Focus Area 1.

6: Strategies to Support Full Participation of Students with Disability

Graduate Level: Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of legislative

requirements and teaching strategies that support participation and learning of students
with disability.

The notions of inclusion and inclusive education have become more prevalent within
schools across Australia in recent years. Inclusion relates to the rights to active participation
for an individual, and how equity is achieved through their engagement in varying aspects of
life. Inclusive education refers more to the idea that each student in an educational setting
has an opportunity to access quality and meaningful learning experiences that support their
learning that is developed in relation to their individual abilities.

The process of providing and promoting inclusion in an educational setting is one of high
significance, and one that can be related back to the United Nations Conventions on the
Rights of the Child which outlines that all children have the right to an education. This right
to an education is supported by the right that all organisations and educators must work
towards what is best for each individual child, and if they require it, students should receive
individualised support to live a full and successful life. The United Nations Conventions on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, also substantiate that in regard to inclusion, persons
with disabilities will receive the support they require in order to facilitate effective learning.

The Disability Discrimination Act (1992) aims to reduce levels of discrimination that people
with disabilities face, including within their education. This is supported by the Disability
Standards for Education (2005), that outline standards for education providers to make
education accessible for all students with a disability.

The Melbourne Declaration outlines two educational goals for Australia’s students, Goal
One refers to Australian schooling promoting equity and excellence, the promotion of
inclusive education practices supports schools in meeting this goal. Goal Two suggests that
schooling should develop all students into successful learners, that are confident and
creative individuals, while also being active and informed citizens, this goal is encouraged
through the process of inclusion for students with disabilities and learning disabilities who
have specific learning needs.
Disability/Impairment Teaching Strategies and/or Considerations to Support Participation and Learning
Cerebral Palsy Cerebral Palsy is a disorder that impacts on and hinders an individual’s movement and posture due to the brain’s inability to control the
muscles within the body. Cerebral Palsy is caused by a brain injury that occurred before birth, during birth, or during the first few years
after birth.
Cerebral Palsy can be classified according to the part of the body that is affected:
 Hemiplegia – one half of body
 Diplegia – legs more than arms
 Quadriplegia – all four limbs
 Paraplegia – only legs
Or according to the type of brain injury:
 Pyramidal (spasticity) – stiffness, tense muscles, problems with voluntary movements.
 Extra pyramidal – rigidity, abrupt involuntary movements
 Mixed – combination of above
It is vital for teachers to inquiry about the severity of a student’s cerebral palsy, from this teachers can then gauge a better
understanding of their ability and other impairments they may have as a result of the cerebral palsy, and how best they can be
supported within the class and their learning.
 Classroom layout and furniture needs to be considered carefully, allowing free movement around the room for students with
wheelchairs and other mobility aids.
 Providing materials to support the student, for example, pencil grips, larger/thicker pencils, non-slip mats, adapted scissors.
 Depending if whether or not the student has speech, vision or hearing impairments they may need to be provided with extra
support, for example, by sitting them closer to the front of the classroom.
 Speech impairments may limit the child’s ability to interact socially with their peers within the class, as a teacher it will be
 important for me to come up with ways to overcome this.
 Break up tasks into smaller steps, use routines and mnemonics, introduce small amounts of new information, create checklists
and plans.
Muscular Dystrophy Muscular Dystrophy is a progressive hereditary disease that is characterised by muscle weakness and fatigue caused by degeneration of
muscle fibres.
 Reduce the paper and pencil tasks and decrease repetitive writing assignments, but do not change the essential elements of the
tasks.
 For older students, accompany writing assignments with very specific steps and instructions, sequential outlines and so on.
 Provide copies of PowerPoint slides, teacher notes, and lesson outline so that the student is not missing important information
while trying to take notes.
Depending on the progression of degeneration a student may require technological assistance for mobility. This can range from splints,
a walker or crutches to a manual or powered wheelchair. The classroom environment, and larger school environment should be
adapted to ensure that the student can move around freely.
While gross motor abilities have little relationship to general intelligence, teachers need to be aware that a child’s learning may be
affected by difficulties in gross motor coordination. Children with physical impairments need to put more effort into concentrating or
their movements and sequence of actions than other children, and so they may tire more easily.
Intellectual Disability Intellectual Disability is characterised by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behaviour as expressed in
conceptual, social and practical adaptive skills. Individuals are often affected through their abilities to learn, communicate, retain
information and undertake work or leisure activities.
Educational programming for students with intellectual disabilities often includes two features: systematic instruction and
reinforcement:
Systematic Instruction
This involves the teacher:
  Selecting a well-defined target behaviour;
 Implementing instruction consistently with respect to such things as sequencing and prompting/cueing (p. 93);
 Teaching foundational skills before teaching more advanced behaviours;
 Having a plan for how much to assist the student with verbal or physical prompts/cues or modelling;
 Monitoring student performance and using that information to make changes to instruction as needed.
Reinforcement
Students who are positively reinforced for correct responses learn faster. For students with severe intellectual disabilities in particular,
the more immediate the reinforcement, the more effective it is. The goal is to reach a point when the student doesn’t have to rely on
prompts and can be more independent.
Students with Intellectual Disability will often have:
 Poor memory, this is not necessarily a function of lower capacity, but rather due to poor attention and poor use of
memorisation strategies.
 Poor attention to relevant aspects of a task, if children are not attending to the relevant aspects of any task, learning becomes
