, her apron with the image of C’est moi le chef!. “I’m not a boss! starts off with Lucie Grenier, the workshop facilitator. It is you today who are going to be my little bosses. » Green onions, cilantro, peppers, tomatoes: children are invited to guess, through their senses, the ingredients with which they will cook.
Since these mini-chefs will soon be handling knives, Ms. Grenier explains the safety instructions to them. “I want to see cat paws that are afraid of having their claws cut,” she illustrates, before the parent-child duos begin preparing a Mexican salad that they can take home (or not !). Having quickly understood the importance of taste in cooking, Élise, 9 years old, will have almost eaten her entire bowl before the end of the activity.
“Workshops like this give him a lot of autonomy and pleasure. At home, that’s what she likes, cooking,” says her mother, Marie Bonin, who came from Laval for the activity.
This also allows her to follow a workshop with her brother Rémi who, unlike her, does not have Down syndrome.
That morning, the two groups of children, several of whom returned over the weeks, had naturally mixed together, which delighted Lucie Grenier, a trained specialist educator. “Last time the kids were seated at separate tables. For me, this is a step in the right direction. » Since, according to her, reverse inclusion is above all “taming each other”.
Although children with special needs are often admitted to leisure activities, it is rarer for these activities to be designed primarily for them. This is the idea behind reverse inclusion, an approach that C’est moi le chef! is interested in, not only for children with Down syndrome, but also for children with autism and potentially those with dementia. visual or hearing impairment. In addition to the Rosemont Library, the organization also offers these workshops in special education classes.
The facilitator then adjusts to the pace of the participants. “We are going to emphasize the presentation of ingredients and utensils even more, we are going to be very visual, we are going to speak more slowly, we are going to articulate much more to allow these children to be able to do the activity fully,” indicates the director general and founder of C’est moi le chef!, Karine Deserre-Pezé.
A way of doing things that benefits everyone, says Keiko Shikako-Thomas, assistant professor of occupational therapy at McGill University, who was consulted by C’est moi le chef! when developing the workshops. Her research focuses on promoting a healthy lifestyle and the rights of children with disabilities.
“There is a lot of research that shows benefits [to reverse inclusion] for everyone,” she emphasizes.
However, reverse inclusion is an uncommon approach in Quebec, she deplores. There are some dance, yoga and adapted sports classes, but too few for parents to have a real choice. To help families of children with special needs find activities that suit them, she launched, with a McGill colleague, the Jooay application.
“In an ideal world, we would have more reverse inclusion and we wouldn’t have to think about it because all the buildings, the environment and the programs would be designed for everyone,” she says. The researcher recalls that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) contains a commitment for signatory countries, including Canada, to develop inclusive services, facilities and equipment. Additionally, with the Accessible Canada Act, Canada commits to being a barrier-free country for people with disabilities by January 1, 2040.
Despite the success, the future of inclusive workshops at the Rosemont Library is uncertain. A final cooking workshop took place on December 2. A story time is planned for December 10th. “We benefited from a subsidy [from the City of Montreal], but it was only for the fall,” says Émilie Paquin, section head, Bibliothèque de La Petite-Patrie and Bibliothèque de Rosemont in the borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie. “Winter will be a time of reflection. But we don’t want this to end. »
Flora Kasyan hopes that the door she managed to partially open will not close again. “The more the disability is exposed, the less likely we are to say: ‘You are not welcome in our home. We can not do anything.” These are children who love to learn, who can learn, but give them the chance. »
