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As for the problem being with mainstreaming kids, think of it from this point of view for a moment: Do you want a kid in a classroom full of kids who don't behave well, learning their behaviors, or in a classroom where the other kids do behave well, to learn from them? There are pros and cons, but for most kids, it is more beneficial to the disabled child (singular) to see how how other normal kids (plural) act, and learn to imitate them.

So, for the benfit of a single child , the rest of the kids get to be role models, no matter the cost to their already failing education? Not for me.

As a kindergarten aide, I know first hand how much attention I have to devote to the special needs child that is being mainstreamed (dx and all!). If I turn my back to help another student...just to answer one question, I see a pencil whizz past my face in the direction of the other student. How about the child that doesn't get the teacher's attention immediately and starts banging his head against the wall? Shall the other students learn this sort of behavior from the special needs child? 5 year olds, after all, are great immitators and if the special needs child gets his way all the time doing these things, the others pick up on very quickly!

“So, for the benfit of a single child , the rest of the kids get to be role models, no matter the cost to their already failing education? Not for me.

You must have missed the last paragraph of my post 118. I said:

“And some will need to be pulled out of even a lab setting, and tranquilized. You've run into adults like that, in your life, I'm sure. I certainly have.”

Peer pressure CAN be your friend. It isn't always. What works for one child may not, for some other child. There is NO single way to deal with children, which you know as a Kindergarten aide.