Inclusive

Education

A Reader
Luisa M. Muñoz Cantú, Ed.D.
Bryant
&
Bryant
 diversity and its influence on families, cultures, schools, and the
delivery of educational services. All children bring a social, academic,
economic, and cultural background to class with them, and these
backgrounds are part of the environment in which learning takes place.
The cultural heritage of all students is an important factor to consider
when designing educational programs to meet the needs of exceptional
students. Good teaching practices will benefit all students, whatever
their background.

What Is Inclusive Education?

The term inclusive education usually means that students with disabilities
access the standard curriculum in the general education classroom.
Miscommunication can easily occur when the term inclusion is used:
Whereas one person might use the word to mean that a student attends a
neighborhood school and receives most instruction in the general
education classroom, to another it might mean all the student’s instruction
is delivered in the general education classroom. It is easy to assume
everyone is truly communicating about where a student should be
educated, but it is wiser to be sure everyone is using the same definition
before having an in-depth discussion of students’ education. To understand
the concept of inclusive education better, let’s review how it emerged and
developed.

Origins of Inclusion
The basic concepts of inclusion and integration of students with disabilities
into the public education system have their roots in the original Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) law passed in 1975. Before 1975
many children with disabilities were denied access to public education. To
those who were instrumental in developing the original IDEA law,
inclusion probably meant that children with disabilities had the right to go
to public school and receive a free education. Neither the type of school
nor the location where the education was delivered was the focus of
advocacy efforts.

When education became mandatory for all students with disabilities, the
nation saw a rise in the number of separate schools built specifically for
them. Real growth also occurred in the number of special classes—

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sometimes on the grounds of neighborhood schools but often in basements
and portable buildings—for this newly included group of students. The
first model for inclusive education reflected the idea that, whenever
possible, students with disabilities should be included in the public
education system and mainstreamed, or educated together with peers
without disabilities, such as in art, music, and physical education.

Was the creation of segregated programs for these students contrary to the
concept of inclusion? Most likely, at that time, the answer to this question
would have been a resounding “no.” Special schools and special classes
offered highly specialized programs to students with disabilities and their
families. Some special schools offered facilities and services that are
feasible to deliver only when students with similar needs are congregated.
For example, when all students with severe physical disabilities in one
school district attend the same school, the building can include a special
therapy pool and the full-time services of many related services
professionals like physical therapists, occupational therapists, and
speech/language pathologists. When these students attended their
neighborhood schools, they were spread across many different buildings
and large geographic areas, diluting the intensity of services available to
them. Many families believed the potentially negative aspects of
segregation were outweighed by the highly specialized services it made
possible.

Inclusive Education
As time passed, however, dissatisfaction with segregated programs grew.
Parents began to question whether separating youngsters from their
siblings and neighborhood friends was the best strategy for their education.
Professionals and policymakers were concerned about the efficacy of
special education programs and practices (Finn, Rotherham, & Hokanson,
2001; Gartner & Lipsky, 1987). Professionals and policymakers came to
believe separate programs were ethically and morally wrong (Sailor, 1991;
Snell & Brown, 2006). In particular, advocates for students with severe
disabilities maintained that the benefits of having so-called typical role
models (illustrating how children without disabilities behave and interact
with each other) outweighed intensive services that might be more readily
available when groups of youngsters needing a particular program were
clustered together (Turnbull, Turnbull, Wehmeyer, & Shogren, 2016).
Across the years, educators’ and advocates’ thinking about special

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education and the students it serves evolved. To many, the least restrictive
environment (LRE—that is, access to the general education curriculum)
has emerged as the more critical variable to be considered when decisions
about special education placement are made.

Of course, participation in the general education curriculum does not

automatically result just because students with disabilities are placed in
typical classroom settings (Zigmond, 2003). Something special needs to
happen. One approach, universal design for learning (UDL), focuses on
the curriculum so a broad range of students with very different learning
preferences can approach it and learn without an intervention being made
especially for them. A second approach focuses on helping students, via
assistive technology (AT), to compensate for challenges they bring to the
instructional situation. The third and most commonly used approach
focuses not on the curriculum but on making adaptations to the
instructional situation that match specific students’ needs (Fisher, Frey, &
Thousand, 2003). In Chapter 7 you will learn about differentiating
instruction and making adaptations to help students with special learning
needs access the general education curriculum so that they can learn
alongside their peers without disabilities. In Chapter 8 you also will learn
about UDL and AT, both of which can be used to promote access to the
general education curriculum. These approaches enable general and
special education teachers to work effectively with all students to help
them be successful in their classes.

As you have read, inclusive education has many different interpretations.

The range of interpretations is the foundation for different inclusive
education practices. For example, one interpretation of inclusive education
is called full inclusion using pull-in programming, where students
receive all educational services in the general education classroom. With
this practice, speech/language pathologists come to the general education
class to work with a student who needs speech therapy, rather than
removing the student for individualized work. Another interpretation is
called coteaching, wherein special education teachers come to general
education classrooms to work with students needing intervention or share
instructional duties across academic content for all students in the class
(Friend, 2000; Villa, Thousand, & Nevin, 2004). You will learn more
about coteaching in Chapter 5.

Inclusive Education Practices

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A dilemma for parents and educators of high school students with severe
disabilities is choosing which is more appropriate or more important:
access to the standard high school curriculum leading to a diploma, or
community-based instruction where on-the-job training, independent
transportation, and home management are taught in real-life settings.

iStock/nullplus

The array of services, or what is often called the special education

continuum of services (an older term is cascade of services), offers
additional practices for serving students with disabilities when they are not
receiving some or all of their education in the general education classroom.
Pullout programs include resource rooms, partially self-contained special
classes, self-contained special classes, and special education schools
(center schools). For the vast majority of students who receive most of
their education in general education classes, the resource room is the
option for pullout special education services. Resource room instruction
often consists of small-group instruction focused on areas most in need of
intensive intervention. This instruction may occur for 30 to 60 minutes
several days a week. However, the number of these classes is shrinking
because many students who attend resource room settings now receive

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most if not all of their education in general education classrooms
(inclusive settings), thus leaving a reduced number of options available for
even short-term, intensive intervention (Moody, Vaughn, Hughes, &
Fischer, 2000). For example, in the 2013 school year, 61.8% of all students
with disabilities—those with mild to moderate disabilities as well as those
with severe disabilities—received at least 80% of their education at local
public schools in general education classes (National Center for Education
Statistics [NCES], 2016). The participation rates for students with
disabilities in general education classes have increased consistently over
the past 20 years, and only 3.2% of those students attend separate schools
or separate residential facilities today. Clearly, these data reflect current
inclusive education practices in public schools.

The Inclusion Debate

At the heart of discussions about inclusive education, particularly full
inclusion, is the dynamic tension between free appropriate public
education (FAPE) and LRE: the delivery of an appropriate education and
participation in the LRE possible. Let’s think about how some of these
conversations might unfold.

For example, should full-time placement in a general education setting be

a goal for every student with a disability, even if doing so means that some
elements of an educational program that an individual needs to achieve to
his or her full potential would have to be sacrificed? For a high school
student with severe disabilities, parents and educators might have to decide
which is more appropriate or more important: access to the standard high
school curriculum leading to a diploma (including science and foreign
language requirements) or community-based instruction where on-the-job
training, independent transportation, and home management are taught in
real-life settings.

Some scholars argue that full inclusion, where students with disabilities
receive all their education in a general education setting, is not sufficient to
support those with more severe needs, whether academic, emotional,
social, or physical. Other scholars believe all students have a right to fully
inclusive educational practices where they can benefit from being
integrated into a school setting with their peers and gain a sense of
belonging and active participation in the mainstream. Thus, the role of
special education services is to support all students with special needs in

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general education classes by designing instruction and applying
adaptations that accommodate individual learning needs. The inclusion
debate more often includes perspectives and discussions that range along a
continuum where professionals and parents embrace the strengths of
different inclusive practices and make decisions based on individual
student needs.

Some guidelines can help when challenging decisions are being made.
First, special education placement decisions must be individually
determined, because services should be tailored to the needs of each
student with disabilities. Second, no single answer is possible for all
students with disabilities. Third, students with disabilities need an array of
services (and placements) available to them for the delivery of
individualized education programs that range in intensity and duration
(Deshler, 2001; Vaughn, Elbaum, & Boardman, 2001). Few professionals
or parents advocate either for fully inclusive settings or for fully
segregated settings. The guiding principle must be based not on placement
alone but also on how students can best access the general education
curriculum, master academic targets, and develop life skills they need to
succeed when they are adults. Next, we introduce you to special education.

What Is Special Education?

Special education is designed to meet the unique learning needs of each
infant, toddler, preschooler, and elementary through high school student
with disabilities, and individuals up to the age of 21. This instruction might
be delivered in many different types of settings, such as hospitals, separate
facilities, and homes, but it is most commonly provided at the student’s
local school in the general education class with neighborhood friends.
Special education reflects a variety of instructional targets: Braille for
students who are blind, manual communication systems for students who
are deaf, social skills training for students with emotional or behavioral
disorders, and so on.

General education and special education differ along some very important
dimensions. First and foremost, they are designed for students with
different learning, behavioral, social, communication, and basic functional
needs (such as the need to learn daily living skills). Second, some
differences are based in law—what is stated in IDEA and its regulations—
and result in key components of special education. Third, general

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education tends to focus on groups of learners, whereas the special
education approach focuses on individuals.

One way to gain a better understanding of special education is to study

some of its key distinguishing features. Although we cannot put forth a
single description because these services must be designed for each
individual to meet his or her unique learning needs, some fundamental
tenets provide the foundation:

Free appropriate public education

Least restrictive environment
Systematic identification procedures
Individualized education programs
Family involvement
Related services
Access to the general education curriculum
Evidence-based practices
Frequent monitoring of progress

Let’s examine each of these features that form the foundation of special
education.

Free Appropriate Public Education

From the very beginning of IDEA, Congress stipulated that educational
services for students with disabilities are to be available to parents at no
additional cost to them. These students, despite the complexity of their
educational needs, the accommodations or additional services they require,
and the cost to a school district, are entitled to a free appropriate public
education (FAPE). Note that Congress included the word appropriate in
its language. FAPE must be individually determined, because what is
appropriate for one student with a disability might not be appropriate for
another. FAPE provisions emphasize that special education and related
services must be designed to meet the unique needs of students with
disabilities and prepare them for further education, employment, and
independent living (Wrightslaw, 2004). FAPE guarantees, under the Every
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (2015), that students with disabilities
receive a regular high school diploma if they received a standards-based
curricular education. This diploma is not aligned to the alternate academic
achievement standards, which students with the most significant cognitive

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disabilities may receive (Office of Special Education Programs [OSEP],
2017). However, students with significant cognitive disabilities are still
entitled to complete requirements for the high school diploma.

Least Restrictive Environment

Students with disabilities must receive their education in the least
restrictive environment (LRE). In other words, special education
services are not automatically delivered in any particular place. Today,
LRE is often misinterpreted as meaning placement in general education
classes. IDEA does not mandate that students with disabilities receive all
their education in the general education setting. The USDE, in its 2006
regulations implementing IDEA, explains LRE in this way:

To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities,

including children in public or private institutions or other care
facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled; and that
special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with
disabilities from regular educational environment occurs only if the
nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular
classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be
achieved satisfactorily. (USDE, 2006, pp. 46764–46765)

The federal government identifies an array of placements, in addition to

the general education classroom, that are appropriate for some students
with disabilities. These placements include resource rooms, special
classes, special schools, home instruction settings, and hospitals. For some
students, exclusive exposure to the general education curriculum is not
appropriate. For example, a secondary student with significant cognitive
disabilities might need to master functional skills or life skills essential
for independent living as an adult. That student might also need to receive
concentrated instruction on skills associated with holding a job
successfully. To acquire and become proficient in skills necessary to live
and work in the community often requires instruction outside the general
education curriculum, outside the general education classroom, and even
beyond the actual school site. This instruction is often best conducted in
the community, on actual job sites, and in real situations. In fact,
community-based instruction is a well-researched, effective special

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education approach (Browder, Wood, Thompson, & Ribuffo, 2014). Thus,
there is no single or uniform interpretation of LRE. A balance must be
achieved between inclusive instruction and a curriculum that is appropriate
and is delivered in the most effective setting.

Systematic Identification Procedures

To decide which students qualify for special education—those who
actually have disabilities—and to determine what that education should be
requires systematic identification procedures. Because current methods
tend to overidentify culturally and linguistically diverse students as having
disabilities and to underidentify them as being gifted and talented, many
professionals conclude that the special education identification process is
flawed and needs a major overhaul (MacMillan & Siperstein, 2002).
Educators must be careful of identifying students as having disabilities
when they do not. New procedures are being developed to identify
students with disabilities and to qualify them for special education. We
discuss these procedures in greater detail later in the text, but know that the
role of general education teachers in the identification process is evolving
and growing (Fuchs & Vaughn, 2012).

The first task in the identification process is to ensure that a lack of

appropriate academic instruction is not causing difficulties. The next is to
collect data about the target student’s performance, showing that high-
quality classroom procedures do not bring about improvements in
academic or social behavior for this particular student. Then, for those
students who do not make expected gains with intensified interventions,
further classroom evaluations are conducted. The ensuing classroom
assessments include comparisons with peers who are achieving as
expected, careful monitoring of the target student’s progress (through
curriculum-based measurements), and descriptions of interventions tried,
accommodations implemented, types of errors made, and levels of
performance achieved (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Compton, 2004; Fuchs & Vaughn,
2012). Students who, over a certain period of time, do not profit from
instruction in their general education class are referred for formal
evaluation and probable provision of special education services. You will
learn about these procedures in Chapter 2.

Individualized Education Programs

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At the heart of individualized programs are standards-based
individualized education programs (IEPs) for schoolchildren ages 3 to
21 and individualized family service plans (IFSPs) for infants and
toddlers (birth through age 2) with disabilities and their families. Each of
these students is entitled to an individually designed educational program
complete with supportive (related) services. In some states the guarantee
of an individualized education is extended to gifted students as well, but
because federal law does not protect gifted students’ special education,
schools are not required to address those students with individualized
education.

IEPs and IFSPs are the cornerstones that guarantee an appropriate

education to each student with a disability. The IEP is the communication
tool that spells out what each child’s individualized education should
comprise. Therefore, every teacher working with a special education
student should have access to the student’s IEP. They should all be very
familiar with its contents because this document includes important
information about the required accommodations, the necessary special
services, and the unique educational needs of the student. You will learn
more about IEPs and IFSPs in Chapter 2.

Family Involvement
Educators’ expectations of parent and family involvement are greater for
students with disabilities than for their peers without disabilities, and the
strength of families and their engagement with the school can make a real
difference in the lives of their children (Garcia, 2001). For example, there
is an expectation that parents participate in the development of their
children’s IEPs and become partners with teachers and schools. Families
have the right to due process when they do not agree with schools about
the education planned for or being delivered to their children. They are
also entitled to services not usually offered to parents of typical learners.
For example, parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities (birth to age
2) receive intensive instruction through special education along with their
children.

Parents and family members of students with disabilities have important

roles to play. Linking home and school communities is the responsibility
of both families and teaching professionals.

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 thinkstock/Jack Hollingsworth

Recognizing the challenges parents often face in raising and educating

their children with special needs, advocacy groups and professional
organizations have formed over the years to support families and those
who work with them. For example, the Learning Disabilities Association
of America has a long history of advocacy on behalf of individuals with
learning disabilities and the professionals and families who work with
them. The Arc of the United States, formerly known as the Association for
Retarded Citizens of the United States, is another advocacy group. Its
focus includes ensuring that all students are provided appropriate public
education services. CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD]) is made up of hardworking
volunteers who provide support and resources to parents and professionals.
The National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health exists to
provide national-level advocacy for the rights of children with emotional,
behavioral, and mental health challenges and their families. It works
collaboratively with a national network of family-run organizations.

Leaders in these organizations, who often are parents themselves, have

succeeded in influencing funding at the state and national levels for
appropriate educational services for students with disabilities. Parent
advocacy groups are very powerful, as shown by their contribution to key
court cases resulting in legislation that now protects students with
disabilities in all aspects of the educational system.

Related Services
Another important difference between general and special education is the
array of services the latter offers to help students with disabilities profit

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from instruction. Related services are the multidisciplinary or
transdisciplinary set of services many students with disabilities require if
their education is to be truly appropriate. Those services are specified in
the student’s IEP and can include adaptive physical education (PE), AT,
audiology, diagnosis and evaluation, interpretation for the deaf, family
therapy, occupational therapy (OT), orientation and mobility, the
assistance of paraprofessionals (paraeducators and teacher aides), physical
therapy (PT), psychological services, recreation and therapeutic-recreation
therapy, rehabilitative counseling, school counseling, school nursing,
school social work, speech/language pathology, special transportation,
vocational education, and work study (USDE, 2006). For example, in
some cases a paraprofessional, sometimes called a paraeducator,
supports the special education program and works with a special education
student in the general education classroom (Allen & Ashbaker, 2004).
These professionals’ services often make inclusion possible because they
provide individualized assistance to students with disabilities for extended
periods of the school day (Trautman, 2004).

Multidisciplinary teams of related services professionals go into action to

meet the individual needs of students with disabilities. The federal
government considers the cost of related services professionals—such as
school nurses and school counselors—to be covered in part by funding
from IDEA (USDE, 2006). You will learn more about related services in
Chapter 2 and collaboration with families and paraprofessionals and how
to work with students who exhibit special needs in Chapter 3. The
following Working Together feature provides an example of how
professionals from different services work together to benefit students,
educators, and families.

Working Together Collaboration for Supporting Student Learning

A school’s child study team, consisting of the classroom teacher, school

counselor, assistant principal, and special education teacher, was
concerned about the behavior of a 6-year-old, first-grade boy.
Information from the classroom teacher indicated that the boy exhibited
erratic, unpredictable behavior, throwing chairs in the classroom and
having temper tantrums when things did not go his way. The classroom
teacher was concerned about how to stop these behaviors, teach the
student appropriate ways to behave, and keep all her students safe. The
child study team worked collaboratively with the school psychologist,
district behavior specialist, and parents to problem-solve the situation.

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 The team decided to collect further information to better understand the
needs of the student and ways to help the classroom teacher: The school
psychologist would conduct an assessment to better understand the
emotional and social well-being of the student. The district behavior
specialist would conduct classroom observations to determine events
that led up to or followed challenging behaviors. The school counselor
would interview the parents to hear their perspectives about the student
and his challenging behavior. The team’s collective information would
be used to determine a plan to help the student and classroom teacher.
In the meantime, the district behavior specialist worked with the
classroom teacher to address immediate behavior issues in the
classroom.

Questions
1. What information from the parents could help school
professionals better understand the needs of the student?
2. What information from the classroom teacher could help the child
study team better understand the student’s behavior in the
classroom?
3. What questions could you ask the classroom teacher about the
student’s behavior?

Most related services specialists are itinerant, working at several schools

during the same day and at many different schools across the week.
Scheduling their time can be complicated, but it is vital to ensure that
students with special needs do not miss any educational opportunity.
Multidisciplinary teams of experts not only deliver critical services to
students with disabilities and their families but also serve as valuable
resources to teachers as they strive to meet the needs of each student.
Despite the remoteness of a school, the distance a specialist might have to
travel, or the shortage of related services specialists, there is no excuse for
not making these experts available to teachers and their students with
disabilities.

Access to the General Education Curriculum

Another key feature of special education is access to the general education
curriculum. In response to the fact that only 66% of students with
disabilities leave school with a standard diploma, parents, policymakers,

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and advocates insist such students participate in the general education
curriculum and be assessed in the accountability measures (state- and
district-wide tests) that monitor all students’ progress (Office of Special
Education Programs [OSEP], 2006). Advocates contend that students who
receive their education in inclusive general education classrooms are more
likely to have greater exposure to the standard curriculum and a better
chance of graduating with a standard high school diploma than those
students who receive their education in more-restrictive environments,
such as self-contained special education classrooms. Therefore, when
IDEA was reauthorized in 1997 it required that all students with
disabilities have access, to the fullest extent possible, to the general
education curriculum and its accountability systems.

Of course, access to the curriculum and to a specific place often go hand in

hand, because the general education classroom is the place where students
have the greatest opportunity to access the standard curriculum. The
general education curriculum is not appropriate for all students with
disabilities, however. Some require an alternative curriculum or intensive
treatment not available or not suitable for instruction in the general
education classroom. Examples include orientation and mobility training
for students who are blind, job skills training in community placements,
public transportation instruction, social skills training, physical therapy,
and speech therapy for a student who has a stutter. Placement issues, LRE,
access to the general education curriculum, and alternative curricular
options are not mutually exclusive. Each can be in effect for part of the
school day, school week, or school year.

Evidence-Based Interventions
Passage of IDEA in 2004 emphasized that teachers should apply evidence-
based interventions. These practices have been proven effective through
systematic and rigorous research. In fact, according to IDEA
documentation that evidence-based interventions were implemented must
exist before a student believed to have a learning disability can be referred.
The student’s responses to these interventions also must be documented as
part of the process of identifying the disability. This process, promoted and
endorsed in IDEA, is known as Response to Intervention (RtI), which
you will learn about in Chapter 2.

We define special education, in part, by its practices, which are more

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intensive and more supportive than are practices for students without
special learning needs. Many of these proven interventions share six
common features (Coyne, Kame’enui, & Carnine, 2011; Swanson,
Hoskyn, & Lee, 1999):

1. Validated (using practices proved effective through research)

2. Individually determined (matching teaching procedures to
individuals)
3. Explicit (directly applying interventions to content and skills)
4. Strategic (helping students apply methods to guide their learning)
5. Sequential (building on previous mastery)
6. Monitored (evaluating progress frequently and systematically)

Most students with disabilities and most of those with special needs do not
require this intensive instruction for all their education. But when their
learning is not on a par with that of their general education peers, it is time
for action.

Frequent Monitoring of Progress

Even when teachers carefully select validated practices, there is no
guarantee the individual student will respond positively or sufficiently. For
this reason, teachers use progress monitoring—a set of evaluation
procedures that assess the effectiveness of instruction on skills while they
are being taught. The four key features of this approach are that students’
educational progress is measured (a) directly on skills of concern, (b)
systematically, (c) consistently, and (d) frequently.

The most effective means of implementing progress monitoring is

curriculum-based measurement (CBM). In this approach, the areas of
most concern are measured directly to check progress on the curricular
tasks, skills, or behaviors to which interventions are being directed (Deno,
2003; Foegen, Jiban, & Deno, 2007). These assessments occur often (e.g.,
weekly) and provide educators with useful feedback, on the basis of which
they can quickly modify their instructional approaches (Stecker, Fuchs, &
Fuchs, 2005). Because CBM results can be used to tailor the special
education a student receives, by guiding the selection of practices and
monitoring their effectiveness, CBM must not be omitted. You will learn
more about monitoring student progress when specific curriculum targets
(such as reading) are discussed in Chapter 9. We turn our attention now to

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discussing the origins of special education.

What Are the Origins of Special Education?

Although many people believe U.S. special education began in 1975 with
the passage of the national law we now call IDEA, it actually began more
than 200 years ago. The legend of special education’s beginnings is not
only famous—it’s also true. In 1799 farmers in southern France found a
young boy living in the woods, and they took this “wild child” to a doctor
in Paris. Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard, the doctor who now is recognized as
the father of special education, used many of the principles and procedures
of explicit instruction still implemented today to teach this boy, who they
named Victor and who probably had intellectual disabilities.

