Running head: EDUCATIONAL INCLUSIVITY 1

Supporting Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms

Bonnie Stright

University of Pennsylvania
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Supporting Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms

Education is not only an essential part of society, but critical to everyone’s upbringing

and livelihood. In well-functioning classrooms children and adolescents learn more than just

academic content, gaining social-emotional and life skills on how to navigate the world. Teachers

can promote children’s confidence, empowering students to engage in critical thinking and

ultimately achieve their dreams after graduation. Unfortunately, not every school and classroom

function this way, some even criminalizing, neglecting, or undermining students. For children

with disabilities, the education system has historically operated to exclude them almost entirely,

largely restricting access to public schools and general education classrooms.

As society and the education system implement and expand inclusive and equitable

practices, general classrooms are becoming more diverse to include learners of all backgrounds

and abilities. These inclusive classrooms allow for greater social skill development, decreasing

stigmatization and peer exclusion, while providing comprehensive and challenging content, in

addition to many other benefits (Juvonen, 2019). However, even though children with disabilities

are increasingly included in general education classrooms, this does not mean they receive

proper supports. Lack of classroom support for children with disabilities is continuously noted by

caregivers, students, teachers, etc. yet it appears little is being done systemically to address this.

It is imperative that children with disabilities are not only included in general education

classrooms, but given a valuable, challenging, and engaging education – which cannot exist

without comprehensive and intentional supports.

Background

Although statistics vary greatly among different disabilities, in general students with IEPs

are three times more likely to drop out of school, twice as likely to be suspended, and 85% more
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likely to repeat a grade level (National, 2017). These numbers show why it is imperative that

schools work to aid and empower children with disabilities, as they continue to experience

marginalization and systems of oppression, consequently making lower educational outcomes.

All children, regardless of special education status, benefit from quality teachers, small and

inclusive classrooms, empowering curriculum, diverse student bodies, and comprehensive staff

support. The scope of this issue is massive, as it influences nearly every single classroom in the

country, as well as much of the livelihood for people with disabilities. Often times adult lives is

spent utilizing the knowledge and skills gained in school, and/or experiencing challenges as a

result of the gaps where schools fell short or even caused outright harm. In all, the act of

supporting children with disabilities in inclusive classrooms greatly affects everyone and thus

should be treated as a principal concern.

In 1975, congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), that in

1990 was reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Reynolds,

2014). This landmark legislation guaranteed every child with a disability in the U.S. the same

opportunity for education as nondisabled peers. Within this, one of the core pillars of IDEA is the

notion of “least restrictive environment” for children with disabilities. This is the requirement

that to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities are educated in the general

education classroom with nondisabled peers (O’Laughlin, 2014). Self-contained, separate

classes, schooling, and/or removals aim to be the exception, not the rule, and only occur if it is

deemed that general education with supplementary aids for that specific child cannot be

satisfactorily achieved. Despite this law, some schools still push for unnecessary exclusion, with

some students with disabilities segregated even within the general education classroom, as they

are physically present, but remain academically and socially excluded.

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Now that students with disabilities are included within general education classrooms at

much higher rates, the prominent issue becomes how to support these students’ learning and set

them up for success. Contrary to the high praise IDEA received upon passage, many teachers and

caregivers to children with disabilities complain about the push for inclusivity, preferring self-

contained environments. This perspective is often a result of general classrooms failing to

adequately support children with disabilities, as opposed to genuine beliefs that self-contained

classrooms are superior settings. Schools may provide the bare minimum to comply with IDEA,

then blame the child for any subsequent academic challenges, often as a result increasing

exclusionary practices or removing the child from inclusive settings. By looking at students’

exceptionalities through the social model of disability, school staff can instead identify the

systemic barriers within inclusive classrooms that are impeding learning and work to dismantle

them for the benefit of all children (D’Souza, 2019). The answer to supporting children with

disabilities is not changing IDEA to remove least restrictive environments, but instead working

systemically to create genuinely inclusive environments.

Literature Review

Academic Interventions

Important to note, is that implementing teaching practices explicitly intended to benefit

students with disabilities, almost always aid the learning of all students, regardless of ability.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an evidence based educational framework for creating

accommodating learning environments that meet the diverse needs of all learners. It consists of

curriculum providing multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement. The goal of

UDL is to expand learning access by reducing physical, cognitive, intellectual, and

organizational barriers to learning, ultimately improving the learning process for all students
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(Capp, 2017). In a UDL classroom, content is presented through various means (auditory, tactile,

visually, etc.) and students are able to participate in different ways based on what allows the

most effective learning for them. Students are also able to demonstrate knowledge through a

variety of means (ex. creating a project, art piece, essay, podcast, etc.) as opposed to the

commonly used standard written question exam. Although it is difficult to explicitly research the

effectiveness of UDL (as many of the concepts overlap with other pedagogies), findings show

increased educational outcomes for all students when exposed to UDL, underscoring the positive

effects for children with disabilities (Seok, 2018).