very difficult and the chance of success is very poor.
 Lack of generalisation, typically children with intellectual impairment will not generalise their learning from one context/setting
to another; they may learn a particular skill in their class, but this may not generalise to home or to another classroom.
 Poor language and communication, typically, language development and speech can be quite delayed; this has implications for
cognitive development, learning, memory, social relationships with others, regulation of their own behaviour.
Teachers should make an effort to make learning as real and relevant as possible, allowing students to learn by doing, hands-on rather
than abstract. While also providing students with materials, etc. to manipulate and to grasp particular concepts.
Autism Spectrum ASD is a complicated neurological disorder, that has a varied impact on various aspects of an individual’s life, including; their normal
Disorder (ASD) social, cognitive and communicative development.
ASD is an umbrella term and removes the separate labels of autism, Asperger Syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder – not
otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), Rhett Syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder.
It is significant that the strategies that are implemented and used within a classroom to support the needs and learning of a student
with ASD are based on the individual needs of the student. These strategies are merely a guideline and should be further supported by
conversations with both the student and their parents or caregivers.
Classroom Set Up Strategies
 Create a structured environment and develop clear routines for the student.
 Warn in advance of changes to the routine and when transitioning to something new (including changing the classroom layout
and environment).
 Where possible keep the learning environment relatively simple.
 Provide a quiet and calm space for the student to go to if they are feeling overwhelmed or anxious
Instructional Strategies
 It is common for students with ASD to have trouble communicating as well as using language. They may have difficulties in
encoding messages, using expressive language as well as decoding messages or receptive language. Due to this some students
may require a specially devised communication program.
 Some students with ASD might never develop oral communication skills, or may require assistance with their oral
communication. These students will need to use some form of augmentative and alternative communication (ACC), such as;
symbols, visual cue cards, communication boards or booklets, gestures or signing.
 Use the student’s name before giving instruction to ensure that they are listening.
 When giving verbal instructions pair these with visual cues.
 Keep verbal instructions clear and use simple and easy to understand language. As well as only giving one instruction at a time.
 Students with ASD will often take things literally, and may find it difficult to understand idioms, puns, sarcasm, irony, as well as
words with double meanings. Limiting these will prove beneficial.
 When checking for understanding about an activity they have to complete ask questions that start with ‘what’, ‘where’ or ‘how’,
as opposed to ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions.
Hearing Impairment Hearing Impairment is classified by the reduction in what is classified as normal hearing. Hearing levels of speech varies, including; mild,
moderate, severe and profound levels of hearing impairment. There is also varying types; conductive hearing loss, sensorineural loss,
and central deafness. Dependent on the severity and type of hearing loss, it can affect the following; language
development/communication, cognitive development, social development, literacy (reading/writing), school/academic attainment.
Classroom Environment
 Make sure that the student is orientated towards you when talking
 Also allow flexible setting, students can sit away from noise
 Reduce classroom noise through carpet, curtains etc.
Instructional Approach
 Provide lesson notes and outlines
 Repeat questions and answers given by other students
 Use non-verbal cues; facial expressions, body movement and gestures
 Shorten and simplify verbal instructions
 Face the student when speaking to them
A student with a hearing impairment is likely to use assistive technologies such as; speech-to-text (voice recognition) software that is
available for tablets and phones, electronic whiteboards, real-time captioning, teachers may use voice amplification systems, along with
a wide range of computer and iPad applications for these students.
Oral Approach
Useful for individuals that have some remaining hearing, can communicate with others that may not know Auslan or other equivalent.
Manual Approach
Useful for children that have been deaf from birth. Can communicate with others that know Auslan or signed English.
Vision Impairment Vision loss can affect a number of development areas and behaviour including; language development/understanding of concepts,
motor development, exploration and play, social development/bonding, stereotypical behaviour.
It is important for teachers to find out the needs of the individual child and not assume that all children with a sensory impairment will
have the same needs.
Although vision loss does not necessarily impair a child’s ability to process verbal input, it does reduce the amount of information
available from the environment, and without it children have difficulties understanding relationships and spatial contexts, and gaining
stimulation from their environment.
Information, perceptions and the formation of concepts that are acquired without effort by sighted children may need to be taught to
those with vision impairment. Therefore, teachers need to know how much residual vision a child has and how the child uses that
remaining vision.
 Teachers should ensure that the conditions needed for optimum visual functioning are provided for these students; visual
adaptions, appropriate illumination, suitable print size and spacing, assistive technology, suitable seating positions.
 Some student may be sensitive to light and teachers may be required to, cover windows with cellophane to reduce glare, while
still allowing natural light, turning of lights, or even making them dimmer if possible. However, other students may need higher
levels of lighting to increase their ability to see. I believe that it is important for teachers to recognise and understand that each
student’s needs will be different in relation to their vision impairment.
 The term ‘expanded core curriculum’ addresses the unique needs of students with vision impairment. The ECC involves the
development of compensatory academic skills including communication modes, visual efficiency, orientation and mobility, social
skills, skills for everyday living, recreation and leisure skills, career education and the use of assistive technology.
 Children with visions impairment are likely to use assistive technologies such as; large print books, glasses, contacts, magnifiers,
monocular, CCTV and braille.