In the early 1800s Edouard Seguin, one of Itard’s students, came to the
United States and began efforts to educate students with disabilities. In
fact, these early efforts were taking root across Europe as well. For
example, in Italy, Maria Montessori worked first with children with
cognitive disabilities and showed they could learn at young ages through
concrete experiences offered in environments rich in manipulative
materials. Meanwhile, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet began to develop deaf
education, and Samuel Gridley Howe founded the New England Asylum
for the Blind (later the Perkins School for the Blind). Elizabeth Farrell
initiated public school classes for students with disabilities in 1898.
Although special education and the idea of educating students with
disabilities are not new, they were not uniformly accepted. In the United
States, it was another 75 years before education became a right, something
all students with disabilities were entitled to receive. You may be surprised
to learn, in the next section, that the guarantees in place today were
adopted rather recently.

Inconsistent Opportunities
Although positive attitudes about the benefits of educating students with
disabilities emerged centuries ago, the delivery of programs remained
inconsistent for almost 200 years. In 1948 only 12% of all children with
disabilities received special education (Ballard, Ramirez, & Weintraub,
1982). In 1962 only 16 states had laws that included students with mild
intellectual disabilities under mandatory school attendance requirements

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(Roos, 1970). In most states, these children were not allowed to attend
school, and those with more severe disabilities were routinely excluded.

In the early 1970s, Congress studied the problem, and here’s what it found
(20 U.S.C section 1400[b] PL 94-142, 1975):

One million of the children with disabilities in the United States were
excluded entirely from the public-school system.
More than half of the 8 million children with disabilities were not
receiving appropriate educational services.
The special educational needs of these children were not being fully
met because they were not receiving necessary related services.
Services within the public-school system were inadequate and forced
families to go outside the public-school system, often traveling great
distances from their residence and at their own expense.
If given appropriate funding, state and local educational agencies
could provide effective special education and related services to meet
the needs of children with disabilities.

Congress realized that special education, with proper financial assistance

and educational support, was necessary to make a positive difference in the
lives of these children and their families.

Court Cases: A Backdrop for National Legislation

The end of World War II ushered in a time of increased opportunities for
all, eventually leading to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and to
advocacy for people with disabilities in the 1970s. Before then, concerns
about unfair treatment of children with disabilities and their limited access
to education were being taken to the courts and legislatures state by state.
Table 1.1 summarizes landmark state and local court cases that paved the
way for national special education to be consistently offered to all children
with disabilities. After years of exclusion, segregation, and denial of basic
educational opportunities, consensus was growing that a national civil
rights law, guaranteeing students with disabilities access to the public
education system, was imperative.

Table 1.1 •

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Next, we will review some of the key laws and court decisions that protect
students with disabilities. Consider the impact of these court decisions on
the lives of students with disabilities and their families.

What Laws and Court Decisions Protect

Students With Disabilities?
The nation’s policymakers reacted to injustices revealed in court case after
court case by passing federal laws to protect the civil rights of individuals
with disabilities (Florian, 2007). Table 1.2 lists some of the important laws
passed by Congress that affect individuals with disabilities. As you study
these, notice how one law set the stage for the next.

Table 1.2 •

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The Supreme Court, however, disagreed and interpreted IDEA differently.
The justices decided that if a doctor is not necessary to provide the health
service, and the service is necessary to keep a student in an educational
program, then it is the school’s obligation to provide the related service.
The implications of this decision are enormous (Katsiyannis & Yell,
2000). Not only are the services of additional staff expensive—between
$20,000 and $40,000 per school year—but to them must be added
increased liability for schools, additional considerations for IEP teams,
administrative costs, and the complications of having yet another adult in a
classroom.

Next, we focus on the nature of disability as a backdrop for the remaining

chapters.

What Is a Disability?
Some of you might have answered the question, “What is a disability?,” by
expressing the notion that disabilities are absolutes—something an
individual does or doesn’t have. You might have said the concept of
disability is complex and that there are many different perspectives on
what it is and what it means to each individual, family, and culture. You
might have included in your answer that the intensity of a disability is the
result of different conditions or experiences and that the response to it—
the intensity of instruction, types of services, and community supports—
depends on an individual’s unique needs. These answers reflect the idea
that individualized adaptations and assistance can reduce the impact of the
challenge presented by a disability.

Why did we ask how disability is conceptualized? First, the concept of

disability is not as simple as it initially appears. Second, the way people,
groups, and cultures think about what it means to have a disability affects
the way they interact with people with disabilities, and those interactions
in turn become events that influence individuals’ outcomes (Branson &
Miller, 2002; Winzer, 2007). For example, some responses—such as low
or unreasonably high expectations—can have long-term negative results
(Harry, 2007). So, let’s think together about various ways to conceptualize
the term disability and also about how attitudes toward disability can
influence students’ lives.

Different disciplines, cultures, and individuals disagree about what

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disabilities are or how to explain them (Lynch & Hanson, 2004; Utley &
Obiakor, 2001). For example, many psychologists, education
professionals, and medical professionals describe children and youths in
terms of various characteristics, such as intelligence, visual acuity,
academic achievement, or behavior. In its manual, Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), the
American Psychiatric Association (APA) describes many characteristics
that help to describe or define a condition or a disability because they set
the individual apart from what is called normal, typical, or average (APA,
2013). In this common approach, human characteristics or traits are
described as a continuum; at one end, very little of the target behavior is
observed, and at the other end an unusual amount of the trait is expressed.
Here’s an example. In DSM-5 the APA (2013) describes inattention,
hyperactivity, and impulsivity as including the following behaviors:

1. often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat.

2. often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which
remaining seated is expected.
3. often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is
inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective
feelings of restlessness).
4. often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly.
5. is often “on the go” or often acts as if “driven by a motor.”
6. often talks excessively. (APA, 2013, p. 60)

Some students exhibit problem behaviors and need exemplary teachers.

How do federal laws distinguish between students who exhibit problem
behaviors and students with attention issues or learning disabilities?

iStock/Creatas

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Note that all the behaviors described in the DSM-5 account of
hyperactivity are expected in children to some extent. What identifies
hyperactivity is that an individual exhibits “too many” of these behaviors.
Now let’s look at the reverse situation, when displaying “not enough” or
“too few” of the behaviors of concern leads to the identification of a
disability.

Other perspectives can also provide a framework for understanding

disabilities and special needs. Let’s turn to four different ways of thinking
about disabilities:

The deficit perspective on disabilities

The cultural perspective on disabilities
The sociological perspective on disabilities
People with disabilities as members of a minority group

The Deficit Perspective on Disabilities

The deficit perspective reflects the idea that behavior and characteristics
people share are distributed along a continuum, with most people falling in
the middle of the distribution, where they make up the average. For
example, some people are short and some are tall, but most people’s height
falls somewhere in the middle; the average of everyone’s height is at the
center of the distribution. The scores from most human characteristics
create such patterns, forming what we call a normal curve, like the one
shown in Figure 1.1. Because of the way the distribution tends to fall, with
the highest number of scores in the middle and proportionally fewer as the
distance from the average score increases, the distribution is also referred
to as the bell-shaped curve.

Figure 1.1 • A Hypothetical Distribution of Scores Creating a Normal or

Bell-Shaped Curve

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Suppose we plotted the number of students obtaining each academic
achievement score on the graph. Few students would obtain low scores,
and their scores would be plotted at the left-hand side of the graph. The
number of students receiving higher scores increases as we move to the
right until we reach the average or mean score. Somewhere in the middle
of the distribution are typical learners, whose behaviors and
characteristics represent the average or majority of students. The
progressively fewer students who obtain higher and higher scores on the
test complete the right-hand side of the distribution or curve. The number
of characteristics we can count in this way is infinite, and each individual
student probably falls at a different point on each dimension measured.
Thus, the unusually tall student might have slightly below-average visual
acuity and an average score on the distance he or she can kick a ball.
Clearly the hypothetical average student, or typical learner, does not
actually exist—or exists very rarely—because the possible combinations
of human characteristics are endless.

Regardless, in mainstream U.S. society, the most common way we

describe individuals is by quantifying their performance. Unfortunately,
this way of thinking forces us to consider everyone in terms of how
different they are from the average, and half the members of any group
will be below average. The approach also contributes to the tendency to
think about students with disabilities as deficient or somehow less than
their peers without disabilities.

The Cultural Perspective on Disabilities

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A second way to think about disabilities and the people who might be
affected does not use a quantitative approach; rather, it reveals a cultural
perspective that reflects the diversity of our nation. Alfredo Artiles of
Arizona State University aptly pointed out that the United States today
includes many different cultures, some of which embrace concepts and
values that differ greatly from mainstream ideas. Nonmajority cultures
often hold different views of disabilities, and many do not think about
disabilities in terms of deficits or quantitative judgments of individuals
(Artiles, 2003). The beliefs of teachers and other professionals who work
with students are important to understand because different perspectives
result in different responses to a disability.

First, education professionals and the families with whom they work might
not share the same understanding of disability. Second, they might not
have a common belief about what causes disabilities. Knowing this helps
us understand why different families approach education professionals
differently when told their child has a disability. Because disability does
not have a single orientation or fixed definition, it is not thought about
uniformly or universally (Harry, 2007; Lynch & Hanson, 2004). The same
individual might be considered different or as having a disability in one
culture but not in another (Utley & Obiakor, 2001). Or the degree of
difference might not be considered uniformly across cultures.

The Sociological Perspective on Disabilities

Instead of focusing on people’s strengths or deficits, the sociological
perspective views differences across people’s skills and traits as socially
constructed (Longmore, 2003; Riddell, 2007). The way a society treats
individuals, and not a condition or set of traits the individual exhibits, is
what makes people different from each other. If people’s attitudes and the
way society treats groups of individuals change, the impact of being a
member of a group changes as well. In other words, according to this
perspective what makes a disability is the way we treat individuals we
think of as different.

Some scholars and advocates hold a radical view, suggesting that

disabilities are a necessity of U.S. society, structure, and values. Some
scholars, such as Herb Grossman, believed that when societies are
stratified, variables such as disability, race, and ethnicity become
economic and political imperatives (Grossman, 2002). They are needed to

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maintain a hierarchical class structure. Classifications result in restricted
opportunities that force some groups of people to fall to the bottom
(Erevelles, 1996; Grossman, 2002). Clearly, this rationale or explanation
for disabilities is controversial, but let’s see how the sociological
perspective might apply to at least one disability. Using this perspective,
intellectual disabilities (referred to as mental retardation in the IDEA,
2004; see Rosa’s Law in Table 1.2) exist because society and people treat
these individuals poorly. If supporting services were available to help
every individual when problems occur, then people with intellectual
disabilities would not be negatively treated and would be successful. In
other words, if individuals with significant differences are treated like
everyone else, problems associated with intellectual disabilities will
disappear.

Serious issues have been raised about sociological perspectives on

disabilities. Jim Kauffman and Dan Hallahan, scholars at the University of
Virginia, maintain that disabilities are real, not just sociologically
constructed, and significantly affect the people who have them no matter
how they are treated (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2011). To these
critics, sociological perspectives arise from a need for sameness, in which
everyone is truly alike. They contend that this position is dangerous
because it (a) minimizes people’s disabilities, (b) suggests that individuals
with disabilities do not need special services, and (c) implies that needed
services can be discontinued or reduced. All three scenarios leave
individuals with disabilities vulnerable to diminished outcomes. Whether
or not you believe the sociological perspective can be used to explain
disabilities, it does explain why people with disabilities believe they
experience bias and discrimination, just like members of other minority
groups.

People With Disabilities as Members of a

Minority Group
Paul Longmore—a founder of the disabilities studies movement, director
of the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Francisco State
University, and also a person with disabilities—maintains that, like other
minority groups, individuals with disabilities receive negative treatment
because of discrimination (Longmore, 2003). The ways in which people
are treated by society and by other individuals erect real barriers that

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influence their outcomes. Many individuals with disabilities believe their
disabilities then handicap them by presenting challenges and barriers.
This belief leads many people to think of people with disabilities as
belonging to a minority group, much as the concepts of race and ethnicity
have resulted in African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and
Asian/Pacific Islanders being considered part of historically
underrepresented groups.1 Difficult situations occur not because of a
condition or disability, but rather because people with disabilities are
denied full participation in society as a consequence of their minority
status (Winzer, 2007). In fact, the law that guarantees children with
disabilities a right to a public education, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA, 2004), is often referred to as a civil rights law.
This places IDEA in the same category as the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
which put an end to discriminatory practices that denied some citizens
their right to vote in state and national elections.

1 Although regional and personal preferences about specific terms used to

identify ethnic and racial groups vary, these terms are the ones used by the
federal government. Throughout this text, we use a variety of terms in an
attempt to achieve balance.

What Are Some Reasons for Disabilities?

We have just discussed four very different perspectives on disabilities.
Let’s return to more-traditional views of disabilities and the conditions that
cause them. (We discuss other special learning needs that schools and
society do not consider disabilities, including those prompted by
giftedness, social and economic inequities, and cultural and linguistic
differences, in Chapter 4.)

One way to organize the causes of disabilities is to divide them into three
groups by time of onset, whether before birth, during the birth process, or
after birth. Prenatal or congenital causes occur before or at birth and are
often genetic or inherited. Heredity is responsible for Down syndrome and
congenital deafness. Diseases and infections in expectant mothers, such as
HIV/AIDS, can devastate an unborn baby, and such events are also
considered prenatal. Perinatal causes occur during the birthing process.
They include low birth weight and injuries due to oxygen deprivation,
umbilical cord accidents, obstetrical trauma, and head trauma. One

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common perinatal cause of disabilities is cerebral palsy. Postnatal causes
occur after birth, and here the environment is a major factor. A few
examples of postnatal causes are child abuse and neglect, environmental
toxins, and accidents. Another way to consider why disabilities and special
needs arise is to classify the reasons in terms of biological causes,
environmental causes, and other risk factors. Many of these causes occur
during all three periods of onset.

Biological Causes of Disability

Heredity is a biological cause of disabilities, as are diseases and health
conditions. Thus, a virus that results in a severe hearing loss is considered
a biological cause of disability. Seizure disorders such as epilepsy are
biological reasons for special health-care needs, as are diseases such as
juvenile arthritis and polio. In Chapters 5 and 6, where we present
information about specific disabilities, we will have more to say about
some types of conditions that students bring to school.

Environmental Causes of Disability

In addition to biological factors, other situations can cause challenges that
result in educational difficulties. Some of these are environmentally based.
Many are preventable, but many others cannot be prevented. Toxins
abound in our environment. All kinds of hazardous wastes are hidden in
neighborhoods and communities. For example, one toxin that causes
intellectual disabilities is lead. We can pinpoint (and, you would think,
eliminate) two major sources of lead poisoning in the United States today:
lead-based paint and leaded gasoline. Neither product is sold today, but
unfortunately lead has remained in the dirt children play in and on the
walls of older apartments and houses where they breathe it directly from
the air and household dust, eat paint chips, or put their fingers in their
mouths after touching walls or window sills. The Children’s Defense Fund
(2004) reports that some 16% of low-income children in the United States
have lead poisoning, compared with 4% of all U.S. children. Lead is not
the only source of environmental toxins government officials worry about;
other concerns include pesticides, industrial pollution from chemical
waste, and mercury found in fish (Keysor, 2006).

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Other Risk Factors
Other environmental issues can trigger problems for children as well.
Asthma, a health condition covered in our discussion of Section 504 in
Chapter 2, is the leading cause of school absenteeism. Teachers and
schools can reduce problems with asthma through the use of simple
interventions. For example, asthma is often triggered by exposure to
specific allergens. For some students, the chance of an asthma attack is
reduced when the classroom is free of chalk dust, plants that generate
pollen or mold, cold and dry air, smoke, paint fumes, and chemical smells.
For others, the fur of classroom pets can cause an episode. Clearly,
exposures to toxins are preventable, and the effect of a condition can be
reduced.

What Are the Characteristics of Students With

Disabilities?
Nationally, some 6.7 million children and youths ages 3 to 21, or about
13% of students in public schools, are identified as having disabilities and
are receiving special education services from prekindergarten through 12th
grade (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics [NCES], 2018). The federal government describes 13 disability-
specific categories that can be used to qualify infants, toddlers,
preschoolers, and young students eligible to receive special education
services. Within these categories are many conditions. For example,
stuttering is included as a speech impairment, ADHD is included in the
category of other health impairments, and Tourette’s syndrome is included
in the emotional disturbances category.

People think about these special education categories, or disabilities

requiring specialized educational responses, in different ways. First, the
names for these categories differ slightly from state to state, and parent and
professional groups do not necessarily prefer the terms. Second, some
categories—such as deafness and hard of hearing—are often combined.
And categories are often ordered and divided by prevalence, or the size of
the category: high-incidence disabilities occur more often and low-
incidence disabilities occur less often. Some people mistakenly think
incidence or prevalence relates to the severity of the disability. Remember,
however, that all disabilities are serious, and mild to severe cases occur

78
within each range of incidence.

Table 1.4 shows an overview of the disabilities and the different ways they
are referred to in school settings. IDEA requires states to use these
disability areas to qualify children and youths for special education
services. Note they are listed by whether the federal government considers
them high or low incidence. Check carefully to see how your state views
these determinations about prevalence.

Table 1.4 •

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80
States and school districts may use the term developmental delays for
children birth to age 3 (IDEA Part C, 2004) and children ages 3
through 9 (IDEA Part B, 2004) with developmental delays in physical
development, cognitive development, social or emotional
development, or adaptive (behavioral) development. Children might
be identified if they have a diagnosed condition (physical or
intellectual) that will likely result in a developmental delay. Children
under the age of 3 might also be identified if they are at risk for
developmental delays without intervention services. In Chapters 5
and 6 we will discuss each of the disability categories, including their
prevalence rates.

Summary

You have now embarked on what we believe is an exciting course of

study. You have begun to learn about the challenges that
exceptionalities and special needs present to the individuals involved
and to their families, teachers, and friends. You have already learned
that many of these challenges can be overcome when the educational
system is responsive to the individual needs of these students. You also
know that responses to such challenges must be rich with evidence-
based practices that are supported by teams of professionals working
together in collaborative partnerships. For students with disabilities, the
education system should be inclusive but also flexible enough to strike
an intelligent balance between FAPE and LRE—types of education,
services, and placement—for each individual. As you are learning,
many provisions, requirements, and legal mandates guide your role as
an inclusive educator. Sometimes, these principles can seem
overwhelming and confusing, but when all of the hard work pays off,
and students soar, their accomplishments are everyone’s to share. As
you read this text, the puzzle of inclusive education will come together
as you reach an understanding about how to teach and accommodate
every academic and social area where students with disabilities and
special needs require intervention.

Review the Learning Objectives

Let’s review the learning objectives for this chapter. If you are uncertain
about and cannot talk through the answers provided for any of these

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students with disabilities access and master the curriculum.

What Is Differentiated Instruction?

Differentiated instruction is instruction that is responsive to the diverse
needs of all students. We use the term differentiated instruction broadly
with a focus on curriculum, instruction, services, and instructional
intensity. Keep in mind that most students benefit from some
differentiation in instruction over the course of the school year. We
examine what differentiated instruction means and then we present
examples of ways educators can differentiate their instruction to address
the diverse learning needs present in their classrooms. Let’s take a look at
Figure 7.1 to examine a continuum for differentiating instruction. As you
read the description of the continuum, think about the students’ needs
presented in the Opening Challenge, keeping in mind that some students
have disabilities, some students are ELs, and other students might be at
risk for learning difficulties.

The triangle in Figure 7.1 illustrates how differentiation is less intensive

for more students in terms of curriculum, adaptations, services, and
instruction and becomes increasingly more intensive for fewer students.
Notice that the base level of the triangle shows the core or general
education curriculum and instruction, which is provided to all students;
this is considered to be Tier 1 in a Response to Intervention (RtI) model as
discussed in Chapter 2. Next, intensity increases for some students to
accommodate their individual needs. This level of the differentiation
continuum can be considered Tier 2 for students who are demonstrating
academic or behavioral challenges and could benefit from adaptations and
interventions to support core instruction. Finally, the top level of the
differentiation continuum reflects the needs of students with more-severe
disabilities who must have sustained, intensified, adapted or modified
instruction and curriculum that is responsive to their individual needs as
stipulated on their IEP.

Figure 7.1 • A Differentiating Instruction Curriculum

353
This triangle is divided into three unequal sections starting for the
smallest to the largest sections from the base to the top.

There are two arrows that point from the base to the top of the triangle
on either side of the triangle. The arrow on the left is labelled
Curriculum, Adaptations, Services, Instructional Intensity and points
from Less, at the base of the triangle to Greater, at the top of the
triangle. The arrow on the right side points from More, at the base of the
triangle to Less at the top of the triangle and is labelled Students.

The bottom-most section of the triangle reads:

Typical core curriculum and instruction for all students.

The middle section reads:

More instructional intensity.

Adaptations and interventions to support the core.

The top-most section of the triangle reads:

Sustained instructional intensity.

Alternative placements.
Related services.
More intensive adaptations and interventions.
Modifications to curriculum and instruction.

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There are many examples of ways to differentiate instruction. One way is
to use flexible grouping practices where some students may need
additional assistance in a skill (same ability) or groups are composed of
different abilities (mixed ability) on a topic to complete an in-class
activity. Flexibility in assigning students to different groups is an ongoing
practice predicated on knowing the instructional needs of students and
changing up the groupings to maximize differentiated instruction. Flexible
groupings are quite common as part of core instruction; however, as we
move up on the continuum, teachers will need to use small, same-ability
groups for intensifying interventions. We talk more about grouping
practices later in this chapter.

A second way to differentiate instruction is through the amount of time

designated for small group or individualized instruction. For instance, in
core instruction (Tier 1), a small group for additional instruction in a skill
such as decoding may only be necessary for a few days to ensure that the
students learn the specific reading skill. For these students, an additional
boost can help them be more successful and prevent them from falling
behind their peers. On the other hand, students who need additional small
group, intensified instruction must receive ongoing work on specific skills
until their performance is substantially improved and maintained. Finally,
fewer students will require sustained instructional intensity for a longer
period of time, which might translate into an academic year. Remember,
all students receive core instruction.

A third way to differentiate instruction is through the use of specialized

staff, such as special education teachers and speech/language pathologists
who work in different settings. Specialized teachers deliver more-
intensive, adapted instruction in academics and language skills, in general
education inclusive classes or pull out settings such as a resource or
language therapy setting. These teachers and pathologists work with
students with identified disabilities.

A fourth way to differentiate instruction, a way that is applicable to fewer

students who receive special education services, is to change or modify the
curriculum. For example, a life skills curriculum might be required for
those students with intellectual or developmental disabilities. These
students receive some of this curriculum with a special education teacher
in an inclusive classroom or in a life skills class, particularly at the middle

355
and high school levels.

Think back to Chapter 2 regarding the RtI model. It is easy to see how the
three levels and the continuum shown in Figure 7.1 correspond to a multi-
tiered approach to instruction and intensified intervention for students with
mild to severe disabilities. Now that you have learned about the
differentiation continuum, consider the needs of students in Mrs.
Santiago’s and Ms. Benz’s classes. Where might some of their students’
learning needs fall on the differentiation continuum? What evidence is
presented in the Opening Challenge to support your perspective about the
students?

