text: After decades of struggle for a more equal society, it is now presumed that every disabled child will get the opportunity to attend a mainstream school where possible.
  However, what does real inclusion mean in practice and is the system a success? Or are disabled children drifting to the back of the class?
  In my documentary Am I Included? - which is being shown this week at 19:30 on Wednesday on BBC One Scotland - I get the opportunity of putting this question to not only the professionals, but also to the students and their families.
  Thinking back to my own experience of school in the late 1960s and 1970s, things were very different for disabled people.
  There were no technological solutions that would help, like talking computers, video magnifiers and the myriad of phone apps which can tell you colours, count your money, give you travel directions and so on.
  The school buildings were generally inaccessible for many youngsters with physical disabilities. It wasn't until the last 15 years, when we began building new schools, that accessibility actually improved.
  So it's much easier today to include children with disabilities into their local schools, which should enable a fairer education.
  However, is being included just about being able to get in the front door? Does this mean that you are properly included in all aspects of school life?
  The issues, of course, are extremely complicated. It does come down to a long list of factors: the disability itself and what impact it has on the child; how they are assessed; the attitudes of teachers and all the staff and children; and the school ethos.
  Do the teachers have experience of teaching life skills to a child with disabilities? Is the funding there to make it happen? Plus, and this is really important, is the child actually thriving within the school?
  As a blind person, I feel I can speak with some experience, as I've experienced three different kinds of education systems: mainstream primary education; a specialist secondary school for a range of children with various disabilities; and, latterly, a college education aimed exclusively at visually impaired students.
  The Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford was the best for me. It is an institution aimed not only at academia, but also towards developing a person who can function as independently as possible in their own community.
  They focused on mobility, daily living skills, social skills and academic qualifications. They even taught me Braille which, for an 18-year-old, was far too late - I should have been taught how to use this from the age of five!
  It was the lack of support from a peer group which I missed throughout my primary and secondary education.
  It was not until the age of 18 that I met up with other people who had a visual impairment like mine.
  Finding out about the world with other visually impaired people was essential for me to understand my own value.
  It helped me understand that my experience of the world could be understood by my peers. I fitted in with ease and we had a common bond which made us stronger.
  Fundamentally, I received specialist input from people who understood my disability.
  Clearly there are plenty of children with disabilities who do very well in mainstream schools across Scotland, but there are also plenty who are struggling.
  I know the documentary will raise more questions than it answers.
  If it does nothing else, I hope it reopens the debate.
  Am I Included? will be broadcast on BBC One Scotland at 19:30, and later available on the BBC iPlayer.
target: We have now had 16 years of mainstream education for children with disabilities in Scotland.