Is inclusive education really for everyone? Family stories of children and young people labelled with ‘severe and multiple’ or ‘profound’ ‘disabilities’

Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, along with General Comment 4, explicitly outlines the right of every person to an inclusive education at every level. And yet, even amongst supporters of inclusive education, it is not uncommon for some students to be considered ‘too disabled’ to be included. In this research I draw on the views and lived experiences of 10 parents, living in Australia, who identify their children as having been labelled with ‘severe and multiple’ or ‘profound’ impairments. I ask what inclusion means to these parents and their families, and whether inclusion and inclusive education is important to them. Drawing on these parent perspectives, is the notion of inclusive education for everyone realistic and desirable, or only idealistic? Should inclusion be inclusive or is it ultimately conditional? The perspectives of the research participants hold implications for the realisation of the right to inclusive education.