In the Considering Diversity section, we present strategies that teachers

can implement for differentiating instruction for ELs. We then turn our
attention to the ADAPT Framework.

Considering Diversity Strategies for Differentiated Instruction for

English Learners

There are a variety of strategies that teachers can use for differentiating
instruction to help meet the needs of ELs. We present examples for
teachers to include in their instruction. First, we present examples of
strategies that take into consideration the amount of time some ELs
need to process and respond to instruction. Next, examples of grouping
strategies are listed followed by presentation strategies. Then we
present examples of response strategies. Finally, once you read about
universal design for learning (UDL) principles and guidelines in
Chapter 8, return to this content and apply what you have learned.
Identify examples in the following strategies of the UDL principles and
guidelines. Consider how some of the strategies for ELs also can be
applied to students who are struggling with instruction such as those in
the Opening Challenge.

Consideration of Time Strategies

Chunk instruction into shorter segments to allow time to check
work.
Expand assignments over a longer period of time.
Extend wait time for oral responses.
Plan challenging tasks and subjects earlier in the day or period, or
different, better times for the student.

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Grouping Strategies
Provide small-group instruction.
Pair or group ELs with buddies who will assist with explaining
tasks.
Work one-to-one with students.

Presentation Strategies
Assign support staff to work with ELs in addition to the classroom
teacher.
Provide ample repetition of language: repeat, restate, rephrase,
reread.
Keep language consistent when describing or explaining;
synonyms, idioms, and metaphors may be confusing at first.
Gradually introduce figurative language to expand language
development.
Introduce and develop new vocabulary using a picture dictionary
and other visual aids.
Use bilingual dictionaries during reading and writing assignments
to clarify meanings when possible.
Keep explanations and directions brief and concise: focus on key
concepts and vocabulary.
Highlight and explicitly teach key vocabulary needed to
accomplish the assigned task.
Enhance oral presentations with visual and written support,
graphic organizers, and modeling.
Present material through multiple modes, using media and other
technology.

Response Strategies
Encourage and allow for nonverbal responses such as pointing,
nodding, drawing pictures, using manipulatives, and completing
graphic organizers.
Adjust expectations for language output (e.g., student speaks in
words and phrases, simple present-tense statements).
Allow shortened responses.
Pair ELs with strong English speakers and writers (called
buddies).
Encourage buddies to take a dictated response during pair work
where ELs explain concepts.

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 Allow ELs to dictate responses into a recorder for their written
work.

Source: Adapted from Price and Nelson (2003).

What Is the ADAPT Framework?

The ADAPT Framework is a tool that educators can use to individualize
instruction to address the specific learning and behavioral needs of
struggling students, particularly those students with disabilities. The
framework is a good example of a tool that can be used for differentiating
instruction, especially for those students who require greater curriculum
adaptations and intensified instruction. Instruction is differentiated and
intensified in the sense that it is individualized or tailored to address a
student’s specific needs. In Chapter 2, we introduced the ADAPT
Framework. In this section, we provide in-depth information about
adaptations and the framework. Adaptations share three characteristics.
They are individualized, focusing on the strengths of the individual; they
are relevant to the lesson’s objective; and they must be effective to help a
student learn the content. If the first attempt at making an adaptation does
not help the student benefit from instruction, then we continue to make
adaptations until performance improves and is maintained. Student
performance on tasks is a good indicator of the effectiveness of the chosen
adaptations.

The ADAPT Framework consists of five steps to guide your decision

making about selecting and evaluating adaptations:

1. Ask, “What am I requiring the student to do?”

2. Determine the prerequisite skills of the task.
3. Analyze the student’s strengths and struggles.
4. Propose and implement adaptations from among the four instructional
categories (e.g., content, materials, delivery, and activity).
5. Test to determine whether the adaptations helped the student
accomplish the task.

We examine each step to illustrate how to apply the ADAPT Framework

in your class with students who have special learning needs whether these
are disabilities, second language learners, or students who are at-risk for
poor academic performance. Throughout the remaining chapters, you will

358
read about specific ways to use ADAPT in academic, social, and
behavioral areas.

ADAPT Steps
The first step is Ask, “What am I requiring the student to do?” For
example, second-grade students are expected to learn basic academic
concepts and skills, demonstrate the ability to get along with others, and
listen to the teacher. In high school, students are required to take notes in
class, complete their homework, learn from textbooks, conduct and write
about research, and pass end-of-semester exams. These setting-specific
demands are typical of the core curriculum—content that is taught to all
students in the general education setting (Lenz & Deshler, 2004).

The second step is Determine the prerequisite skills of the task. This step
means identifying what students must be able to do to meet the teacher’s
instructional requirements. Teachers can break down the task to identify
specific prerequisite skills. For example, at the elementary level, to add
two numbers (? = 9 + 3), students must be able to (a) identify and
understand the value of the numerals 9 and 3, (b) identify and know the
meaning of the + and = symbols, (c) use an effective and efficient strategy
to arrive at the solution, (d) understand that equations can be written in
different ways (? = 9 + 3, in this case), and (e) write the numeral 12
correctly (not 21). All of these steps should be performed rather quickly so
students can keep up with core instruction.

At the secondary level, students might be required to take notes in class.

Think for a minute about yourself as a learner in your college course. What
prerequisite skills related to taking notes are necessary for you to be
successful? You understand the second ADAPT step if you replied with
any of the following: listening, identifying important information, writing,
summarizing the notes, and studying the notes for a test. Identifying
prerequisite skills is an important step in the ADAPT Framework because
it forms the basis for addressing the remaining steps and is a step that
teachers often overlook.

The third step, Analyze the student’s strengths and struggles, means
identifying each prerequisite skill of a task (from Step 2) as a strength or
struggle for an individual student. You can use assessment techniques to
determine areas of strengths and struggles. For example, regarding our

359
addition problem (? = 9 + 3), a teacher can ask the student to think aloud
while performing the computational steps to figure out whether the steps
for arriving at the answer reflect strengths or struggles (see Chapter 9 for
assessment techniques). If a student identifies the numerals and symbols
correctly, then these prerequisite skills can be listed as strengths. If a
student uses the strategy of starting with 1 and counting up to 12 rather
than starting with 9 and counting on 3 to get 12, then the teacher suspects
the strategy called count on might be lacking and thus is a struggle. Of
course, the student should be given several similar problems to “think
aloud” to confirm that an effective, efficient strategy is lacking.

The teacher can use observation to determine whether numerals are written
correctly; in this case, the student wrote “12,” which is a strength. If 12
was written as 21, then writing numerals correctly is a struggle. Referring
to our note-taking task, teachers can ask for a copy of a student’s notes to
analyze them for the prerequisite skills of identifying and recording the
important information and summarizing the information.

In the fourth step, Propose and implement adaptations from among the
four instructional categories (content, materials, delivery, and activity), the
teacher considers the student’s strengths and struggles to identify
appropriate instructional adaptations.

Bryant and Bryant (1998) originally identified adaptation categories for

the ADAPT Framework from which educators can choose when selecting
adaptations that should be individualized for the student and relevant to the
task. You will see that there are four adaptation categories in the
framework: (1) instructional activity, (2) instructional content, (3)
instructional delivery, and (4) instructional materials:

Instructional activity is the actual lesson used to teach and reinforce

skills and concepts. Sometimes, a different instructional activity is
needed if students do not benefit from the original lesson.
Instructional content consists of the skills and concepts that are the
focus of teaching and learning, that is, the standards and curriculum
that local school districts require educators to teach. For example, the
Common Core State Standards (National Governors Association
Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers,
2010) provide information about mathematics domains and related
standards that should be part of each school district’s curriculum
where the Common Core State Standards have been adopted.

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 Instructional delivery is the way the activity is taught, including
grouping practices, instructional steps, presentation techniques,
practice techniques, and student activities.
Instructional materials are aids such as textbooks, kits, hardware,
software, and manipulatives. In any subject area, there are multiple
types of instructional materials that teachers can use to address
various learning needs. You will read about many examples in later
chapters.

Let’s see how the adaptation categories can be implemented. Returning to

our addition problem (? = 9 + 3) and Mrs. Santiago, she identifies the need
to reteach the count on strategy. She decides to teach a small group of
students (instructional delivery), all of whom need to be retaught the count
on strategy; included in this small group is her student with a mathematics
LD. She uses easier facts (instructional content), such as 3 + 2 = 5, and
then increases to more difficult facts, such as 8 + 2 = 10 and 9 + 3 = 12.
Mrs. Santiago reviews the concept of greater than (instructional content) to
be sure the students know which addend is the larger of the two. She has
chips (instructional material) for students to use to keep track of the
number of the second addend when counting on from the larger number.
For instance, for 8 + 2, there are two chips to move as the students starts
with 8, the larger number, and orally count on 2 more while moving each
chip for each count to equal 10.

In our note-taking example, several adaptations come to mind. The student

can record the lecture (instructional material) and then record key ideas. Or
a note-taking strategy (instructional activity) such as Note Shrink,
discussed in Chapter 14, can be taught to a small group of students
(instructional delivery).

The fifth step, Test to determine whether the adaptations helped the
student accomplish the task, focuses on assessing student progress. For
example, returning to our addition problem, ? = 9 + 3, during a one-minute
progress-monitoring task, Mrs. Santiago can check to see whether
problems that can be solved with the count on strategy are solved
correctly. In the note-taking example, a final copy of the student’s notes
can be graded and the test on which the notes are based can be examined
to see whether information from the notes is included in the answers. We
have provided an ADAPT example for Mrs. Santiago’s students. How
might Ms. Benz apply the ADAPT Framework with her struggling

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students? What are your ideas?

In the remaining chapters, you will encounter many examples of the

ADAPT Framework in action and you will see applications that illustrate
quickly and simply how ADAPT can be implemented. Look for these
features as you read.

What Are Effective Practices for Designing

and Delivering Instruction?
In this section, we discuss practices that educators can use when designing
and delivering instruction to ensure that all students—including students
with disabilities—master the content. Keep in mind that IEPs and the
ADAPT Framework are the cornerstones for providing effective, intensive
interventions to those students with special learning needs. Also,
remember that the learning needs of all students including those who are
ELs and those who are at risk for learning problems, must be considered.
To begin, we provide findings from research studies that should be
included when designing and delivering instruction.

Translating Research Findings into Instructional

Practices
Over the course of decades, research findings have shown specific
practices that produce positive learning outcomes for students with special
learning needs, including explicit instruction and cognitive strategy
instruction (CSI) (Swanson & Deshler, 2003). Explicit instruction
focuses on designing and delivering instruction for academic concepts and
skills through the use of specific, evidence-based procedures. These
procedures include stating the lesson’s objective, reviewing related skills
and activating background knowledge, demonstrating how to do the task
with modeling and thinking the steps aloud, providing examples and non-
examples of how and how not to do the task, ensuring multiple
opportunities for practice, giving immediate corrective feedback as
needed, telling students how they are doing, and monitoring student
progress (Archer & Hughes, 2011; Brophy & Good, 1986; Coyne,
Kame’enui, & Carnine, 2011; Rosenshine, 1987). CSI focuses on the
process of learning where educators teach cognitive strategies (steps or a

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routine) and metacognitive strategies (self-regulation strategies)
(Montague & Dietz, 2009). Explicit instruction procedures are evident in
the CSI routines as well as verbal rehearsal (i.e., students practicing the
strategy steps to mastery) and self-monitoring. The goal of CSI is for
students to internalize the routine and self-monitor the use of the routine
when applied to academic tasks. For example, cognitive strategies for
comprehending material from a textbook include activating background
knowledge, predicting, and paraphrasing; metacognitive strategies include
asking, “Can I make connections between my background knowledge and
what I am reading?” “Were my predictions accurate?,” and “Does my
paraphrase contain the most important information and is it in my own
words?” CSI can be used to teach students with and without disabilities.
For instance, CSI has been used widely in studies involving students with
LDs for reading comprehension (Klingner, Vaughn, Arguelles, Hughes, &
Leftwich, 2004), mathematics word problem solving (Montague, Enders,
& Dietz, 2011), and writing (Harris & Graham, 2009).

In a classic research study on the effectiveness of interventions to teach

students with LDs, Swanson, Hoskyn, and Lee (1999) found the following
practices from explicit and cognitive strategy instruction to be very
effective; they called these practices the combined model for designing
and delivering instruction:

Sequencing: Breaking down the task, providing step-by-step prompts

Drill-repetition-practice: Daily testing of skills, repeated practice
Segmentation: Breaking down skills into parts and then synthesizing
the parts into a whole
Directed questioning and responses: Asking process or content
questions of students
Control of task difficulty: Sequencing tasks from easy to difficult,
teaching prerequisite skills
Technology: Delivering instruction via multimedia
Teacher-modeled problem solving: Demonstrating processes or steps
to solve a problem or explaining how to do a task
Small group instruction: Delivering instruction to a small group
Strategy cues: Reminding students to use strategies, modeling the
think aloud technique.

As you read about teaching practices in later chapters, remember the

practices described above for learning and notice how they are

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incorporated into instructional practices.

Designing Instruction
We discuss several areas that teachers consider when designing their
lessons for all students, including those with special learning needs. We
provide information about types of knowledge, instructional techniques,
and critical thinking domains with sample activities. Visit the interactive
eBook to access the Adapt in Action feature “Students with Learning
Disabilities in Reading” and the accompanying Adapt Framework table.

ADAPT in action

Students with Learning Disabilities in Reading

Ms. Benz’s tenth-grade students with LD in reading are required to read
social studies text in class or for homework. Comprehending text
requires many skills, including figuring out difficult words and
monitoring your understanding of the social studies text. Ms. Benz is
alarmed at how poorly these students did on a recent quiz she gave on
the social studies text material. She decides to work with the special
education teacher to implement ADAPT to help her choose appropriate
adaptations to improve these students’ reading comprehension. She
shares her thinking about her students using ADAPT.

Ask, “What am I requiring the student to do?” “My students need to

read the social studies text in class and at home. Text may be in a book
or a handout for small group work.”

Determine the prerequisite skills of the task. “Students need to be

able to read the text, identify important information from multiple
paragraphs, organize this information to facilitate comprehension, see
relationships among important ideas, and pass quizzes that test their
understanding.”

Analyze the student’s strengths and struggles. Ms. Benz knows

several of her students have reading comprehension difficulties. They
appear motivated to succeed, participating in small group activities and
enjoying the lab assignments. Text reading and understanding are her
main concerns. She works individually with the students to analyze
difficulties by asking them to read several paragraphs out loud, identify

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important information, talk about the relationships among these
important ideas, and organize the information in a way that enhances
learning and retention. She finds the students can read many of the
words and have strategies for figuring out harder words. They can tell
her the important ideas but cannot discuss the relationships among these
ideas or organize them in a way that promotes understanding. For
example, she gave them a news story about global climate change, and
they were unable to structure information that focused on cause and
effect.

Propose and implement adaptations from among the four

categories. Ms. Benz decides to try graphic organizers (GOs), which
are visual aids (instructional material) that help students organize,
understand, see relationships, and remember important information.
GOs can structure different types of information, including causes and
effects and similarities and differences. In a small group of her students
with reading difficulties, Ms. Benz models by thinking aloud how to
use the graphic organizers as she is reading text (instructional delivery).
She gives the students a short paragraph, and together they read the
material and complete the GO. She sets aside 20 minutes to conduct this
minilesson (instructional activity), while the other students in her class
work in small groups (instructional delivery) on a review exercise.

Test to determine whether the adaptations helped the student

accomplish the task. Ms. Benz will review the information included in
the graphic organizer as one way to determine the effectiveness of the
adaptation. She will also provide a quiz on the material to see how the
students understood the content. Can you identify how the adaptation is
individualized, relevant, and effective?

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Types of Knowledge
Different types of knowledge for different content areas are applicable
across the grade levels. They include discrimination, factual knowledge,
procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and metacognitive
knowledge (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2014).

Discrimination
Discrimination is the ability to distinguish one item (e.g., a letter, number,
letter sound, math sign, state, or piece of lab equipment) from another.
Discrimination occurs during the early stages of learning when students
are first learning new information, and requires the student to be able to
identify and pay attention to the relevant features of an item. Students with
learning difficulties can have problems discriminating among items.
Teachers should teach the relevant features of items and then present
similar items among which discrimination is necessary. For example, to

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distinguish between the numbers 12 and 21, students can learn that 12 has
a 1 and 2 where the 1 can be color-coded or made larger to emphasize the
relevant feature that 1 is first in 12. The same can be done for 21. Once
students can identify each number separately, teachers can present the
numbers together for them to name. Students should be given multiple
opportunities to practice discriminating among items such as similar letters
(b, d, m, w, p, q) and numbers (6, 9, 21, 20, 102, 120), words with similar
sounds (pet, pit, pig, big), symbols (+, −, ×), and concepts that are similar
(e.g., types of plants). For older students, discrimination learning occurs,
for instance, when they are required to identify pieces of lab equipment
before instruction begins or mathematics tools such as a compass or
protractor before a geometry lesson.

Factual Knowledge
The ability to memorize, retain, and recall information is factual
knowledge, which is fundamental to school. Examples include number
combinations, vocabulary definitions, historical events and dates, parts of
speech in English or a foreign language, parts of a plant, and parts of the
brain and their functions. Students with special learning needs may have
difficulties learning factual information because of problems with
encoding, retaining, and recalling the information. These students can
benefit from strategies that teach them how to memorize and recall
information (Schumaker & Deshler, 2006). Students must learn numerous
facts across the content areas so that they can apply information to their
learning. Chapter 14 contains additional information on ways to help
students retain and recall content information.

Procedural Knowledge
Learning a set of steps that must be followed to complete a task involves
procedural knowledge. Examples include the steps to solve an arithmetic
problem, conduct a lab experiment, develop a historical time line, and
follow a strategy to read difficult words or to comprehend text. Students
with special learning needs may have difficulty with procedural
knowledge because it requires memorization of the steps in the correct
sequence and the ability to perform each step. It may also be necessary to
teach prerequisite knowledge. For example, if students are following a
series of steps to multiply 32 × 64, they must know the steps and the
prerequisite knowledge of 4 × 2, 4 × 3, 6 × 2, regrouping, and 6 × 3.

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Modeling, lots of practice, and error correction are examples of ways to
teach procedural knowledge. Cue cards containing the steps of the
procedure also can be useful for students to refer to until they learn the
steps.

Conceptual Knowledge
Knowledge about principles, models, and classifications entails conceptual
knowledge. In essence, concepts are categories of knowledge. They range
in level of abstractness. For instance, the concept of a table is concrete and
easy for most students to understand, and it can be easily represented. The
concept of democracy, however, is very abstract and requires multiple
examples.

Visual displays can help students understand concepts. For instance, the
concept that the word table represents can be described using the
categories dimensions, function, and types of construction. Students can
create collections of words and pictures that represent a concept. For
instance, pictures of different types of tables can be assembled, and
descriptive words can be identified to describe the concept (e.g., claw-
legged table). Price and Nelson (2003) recommended that teachers conduct
a concept analysis of content to be taught prior to instruction. The concept
analysis should include the following:

Identification of the critical concepts to be taught as part of a unit or

chapter
Definitions of the concepts
List of attributes or characteristics of the concepts
List of noncritical attributes that are not essential for understanding
the concept
List of examples
List of nonexamples
List of related concepts

Metacognitive Knowledge
Metacognition is often described as thinking about the strategies we use to
tackle tasks. It is knowledge about how people learn and process
information or tasks. Students need to understand how they learn and
process information. Teachers can model how to create self-regulation

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questions for given tasks. For example, teachers can model questions for
developing a plan for accomplishing a given learning task, monitoring
comprehension when reading text, and evaluating progress toward the
completion of a task (Pintrich, 2002). Examples of self-regulation
questions for metacognitive knowledge were discussed previously in this
chapter. Additional examples include developing a plan for accomplishing
a given learning task: “What do I need to do to accomplish the task?”
“What is my plan for accomplishing the task?” “What are the steps?” and
“What questions will I ask myself to be sure I can accomplish each step?”

Now, see if you can generate self-regulation questions for monitoring your
comprehension when reading text, and evaluating your progress toward the
completion of a task. Remember that all students can benefit from self-
regulation strategies; that is especially true for students with special
learning needs who may struggle with knowing how to take a more active
role with their own learning. Table 7.1 provides information about types of
knowledge and instructional techniques for teaching them. See if you can
think of other examples for each type of knowledge.

Table 7.1 •

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 Source: Adapted from Mastropieri and Scruggs (2014).

Instructional Techniques
For students to learn information from their content instruction,
information must be presented in a meaningful way to aid memory
(Schumaker & Deshler, 2006). Instructional techniques that promote
meaningful associations of knowledge include clustering, elaboration, and
mnemonic devices (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2014; Schumaker & Deshler,
2006).

Clustering
Clustering involves categorizing information in a meaningful way. For
example, when teaching about states, cluster the states according to the
category of geographic region (e.g., New England states, West Coast
states). Students have a better chance of learning the information when you

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(or they) reduce the amount of information to learn all at once and
organize it in a meaningful way. Information can also be organized and
presented in visual displays such as semantic maps and relationship
displays (Vaughn & Bos, 2011). Examples of semantic maps and
relationship displays are provided in Chapter 14.

Elaboration
Adding more details to facts to aid in memorization, retention, and recall
constitutes elaboration. According to Mastropieri and Scruggs (2009),
elaboration helps students remember information. Students can identify
what they know about a topic to help them make elaborative sentences.
Take the following list of animals: giraffe, elephant, lion, and leopard.
Students might create the elaborative sentence “The giraffe and elephant
fear the lion and leopard” to help them remember it.

Mnemonic Devices
These devices are techniques for aiding memory by forming meaningful
associations and linkages across information that appears to be unrelated
(Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2014). Mnemonic devices help students learn
content-area vocabulary, memorize lists of factual information, and read
multisyllabic words (Bryant & Bryant, 2003; Schumaker & Deshler,
2006).

Acronyms and acrostics are mnemonic devices that aid in recalling lists of
information. An acronym is a word made from the first letters of the
words to be learned. For example, the acronym HOMES refers to the Great
Lakes (Heron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior). Students must learn
and remember not only the acronym, HOMES, but also what each letter
represents. An acrostic is a sentence wherein the first letters of the words
stand for the items to be remembered as well as their correct order. For
example, the first letters in “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” stand for
the notes represented by the lines on a musical staff: E, G, B, D, F.

Mnemonic devices are techniques for aiding memory by forming

meaningful associations and linkages across information that appears to be
unrelated. How could mnemonic devices help these students memorize the
planets in the solar system?

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Critical Thinking
Critical thinking involves reasoning to learn new concepts, ideas, or
problem solutions (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2014). Younger and older
students are capable of thinking critically but will likely need guidance and
perhaps teacher modeling for thinking critically. Examples of critical
thinking include reasoning about how to solve a problem with a peer,
resolve a social issue, predicting the ending of a novel, determining how to
solve a problem, and explaining the potential impact on society and the
world of historical events. Students with learning needs might experience
difficulties with critical thinking because they have not been taught how to
think critically, because they lack the prior knowledge and background
that would help them understand issues, or because their earlier instruction
focused more on factual and procedural knowledge. In fact, students with
special learning needs are capable of learning to think critically and should
not have experiences only with factual and procedural knowledge,
although both of these are important as well. Maintain high expectations
for all of your students in their learning.

