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Inclusive Education: Theory, Policy

and Practice – Assessment 2
Willie has been diagnosed with ASD, or known as Autism Spectrum Disorder,
and the teachers at his school are aware of his condition. This formal diagnosis
is crucial in allowing teachers to understand his behaviour as well as his
learning process as it is extensively researched; there are various approaches for
teachers struggling to implement appropriate methods and differentiation of
teaching. One of the most crucial to the success of ensuring an inclusive
classroom environment, is the implementation of the Universal Design for
Learning principles to ensure that all students learn the content. This tailoring of
education depending on the needs of the student is what allows students to
thrive despite their circumstance. Although it is beneficial that Willie was
formally diagnosed, there are still traits and behaviours that are specific to him,
meaning the lessons should be customised to him. There are particular things
that can be done or altered that ensure not only optimal learning for Willie but
for all the students in the classroom. 

As mentioned before, UDL is crucial in students’ education because of its

principles. UDL can be defined as being “....a blueprint for creating
instructional goals, methods, material, and assessments that work for everyone;
not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be
customised and adjusted for individual needs” (Foreman, 2017, p. 105). The
keyword here is ‘flexible’, something that can be modified and altered
according to a student regardless of their disability; although disability is crucial
in understanding behaviour and specific approaches to lessons, these approaches
still need to be modified to that specific student because their personalities and
hobbies are not defined by their disability. There are three specific principles:
Multiple Means of Representation, Multiple Means of Expression, and Multiple
Means of Engagement (Nketsia, 2020, p. 5). Multiple means of representation is
presenting information in various ways and forms so that they are able to
understand it from their point of view; this is crucial because everyone learns
differently, as proven by Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences theory. Cooks
& Rao (2018) extends on this and highlights the importance of clarifying
different information given to the students, notably metalanguage and syntax
and structure, etc. (p. 181). As we can see from Willie’s observation in class, he
seems to be more creative and artistically driven, meaning he will be more
drawn to pictures and things that can capture his attention rather than reading
pages from a book. For content that is necessary to be learnt, Willie can be
taught verbally and can be balanced between visual content and reading and
writing, but making sure that there is more visual for him to digest the content.