Additional successful interventions focus on implementing Peer-Assisted Learning

Strategies (PALS) to enhance learning and accommodate academic diversity. An experimental

research study on the effect of PALS on reading performance for emergent bilingual students

with learning disabilities found that all students who participated made greater gains (Sáenz,

2005). Specific pedagogical advantages of PALS for students with learning disabilities include

increased academic engagement (as opposed to passive, independent listening or reading), active

participation, opportunities for feedback, and ongoing performance monitoring (Greenwood,

2019). Although research notes PALS as an effective intervention, it is largely successful in

terms of academic achievement, but is limited in its effect on genuine social inclusivity and

acceptance for peers with disabilities.

Appropriate academic practices are important for student learning, but so is ensuring the

quality of staff using them and resources aiding them. General education teachers leading

inclusive classrooms should have some training in supporting children with disabilities, or have a

special education teacher co-teaching curriculum with them. Paraprofessionals should also

receive some level of training to ensure competency and appropriate support of students. The
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importance of access to assistive technology should be understood by all staff. This can be as

simple as a pencil grip or complex as an eye-tracking device. Teachers do not need to know how

to operate every item, but should have basic understanding of what they are and their use to the

student. Social workers can and should also act as advocates to educate families of children with

disabilities on their right to access assistive technology and receive a free appropriate public

education.

School Culture

Some disability activists have noted that much of social skills teaching (typically done by

social workers, counselors, and special education teachers), especially for autistic children, can

operate as inherently ableist as it promotes mainstream concepts on how neurotypical people act,

expecting those with disabilities to conform rather than teaching others to be inclusive (McLaren,

2014). Rather than continuously segregate students with disabilities to teach them how to

conform, schools should shift to inclusive classrooms teaching all children the importance of

how to accept and value peer differences. Often times children will exclude or even bully peers

with disabilities because they view them as different, are unfamiliar with interacting with people

with disabilities, and/or have socially learned to stigmatize them. This is a problem with the

mainstream; thus, the burden of change should be on them and not children with disabilities.

School culture can combat this by educating students about learning differences and diversity.

Inclusive classrooms and peer partner programs, such as Best Buddies, put nondisabled students

in greater proximity to peers with disabilities, fostering mutually beneficial friendships, as well

as familiarity to dismantle any fear or stigma surrounding the child and their disability

(Hardman, 2006).
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However, simply sharing the same space is not enough to unlearn biases, as prejudice

reduction is noted to be greater when members of different groups are positioned as having equal

status, as well as institutionally supported to collaborate in pursuit of common goals (Lalvani,

2018). Starting as early as preschool, children notice differences, classify and evaluate people.

They begin to recognize social hierarchies based on systems of power and privilege, and

internalize cultural stereotypes (Boutte, 2008). A lack of critical conversation around these

differences gives way to children learning through observation what characteristics are most

desirable in society, leading to the internalization of ableism, misogyny, white supremacy, etc.

Emphasis on social justice and a strong sense of community within a school fosters greater

connections to create a more supportive environment for everyone. As students learn about the

value of diversity, as well as understanding differing needs of classmates and strategies on how

to accommodate them, schools become blossoming communities for inclusivity.

Creating inclusive classroom spaces valuing community approaches to learning and peer

support often begin with larger school culture. This means dismantling institutional ableism and

implementing anti-bias practices. A common exercise by schools attempting to promote a better

understanding of disabilities is the enactment of “Disability Awareness Days”. Although

typically well-intentioned, these days are often isolated in nature, seemingly performative, and

consist of various simulation activities where nondisabled students briefly pretend to have a

disability. This is often through the use of blindfolds, wheelchairs, cotton balls in the ear, etc. as

students essentially “try on” disabilities. These exercises not only provide inaccurate depictions

of people’s lived experiences, but foster feelings of fear and humiliation (Lalvani, 2013).

Likewise, much of the autistic community has come out against internationally recognized

“Autism Awareness Day” in favor of “Autism Acceptance Day”, noting that the autistic
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community does not need awareness or to be treated as a disease in need of a cure. Instead

autistic people want to be seen, heard, accepted, and understood within society, celebrating their

diversity and strength (Silberman, 2012). Simulation exercises and awareness days perpetuate

problematic narratives and fail to teach children to think critically about the societal attitudes

perpetuating ability based segregation.