One way to ensure instruction is responsive to the need for critical thinking
is to incorporate activities that tap domains that foster critical thinking
(Krathwohl, 2002). Table 7.2 provides helpful information about how to
do so. In Table 7.2, cognitive domains are identified and described in
Column 1 (remembering, understanding, applying) and examples of verbs
relevant to each domain are located in Column 2. The content from
Column 2 can be translated into class assignments (Column 3) and
activities (Column 4). It is easier to develop critical thinking skills by
drawing from the higher order domains (numbers 3–6) on the list.
However, these domains encompass knowledge taught through the lower-
level domains, thus there is a place in instruction for each domain.

Think about how you could design a lesson by incorporating activities

addressing the various cognitive domains, which promote critical thinking.
If you are not yet familiar with lesson writing, then identify existing
lessons from curriculum guides or that are on education websites to
determine the degree to which critical thinking tasks are incorporated.
Now, think about how information from the types of knowledge and
critical thinking domains can be combined for instruction.

Table 7.2 •

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 Source: Krathwohl (2002).

Stages of Learning
All learners experience stages of learning as they learn new skills. As an
example, think about a young student learning how to ride a bike. She gets
on the bike and starts to pedal, perhaps at first with a parent holding on to

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the seat to provide support and stability. Shakily, she peddles. As she
builds confidence and learns balance, she is able to peddle on her own. She
becomes a proficient bike rider, navigating tight areas and making turns
with ease. As you read about the stages of learning, think about how this
youngster learned to ride her bike.

Knowing about your students’ stage of learning can help you plan
instruction and make adaptations to accommodate all their learning needs.
Researchers have shown that knowledge of students’ stages of learning is
important for selecting appropriate instructional interventions. For
example, in two classic studies, Ayllon and Azrin (1964) and Hopkins
(1968) learned that rewards are not always effective—there had to be some
level of correct response before reinforcement could take place. In another
classic study about the stages of learning, Smith and Lovitt (1976) found
that students had to learn how to solve computational arithmetic problems
before reinforcement was effective.

Acquisition stage of learning. In this stage, the learner may not know how
to perform the skill, so the aim is for the individual to learn to perform it
accurately. After a period of instruction, some learners demonstrate that
they can perform the task or skill with 90% to 100% accuracy; at this
point, they have passed through the acquisition stage of learning. Other
students, such as those with special learning needs, may require further
instruction and adaptations.

Proficiency stage of learning. In this stage, the aim is for the learner to
perform the skills fluently; the focus is on accuracy and speed of
responding. Examples of skills that should be learned proficiently are
answering basic arithmetic facts, saying the letters of the alphabet, writing
letters, and identifying instruments used in a social studies lab.

There are some very important reasons why proficient levels of

performance are necessary goals. If students can write the letters of the
alphabet correctly but too slowly, they will not be able to complete writing
tasks in a timely manner and keep up with their peers. Writing a report and
taking a spelling test are examples of skills that require proficiency in
forming letters.

Computing basic facts accurately and quickly is another example; here,

proficiency is important for more difficult skills such as multiplying
multidigit problems. Students need to be able to perform many tasks

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fluently so they can work as proficiently but also as quickly as their peers.
Students should be able to perform lower-level cognitive skills
automatically so that more emphasis can be placed on those higher level
skills (such as problem solving, comprehending text, and writing reports)
that extend knowledge and learning.

Maintenance stage of learning. The goal for the maintenance stage is for
the mastered skills to remain at the same performance level as during the
proficiency stage. Retention of learning is important. For some students
with special learning needs, this is a challenging stage because they may
forget factual knowledge, rules, or procedures for solving different types
of problems. When students do not retain information at the desired levels
of performance, teachers must include in their planning instructional time
for reviewing and evaluating what has been taught to promote maintenance
of learning. An example is to teach multiplying by factors of 9 (9 ☐ 3, 9
☐ 2) to mastery, such as computing 20 facts correctly in a minute, and
then building into mathematics instruction 10 minutes every Friday to
review all the mastered multiplication facts.

Generalization stage of learning. This stage means that the mastered

skills should occur across all appropriate situations. For many students,
skills learned in the classroom do not automatically occur in other settings,
with other people, or with various materials without explicit instruction.
For example, a student may learn a strategy in English class that helps in
the writing process but does not apply the strategy in history class when
asked to write a report. Another student may have demonstrated the ability
to regroup when subtracting two digits minus one digit but may not be able
to regroup when subtracting two digits minus two digits. For these
students, generalization must be taught (see the classic paper by Stokes &
Baer, 1977, for more information about teaching for generalization). In
fact, some researchers (Schumaker & Deshler, 2006) recommend that the
concept of generalization be introduced to students during the acquisition
stage and specifically promoted following demonstration of skill mastery
(when students have passed a quiz, for example). A good way to promote
generalization during the acquisition stage is to ask students where they
can use the new strategy in other classes. For instance, if they are going to
be taught a writing strategy in English, they can identify other classes and
situations in which they can use it.

Application stage of learning. The application stage requires the student

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to use learning and extend it to new situations. For example, students learn
strategies for solving word problems. They then apply these strategies to
real-life situations in which they have to solve problems such as
determining how much money to take when going to a movie. Students
need to be flexible as they apply their learning to new situations. Table 7.3
provides examples of teaching techniques for the stages of learning.
Instructional Strategy 7.1 offers an illustration of how students progress
through the stages of learning and how teaching techniques vary
accordingly.

Table 7.3

Instructional Strategy 7.1

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 Stages of Learning
Marcus is a fifth-grade student in Mrs. Bell’s class identified as having
a learning disability in mathematics. His IEP specified annual goals in
mathematics, including solving word problems. Mrs. Bell gives a
curriculum-based assessment to determine which types of word
problems Marcus can solve and which types require instruction.
Assessment data show zero percent accuracy for solving two-step word
problems using whole-number computation. That is, Marcus is in the
acquisition stage of learning for this skill. He can solve one-step word
problems but does not generalize his knowledge to two-step problems.

Mrs. Bell uses explicit instruction to teach Marcus a strategy for solving
two-step word problems. She discusses with him the importance of
solving two-step problems, pointing out that problem solving is used in
many daily activities (promoting the occurrence of generalization).
Marcus continues to build fluency with basic facts because facts are
part of the word problem calculations (proficiency stage for facts). It
takes Marcus four days to reach mastery (90% accuracy) for learning
how to solve two-step word problems using the strategy Mrs. Bell
taught him. Mrs. Bell has Marcus work in a cooperative learning group
with his peers to solve one-step (maintenance stage) and two-step
(generalization stage) word problems. The group works together for a
week, at which point she determines through curriculum-based
assessment that the students can solve two-step problems proficiently.
Mrs. Bell then has student groups write their own problems based on
situations in the school, at home, or in the community (application
stage). The groups share their problems so that different groups solve
all the problems. She plans to provide periodic reviews (maintenance
stage) of one- and two-step word problems to ensure continued mastery
of the skills required for solving them.

Delivering Instruction
Here we review instructional steps and techniques designed to help all
students access and master the curriculum. The instructional steps include
an advance organizer, presentation of subject matter, guided practice,
independent practice, and closure. You will see “I do,” “We do,” “You do”
for presentation of subject matter, guided practice, and independent
practice, respectively. This is student-friendly language because you can
say, “I do the first problem to show you how to find a solution, then we do
more problems together. I will find out how much you have learned when

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you do the independent practice.”

We also include types of questions to tap lower- and higher-order thinking

(critical thinking) and a questioning strategy that can be used during
instruction. Finally, refer back to the content in this chapter under
“Translating Research Findings into Instructional Practice” to review
information about explicit instruction and cognitive strategy instruction.
Also, review the list of practices from the Swanson et al. (1999) study. All
of these practices can be implemented as part of delivering instruction.

Advance Organizer
An advance organizer consists of activities to prepare students for the
lesson’s content (Lenz & Deshler, 2004; Schumaker & Deshler, 2006).
Advance organizers tell students the purpose of the lesson (objectives),
motivate students by sparking their interest, and activate background
knowledge by reviewing related information. Such a review helps students
warm up for the lesson, promotes active engagement, and provides
teachers with information about students’ current levels of understanding
before new material is introduced. In planning and implementing advance
organizers, teachers should consider their students’ background
knowledge, experience, and ability with prerequisite skills for the new
task, the vocabulary to be learned, and the level of abstraction of the new
learning (Price & Nelson, 2003). Think ADAPT!

Examples of items to include in an advance organizer include the

following:

Writing the objective on the board and explaining how it will be

taught
Explaining the importance of learning the objective and asking
students to provide examples of how they can use the new
information
Providing an active technique such as role-playing, seeing a video
clip, or taking a field trip before instruction to build background
knowledge about a topic
Having students create a concept map or specifically tell what they
already know about the topic to be studied
Providing a review of related information for students to make
connections

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Presentation of Subject Matter (I Do)
In this step, simply put, teachers teach! They present instructional content
related to the instructional objective, which states the skill to be taught,
the action, and the criterion for success. For example, “Given five spelling
words (condition), the student (audience) will write definitions and use the
words in sentences (behavior) with 90% accuracy for two days (degree:
criterion for success).” Although the wording for instructional objectives
might vary slightly across school districts, the essence is that the
instructional objective sets the focus for the lesson for the steps of
instructional delivery. We think about the A-B-C-D’s of writing
instructional objectives: A is the audience, B is the behavior or action, C is
the condition for instruction, and D means the degree to which
performance is expected.

Instruction can focus on facts (e.g., number of U.S. states, state capitals),
rules (e.g., spelling, mathematics), cognitive and metacognitive strategies
(e.g., reading strategy, paragraph-writing strategy), and concepts (e.g.,
place value, social studies vocabulary, health). When presenting facts,
rules, and procedures, for example, teachers should model, or demonstrate,
how to do problems to arrive at the correct responses, and the appropriate
thinking processes by using the think aloud procedure. Students can
imitate the teacher’s modeling orally, in written form, or motorically (e.g.,
by manipulating objects). Examples should be provided to illustrate new
information, and nonexamples can help, too. For instance, an example of
democracy is the right to vote; a nonexample of democracy is one person
controls the government.

An advance organizer consists of activities to prepare students for the

lesson’s content. Here, students prepare for a lesson by watching an
overview of the topic on a video.

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 AP Photo/LNP Media Group, Blaine Shahan

Teachers can ask questions to promote discussion and engage students in

the lesson. They should ask different types of questions (what, why, how)
and provide sufficient wait time (3 or 4 seconds) between asking a
question and calling on a student to answer it. Asking a question and then
calling on a student by name maintains a moderate level of concern,
which means students need to pay attention because they won’t know
when or if they will be expected to answer questions. A good example of
how to maintain a moderate level of concern is the popsicle stick routine.
The popsicle stick routine means teachers have a jar with students’ names
on the sticks (one name per stick). Teachers ask a question and then pull a
stick and call on that student to answer the question. Maintaining a
moderate level of concern also can promote on-task behavior, which
means students are listening and engaged in instruction. Calling on a
student by name first and then asking a question allows other students to
tune out (low level of concern). Finally, teachers should use appropriate
pacing when delivering instruction to keep students engaged and
demonstrating on-task behavior. Appropriate pacing is demonstrated when
students can learn the content and not be overwhelmed and frustrated.
Slower pacing can contribute to student boredom and off-task behavior
(Coyne et al., 2011). Students with special learning needs might have

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trouble keeping up with other students. For struggling students, teachers
can provide extra practice on chunks or smaller segments of information
and regroup these students for additional instruction. For example, math
facts can be chunked into segments (e.g., the ×6 facts, the ×7 facts),
vocabulary word lists can be segmented into fewer words in a list, and the
number of questions to answer can be reduced (e.g., tell students to just do
the even-numbered problems).

Guided Practice (We Do)

Guided practice involves activities that teachers and students either do
together or that students do individually or in small groups with the
teacher’s guidance. The activities are intended to engage students in
practicing what they have learned. When students are learning a new skill,
they must have multiple opportunities to practice the skill under the
teacher’s guidance. Distributed practice, which refers to practice
opportunities presented over time, provides a way to ensure that students
receive multiple practice opportunities. Cumulative practice involves
continued practice on previously taught related skills that are integrated
with the skill currently being taught (Archer & Hughes, 2011). For
example, if students learned multiplication facts with 5 as one factor to
criterion (e.g., 90% accurate) and are now learning multiplication facts
with 2 as one factor to criterion, they would practice these facts together
(mixed up). Both types of practice, distributed and cumulative, are
effective practices to foster maintenance of skills.

There are several instructional practices that are part of good teaching and
that can be included in the presentation of subject matter and guided
practice steps. First, teachers can check for understanding; that is, ask
questions related to the instructed or practiced content to determine which
students are struggling and need more instruction and which students are
understanding. For instance, check for understanding can be conducted
after subject matter is presented or during guided practice. It is necessary
to ensure that all students respond during check for understanding to
identify those students who may need additional support. Teachers can use
the following techniques to check for student understanding (Price &
Nelson, 2003):

Present information that was taught (e.g., factual, rule, procedure) and
ask students to show, by signaling thumbs up or thumbs down,

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 whether the information is correct.
Use response cards for students to indicate their response to the
teacher’s statement or question.
Have students show their responses using materials such as
manipulatives in math.
Have students write their responses to be turned in for checking.
Have students write their responses on white boards.

Second, error-correction procedures or feedback should be implemented

to correct mistakes and to provide feedback, ensuring that students do not
practice mistakes or learn incorrect information. Error-correction
procedures include stopping the student if an error is made, modeling the
correct response, and having the student repeat the correct response.

Third, scaffolding (i.e., providing extra support and guidance) is important

as students learn and practice new concepts and skills. Think of a scaffold
on a building that is put up to help workers with a task and is gradually
removed over time when less scaffolding is needed. The same is true for
academic scaffolding; scaffolds are applied to help support students and
gradually removed when the support is no longer needed. To review
examples of scaffolds, return to the “Translating Research Findings into
Instructional Practices” section and review the list of practices that
Swanson et al. (1999) found. Think about which of these practices can be
used to provide more support for struggling learners initially and then
gradually lessened and removed when students become more proficient.

Fourth, active participation promotes engaged time and on-task behavior.

Engaged time is the amount of time students are actively involved in
learning. Ways to promote engagement include students making some type
of response (e.g., oral, written, constructing) or exhibiting behavior (e.g.,
demonstrating eye contact, paying attention) that suggests they are paying
attention, listening, and remaining engaged. Relatedly, academic learning
time focuses on the amount of time students are actively engaged in
appropriate learning tasks and are being successful. Active-participation
activities can facilitate student engagement and increase academic learning
time (Archer & Hughes, 2011). Figure 7.2 provides examples of active-
participation activities.

Independent Practice (You Do)

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Independent practice is the “you do” part of the lesson, meaning students
are given a task to complete on their own; usually this task leads to a
product of some sort. The purpose of independent practice is to determine
whether students learned the instructional objective for that lesson and if
they met the criterion, such as 90% accuracy. Independent practice occurs
in the classroom or as homework and implies that students have
demonstrated a good understanding of the skill (as determined during
instruction with check for understanding) and do not require direct teacher
supervision or guidance. Sometimes students complete the independent
practice under a timed condition such as five minutes. Students with
special learning needs can benefit from prompts from the teacher such as,
“Remember to apply the strategy you learned today” or “Work carefully”
or “Show your work.”

Figure 7.2 • Examples of Active-Participation Activities

The samples provided in this figure are as follows:

1. Use Jigsaw (Slavin, 1991) as a technique to engage all students in

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 learning and sharing information (see the section on cooperative
learning on page 289).
2. Use Think-Pair-Share-Write (students work with a partner to share
their response to a question; students turn in their own written
responses).
3. Use “Numbered Heads Together” (Kagan, 1990) (students in
groups discuss the response to an answer; each student has a
number; the teacher calls on one number to provide the answer).
This works really well to review the meanings of concepts and
terms.
4. Have students brainstorm responses to questions; call on students
randomly to provide answers.
5. Require students to take notes.
6. Use peer pairs for practice (see the discussion of small groups in
the section on grouping structures).
7. Have students find pictorial representations for content being
learned (students can make time lines with significant events
pictured or drawn along the time line).
8. Use response cards. Card 1 can be used when questions require a
yes/no or true/false response. Words can be color-coded so that
teachers can quickly scan the students to be sure the correct color
(word) is displayed. Cards 2 and 3 are pinch cards. The teacher
can present a definition and the student “pinches” the answer (puts
thumb and forefinger next to the answer). Students should be told,
“Hold your response card at chest level. I will give you a question
(or definition). I will say ‘think,’ and then you show me. Hold up
your card with the correct answer or pinch the correct answer.”

Card 1:

Yes/No or

True/False Card

Yes

True

No

False

Card 2:

Pinch Card

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 Rectangle

Pyramid
Cylinder
Isosceles trapezoid
Parallelogram
Triangle

Card 3:

Pinch Card

Length
Area
Volume
Perimeter

If there are students who have not met the criterion, then teachers must
reteach the skill or concept targeted for that lesson. Think ADAPT! This is
the test part of the framework. If a group of students needs reteaching, then
it behooves the teacher to try a different adaptation.

Closure
During closure, which occurs at the end of a lesson and may take only a
few minutes, teachers and students can review the instructional objective,
review what has been learned, relate learning to other contexts, and discuss
follow-up plans. Closure activities can be brief, but they are an important
part of the lesson and need to be considered when time is allotted for
instructional planning.

Instructional Strategy

Instructional Steps
Ms. Mendez is teaching a new unit on global warming to her students in
an inclusive setting. She spent several days one week probing her
students’ knowledge about the concept to determine what they already
know from media coverage. On the basis of her assessment information,
Ms. Mendez decides to use explicit instruction to teach key vocabulary

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at the beginning of her unit on global warming.

Advance Organizer

Ms. Mendez tells the students the purpose of instruction. She has them
work with a partner to write down their ideas about the meaning of
global warming. After several partner pairs share their ideas, which she
puts on the chalkboard, she presents five key vocabulary words and
explains that to learn more about global warming, they must understand
the meanings of these words.

Presentation of Subject Matter

Ms. Mendez reads the list of five words and their definitions, which are
presented in two columns and projected for the entire class to see. She
covers up one column (the definitions column). She reads one of the
words and asks students to state the definition. She reveals the
definitions column and covers up the other column (vocabulary words).
She has a student read one of the definitions and asks another student to
state the word. Next, she uses one word in a sentence and then asks
students for examples of the other words in sentences.

Guided Practice

Ms. Mendez has the students stand. With the list of words and
definitions concealed, she says a word and gently tosses a fuzzy, soft
ball to one student, who must define the word. Having defined the
word, the student returns the fuzzy, soft ball to Ms. Mendez, who
repeats this process with the remaining words and different students.
She provides error correction for any student who is unable to define
the word by showing the definition. She also uses this procedure for
saying a definition and asking students to supply the word.

Next, she has students work with a partner to match the words and
definitions. She gives each pair two envelopes, one with the words and
another with the definitions, for them to match. After the timer sounds,
each pair turns to a neighbor pair to share their matches.

Finally, Ms. Mendez gives the students a passage about global warming
that contains the new words. She asks them to underline the words and
to explain to their partner how the words are used in the sentences.

Independent Practice

Ms. Mendez gives the students a matching exercise to check their

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 accuracy in selecting the definitions. She also has them use the new
words in sentences. After 8 minutes, she has students share their
responses and then picks up papers for a grade.

Closure

At the end of the lesson, Ms. Mendez asks students to explain the
purpose of the lesson and what they learned. She describes the activities
in the unit on global warming that the students will complete over the
next few weeks.

Table 7.4 offers questions to help teachers reflect on their instructional

practices during the steps.

Types of Questions and Questioning Strategy

Questioning is an important instructional technique to monitor student
comprehension of the instructional objectives and to teach lessons. Posing
various types of questions can help students think critically about what
they are learning. Students can demonstrate their knowledge about a topic
by answering convergent questions. Convergent, lower-order questions
usually have one answer and start with who, what, or when. Answers to
these questions are essential to demonstrate student understanding about a
topic. Divergent, higher-order questions tap critical thinking skills
because they require students to make inferences, to analyze or synthesize
information, and to evaluate content. These questions start with, “What
could happen . . . ? What if . . . ? What do you think caused . . . ? Why do
you think . . . ? How were the characters alike and different? and How
could events be changed to affect the outcome?” Critical thinking must be
developed through divergent questioning strategies and coaching. Revisit
the critical thinking domains and think about how these types of questions
relate to the cognitive domains.

Table 7.4 •

387
Table 7.5 •

388
 Source: Adapted from Stowitschek, Stowitschek, Hendrickson, and Day (1984).

Teachers also can use the response-dependent questioning strategy to help

students who are struggling with specific content to arrive at the correct
answer to a question. The questioning strategy has remained viable for
years and is shown in Table 7.5.

In the next section, we discuss practices for instructional groups. Think

about how different grouping practices can be used with the whole class
and with students with special learning needs. Consider how Mrs. Santiago
and Ms. Benz can use grouping practices to meet the needs of their diverse
learners.

How Can Instructional Grouping Practices

Promote Effective Instruction?
There are a variety of instructional grouping practices, including whole
group instruction, flexible small groups, and one-to-one teaching. Peer
tutoring is another grouping practice that supports students who can
benefit from more opportunities to practice their skills. Finally, teachers
have used cooperative learning structures for years to enrich practice in
student-centered instruction. Consider how to use these practices when
designing and delivering instruction.

Instructional Grouping Practices

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Whole Group
In whole group instruction, the teacher presents a lesson to the entire class.
This grouping practice works well where common instructional objectives
are identified, the teacher delivers the lesson, and students respond orally
or in writing. Whole group instruction is often chosen to teach content-area
subjects, such as science, social studies, and health, and is common at the
secondary level. Examples of activities for whole groups include direct,
explicit instruction on new information (e.g., vocabulary, rules, concepts),
read-alouds, and presentations.

Researchers have shown that whole group instruction can be effective for
students of varying abilities (Gersten, Carnine, & Woodward, 1987).
Whole group instruction allows all students to hear responses from peers,
and it also lets the teacher pace instruction to maintain student engagement
and work individually with students following instruction. The
disadvantages include limited error correction, which is problematic for
students with special learning needs, a pace that may be too fast for some,
and the use of instructional objectives that may not be appropriate for
everyone. Teachers must be sure the objectives are appropriate for most of
the students and allocate time for those who require further individualized,
differentiated instruction.

Flexible Small Groups

Flexible small groups consist of three to five students and can include
those of the same or different abilities. The purpose varies according to
instructional level and students’ individual needs. The grouping
composition is flexible in the sense that a student who is in a group for
reteaching a mathematics concept might not need to be in a group for
additional reading support.

Same-Ability Groups
Identified through assessment, all the students in same-ability groups are
performing comparably on a particular skill and require extra or
accelerated instruction. For struggling students, extra practice on
instructional objectives is often necessary. For students who are high
achieving, gifted, or talented, same-ability groups can provide enrichment

390
activities.

Research supports the efficacy of this grouping practice. Small group

instruction yields better academic outcomes for students with disabilities
than whole group instruction (Schumm, Moody, & Vaughn, 2000;
Vaughn, Hughes, Moody, & Elbaum, 2001). The major advantage of small
group instruction is the opportunity to provide students with more
modeling, prompting, error correction, and pacing that is better tailored to
their individual needs than in whole group instruction. The challenge is to
ensure that the rest of the class is actively engaged in meaningful tasks.
Having backup tasks ready for those students who require teacher
assistance when it is not available, and for those who finish their tasks
before small group instruction concludes, can help ensure that all students
are actively learning.

Mixed-Ability Groups
Students performing at varying levels both academically and socially can
learn from one another in mixed-ability groups.

iStock/CEFutcher

This instructional grouping practice consists of students, identified through

assessment, who are performing at various levels on skills. This grouping
practice can allow students to work on projects and to make presentations.
The advantage is that the students can learn from each other. Importantly,
there is little evidence that mixed-ability groups adversely affects the
learning of students who are gifted and talented (Tieso, 2005).

One-to-One Groups

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In one-to-one teaching, teachers provide instruction to individual students
on the basis of their specific learning and behavioral needs; think of this as
a scaffold. For example, a student could need prompts, feedback, or
directions to begin working on or mastering an instructional objective. A
student’s behavior may warrant individualized instruction away from other
students in the classroom. Tutorial assistance might be necessary when
preparing for an exam in a content-area class, or individualized assistance
might be necessary to correct errors on a homework assignment.

One-to-one instruction has been shown to help students avoid frustration

and cope with instructional demands. The advantage is that individual
students receive assistance that promotes their learning. On the other hand,
teachers must plan tasks so other students are engaged as well.
Furthermore, one-to-one instruction is not always easy to achieve in
general education classrooms because of the number of students and time
constraints. In this case, students with disabilities who are in inclusion
settings will likely need support from their special education teacher. If the
general and special education teachers team-teach then support can be
provided for students with disabilities and other students with special
learning needs. If the special education teacher spends the day going in
and out of some classrooms to work with her students, then support will be
limited. Peer tutoring and cooperative learning are two possible ways to
provide more support for struggling students.

Peer Tutoring
Peer tutoring is an instructional grouping practice wherein pairs of
students work on assigned skills, usually for extra practice. Peer tutoring
models that have remained viable instructional grouping practices include
the Classwide Peer Tutoring (Delquadri, Greenwood, Whorton, Carta, &
Hall, 1986) and Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS; Fuchs, Fuchs,
Mathes, & Simmons, 1997). Research on peer tutoring models has shown
that peer tutoring can improve the academic achievement of tutees as well
as increase the amount of time students spend on school tasks (Heron,
Villareal, Yao, Christianson, & Heron, 2006). Based on years of research,
peer tutoring has been shown to increase active student involvement and
students’ opportunities to respond, review, and practice skills and
concepts.

In peer tutoring, there is a tutor–tutee relationship, consisting of instruction

392
and feedback to provide efficient teaching to students with disabilities and
students who are at risk for academic difficulties (Heron et al., 2006). In
reading, for example, a higher-performing peer can be paired with a
student who is reading at a somewhat lower level and who needs
additional instructional support. The partners take turns serving as reading
coach and reader. The reading coach reads the designated reading passage
for a short time period; the reader then reads the same passage for the same
time period. The partners provide error correction as needed and praise for
good reading. Often this passage reading is followed by comprehension
questions. These same procedures can be applied in mathematics,
vocabulary development, and spelling.

The advantages of this grouping practice include the opportunity for

students to develop academic skills, form cooperative relationships, and
gain extra instructional support for learning and behavioral problems.
Among the challenges are allocating time to teach tutors their role
responsibilities, matching students appropriately, monitoring the pairs, and
assessing progress. Moreover, there is a group of students with disabilities
who do not necessarily benefit from the peer tutoring model in reading
(McMaster, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2006). Students whose reading skills are
significantly lower than the rest of the class likely will require explicit
instruction.

Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning allows mixed-ability small groups to focus on
academic and social skills. According to some of the pioneer researchers
on cooperative learning, the purposes of this type of learning are for
students to work collaboratively to achieve common academic and social
goals and to be accountable to the team for their individual efforts
(Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1994).

Extensive research on cooperative learning has been conducted in various

academic areas (e.g., mathematics, reading, social studies) with students
who have disabilities, students who are typically achieving, and students
who come from diverse backgrounds. A classic review of the research
literature showed that in most cases students tend to derive academic and
social skills benefits from this instructional arrangement (Slavin, 1991).

Several models of cooperative learning are popular in classrooms. The

393
techniques share similar characteristics: group academic and social goals,
arrangement of heterogeneous student groups, task structure, cooperation,
and individual and group accountability. Table 7.6 provides information
about cooperative learning models.

Table 7.6 •

394
395
In preparing for cooperative learning, consider the following questions:

What are the academic and social skills instructional objectives?

What task or activity can be used to teach the instructional
objectives?
How can the elements of cooperative learning be promoted?
How will student groups be formed?
What environmental factors must be considered?
What management techniques will be used?
What is the teacher’s role during group activities?
How will individual and group progress with instructional objectives
be monitored?
What difficulties might students with special needs encounter in
cooperative learning groups?

Findings from the review of the research literature identified advantages of

cooperative learning. First, there are opportunities for students to work
together toward common goals, thus necessitating some degree of
collaborative behavior. Second, group work requires verbal interactions,
creating opportunities to develop language skills. Third, cooperative
learning means students, rather than teachers, are responsible for solving
problems. Fourth, group work promotes social interactions and peer
acceptance (Slavin, 1991).

Cooperative learning activities require extensive planning and preparation.

Teachers must ensure that all students—regardless of their group
assignment—participate fully. The bulk of the work should not fall on the
shoulders of only a few students. Finally, teachers must be sure students
are capable of performing instructional objectives successfully with group
members and individually. The Working Together feature shows how
professionals can collaborate to determine how to differentiate content,
instructional approach, grouping, and materials for students who are
having difficulties—in this case, during a mathematics lesson.

Working Together Collaborating to Differentiate Instruction

Mrs. Bell is teaching her fifth-grade students different ways to represent

fractions and wants them to compare and order fractions according to
fractional parts. She provides a review of different fractions and key

396
 students access the curriculum but I am not sure where to begin. My
training is in the sciences, not in basic academics, so I will have to rely
on the special education teacher, Ms. Patterson, to support the
inclusion students and me.”

Reflection Questions
In your journal, write down your answers to the following questions.
After completing the chapter, check your answers and revise them on
the basis of what you have learned.

1. How can Mrs. Bell and Ms. Mendez implement the principles of
universal design for learning into their instructional practices to
promote access to the general education curriculum?
2. How can universal design for learning principles benefit students
who are English learners?
3. How can Mrs. Bell and Ms. Mendez ensure that the textbooks and
instructional materials they use are appropriate for all of their
students to access the general education curriculum?
4. How can assistive technology help Mrs. Bell’s students with
disabilities access the general education curriculum?

Inclusive schools use a variety of practices to ensure that all students have
opportunities to learn and thrive in a supportive, responsive school
environment and to have access to the general education curriculum.
Having access to the general education curriculum means being able to
(a) learn the knowledge and skills we expect all students to learn; (b)
benefit from evidence-based instruction that is designed, delivered, and
evaluated for effectiveness; and (c) use materials, facilities, and labs that
facilitate learning. For many at-risk students and students with disabilities,
mastering the critical academic knowledge and skills is difficult because of
learning challenges such as sensory, memory, communication, motor,
behavioral, and cognitive problems. Thus, educators must identify
practices that assist students with challenges to access the general
education curriculum so that they can have opportunities to learn much
like their peers. In this chapter, we address accessing the curriculum
through the use of UDL principles, an examination of curricular materials
with struggling students in mind, and assistive technology (AT).

What Is Universal Design for Learning?

404
Universal design for learning (UDL) is a means for providing instruction
for all students, including learners with disabilities. It is a framework that
provides ways to remove or minimize barriers to learning and promote
accessibility to curricula and pedagogy, or teaching practices, for all
learners, including students with and without disabilities as well as ELs
(CAST, 2011). The goal is to foster learners’ ability to achieve mastery of
the curricula within a flexible environment that features various ways
content can be conveyed to account for individual differences (CAST,
2011). According to the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, UDL

(a) provides flexibility in the ways information is presented, in the

ways students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in
the ways students are engaged; and

(b) reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate

accommodations, supports, and challenges, and maintains high
achievement expectations for all students, including students with
disabilities and students who are limited English proficient.

Table 8.1 depicts the guidelines associated with UDL (see CAST [n.d.] for
additional information). We will refer to them throughout this chapter
section.

Table 8.1 •

405
 Source: © 2011 by CAST. All rights reserved. www.cast.org, www.udlcenter.org

UDL grew from the concept of universal design, which began in the field
of architecture (King-Sears, 2009). To illustrate, let us examine universal
design as it relates to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, which
requires that the physical environment must be accessible for individuals
with disabilities. Curb cuts is the most commonly cited example, because
they allow people who use wheelchairs to access sidewalks, cross streets,
and move independently as they shop or get from a parking lot to a
restaurant. But curb cuts are often used by cyclists, people pushing
strollers, and people with shopping carts as they walk from stores into
parking lots. By removing barriers, people with disabilities are better able
to participate in daily life, but it also helps people without disabilities (see
North Carolina State University [2008] for an inspirational speech by the
late Dr. Ronald L. Mace, who was one of the people responsible for
introducing the term universal design).

UDL guidelines can also be applied to teaching students from culturally

406
and linguistically diverse backgrounds. For example, for the “Provide
Multiple Means of Representation” principle, teachers can adjust their
level of English vocabulary to the student’s level of understanding
(Checkpoint 2.1) and support instructional language by repeating,
rephrasing, and extending the student’s language (Checkpoint 2.4). They
can use nonverbal cues such as gestures, pictures, objects, and other
instructional materials to facilitate understanding (Checkpoint 2.5).
Teachers can also preview new content by teaching key vocabulary, asking
questions to stimulate thinking about the new content, and making
linkages among students’ experiences (Checkpoint 3.1).

Universally designed curricula and pedagogy reflect three principles

(Rose, Harbour, Johnston, Daley, & Abarbanell, 2006). The first principle
is that there are multiple means of representation; in other words,
information is presented in various formats to reduce sensory and
cognitive barriers. For example, written text can be accompanied by audio
for students who are blind, and graphics can enhance the content for
students who are deaf or who have LDs. Closed captions on video are
another option.

The second principle, multiple means of action and expression, refers to

the ability of students to respond in a variety of ways. For example, voice
recognition software, scanning devices, and switches help students with
physical disabilities access the computer to complete computer-based
activities. The third principle, multiple means of engagement, consists of
actively engaging students in activities and making available more than
just a single mode of representation and expression to address their needs
and interests. Using the computer is an example of providing different
ways to engage students in the learning process.

Universal Design for Learning and Its

Applications
Each principle comprises three guidelines and several checkpoints. For
example, in Table 8.1, the principle “Provide Multiple Means of
Representation” comprises “Provide options for perceptions,” a guideline,
and “Offer ways of customizing the display of information,” a checkpoint
for that guideline and principle.

407
The principles of UDL are featured within the UDL guidelines (CAST,
2011). Applying the principles of UDL to curricula and pedagogy provides
opportunities to adapt goals, strategies, materials, and tests that will allow
for access to all and to remove or minimize barriers to learning. The intent
is to make the curriculum and instruction flexible enough to accommodate
the diverse learning needs evident in typical classrooms (CAST, 2011;
Rao, Ok, & Bryant, 2014).

UDL is supported in the field of education and included in the Individuals

with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) legislation (2004) as a means for
promoting access to the curriculum and instruction for all learners.
However, it’s important to know about the evidence that supports these
practices (Edyburn, 2010). Fortunately, research studies on the effects of
utilizing the principles of UDL on student performance are emerging, and
preliminary findings are promising (Hall, Cohen, Vue, & Ganley, 2015;
Kennedy, Thomas, Meyer, Alves, & Lloyd, 2014; King-Sears et al., 2014).
In their review of the research on UDL, Ok, Rao, Bryant, and McDougal
(2017) noted, “Findings of our review suggest that UDL-based practices
hold promise for diverse students in grades PreK–12. UDL-based
instructional practices provide flexibility and scaffolds that promote access
to the general education curriculum and support achievement on academic
outcomes” (p. 136).

Now that you have read about UDL, return to Chapter 7 and the
Considering Diversity feature. Recall that the feature dealt with strategies
for differentiated instruction for ELs. Consider how Mrs. Bell might be
able to use the strategies with the ELs in her classroom, particularly
relating to the UDL guidelines and principles listed in this chapter. Also,
read the Working Together feature below to identify how Mrs. Bell
collaborated with the EL specialist to help her better meet the needs of the
EL students in her classroom. How might this information be useful to you
as you work to meet the needs of any EL students you teach?

What Guidelines Should Be Followed for

Textbooks and Instructional Materials Used
With Students Who Have Special Needs?

Textbooks
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Basals are the textbooks usually used by school districts to serve as a
primary source for subject-area content. Basals are usually associated with
reading textbooks, but they can also be referred to as textbooks used to
teach science, social studies, and other content. Basals are a good source of
instructional content, but they often raise challenges for students who have
disabilities:

The reading level of the textbook probably is more advanced than the
ability of the student who has reading difficulties or disabilities. For
students to benefit from reading a textbook, the material should be at
their instructional reading level, the level at which they can read at
least 90% of the words on the page and comprehend the same amount
of content.
The organization or structure of the text content can be hard for
students with reading problems to follow. The text might lack, or the
student might not be familiar with, key words that signal different
types of text organization (e.g., cause/effect, compare/contrast).
Recognizing how text content is organized helps readers comprehend
the material. In addition, many of the words in content area basals
have more than one meaning. For example, the word current can have
one meaning in a history text (e.g., current events) and another in a
geography text (e.g., the river’s current) (see Chapter 14 for more
information).
Basals usually do not include enough direct instruction or explicit
instruction to help struggling students learn content. For example,
there might not be sufficient practice opportunities or examples.

In Chapter 11, we provide additional information about textbooks for

students with reading difficulties. In Chapter 14, we offer suggestions for
selecting and using content-area textbooks with struggling readers,
especially at the secondary level.

Instructional Materials
Guidelines for selecting and using instructional materials should address
(a) the student with the disability, and (b) the content and methodology.

Student Considerations

409
 What are the student’s present levels of academic achievement and
functional performance?
Concerning students’ individualized education programs, are the
instructional materials appropriate for meeting those goals?
Does the student seem to be motivated to accomplish tasks? If so,
under what conditions?
Does the student remain focused and persist with tasks? When does
the student appear to lose focus and persistence?
Are the students’ prerequisite skills sufficient for using the
instructional materials? For example, if a mathematics lesson
involves the use of manipulatives, are they appropriate for the student
who has cerebral palsy and associated fine motor problems?
Can the student benefit from using audiovisual materials to
supplement teacher lectures?

Teachers can consult the individualized education program (IEP) to

identify a student’s current levels of functioning as they make decisions
about whether or how to adapt instructional materials. If the problem
involves a reading disability, teachers can also identify a student’s reading
level by administering an informal reading inventory, discussed in Chapter
11. Finally, it’s important to determine a student’s interest in content and
materials and identify where in the learning process the student stops
trying or struggles. Motivation is a key ingredient of successful learning,
and knowing their students’ level of persistence helps teachers understand
learners’ needs more fully.

Instructional Content and Methodology

Considerations
Is the content age appropriate?
Does the content address state standards and the core curriculum?
Does the instructional material specify a sequence of skills?
Is information about teaching strategies included?
Are there sufficient opportunities to practice new skills?
Are generalization and maintenance activities included?
Are there supplemental activities to keep more advanced students
interested and motivated?

Age appropriateness of instructional materials is a primary concern in the

selection process. For example, high-interest or controlled vocabulary

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materials can be used with older students who have limited reading
abilities. These materials focus on topics that appeal to older students, such
as current events, sports, and entertainment personalities, yet are written
with grade-specific vocabulary to take into account limited word
recognition and reading abilities. Equally important is the relationship
between the materials and the curricular expectations from the school
district and state. Teachers are held highly accountable through high-stakes
state assessments to teach the content on which students will be assessed,
so materials selected for instruction must reflect this content, which has
been specified as appropriate for all students.

Teachers can adopt a sequence for teaching skills and then be sure the
instructional materials match this sequence. For example, if math
instruction focuses on addition facts (e.g., 6 + 9, 7 + 3), then the
instructional material should include problems that match this skill.
Subtraction math facts should not be included. The next skill in the
sequence could include subtraction math facts and materials that focus on
these types of problems.

Instructional materials might include review activities (for maintenance),

teaching strategies, practice opportunities, and enrichment activities (for
generalization purposes). Teachers must examine the materials to
determine how the instructional material can best be used in a lesson and
what adaptations might be needed.

Very often, teachers need to adapt instructional materials to meet an

individual learner’s needs. Some instructional materials offer suggestions,
such as extension exercises or alternative methodologies. Other
adaptations might include adding more practice options, using only
portions of the material, rewording complex directions, and breaking
instructional components down into smaller instructional activities. In
addition, scaffolds offer instructional opportunities for students who
struggle with the lesson as written. Some instructional materials offer a list
of potential scaffolds, but, most often, teachers are responsible for
determining when scaffolds are needed and which scaffolds might be
appropriate given the content being taught.

Adaptations for Curricular Materials

Textbooks and instructional materials are important components of

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instruction and must be selected wisely. Textbooks sometimes are assigned
to teachers, but those teachers must still analyze them critically to see what
difficulties students might encounter when accessing the material.
Instructional materials are used when concepts are first presented, during
guided practice, and as part of independent practice activities. For
example, students can use math manipulatives as part of place value
instruction, complete graphic organizers during independent seatwork, or
use a scale as part of a cooperative learning activity on measurement.
These materials must also be chosen carefully to augment instruction.
Table 8.2 provides examples of ways to adapt instructional materials.

Table 8.2 •

Working Together

Although Mrs. Bell is an experienced teacher, she has found it helpful

to collaborate with the EL specialist who works with one of Mrs. Bell’s
EL students in a pullout program. When they first met, Mrs. Bell shared

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that she knew little about working with students who were not English
proficient, and she was concerned that, as she was having more and
more EL students in her classroom, her teaching would be insufficient
for those students.

In their first meeting, the EL specialist, Mr. Garcia, shared with Mrs.
Bell some information from an Education Northwest document by
Deussen, Autio, Miller, Lockwood, and Stewart (2008) titled “What
Teachers Should Know About Instruction for English Language
Learners” (i.e., English Learners) The document lists important
considerations for all teachers, and also for those who teach language
arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. Because Mrs. Bell
teaches all of these subjects in her fifth-grade classroom, she listened as
Mr. Garcia read from the document.

WHAT ALL TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW

Principle 1: ELLs move through different stages as they acquire

English proficiency and, at all stages, need comprehensible input.
Principle 2: There is a difference between conversational and
academic language; fluency in everyday conversation is not
sufficient to ensure access to academic texts and tasks.
Principle 3: ELLs need instruction that will allow them to meet
state content standards.
Principle 4: ELLs have background knowledge and home cultures
that sometimes differ from the U.S. mainstream.
Principle 5: Assessments measure language proficiency as well as
actual content knowledge.

WHAT LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW

Principle 6: The same basic approach to learning to read and write

applies to ELLs and non-ELLs, but ELLs need additional
instructional supports.
Principle 7: Many literacy skills transfer across languages.

WHAT MATHEMATICS TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW

Principle 8: Mathematics has its own language and

representational system, and ELLs struggle to understand math
concepts in this language.
Principle 9: Mathematic word problems are particularly
challenging for ELLs.

WHAT SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW

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 Principle 10: The density and complexity of social science
textbooks and other texts can be particularly challenging for
ELLs.
Principle 11: Some ELLs bring background knowledge that differs
from what is assumed in textbooks.
Principle 12: Social studies courses require sophisticated and
subject-specific uses of language.

WHAT SCIENCE TEACHERS SHOULD KNOW

Principle 13: Science inquiry poses particular linguistic challenges

for ELLs.
Principle 14: The norms and practices of science may or may not
align with the cultural norms of ELLs.

After going over the principles together, Mrs. Bell and Mr. Garcia
decided to meet every 2 weeks to further discuss the information listed
in the document and to brainstorm as to how Mrs. Bell could use the
knowledge to enhance her teaching. Before their second meeting, Mrs.
Bell read the entire document, which further explained the principles
and provided a springboard for later discussions.

From Education Northwest’s (2008), What Teachers Should Know

About Instruction for English Language Learners. Used with
permission.

What Are Assistive Technology Devices and

Services for Promoting Access to the General
Education Curriculum?
Advances in technology have benefited most of society, but it could be
argued that for people with disabilities, technology has provided a means
to an end, which is independence. In 1991, a training session conducted by
International Business Machines, better known as IBM, included the
following classic quote: “For people without disabilities, technology
makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things
possible” (IBM, 1991, p. 2). This quote remains relevant in today’s
classrooms and other environments.

AT allows students access to the curriculum in inclusive settings and

environments in and out of school. By focusing on a student’s functional

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capabilities, AT promotes independence for students with disabilities by
helping them communicate and socialize with their peers; participate
across settings such as the playground, classroom, cafeteria, and library;
and demonstrate their learning of the curriculum. Functional capabilities
refer to those abilities—such as vision, hearing, communication, mobility,
cognition, and motor control—that are used to help individuals
compensate for struggles that are disability-related. For example, an
individual who has good hearing but is blind might want to read a chapter
in a textbook. Listening to the chapter in an electronic book provides
access to that material. When selecting AT devices, it is critical to focus on
strengths when selecting devices that help individuals access their
environments.

Assistive Technology Devices

IDEA 2004 defines an assistive technology device as “Any item, piece of
equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the
shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or
improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities” (Authority
20 U.S.C. 1401(1)). The definition’s first component includes the unit
itself, which can be an item (e.g., a Hoover cane to help a person who is
blind with mobility), a piece of equipment (e.g., a motorized wheelchair to
help an individual with physical disabilities move about), or a product
system (e.g., a computer with speech output software that reads the text on
the screen). The intent is to promote access and independence for
individuals with disabilities by enhancing their functioning. Therefore, an
AT device is anything bought or made that helps a person who has a
disability accomplish tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible
to perform (Bryant & Bryant, 2011).

AT devices can be viewed along a continuum from low-tech to high-tech

devices. Most of us identify as high tech those devices that are electronic.
Computers with their multiple capabilities, talking calculators, electronic
books, screen reader and voice recognition software, and powered
wheelchairs fall at the high-tech end of the continuum. Grips for pencils,
different font types and sizes for text, a grab bar in the shower, and a
magnifier are at the low-tech end. Thus, for a student who has a
mathematics LD, a calculator may be identified in the IEP as an AT device
to help the student compute basic facts when solving word problems. We
differentiate AT devices from helpful technology devices. A calculator

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provides a perfect example: For individuals who do not have a
mathematics LD and who use calculators to help balance their checkbook,
the calculator would be a helpful device; for individuals with a
mathematics LD who need the calculator to balance their checkbook, the
calculator is an AT device.