Collaborative Partnerships

Caregiver involvement is an essential component of effective inclusive schooling. From

a variety of participant perspectives and methods, the active involvement of committed parents

emerges repeatedly. Given proper time, resources, and opportunity parents can be a child’s

fiercest advocate and work collaboratively with teachers, social workers, and other school

personnel to ensure their child is supported. Procedural safeguards remain in place to ensure

parental rights when it comes to their child’s IEP and right to an education. However, often times

this becomes the extent of the school/caregiver relationship (with the exception being any

disciplinary infractions). By respecting caregivers as valuable sources of information, social

workers and teachers can gain important input about the child’s strengths, interests, culture,

background, and overall well-being. Classrooms and curriculum can then be adapted to be more

culturally responsive and attuned to the child’s interests and strengths. Caregivers often want to

share this information about their child, just needing an opportunity to do so. By opening up

communication to be consistent, bidirectional, and strengths-based, students with disabilities are

thus holistically supported both in and out of the classroom by a well-functioning team of adults

that care, empowering them to achieve success.

Additionally, critical to children’s success and collaboration is self-advocacy. For

children with disabilities, IEP meetings often consist of many different adults all bringing a piece
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of the puzzle in to help understand a child. Parents, caregivers, teachers, coaches, social workers,

etc. may all see themselves as an expert on the child, but too often everyone neglects to

recognize that the child is the true agent of change and expert of themselves. Self-advocacy is

often thought to begin in IEP meetings and the development of transition plans, but skill building

for this can begin at much younger ages and is especially important in inclusive classrooms. The

conceptualization of self-advocacy and self-determination involves four major components of

knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, communication, and leadership (Roberts, 2014).

Research studies identified what topics and practices were valuable for students in promoting

self-advocacy and self-determination, noting learning about college, meeting others with

disabilities, and meeting role models as the most useful. Also beneficial was learning about their

own and others’ disability, and their own strengths and weaknesses. Notably, social skills and

learning about the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) reported as less useful (Roberts,

2014). It is important that educators and school social workers note what topics are found to be

most valuable and empowering to the students themselves, as opposed to imposing what they

think the students should learn. However, although research may indicate general trends on what

concepts are most useful, every child is unique, with different sets of strengths, challenges, goals,

and values, thus teaching self-advocacy practices should be empowering in and of itself as

curriculum can be designed based on what the child’s goals are.

Recommendations

The right to learn in a general education classroom for children with disabilities took

years of advocacy, organizing, and continuous hard work to finally achieve. Inclusive classrooms

help destigmatize learning differences and exceptionalities, provide challenging and engaging

learning material, foster diversity, and create rich peer interactions for all students. Often times
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general education teachers are not properly trained on how to support children with disabilities,

or an already overcrowded classroom with inadequate supplies limits effectiveness. Given the

proper resources, practices, and groundwork, inclusive classrooms can become incredible

learning environments for every student that enters, especially those with disabilities who would

otherwise be segregated or neglected. Additionally, the school and classroom physical spaces

should be reflective of inclusivity, modifying playgrounds and rooms to increase accessibility for

students with disabilities. It is extremely important to design curriculum to include students

learning about personal biases and discrimination, but it is just as important to show genuine

commitment to this through actions. Children will subconsciously pick up on who the school

facilities are designed for, and by seeing the school operate as a safe, considerate environment

for everyone’s easy access, learning, and enjoyment, they can see that everyone’s livelihood is

valuable.

Increasing the hiring and use of social workers may aid schools in building and

maintaining inclusivity to foster student success. Given their background, social workers can be

extremely effective at identifying obstacles to learning for students with disabilities. As they

work closely with individual students, they may better understand their overall strengths and

challenges, as well as observe classroom practices using a person in environment theory lens.

School social workers can also work collaboratively with teachers to identify oppressive

practices and barriers to learning within classrooms, actively dismantling and replacing them

with inclusive, accessible strategies (such as UDL and PALS) that set children with disabilities

up for success. Similarly, social workers can also work with school administrators on how to

shift the overall culture of the school to be increasingly anti-oppressive and supportive, acting as

an advocate for students with disabilities. This would include ending the disrespectful practices
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of disability simulation activities and days, as well as taking a critical look at any social skills

programs. Additionally, by following the child through multiple environments social workers

can do a lot in partnership with caregivers and community members to better understand and

empower students as a team.

The ultimate goal of every classroom should be that students are happy, healthy, learning,

and achieving. Not only will well designed inclusive classrooms and schools achieve this, but

they will also create more open-minded, empathetic, confident, and strong children of all

backgrounds. Hopefully, in time, these practices will then create an increasingly progressive

society with people and institutions that are supportive of everyone. Schools can be and should

be ground zero for empowering all children, promoting, teaching, and modeling inclusivity in

every way possible to ensure every child is not only learning, but thriving socially, emotionally,

physically, and mentally.

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