Assistive Technology Services

An assistive technology service was defined by the Assistive Technology
Act of 2004 (ATA, or Tech Act) as, “Any service that directly assists a
child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, and use of an assistive
technology device.” The term includes

(A) the evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a

functional evaluation of the child in the child’s customary
environment;
(B) purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of
assistive technology devices by such child;
(C) selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying,
maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices;
(D) coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services
with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with
existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
(E) training or technical assistance for such child, or, where
appropriate, the family of such child; and
(F) training or technical assistance for professionals (including
individuals providing education and rehabilitation services),
employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or
are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of
such child. (Authority 20 U.S.C. 1401(2))

How are the terms assistive technology device and assistive technology
service related? The answer is simply that they go together. A device of
some sort (e.g., a wheelchair, a computer, Braille text, or an FM listening
system) may be necessary for a person with a disability to meet challenges
related to impaired mobility, cognitive function, or sensory function. But
the services associated with such AT devices must also be available. How
will the device be purchased? Who will assess whether the device and the
person are a good match? Who will train the student to utilize the device
properly? How will teachers, other professionals, family members, and

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others with whom the AT user interacts learn how to provide personal and
educational supports, in and out of the classroom? And how will these
people and their services be coordinated? These questions must be
addressed for devices and services to be effective. We have seen too many
classrooms where AT devices sit on shelves because the teacher or student
(or both) don’t know how to use them.

Importance of Assistive Technology

For more information about AT devices and services to support students’
special learning needs, refer to http://www.closingthegap.com. Tech
Notes, below, provides information about Dragon Anywhere and Dragon
Professional Individual, voice recognition software that can be used by
Mrs. Bell to help Paul write in his electronic reading journal.

We group AT devices into categories that reflect their purpose and

function. These categories include seating and positioning, mobility,
communication, adaptive toys and games, adaptive environments,
computer use, and instructional aids (Bryant & Bryant, 2011).

Seating and positioning devices encourage the best posture and seating
arrangement for a particular function and time period. Students might
move from one place to another using a wheelchair, sit during
conversation and instruction, and have help while eating. Physical and
occupational therapists are key professionals who work with seating and
positioning issues.

Mobility refers to the act of movement. When most people think of

mobility AT devices, they think of wheelchairs, but mobility devices also
include scooter boards, vehicular modifications, and white canes.
Rehabilitation engineers, physical and occupational therapists, and
orientation and mobility specialists are important team members with
whom to discuss mobility issues.

Communication devices help people compensate for expressive language

(speaking) difficulties by focusing on their capabilities to understand
language and to convey their thoughts, ideas, and needs. Augmentative
and alternative communication (AAC) systems devices are included in
the communication category. AAC devices can supplement vocalizations
when speech is not understood by a particular communication partner and

417
can provide a way for an individual to speak. Aided AAC systems might
be electronic (e.g., a speech generation device) or nonelectronic (e.g., a
communication book or eye gaze communication board). Unaided AAC
systems do not require an external device and range from body language
and facial expressions to American Sign Language and Signed Exact
English. The speech/language pathologist or a specialist who deals with
deafness/hard of hearing are key members of the IEP team when AAC
system decisions are to be made.

Tech Notes Dragon Anywhere and Dragon Professional Individual

Dragon Anywhere, from Nuance Communications, is a voice input and

voice output application that is available for the iPhone or iPad.
Individuals with upper extremity or vision disabilities, LDs, or spinal
cord injury are the target groups for this product. According to its app
page on App Store, Dragon Anywhere is “professional-grade mobile
dictation. Easily dictate documents of any length, edit, format and share
them directly from your iPhone or iPad—whether visiting clients, a job
site, or your local coffee shop.” Again, from the Dragon Anywhere App
Store page, new features (at the time of his writing) include

New correction menu similar to Dragon desktop solutions.

Train Words feature teaches Dragon exactly how you pronounce
words and eliminates spelling errors.
General usability improvements and performance enhancements.

Dragon Professional Individual, also from Nuance

(https://www.nuance.com/dragon.html), is the computer version and is
available for Mac and PC. An early entry into speech recognition,
Dragon provides a hands-free operation, so individuals can speak
naturally and control applications with voice commands to move the
cursor or click on the screen. The software was designed to enable
writing, editing, and proofreading capabilities. It includes recognition
training so that the software can learn how the user speaks and comes
with a USB headset microphone and Bluetooth wireless capabilities.

Adaptive toys and games (recreation) give children with disabilities an

opportunity to play with toys and games to help them develop cognitive
skills and to socialize with their peers. They might include devices with a
sound so children who are blind can discriminate among them. Game
board markers might have large tops so children with motor problems can
grasp and hold them. Often electronic toys are modified so that children

418
with fine motor difficulties who might have trouble with an on–off toggle
switch can activate the toy by using a button switch. Early childhood
specialists work with assistive technologists and occupational therapists to
design features that enable all students to interact with toys and games.

Adaptive environments (control of the environment) are devices and

approaches that enable a person to manipulate the environment to allow
for daily living, working, schooling, playing, and so forth. For instance,
remote control units can be used to turn lights on and off, respond to the
doorbell, open doors, or turn a computer on and off in the home, school, or
workplace. In the classroom, something as simple as widening aisles can
enhance mobility for a student who uses a wheelchair. Other adaptive
environment devices include curb cuts; Braille words for restrooms,
elevators, and hotel room numbers; grab bars in showers; and automatic
door openers. Occupational therapists are very helpful in making decisions
about ways to adapt the environment.

Computer access devices include keyboard overlays (templates that lie on

the keyboard to define the key space for responding), pointers, and screen
reader and voice recognition software. For example, by using voice
recognition software, a student whose upper body control is limited but
whose speech is a functional strength can speak into a microphone and tell
the computer what functions to employ. For people who are blind and
whose hearing is a functional struggle, alternative output devices for
computer use, such as screen reader software, are necessary. Screen reader
software reads the text displayed on the computer screen. Educators,
occupational therapists, and rehabilitation specialists typically assist with
computer access.

Finally, instructional aids provide access to the curriculum, instruction,

and instructional materials. Access to information can come via a screen
reader program that allows access to the World Wide Web for research for
a student who is blind, and remediation can come from math or reading
instructional software. Instructional software can provide students with
extra practice on academic and problem-solving skills while they continue
to receive instruction from the classroom teacher.

Figure 8.1 provides guidelines for evaluating and selecting instructional

apps and software.

Examples of smart phones and apps for people with disability

419
 Sesame Phone smart phone: Operating the smartphone using only
one’s head
Sesame Phone is a touch-free mobile phone based on the Google
Nexus 5, which already includes accessibility features. People
with mobility disabilities could potentially use and benefit from
this smart phone to access apps.
Text-To-Speech apps: Including apps that read aloud whatever is
inputted
Individuals with reading disabilities or who have visual
impairments could benefit from these types of apps.
iPad apps: Using a variety of apps to aid in everyday living skills
and classroom learning
Given the increased popularity of iPads in classrooms,
identifying various apps should be incorporated into
instructional planning for students with disabilities.

Figure 8.1 • Guidelines for Software and Apps Evaluation and Selection

420
421
Source: Adapted from Ok et al. (2016).

These guidelines are shown below:

1. Basic Information
Name of software or app
_________________________________________________________________
Publisher ____________________________________ Cost
_______________________________________________
Hardware/mobile device requirements
________________________________________________________________
2. Description
Grade level(s) ______________________ Reading level of
text (if applicable) _______________________________
Instructional area(s)
_________________________________________________________________
Purpose
_________________________________________________________________
Type: _____ Tutorial _____ Drill and practice _____
Simulation _____ Game
Instructional Objectives _____ yes _____ no
List objectives if stated
_________________________________________________________________
How is information presented? (check all that apply) _____
Speech _____ Music
_____ Graphics (pictures) _____ Text (words) _____
Animation
How do the visuals look? (check all that apply) _____ Screen
is too busy
_____ Graphics enhance, rather than distract from, purpose
_____ Print is legible
_____ Print size age-appropriate
What is the quality of the sound? (check all that apply)
_______ Sound is clear/audible _______ Speech is audible
_______ Sound is distracting
_______ Rate of speech is appropriate
3. Instructional Design
Directions are clear, easy to read, and short _____ yes _____
no
Examples or models are provided _____ yes _____ no

422
 Pacing is appropriate _____ yes _____ no
Practice opportunities are provided _____ yes _____ no
Error correction is provided _____ yes _____ no
Difficulty level can be individualized _____ yes _____ no
Reinforcement (visual and/or auditory) is present _____ yes
_____ no
A recordkeeping/evaluation option is available _____ yes
_____ no
4. Content
Appropriate to stated objectives _____ yes _____ no
Factual and accurate _____ yes _____ no
Free of gender, cultural, or racial bias _____ yes _____ no
Relates to school’s curriculum _____ yes _____ no
Relates to student’s IEP _____ yes _____ no
5. Technical Considerations
User Demands (respond to any that apply) Academic
_________________________
Physical/motor
_______________________________________________________
Computer or mobile device knowledge
____________________________________
Technical vocabulary
__________________________________________________
Functions (check all that apply) _____ Save work in progress
_____ Print in progress _____ Alter sound
________ Return to main menu at any point in program
_____ Change pace
Teacher Demands (respond to any that apply)
Amount of instruction to students for using software
________________________________________________________
Installation procedures
________________________________________________
Level of student monitoring
____________________________________________
Preparation needed before using software
_________________________________

An example of a website that offers information about apps for students

with various types of disabilities is found at Rosenberg (2017).

Classroom teachers can work with assistive technologists and special

education teachers to decide which instructional aids, apps, and smart

423
phones are most suitable to help students with disabilities access the
curriculum (Bryant & Bryant, 2011). Table 8.3 provides examples of AT
devices students with disabilities can use, in accordance with their IEPs, to
access and benefit from instruction and function successfully in various
environments.

Table 8.3 •

Source: Adapted from Technology and Media (n.d.).

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AT devices will be necessary to help Paul benefit from instruction; Paul is
Mrs. Bell’s student who has cerebral palsy. She decides to use the ADAPT
Framework (see Chapter 7) to make adjustments to a reading
comprehension activity, which involves writing, for Paul.

According to IDEA (2004), several AT services must be provided to

ensure that devices are properly identified and used. For example, the
selection of appropriate AT devices based on an evaluation of individuals
in their natural environments is an important service. Assistive
technologists, diagnosticians, audiologists, occupational therapists,
speech/language pathologists, and special and general education classroom
teachers can participate as members of the AT evaluation team, depending
on the student’s needs. Each professional contributes information about
how the student is performing in relation to academics, communication,
motor development, vision, or hearing. One evaluation example is the
Functional Evaluation for Assistive Technology (Raskind & Bryant, 2002),
which enables professionals to rate the performance of a student on
listening, speaking, academics, memory, organization, motor tasks, and
behavior. Each discipline (e.g., occupational therapy, speech/language, and
audiology) has its own criteria for evaluating student performance.

For example, when AT is being considered during an IEP meeting for a

student with an identified reading disability, the AT specialist works with
classroom teachers to determine reading strengths and areas of difficulty
when completing classroom activities. The specialist might ask classroom
teachers specific questions about reading requirements in the classroom
and about the student’s performance on these tasks. The AT specialist
consults with a speech/language pathologist if language difficulties are
also noted. Together, professionals can make decisions about devices that
can help the student with reading tasks. The evaluation process is ongoing;
changes could occur in a student’s environment or setting, strengths and
struggles, and maturity (Bryant & Bryant, 2011; Raskind & Bryant, 2002).

Adapt in Action Reading, Writing, and Assistive Technology

Mrs. Bell has students read sections from a chapter and answer
comprehension questions in their reading journal for part of the class
period. She then has students share their responses to the questions to
check their understanding and to promote class discussion. Paul has
good reading and comprehension abilities and can readily participate in

425
 discussions. Paul is adept at using a computer to do his work and is
familiar with its word processing and spell-check features. He has an
electronic reading journal to ease difficulties associated with holding a
pencil and writing. A laptop computer has been customized to fit on the
tray of his motorized wheelchair. The computer keyboard has been
equipped with a keyguard, which is an overlap placed on top of the keys
to minimize him accidentally hitting the wrong keys as he types.
However, Mrs. Bell notices that Paul seems to tire when working on his
reading journal and falls behind the other students in answering all of
the questions. She decides to consult the assistive technologist, Ms.
Parette, to identify further AT adaptations to address Paul’s needs.

A Ask, “What am I requiring the student to do?” “I want my

students to be able to read text and answer comprehension
questions and share their answers.”
D Determine the prerequisite skills of the task. “I want my
students to answer comprehension questions in their journal about
a section of the chapter from a social studies textbook. They need
to be able to discuss their answers with the whole class.”
A Analyze the student’s strengths and struggles. Paul’s reading
comprehension skills are good and he is able to engage in
discussions about the material. However, he has motor problems
that make turning pages in a textbook and writing difficult.
Although he is using a computer for writing, he seems to have
problems when doing multiple typing assignments and turning
pages in his textbook. He is not keeping up with his peers.
P Propose and implement adaptations from among the four
categories. After conducting several observations of Paul
engaging in the reading and writing tasks, Ms. Parette
recommends an electronic page turner and Dragon Dictate voice
recognition software for writing assignments, and she will teach
Paul and Mrs. Bell how to use them.
T Test to determine whether the adaptations helped the
student accomplish the task. Mrs. Bell will monitor whether
Paul is completing all of the reading comprehension questions in
his electronic journal and how well the page turner seems to be
helping him read his section of the textbook. Ms. Parette will
conduct observations as well and compare notes with Mrs. Bell.

Training is another example of an AT service (Rieth, Colburn, & Bryant,

2004). Training on AT devices should be provided to the students or users
of the devices, their families, and professionals such as classroom teachers,
speech/language pathologists, and occupational therapists. Professionals

426
 LEY GENERAL PARA LA INCLUSIÓN DE LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD
CÁMARA DE DIPUTADOS DEL H. CONGRESO DE LA UNIÓN Última Reforma DOF 06-01-2023
Secretaría General
Secretaría de Servicios Parlamentarios

LEY GENERAL PARA LA INCLUSIÓN DE LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD

Nueva Ley publicada en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 30 de mayo de 2011

TEXTO VIGENTE
Última reforma publicada DOF 06-01-2023

Al margen un sello con el Escudo Nacional, que dice: Estados Unidos Mexicanos.- Presidencia de la
República.

FELIPE DE JESÚS CALDERÓN HINOJOSA, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, a sus
habitantes sabed:

Que el Honorable Congreso de la Unión, se ha servido dirigirme el siguiente

DECRETO

"EL CONGRESO GENERAL DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS, DECRETA:

SE CREA LA LEY GENERAL PARA LA INCLUSIÓN DE LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD.

Artículo Único. Se crea la Ley General para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad.

Ley General para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad

Título Primero

Capítulo Único
Disposiciones Generales

Artículo 1. Las disposiciones de la presente Ley son de orden público, de interés social y de
observancia general en los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.

Su objeto es reglamentar en lo conducente, el Artículo 1o. de la Constitución Política de los Estados

Unidos Mexicanos estableciendo las condiciones en las que el Estado deberá promover, proteger y
asegurar el pleno ejercicio de los derechos humanos y libertades fundamentales de las personas con
discapacidad, asegurando su plena inclusión a la sociedad en un marco de respeto, igualdad y
equiparación de oportunidades.

De manera enunciativa y no limitativa, esta Ley reconoce a las personas con discapacidad sus
derechos humanos y mandata el establecimiento de las políticas públicas necesarias para su ejercicio.

Artículo 2. Para los efectos de esta Ley se entenderá por:

I. Accesibilidad. Las medidas pertinentes para asegurar el acceso de las personas con
discapacidad, en igualdad de condiciones con las demás, al entorno físico, el transporte, la
información y las comunicaciones, incluidos los sistemas y las tecnologías de la información y
las comunicaciones, y a otros servicios e instalaciones abiertos al público o de uso público,
tanto en zonas urbanas como rurales;

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II. Ajustes Razonables. Se entenderán las modificaciones y adaptaciones necesarias y

adecuadas que no impongan una carga desproporcionada o indebida, cuando se requieran en
un caso particular, para garantizar a las personas con discapacidad el goce o ejercicio, en
igualdad de condiciones con las demás, de todos los derechos humanos y libertades
fundamentales;

III. Asistencia Social. Conjunto de acciones tendientes a modificar y mejorar las circunstancias
de carácter social que impidan el desarrollo integral del individuo, así como la protección
física, mental y social de personas en estado de necesidad, indefensión, desventaja física y
mental, hasta lograr su incorporación a una vida plena y productiva;

IV. Ayudas Técnicas. Dispositivos tecnológicos y materiales que permiten habilitar, rehabilitar o
compensar una o más limitaciones funcionales, motrices, sensoriales o intelectuales de las
personas con discapacidad;

V. Comunicación. Se entenderá el lenguaje escrito, oral y la lengua de señas mexicana, la

visualización de textos, sistema Braille, la comunicación táctil, los macrotipos, los dispositivos
multimedia escritos o auditivos de fácil acceso, el lenguaje sencillo, los medios de voz
digitalizada y otros modos, medios, sistemas y formatos aumentativos o alternativos de
comunicación, incluida la tecnología de la información y las comunicaciones de fácil acceso;

VI. Comunidad de Sordos. Todo aquel grupo social cuyos miembros tienen alguna deficiencia
del sentido auditivo que les limita sostener una comunicación y socialización regular y fluida
en lengua oral;

VII. Consejo. Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas con
Discapacidad;

VIII. Convención. Convención sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad;

IX. Discapacidad. Es la consecuencia de la presencia de una deficiencia o limitación en una

persona, que al interactuar con las barreras que le impone el entorno social, pueda impedir su
inclusión plena y efectiva en la sociedad, en igualdad de condiciones con los demás;
Fracción adicionada DOF 22-06-2018

X. Discapacidad Física. Es la secuela o malformación que deriva de una afección en el sistema

neuromuscular a nivel central o periférico, dando como resultado alteraciones en el control del
movimiento y la postura, y que al interactuar con las barreras que le impone el entorno social,
pueda impedir su inclusión plena y efectiva en la sociedad, en igualdad de condiciones con los
demás;
Fracción adicionada DOF 22-06-2018

XI. Discapacidad Mental. A la alteración o deficiencia en el sistema neuronal de una persona,

que aunado a una sucesión de hechos que no puede manejar, detona un cambio en su
comportamiento que dificulta su pleno desarrollo y convivencia social, y que al interactuar con
las barreras que le impone el entorno social, pueda impedir su inclusión plena y efectiva en la
sociedad, en igualdad de condiciones con los demás;
Fracción adicionada DOF 22-06-2018

XII. Discapacidad Intelectual. Se caracteriza por limitaciones significativas tanto en la estructura

del pensamiento razonado, como en la conducta adaptativa de la persona, y que al interactuar
con las barreras que le impone el entorno social, pueda impedir su inclusión plena y efectiva
en la sociedad, en igualdad de condiciones con los demás;

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Fracción adicionada DOF 22-06-2018

XIII. Discapacidad Sensorial. Es la deficiencia estructural o funcional de los órganos de la visión,

audición, tacto, olfato y gusto, así como de las estructuras y funciones asociadas a cada uno
de ellos, y que al interactuar con las barreras que le impone el entorno social, pueda impedir
su inclusión plena y efectiva en la sociedad, en igualdad de condiciones con los demás.
Fracción adicionada DOF 22-06-2018

XIV. Discriminación por motivos de discapacidad. Se entenderá cualquier distinción, exclusión

o restricción por motivos de discapacidad que tenga el propósito o el efecto de obstaculizar,
menoscabar o dejar sin efecto el reconocimiento, goce o ejercicio, en igualdad de condiciones,
de todos los derechos humanos y libertades fundamentales en los ámbitos político,
económico, social, cultural, civil o de otro tipo. Incluye todas las formas de discriminación,
entre ellas, la denegación de ajustes razonables;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XV. Diseño universal. Se entenderá el diseño de productos, entornos, programas y servicios que
puedan utilizar todas las personas, en la mayor medida posible, sin necesidad de adaptación
ni diseño especializado. El diseño universal no excluirá las ayudas técnicas para grupos
particulares de personas con discapacidad cuando se necesiten;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XVI. Educación Especial. La educación especial está destinada a individuos con discapacidades
transitorias o definitivas, así como a aquellos con aptitudes sobresalientes. Atenderá a los
educandos de manera adecuada a sus propias condiciones, con equidad social incluyente y
con perspectiva de género;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XVII. Educación Inclusiva. Es la educación que propicia la integración de personas con

discapacidad a los planteles de educación básica regular, mediante la aplicación de métodos,
técnicas y materiales específicos;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XVIII. Estenografía Proyectada. Es el oficio y la técnica de transcribir un monólogo o un diálogo

oral de manera simultánea a su desenvolvimiento y, a la vez, proyectar el texto resultante por
medios electrónicos visuales;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XIX. Estimulación Temprana. Atención brindada a niños y niñas de entre 0 y 6 años para
potenciar y desarrollar al máximo sus posibilidades físicas, intelectuales, sensoriales y
afectivas, mediante programas sistemáticos y secuenciados que abarquen todas las áreas del
desarrollo humano, sin forzar el curso natural de su maduración;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XIX Bis. Formato de Lectura Fácil: Texto complementario al principal redactado en un lenguaje
simple, directo, cotidiano y personalizado, con tipografía clara y tamaño accesible, la cual
puede utilizar ejemplos para su mejor comprensión y está libre de tecnicismo y conceptos
abstractos;
Fracción adicionada DOF 06-01-2023

XX. Igualdad de Oportunidades. Proceso de adecuaciones, ajustes, mejoras o adopción de

acciones afirmativas necesarias en el entorno jurídico, social, cultural y de bienes y servicios,
que faciliten a las personas con discapacidad su inclusión, integración, convivencia y
participación, en igualdad de oportunidades con el resto de la población;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

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XXI. Lenguaje. Se entenderá tanto el lenguaje oral como la lengua de señas y otras formas de
comunicación no verbal;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XXII. Lengua de Señas Mexicana. Lengua de una comunidad de sordos, que consiste en una serie
de signos gestuales articulados con las manos y acompañados de expresiones faciales,
mirada intencional y movimiento corporal, dotados de función lingüística, forma parte del
patrimonio lingüístico de dicha comunidad y es tan rica y compleja en gramática y vocabulario
como cualquier lengua oral;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XXIII. Ley. Ley General para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XXIV. Organizaciones. Todas aquellas organizaciones sociales constituidas legalmente para el

cuidado, atención o salvaguarda de los derechos de las personas con discapacidad o que
busquen apoyar y facilitar su participación en las decisiones relacionadas con el diseño,
aplicación y evaluación de programas para su desarrollo e integración social;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018

XXV (sic DOF 12-07-2018). Registro Nacional de Población con Discapacidad. Porción del
Registro Nacional de Población que solicitó y obtuvo la Certificación del Estado con
Reconocimiento Nacional que refiere el artículo 10 de la Ley;
Fracción adicionada DOF 12-07-2018

XXVI. Perro guía o animal de servicio. Son aquellos que han sido certificados para el
acompañamiento, conducción y auxilio de personas con discapacidad;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

XXVII. Persona con Discapacidad. Toda persona que por razón congénita o adquirida presenta una
o más deficiencias de carácter físico, mental, intelectual o sensorial, ya sea permanente o
temporal y que al interactuar con las barreras que le impone el entorno social, pueda impedir
su inclusión plena y efectiva, en igualdad de condiciones con los demás;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

XXVIII. Política Pública. Todos aquellos planes, programas o acciones que la autoridad desarrolle
para asegurar los derechos establecidos en la presente Ley;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

XXIX. Prevención. La adopción de medidas encaminadas a impedir que se produzcan deficiencias

físicas, intelectuales, mentales y sensoriales;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

XXX. Programa. El Programa Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas con
Discapacidad;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

XXXI. Rehabilitación. Proceso de duración limitada y con un objetivo definido, de orden médico,
social y educativo entre otros, encaminado a facilitar que una persona con discapacidad
alcance un nivel físico, mental, sensorial óptimo, que permita compensar la pérdida de una
función, así como proporcionarle una mejor integración social;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

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XXXII. Sistema. Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas con
Discapacidad;
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

XXXIII. Sistema de Escritura Braille. Sistema para la comunicación representado mediante signos
en relieve, leídos en forma táctil por las personas ciegas, y
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

XXXIV. Transversalidad. Es el proceso mediante el cual se instrumentan las políticas, programas y

acciones, desarrollados por las dependencias y entidades de la administración pública, que
proveen bienes y servicios a la población con discapacidad con un propósito común, y
basados en un esquema de acción y coordinación de esfuerzos y recursos en tres
dimensiones: vertical, horizontal y de fondo.
Fracción recorrida DOF 22-06-2018, 12-07-2018

Artículo 3. La observancia de esta Ley corresponde a las dependencias, entidades paraestatales y

órganos desconcentrados de la Administración Pública Federal, organismos constitucionales autónomos,
Poder Legislativo, Poder Judicial, el Consejo, a los Gobiernos de las Entidades Federativas y de los
Municipios, en el ámbito de sus respectivas competencias, así como a las personas físicas o morales de
los sectores social y privado que presten servicios a las personas con discapacidad.

Artículo 4. Las personas con discapacidad gozarán de todos los derechos que establece el orden
jurídico mexicano, sin distinción de origen étnico, nacional, género, edad, o un trastorno de talla,
condición social, económica o de salud, religión, opiniones, estado civil, preferencias sexuales,
embarazo, identidad política, lengua, situación migratoria o cualquier otro motivo u otra característica
propia de la condición humana o que atente contra su dignidad. Las medidas contra la discriminación
tienen como finalidad prevenir o corregir que una persona con discapacidad sea tratada de una manera
directa o indirecta menos favorable que otra que no lo sea, en una situación comparable.
Párrafo reformado DOF 12-07-2018

Las medidas contra la discriminación consisten en la prohibición de conductas que tengan como
objetivo o consecuencia atentar contra la dignidad de una persona, crear un entorno intimidatorio, hostil,
degradante u ofensivo, debido a la discapacidad que ésta posee.

Las acciones afirmativas positivas consisten en apoyos de carácter específico destinados a prevenir o
compensar las desventajas o dificultades que tienen las personas con discapacidad en la incorporación y
participación plena en los ámbitos de la vida política, económica, social y cultural.

Para efectos del párrafo anterior, la Administración Pública, de conformidad con su ámbito de
competencia, impulsará el derecho a la igualdad de oportunidades de las personas con discapacidad, el
pleno desarrollo, adelanto y empoderamiento de las mujeres, a través del establecimiento de medidas
contra la discriminación y acciones afirmativas positivas que permitan la inclusión social de las personas
con discapacidad. Será prioridad de la Administración Pública adoptar medidas de acción afirmativa
positiva para aquellas personas con discapacidad que sufren un grado mayor de discriminación, como
son las mujeres, las personas con discapacidad con grado severo, las que viven en el área rural, o bien,
no pueden representarse a sí mismas.
Párrafo reformado DOF 29-04-2022

Artículo 5. Los principios que deberán observar las políticas públicas, son:

I. La equidad;

II. La justicia social;

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III. La igualdad de oportunidades;

IV. El respeto a la evolución de las facultades de los niños y las niñas con discapacidad y de su
derecho a preservar su identidad;

V. El respeto de la dignidad inherente, la autonomía individual, incluida la libertad de tomar las

propias decisiones y la independencia de las personas;

VI. La participación e inclusión plenas y efectivas en la sociedad;

VII. El respeto por la diferencia y la aceptación de la discapacidad como parte de la diversidad y la

condición humanas;

VIII. La accesibilidad;

IX. La no discriminación;

X. La igualdad entre mujeres y hombres con discapacidad;

XI. La transversalidad, y

XII. Los demás que resulten aplicables.

Artículo 6. Son facultades del Titular del Poder Ejecutivo Federal en materia de esta Ley, las
siguientes:

I. Establecer las políticas públicas para las personas con discapacidad, a fin de cumplir con las
obligaciones derivadas de los tratados internacionales de derechos humanos ratificados por el
estado Mexicano, adoptando medidas legislativas, administrativas y de otra índole, para hacer
efectivos los derechos de las personas con discapacidad;

II. Instruir a las dependencias y entidades del Gobierno Federal a que instrumenten acciones en
favor de la inclusión social y económica de las personas con discapacidad en el marco de las
políticas públicas;

III. Incluir en el Proyecto de Presupuesto de Egresos de la Federación los recursos para la

implementación y ejecución de la política pública derivada de la presente Ley, tomando en
consideración la participación de las entidades federativas en el reparto de estos recursos, de
conformidad con los ordenamientos legales aplicables;

IV. Establecer y aplicar las políticas públicas a través de las dependencias y entidades del
Gobierno Federal, que garanticen la equidad e igualdad de oportunidades a las personas con
discapacidad;

V. Conceder, de conformidad con las disposiciones legales aplicables, estímulos fiscales a

personas físicas o morales que realicen acciones a favor de las personas con discapacidad,
adecuen sus instalaciones en términos de accesibilidad, o de cualquier otra forma se adhieran a
las políticas públicas en la materia, en términos de la legislación aplicable;

VI. Promover la consulta y participación de las personas con discapacidad, personas físicas o
morales y las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en la elaboración y aplicación de políticas,
legislación y programas, con base en la presente Ley;

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VII. Asegurar la participación de las personas con discapacidad y las organizaciones de la sociedad
civil en la elaboración de los informes que el Gobierno Mexicano presentará a la Organización
de las Naciones Unidas en cumplimiento a la Convención y ante otros organismos
internacionales, relacionados con la materia de discapacidad y los derechos humanos;

VIII. Garantizar el desarrollo integral de las personas con discapacidad, de manera plena y
autónoma, en los términos de la presente Ley;

IX. Fomentar la integración social de las personas con discapacidad, a través del ejercicio de sus
derechos civiles y políticos;

X. Promover el pleno ejercicio de los derechos fundamentales de las personas con discapacidad
en condiciones equitativas;

XI. Impulsar la adopción de acciones afirmativas orientadas a evitar y compensar las desventajas
de una persona con discapacidad para participar plenamente en la vida política, económica,
social y cultural;

XII. Impulsar la participación solidaria de la sociedad y la familia en la preservación, y restauración

de la salud, así como la prolongación y mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de las personas con
discapacidad, y

XIII. Las demás que otros ordenamientos le confieran.

Título Segundo
Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad

Capítulo I
Salud y Asistencia Social

Artículo 7. La Secretaría de Salud promoverá el derecho de las personas con discapacidad a gozar
del más alto nivel posible de salud, rehabilitación y habilitación sin discriminación por motivos de
discapacidad, mediante programas y servicios que serán diseñados y proporcionados, considerando
criterios de calidad, especialización, género, gratuidad o precio asequible. Para tal efecto, realizará las
siguientes acciones:

I. Diseñar, ejecutar y evaluar programas de salud pública para la orientación, prevención,

detección, estimulación temprana, atención integral o especializada, rehabilitación y
habilitación, para las diferentes discapacidades;

II. Crear o fortalecer establecimientos de salud y de asistencia social que permita ejecutar los
programas señalados en la fracción anterior, los cuales se extenderán a las regiones rurales y
comunidades indígenas, considerando los derechos humanos, dignidad, autonomía y
necesidades de las personas con discapacidad;

III. Elaborar e implementar en coordinación con la Secretaría de Educación Pública, en lo que

corresponda, programas de educación, capacitación, formación y especialización para la salud
en materia de discapacidad, a fin de que los profesionales de la salud proporcionen a las
personas con discapacidad una atención digna y de calidad, sobre la base de un
consentimiento libre e informado;

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IV. Crear bancos de prótesis, órtesis, ayudas técnicas y medicinas de uso restringido, que sean
accesibles a la población con discapacidad;

V. Fomentar la creación de centros asistenciales, temporales o permanentes, para personas con

discapacidad en desamparo, donde sean atendidas en condiciones que respeten su dignidad y
sus derechos, de conformidad con los principios establecidos en la presente Ley;

VI. Celebrar convenios con instituciones educativas públicas y privadas, para impulsar la
investigación y conocimiento sobre la materia de discapacidad;

VII. Implementar programas de sensibilización, capacitación y actualización, dirigidos al personal

médico y administrativo, para la atención de la población con discapacidad;

VIII. Establecer servicios de información, orientación, atención y tratamiento psicológico para las
personas con discapacidad, sus familias o personas que se encarguen de su cuidado y
atención;

IX. Dictar las normas técnicas a que quedará sujeta la prestación de los servicios de salud y
asistencia social para las personas con discapacidad por parte del sector público, social y
privado;

X. Crear programas de orientación, educación, y rehabilitación sexual y reproductiva para las

personas con discapacidad y sus familias;

XI. Incorporar de forma gratuita al Seguro Popular a la población con discapacidad, y

XII. Las demás que dispongan otros ordenamientos.

Artículo 8. El Consejo, los Gobiernos de las Entidades Federativas y de los Municipios podrán
celebrar convenios con los sectores privado y social, a fin de:

I. Promover los servicios de asistencia social para las personas con discapacidad en todo el país;

II. Promover la aportación de recursos materiales, humanos y financieros;

III. Procurar la integración y el fortalecimiento de la asistencia pública y privada en la prestación de

los servicios de asistencia social dirigidos a las personas con discapacidad;

IV. Establecer mecanismos para atender la demanda de servicios de asistencia social de las
personas con discapacidad, y

V. Los demás que tengan por objeto garantizar la prestación de servicios de asistencia social para
las personas con discapacidad.

Artículo 9. Queda prohibido cualquier tipo de discriminación contra las personas con discapacidad en
el otorgamiento de seguros de salud o de vida.

Artículo 10. La Secretaría de Salud en coordinación con el Consejo, emitirá la Clasificación Nacional
de Discapacidades, con base en los lineamientos establecidos por la Clasificación Internacional del
Funcionamiento de la Discapacidad y de la Salud, la cual estará disponible al público y deberá ser
utilizada en el diseño de políticas públicas.

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El Sector Salud expedirá a las personas con discapacidad un certificado de reconocimiento y

calificación de discapacidad con validez nacional.

Capítulo II
Trabajo y Empleo

Artículo 11. La Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social promoverá el derecho de las personas con
discapacidad al trabajo digno y al empleo, en igualdad de oportunidades y equidad, de manera que se les
otorgue certeza en su desarrollo personal, social y laboral. Para tal efecto, realizará las siguientes
acciones:
Párrafo reformado DOF 27-10-2022

I. Prohibir cualquier tipo de discriminación por motivo de discapacidad en la selección,

contratación, remuneración, tipo de empleo, reinserción, continuidad, capacitación, liquidación
laboral y promoción profesional; asegurando condiciones de trabajo accesibles, seguras y
saludables;
Fracción reformada DOF 27-10-2022

II. Diseñar, ejecutar, evaluar y promover políticas públicas para la inclusión laboral de las personas
con discapacidad atendiendo a sus competencias laborales, tanto en el sector público como en
el privado, de modo que se proteja la capacitación, el empleo digno, la contratación y los
derechos laborales, en su caso, de las personas con discapacidad;
Fracción reformada DOF 27-10-2022

III. Elaborar e instrumentar el programa nacional de trabajo y empleo para las personas con
discapacidad, que comprenda la capacitación, creación de agencias de inclusión laboral,
acceso a bolsas de trabajo públicas o privadas, centros de trabajo con infraestructura, talleres,
asistencia técnica, formación vocacional o profesional, becas en cualquiera de sus
modalidades, inserción laboral de las personas con discapacidad en la administración pública
de los tres órdenes de gobierno, a través de convenios con los sectores público, social y
privado;
Fracción reformada DOF 27-10-2022

IV. Proporcionar asistencia técnica y legal a los sectores productivos que así lo soliciten, tanto
sociales como privados, en materia de derechos e inclusión laboral para personas con
discapacidad;
Fracción reformada DOF 27-10-2022

V. Revisar las Normas Oficiales Mexicanas a efecto de permitir el pleno acceso y goce de los
derechos en materia laboral establecidos por la presente Ley y demás disposiciones aplicables;

VI. Fomentar la capacitación y sensibilización al personal que trabaje con personas con
discapacidad en el sector público o privado;

VII. Promover medidas a efecto de que las obligaciones laborables no interrumpan el proceso de
rehabilitación de las personas con discapacidad, y

VIII. Las demás que dispongan otros ordenamientos.

Capítulo III
Educación

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Secretaría General
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Artículo 12. La Secretaría de Educación Pública promoverá el derecho a la educación de las

personas con discapacidad, prohibiendo cualquier discriminación en planteles, centros educativos,
guarderías o del personal docente o administrativo del Sistema Educativo Nacional. Para tales efectos,
realizará las siguientes acciones:

I. Establecer en el Sistema Educativo Nacional, el diseño, ejecución y evaluación del programa

para la educación especial y del programa para la educación inclusiva de personas con
discapacidad;

II. Impulsar la inclusión de las personas con discapacidad en todos los niveles del Sistema
Educativo Nacional, desarrollando y aplicando normas y reglamentos que eviten su
discriminación y las condiciones de accesibilidad en instalaciones educativas, proporcionen los
apoyos didácticos, materiales y técnicos y cuenten con personal docente capacitado;

III. Establecer mecanismos a fin de que las niñas y los niños con discapacidad gocen del derecho a
la admisión gratuita y obligatoria así como a la atención especializada, en los centros de
desarrollo infantil, guarderías públicas y en guarderías privadas mediante convenios de
servicios. Las niñas y niños con discapacidad no podrán ser condicionados en su integración a
la educación inicial o preescolar;

IV. Incorporar a los docentes y personal asignado que intervengan directamente en la integración
educativa de personas con discapacidad, al Sistema Nacional de formación, actualización,
capacitación y superación profesional para maestros de educación básica;

V. Establecer que los programas educativos que se transmiten por televisión pública o privada,
nacional o local, incluyan tecnologías para texto, audiodescripciones, estenografía proyectada o
intérpretes de Lengua de Señas Mexicana;

VI. Proporcionar a los estudiantes con discapacidad materiales y ayudas técnicas que apoyen su
rendimiento académico, procurando equipar los planteles y centros educativos con libros en
braille, materiales didácticos, apoyo de intérpretes de lengua de señas mexicana o especialistas
en sistema braille, equipos computarizados con tecnología para personas ciegas y todos
aquellos apoyos que se identifiquen como necesarios para brindar una educación con calidad;

VII. Incluir la enseñanza del Sistema de Escritura Braille y la Lengua de Señas Mexicana en la
educación pública y privada, fomentando la producción y distribución de libros de texto gratuitos
en Sistema de Escritura Braille, macrotipos y textos audibles que complementen los
conocimientos de los alumnos con discapacidad;

VIII. Establecer un programa nacional de becas educativas y becas de capacitación para personas
con discapacidad en todos los niveles del Sistema Educativo Nacional;

IX. Diseñar e implementar programas de formación y certificación de intérpretes, estenógrafos del

español y demás personal especializado en la difusión y uso conjunto del español y la Lengua
de Señas Mexicana;

X. Impulsar toda forma de comunicación escrita que facilite al sordo hablante, al sordo señante o
semilingüe, el desarrollo y uso de la lengua en forma escrita;

XI. Impulsar programas de investigación, preservación y desarrollo de la Lengua de Señas

Mexicana, de las personas con discapacidad auditiva y de las formas de comunicación de las
personas con discapacidad visual;

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XII. Incorporar en el Sistema Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología lineamientos que permitan la

investigación y el desarrollo de bienes, servicios, equipo e instalaciones de diseño universal;

XIII. Promover que los estudiantes presten apoyo a personas con discapacidad que así lo requieran,
a fin de que cumplan con el requisito del servicio social, y

XIV. Las demás que dispongan otros ordenamientos.

Artículo 13. En el Sistema Nacional de Bibliotecas y salas de lectura, entre otros, se incluirán equipos
de cómputo con tecnología adaptada, escritura e impresión en el Sistema de Escritura Braille,
ampliadores y lectores de texto, espacios adecuados y demás innovaciones tecnológicas que permita su
uso a las personas con discapacidad.

Artículo 14. La Lengua de Señas Mexicana, es reconocida oficialmente como una lengua nacional y
forma parte del patrimonio lingüístico con que cuenta la nación mexicana. Serán reconocidos el Sistema
Braille, los modos, medios y formatos de comunicación accesibles que elijan las personas con
discapacidad.

Artículo 15. La educación especial tendrá por objeto, además de lo establecido en la Ley General de
Educación, la formación de la vida independiente y la atención de necesidades educativas especiales que
comprende entre otras, dificultades severas de aprendizaje, comportamiento, emocionales, discapacidad
múltiple o severa y aptitudes sobresalientes, que le permita a las personas tener un desempeño
académico equitativo, evitando así la desatención, deserción, rezago o discriminación.

Capítulo IV
Accesibilidad y Vivienda

Artículo 16. Las personas con discapacidad tienen derecho a la accesibilidad universal y a la
vivienda, por lo que se deberán emitir normas, lineamientos y reglamentos que garanticen la accesibilidad
obligatoria en instalaciones públicas o privadas, que les permita el libre desplazamiento en condiciones
dignas y seguras.

Las dependencias y entidades competentes de la Administración Pública Federal, Estatal y Municipal,

vigilarán el cumplimiento de las disposiciones que en materia de accesibilidad, desarrollo urbano y
vivienda se establecen en la normatividad vigente.

Los edificios públicos deberán sujetarse a la legislación, regulaciones y Normas Oficiales Mexicanas
vigentes, para el aseguramiento de la accesibilidad a los mismos.

Para tales efectos, el Consejo realizará las siguientes acciones:

I. Coordinará con las dependencias y entidades de los tres órdenes de gobierno, la elaboración
de programas en materia de accesibilidad, desarrollo urbano y vivienda, la promoción de
reformas legales, elaboración de reglamentos o normas y la certificación en materia de
accesibilidad a instalaciones públicas o privadas;

II. Supervisará la aplicación de disposiciones legales o administrativas, que garanticen la

accesibilidad en las instalaciones públicas o privadas, y

III. Promoverá que las personas con discapacidad que tengan como apoyo para la realización de
sus actividades cotidianas, un perro guía o animal de servicio, tengan derecho a que éstos

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accedan y permanezcan con ellos en todos los espacios en donde se desenvuelvan. Asimismo,
queda prohibido cualquier restricción mediante la que se impida el ejercicio de este derecho.

Artículo 17. Para asegurar la accesibilidad en la infraestructura básica, equipamiento o entorno

urbano y los espacios públicos, se contemplarán entre otros, los siguientes lineamientos:

I. Que sea de carácter universal, obligatoria y adaptada para todas las personas;

II. Que incluya el uso de señalización, facilidades arquitectónicas, tecnologías, información,

sistema braille, lengua de señas mexicana, ayudas técnicas, perros guía o animal de servicio y
otros apoyos, y

III. Que la adecuación de las instalaciones públicas sea progresiva.

Artículo 18. Las personas con discapacidad tienen derecho a una vivienda digna. Los programas de
vivienda del sector público o sector privado deberán incluir proyectos arquitectónicos de construcciones
que consideren sus necesidades de accesibilidad. Las instituciones públicas de vivienda otorgarán
facilidades para recibir créditos o subsidios para la adquisición, redención de pasivos y construcción o
remodelación de vivienda.

Capítulo V
Transporte Público y Comunicaciones

Artículo 19. La Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes promoverá el derecho de las personas

con discapacidad, sin discriminación de ningún tipo, al acceso al transporte, los sistemas y las
tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones, particularmente aquellas que contribuyan a su
independencia y desarrollo integral. Para estos efectos, realizará las siguientes acciones:

I. Establecer mecanismos de coordinación con autoridades competentes y empresas privadas, a

fin de elaborar normas y programas que garanticen a las personas con discapacidad, la
accesibilidad, seguridad, comodidad, calidad y funcionalidad en los medios de transporte
público aéreo, terrestre y marítimo;

II. Promover que en la concesión del servicio de transporte público aéreo, terrestre o marítimo, las
unidades e instalaciones garanticen a las personas con discapacidad la accesibilidad para el
desplazamiento y los servicios, incluyendo especificaciones técnicas y antropométricas, apoyos
técnicos o humanos y personal capacitado;

III. Promover en el ámbito de su competencia programas y campañas de educación vial, cortesía

urbana y respeto hacia las personas con discapacidad en su tránsito por la vía y lugares
públicos, así como para evitar cualquier tipo de discriminación en el uso del transporte público
aéreo, terrestre o marítimo;

IV. Promover la suscripción de convenios con los concesionarios de los medios de comunicación,
para difundir una imagen de las personas con discapacidad que sea compatible con el propósito
de ésta Ley, e incorporar en la programación de los canales de televisión programas de
formación, sensibilización y participación de las personas con discapacidad, y

V. Promover convenios con los concesionarios del transporte público a fin de que las personas con
discapacidad gocen de descuentos en las tarifas de los servicios de transporte público.

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Secretaría General
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Artículo 20. Los medios de comunicación implementarán el uso de tecnología y, en su caso, de

intérpretes de la Lengua de Señas Mexicana, que permitan a la comunidad de sordos las facilidades de
comunicación y el acceso al contenido de su programación.

Capítulo VI
Desarrollo Social

Artículo 21. La Secretaría de Desarrollo Social promoverá el derecho de las personas con
discapacidad a un mayor índice de desarrollo humano así como el de sus familias, incluyendo
alimentación, vestido y vivienda adecuados y a la mejora continua de sus condiciones de vida, sin
discriminación por motivos de discapacidad. Para estos efectos, realizará las siguientes acciones:

I. Establecer medidas que garanticen el acceso de las personas con discapacidad en todas las
acciones, programas de protección y desarrollo social y estrategias de reducción de la pobreza,
en observancia de todas aquellas disposiciones que les sean aplicables de la Ley General de
Desarrollo Social;

II. Establecer programas para la prestación de servicios de asistencia social para personas con
discapacidad en situación de pobreza, abandono o marginación, incluidos servicios de
capacitación, asistencia financiera y servicios de cuidados temporales, los cuales se extenderán
a las regiones rurales y comunidades indígenas;

III. Promover la apertura de establecimientos especializados para la asistencia, protección y

albergue para personas con discapacidad en situación de pobreza, abandono o marginación, y

IV. Todas las demás que tengan como objeto mejorar las condiciones sociales y permita potenciar
las capacidades de las personas con discapacidad.

Capítulo VII
Recopilación de datos y Estadística

Artículo 22. El Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía a través de la legislación aplicable,

garantizará que la información de registros administrativos de la Administración Pública, el Censo
Nacional de Población y las Encuestas Nacionales incluyan lineamientos para la recopilación de
información y estadística de la población con discapacidad, la cual será de orden público y deberá
presentarse desagregada a todos los niveles de gobierno y tendrá como finalidad la formulación de
planes, programas y políticas. También, desarrollará instrumentos estadísticos que proporcionen
información e indicadores cualitativos y cuantitativos sobre todos los aspectos relacionados con la
discapacidad.
Artículo reformado DOF 12-07-2018

Artículo 23. El Consejo en coordinación con el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía,

desarrollarán el Sistema Nacional de Información en Discapacidad, que tendrá como objetivo
proporcionar información de servicios públicos, privados o sociales, y todo tipo de información
relacionada, a la población con discapacidad, la cual podrá ser consultada por medios electrónicos o
impresos, a través de módulos de consulta dispuestos en instalaciones públicas.

La información estadística del Registro Nacional de Población con Discapacidad, deberá formar parte
del Sistema Nacional de Información en Discapacidad y mantenerse actualizada a través de los registros
administrativos de certificación de discapacidad del Sector Salud.
Artículo reformado DOF 12-07-2018

Capítulo VIII

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Deporte, Recreación, Cultura y Turismo

Artículo 24. La Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte promoverá el derecho de las personas
con discapacidad al deporte. Para tales efectos, realizará las siguientes acciones:

I. Formular y aplicar programas y acciones que garanticen el otorgamiento de apoyos

administrativos, técnicos, humanos y financieros, requeridos para la práctica de actividades
físicas y deportivas a la población con discapacidad, en sus niveles de desarrollo popular,
nuevos valores, prospectos, alto rendimiento de primera fuerza y juveniles, máster y
paralímpico;

II. Elaborar con las asociaciones deportivas nacionales de deporte adaptado el Programa Nacional
de Deporte Paralímpico y su presupuesto;

III. Procurar el acceso y libre desplazamiento de las personas con discapacidad en las
instalaciones públicas destinadas a la práctica de actividades físicas, deportivas o recreativas, y

IV. Las demás que dispongan otros ordenamientos.

Artículo 25. La Secretaría de Cultura promoverá el derecho de las personas con discapacidad a la
cultura, el desarrollo de sus capacidades artísticas y la protección de sus derechos de propiedad
intelectual. Para tales efectos, realizará las siguientes acciones:
Párrafo reformado DOF 17-12-2015

I. Establecer programas para apoyar el desarrollo artístico y cultural de las personas con
discapacidad;

II. Impulsar que las personas con discapacidad cuenten con las facilidades necesarias para
acceder y disfrutar de los servicios culturales, y

III. Las demás que dispongan otros ordenamientos.

Artículo 26. La Secretaría de Cultura, diseñará y ejecutará políticas y programas orientados a:

Párrafo reformado DOF 17-12-2015

I. Generar y difundir entre la sociedad el respeto a la diversidad y participación de las personas

con discapacidad en el arte y la cultura;

II. Establecer condiciones de inclusión de personas con discapacidad para lograr equidad en la
promoción, el disfrute y la producción de servicios artísticos y culturales;

III. Promover las adecuaciones físicas y de señalización necesarias para que tengan el acceso a
todo recinto donde se desarrolle cualquier actividad cultural;

IV. Difundir las actividades culturales;

V. Impulsar el reconocimiento y el apoyo de su identidad cultural y lingüística específica, incluidas

la Lengua de Señas Mexicana y la cultura de los sordos;

VI. Establecer la capacitación de recursos humanos, el uso de materiales y tecnología con la

finalidad de lograr su integración en las actividades culturales;

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VII. Fomentar la elaboración de materiales de lectura, inclusive en sistema Braille u otros formatos
accesibles, y

VIII. Las demás que dispongan otros ordenamientos.

Artículo 27. La Secretaría de Turismo promoverá el derecho de las personas con discapacidad para
acceder a los servicios turísticos, recreativos o de esparcimiento. Para tales efectos, realizará las
siguientes acciones:

I. Establecer programas y normas a fin de que la infraestructura destinada a brindar servicios

turísticos en el territorio nacional cuente con facilidades de accesibilidad universal;

II. Establecer programas para la promoción turística de las personas con discapacidad, y

III. Las demás que dispongan otros ordenamientos.

Capítulo IX
Acceso a la Justicia

Artículo 28. Las personas con discapacidad tendrán derecho a recibir un trato digno y apropiado en
los procedimientos administrativos y judiciales en que sean parte, así como asesoría y representación
jurídica en forma gratuita en dichos procedimientos, bajo los términos que establezcan las leyes
respectivas.

Artículo 29. Las instituciones de administración e impartición de justicia contarán con peritos
especializados en las diversas discapacidades, apoyo de intérpretes de Lengua de Señas Mexicana, así
como la emisión de documentos en sistema de escritura Braille y formato de lectura fácil.
Artículo reformado DOF 06-01-2023

Artículo 30. Las instituciones de administración e impartición de justicia implementarán programas de

capacitación y sensibilización dirigidos a su personal, sobre la atención a las personas con discapacidad.

Artículo 31. El Poder Ejecutivo Federal y los Gobiernos de las Entidades Federativas, en coordinación
con el Consejo, promoverán que las instancias de administración e impartición de justicia, cuenten con la
disponibilidad de los recursos para la comunicación, ayudas técnicas y humanas necesarias para la
atención de las personas con discapacidad en sus respectivas jurisdicciones.

Capítulo X
Libertad de Expresión, Opinión y Acceso a la Información

Artículo 32. Las personas con discapacidad tienen derecho a la libertad de expresión y opinión;
incluida la libertad de recabar, recibir y facilitar información mediante cualquier forma de comunicación
que les facilite una participación e integración en igualdad de condiciones que el resto de la población.
Para tales efectos, las autoridades competentes establecerán entre otras, las siguientes medidas:

I. Facilitar de manera oportuna y sin costo adicional, la información dirigida al público en general,
accesibles, en formato de lectura fácil y con las tecnologías adecuadas a los diferentes tipos de
discapacidad;
Fracción reformada DOF 06-01-2023

II. Promover la utilización de la Lengua de Señas Mexicana, el Sistema Braille, y otros modos,
medios y formatos de comunicación, así como el acceso a los nuevos sistemas y tecnologías
de la información y las comunicaciones, incluido Internet;

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III. Las instituciones a cargo de servicios y programas sociales en materia de discapacidad

proporcionarán la información y la asesoría requerida para favorecer su desarrollo e integración
social, y

IV. Los medios de comunicación y las instituciones del sector privado que prestan servicios y
suministran información al público en general, la proporcionarán en formatos accesibles y de
fácil comprensión a las personas con discapacidad.

Capítulo XI
Lineamientos del Programa Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas
con Discapacidad

Artículo 33. El Gobierno Federal, los Gobiernos de las Entidades Federativas y de los Municipios, en
el ámbito de sus respectivas competencias y en coordinación con el Consejo, participarán en la
elaboración y ejecución del Programa, debiendo observar las responsabilidades y obligaciones con
relación a las personas con discapacidad establecidas en la presente Ley.

Artículo 34. El Programa deberá cumplir con los siguientes lineamientos generales:

I. Se deberá elaborar, revisar, modificar o ratificar y publicar en el Diario Oficial de la Federación

en el primer trimestre del año y para su mayor difusión será publicado en las Gacetas o
Periódicos Oficiales de las Entidades Federativas;

II. Elaborar el Programa con base en los lineamientos establecidos por la Convención sobre los
Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad y esta Ley;

III. Establecer con claridad la política pública, metas y objetivos en materia de discapacidad en los
tres niveles de gobierno;

IV. Cumplir con la normatividad vigente para la elaboración de programas, supervisión, rendición
de cuentas y mecanismos de transparencia, y

V. Incluir lineamientos e indicadores de las políticas públicas, estadística, presupuestos, impacto

social y todos aquellos que se estimen necesarios para una correcta y eficiente aplicación.

Capítulo XII
Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad

Artículo 35. Las dependencias y entidades del Gobierno Federal, los Gobiernos de las Entidades
Federativas y de los Municipios, en el ámbito de sus respectivas competencias, así como, las personas
físicas o morales de los sectores social y privado que presten servicios a las personas con discapacidad,
en coordinación con la Secretaría de Salud, constituyen el Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo y la
Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad.

Artículo 36. El Sistema tiene como objeto la coordinación y seguimiento continuo de los programas,
acciones y mecanismos interinstitucionales públicos y privados, que permitan la ejecución de las políticas
públicas para el desarrollo y la inclusión de las personas con discapacidad.

Artículo 37. El Sistema tendrá los siguientes objetivos:

I. Difundir los derechos de las personas con discapacidad;

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II. Promover convenios de colaboración y coordinación entre las instancias públicas y privadas
nacionales e internacionales para el cumplimiento de la presente Ley;

III. Fortalecer los mecanismos de corresponsabilidad, solidaridad y subsidiariedad a favor de las

personas con discapacidad;

IV. Impulsar programas y acciones para generar condiciones de igualdad y de equiparación de

oportunidades para las personas con discapacidad;

V. Promover entre los Poderes de la Unión y la sociedad civil acciones dirigidas a mejorar la
condición social de la población con discapacidad;

VI. Promover que en las políticas, programas o acciones, se impulse la toma de conciencia
respecto de las capacidades, habilidades, aptitudes, méritos y aportaciones de las personas
con discapacidad en todos los ámbitos, y

VII. Prestar servicios de atención a las personas con discapacidad con fundamento en los principios
establecidos en la presente Ley.

Título Tercero
Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad

Capítulo I
Denominación, objeto, domicilio y patrimonio

Artículo 38. Se crea el Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas con
Discapacidad como un organismo público descentralizado, con personalidad jurídica y patrimonio
propios, que para el cumplimiento de sus atribuciones gozará de autonomía técnica y de gestión para
formular políticas, acciones, estrategias y programas derivados de ésta Ley.

Artículo 39. El Consejo tiene por objeto el establecimiento de la política pública para las personas con
discapacidad, mediante la coordinación institucional e interinstitucional; así como promover, fomentar y
evaluar la participación del sector público y el sector privado, en las acciones, estrategias, políticas
públicas y programas derivados de la presente Ley y demás ordenamientos.

Artículo 40. El domicilio del Consejo será la Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal y podrá contar con las
unidades administrativas necesarias para el cumplimiento de sus atribuciones.

Artículo 41. El patrimonio del Consejo se integrará con:

I. Los recursos que le asigne la Cámara de Diputados en el Presupuesto de Egresos de la

Federación para el Ejercicio Fiscal correspondiente;

II. Los bienes muebles e inmuebles que le sean asignados;

III. Los bienes que adquiera por cualquier otro título lícito, y

IV. Las aportaciones, donaciones, legados y demás liberalidades que reciba de personas físicas y
morales.

Capítulo II

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Secretaría General
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Atribuciones

Artículo 42. Para el cumplimiento de la presente Ley, el Consejo tendrá las siguientes atribuciones:

I. Coordinar y elaborar el Programa Nacional para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las Personas con
Discapacidad;

II. Enviar el Programa a las Cámaras del Congreso de la Unión para su conocimiento;

III. Promover el goce y ejercicio pleno de los derechos de las personas con discapacidad, así como
hacer de su conocimiento los canales institucionales para hacerlos exigibles ante la autoridad
competente;

IV. Promover la accesibilidad en la infraestructura física de instalaciones públicas y los recursos

técnicos, materiales y humanos necesarios para la atención segura y accesible de la población
con discapacidad;

V. Promover la elaboración, publicación y difusión de estudios, investigaciones, obras y materiales

sobre el desarrollo e inclusión social, económico, político y cultural de las personas con
discapacidad;

VI. Promover y fomentar la cultura de la dignidad y respeto de las personas con discapacidad, a
través de programas y campañas de sensibilización y concientización;

VII. Solicitar información a las instituciones públicas, sociales y privadas que le permitan el
cumplimiento de las atribuciones que le confiere la presente Ley;

VIII. Promover la firma, ratificación y cumplimiento de instrumentos internacionales o regionales en

materia de discapacidad;

IX. Difundir y dar seguimiento al cumplimiento de las obligaciones contraídas con gobiernos e
instituciones de otros países así como con organismos internacionales relacionados con la
discapacidad;

X. Celebrar acuerdos de colaboración con organismos públicos y privados, nacionales e

internacionales, para el desarrollo de proyectos que beneficien a las personas con
discapacidad;

XI. Suscribir convenios con el sector gubernamental y los sectores productivos y empresariales,
para que se otorguen descuentos, facilidades económicas o administrativas en la adquisición de
bienes y servicios públicos o privados, a las personas con discapacidad o sus familias;

XII. Promover la armonización de Leyes y Reglamentos a nivel federal, estatal o municipal, respecto
de las disposiciones establecidas en la Convención sobre los Derechos de las Personas con
Discapacidad;

XIII. Promover la creación y aplicación de Normas Oficiales Mexicanas en materia de discapacidad;

XIV. Elaborar, presentar y difundir anualmente el informe de avances y resultados del Programa;

XV. Presentar un informe anual de actividades;

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XVI. Coadyuvar con la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores en la elaboración de los informes que el
Estado Mexicano presentará ante los organismos internacionales, sobre la aplicación y
cumplimiento de los instrumentos internacionales en materia de discapacidad, y

XVII. Las demás que se establezcan en esta Ley, su Reglamento, Estatuto Orgánico del Consejo y
demás disposiciones aplicables.

Capítulo III
Órganos de Administración

Artículo 43. La Administración del Consejo corresponde a:

I. La Junta de Gobierno, y

II. El Director General.

Artículo 44. La Junta de Gobierno del Consejo estará integrada por diez representantes del Poder
Ejecutivo Federal, uno de la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos y cinco representantes de la
Asamblea Consultiva.
Párrafo reformado DOF 17-12-2015

Los representantes del Poder Ejecutivo Federal serán los titulares de las siguientes dependencias y
entidades:

I. Secretaría de Salud;

II. Secretaría de Desarrollo Social;

III. Secretaría de Educación Pública;

III Bis. Secretaría de Cultura;

Fracción adicionada DOF 17-12-2015

IV. Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público;

V. Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social;

VI. Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes;

VII. Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia;

VIII. Consejo Nacional para Prevenir la Discriminación, y

IX. Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte.

Los integrantes designados por la Asamblea Consultiva durarán en su encargo tres años, pudiendo
ser ratificados por otro periodo igual. Este cargo tendrá el carácter de honorífico.

El Director General del Consejo participará con voz pero sin derecho a voto.

Asimismo, serán invitados permanentes a la Junta de Gobierno con derecho a voz, pero no a voto, un
representante de cada uno de los siguientes órganos públicos: Secretaría de Turismo, Secretaría de

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Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación e Instituto Nacional de Estadística y

Geografía.

Artículo 45. La Junta de Gobierno será presidida por el Titular de la Secretaría de Salud. Los
integrantes propietarios contarán con suplentes, quienes deberán tener un nivel mínimo de Subsecretario
o Director General o su equivalente. Los integrantes propietarios o suplentes, en el ejercicio de sus
funciones contarán con derecho a voz y voto.

Artículo 46. La Junta de Gobierno con la aprobación de la mayoría de sus asistentes, podrá convocar
a otras dependencias o entidades públicas federales, estatales o municipales, así como a otros
organismos privados o sociales, los que tendrán solo derecho a voz en la sesión o sesiones
correspondientes, para tratar asuntos de su competencia.

Artículo 47. La Junta de Gobierno tendrá, además de aquellas que establece el artículo 58 de la Ley
Federal de las Entidades Paraestatales, las siguientes atribuciones:

I. Aprobar el Estatuto Orgánico del Consejo, con base en la propuesta que presente el Director
General del Consejo;

II. Establecer las políticas generales para la conducción del Consejo con apego a esta Ley,
Estatuto Orgánico, al Programa y a los demás ordenamientos que regulen su funcionamiento;

III. Aprobar los planes de labores, presupuestos, informes de actividades y estados financieros
anuales;

IV. Aprobar el Estatuto Orgánico, la Organización General del Consejo y los Manuales de
procedimientos;

V. Nombrar y remover, a propuesta del Director General del Consejo a los servidores públicos de
éste que ocupen cargos en las dos jerarquías administrativas inferiores a la de aquél;

VI. Expedir y publicar el informe anual de la Junta, y

VII. Las demás que le confieran éste y otros ordenamientos aplicables.

Artículo 48. La Junta de Gobierno sesionará válidamente cuando en la sesión estén presentes más
de la mitad de los miembros.

Las resoluciones se tomarán por mayoría de los miembros presentes y en caso de empate, el
Presidente tendrá voto de calidad.

Las sesiones que celebre la Junta de Gobierno serán ordinarias y extraordinarias; las ordinarias se
llevarán a cabo por lo menos cada tres meses, y las extraordinarias se celebrarán cuando lo convoque el
Presidente de la Junta.

Artículo 49. El Director General será designado por el Presidente de la República, debiendo recaer tal
nombramiento en persona que reúna los siguientes requisitos:

I. Ser Ciudadano Mexicano por nacimiento que no adquiera otra nacionalidad y estar en pleno
goce y ejercicio de sus derechos civiles y políticos;

II. Haber desempeñado cargos de alto nivel decisorio, cuyo ejercicio requiera conocimientos,
experiencia en materia administrativa y en materia de discapacidad, y

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III. No encontrarse en alguno de los impedimentos que para ser miembro del Órgano de Gobierno
señalan las fracciones II, III, IV y V del artículo 19 de la Ley Federal de las Entidades
Paraestatales.

Artículo 50. El Director General del Consejo tendrá, además de aquellas que establece el artículo 59
de la Ley Federal de las Entidades Paraestatales, las siguientes facultades:

I. Planear, organizar, coordinar, dirigir, controlar y evaluar el funcionamiento del Consejo, con
sujeción a las disposiciones aplicables;

II. Presentar a la consideración de la Junta de Gobierno el proyecto del Programa;

III. Someter a la aprobación de la Junta de Gobierno el informe anual de actividades y el informe

sobre el ejercicio presupuestal;

IV. Ejecutar los acuerdos y demás disposiciones del Consejo y de la Junta de Gobierno, así como
supervisar su cumplimiento por parte de las unidades administrativas competentes del Consejo;

V. Elaborar el informe anual de actividades, así como el ejercicio presupuestal, éste último previa
opinión de la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público;

VI. Someter a la aprobación de la Junta de Gobierno el proyecto del Estatuto Orgánico;

VII. Nombrar a los servidores públicos del Consejo, a excepción de aquellos que ocupen los dos
niveles jerárquicos inferiores inmediatos al titular;

VIII. Ejercer la representación legal del Consejo, así como delegarla cuando no exista prohibición
expresa para ello;

IX. Celebrar acuerdos de colaboración con organismos nacionales e internacionales para el

desarrollo de las atribuciones del Consejo, de conformidad con las normas aplicables;

X. Proponer a la Junta de Gobierno el tabulador salarial del Consejo, y

XI. Las demás que le confieran éste u otros ordenamientos.

Capítulo IV
Asamblea Consultiva

Artículo 51. La Asamblea Consultiva es un órgano de asesoría y consulta del Consejo Nacional para
el Desarrollo y la Inclusión Social de las Personas con Discapacidad, de participación ciudadana,
conformación plural y carácter honorífico, que tendrá por objeto analizar y proponer programas y
acciones que inciden en el cumplimiento del Programa.

Artículo 52. La Asamblea Consultiva tendrá las siguientes atribuciones:

I. Atender las consultas y formular las opiniones que les sean solicitadas por la Junta de Gobierno
o por el Director General del Consejo;

II. Emitir opiniones y formular propuestas sobre la aplicación y orientación de la Política Pública
para el Desarrollo y la Inclusión de las personas con discapacidad;

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III. Impulsar la participación ciudadana y de las organizaciones de y para personas con

discapacidad en el seguimiento, operación y evaluación del Programa;

IV. Apoyar al Consejo en la promoción y cumplimiento del Programa;

V. Proponer al Consejo los temas que por su importancia ameriten ser sometidos a consulta
pública;

VI. Promover y propiciar la colaboración de organismos públicos y privados, nacionales y

extranjeros en el desarrollo e inclusión de las personas con discapacidad;

VII. Promover la realización de estudios e investigaciones en la materia;

VIII. Recomendar la realización de auditorías a programas prioritarios cuando existan causas que lo
ameriten;

IX. Promover la celebración de convenios con dependencias del Ejecutivo Federal, entidades
federativas, municipios y organizaciones, para la instrumentación de los programas
relacionados con el desarrollo y la inclusión social de las personas con discapacidad;

X. Informar a la opinión pública sobre los aspectos de interés general relativos al Programa;

XI. Integrar las comisiones y grupos de trabajo que sean necesarios para el ejercicio de sus
atribuciones;

XII. Nombrar a cinco personas, propietarios y suplentes, que formarán parte de la Junta de
Gobierno, y

XIII. Las demás que dispongan otros ordenamientos.

Artículo 53. La Asamblea Consultiva estará integrada por:

I. Un representante electo por las organizaciones de y para personas con discapacidad, de cada
una de las Entidades Federativas;

II. Cinco personas entre expertos, académicos o investigadores electos por convocatoria pública
realizada en los términos previstos en el Estatuto Orgánico, y

III. Cinco representantes de organizaciones nacionales de y para personas con discapacidad,

electos por un comité que tomará en consideración las diferentes discapacidades y el género
que estará integrado por el Director General del Consejo, los Presidentes de las Comisiones de
Atención a Grupos Vulnerables de ambas Cámaras del Congreso de la Unión y el Presidente de
la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos.

La Asamblea será presidida por un representante electo de entre sus miembros.

Artículo 54. Los integrantes de la Asamblea Consultiva, cuyo cargo tendrá el carácter de honorífico,
durarán en su cargo tres años y podrán ser ratificados por un periodo igual, en términos de lo dispuesto
en el Estatuto Orgánico.

Artículo 55. Las bases de funcionamiento y organización de la Asamblea Consultiva se establecerán

en el Estatuto Orgánico del Consejo.

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Artículo 56. La Asamblea Consultiva podrá recibir la colaboración de otras dependencias y entidades
de la Administración Pública Federal, de los Gobiernos Estatales y Municipales, de organizaciones civiles
y de particulares.

Capítulo V
Órganos de Vigilancia

Artículo 57. El Consejo contará con una contraloría, órgano interno de control al frente de la cual
estará la persona designada en los términos de la Ley Orgánica de la Administración Pública Federal.

Artículo 58. Corresponderá a la Secretaría de la Función Pública el ejercicio de las atribuciones que
en materia de control, inspección, vigilancia y evaluación le confieren la Ley Orgánica de la
Administración Pública Federal, sin perjuicio de las facultades que corresponden a la Auditoría Superior
de la Federación. El órgano de vigilancia del Consejo estará integrado por un Comisario Público
propietario y un suplente, designado por la Secretaría de la Función Pública, quienes ejercerán sus
funciones de acuerdo con las disposiciones legales aplicables.

Capítulo VI
Régimen de Trabajo

Artículo 59. Las relaciones de trabajo del Consejo y su personal se regirán por la Ley Federal del
Trabajo, reglamentaria del Apartado A del Artículo 123 de la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos
Mexicanos.

Título Cuarto

Capítulo I
Responsabilidades y Sanciones
Artículo 60. El incumplimiento de los preceptos establecidos por esta Ley será sancionado conforme
lo prevé la Ley Federal de Responsabilidades Administrativas de los Servidores Públicos, la Ley Federal
de Responsabilidades de los Servidores Públicos y demás ordenamientos aplicables.

Transitorios

Primero. El presente decreto entrará en vigor al día siguiente de su publicación en el Diario Oficial de
la Federación.

Segundo. Se abroga la Ley General de las Personas con Discapacidad publicada en el Diario Oficial
de la Federación el 10 de junio de 2005 y se derogan todas aquellas disposiciones que se opongan al
presente decreto.

Tercero. El Titular del Ejecutivo Federal convocará e instalará el Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo
y la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad dentro de los treinta días siguientes al inicio de la
vigencia de la presente Ley.

Cuarto. El Poder Ejecutivo Federal expedirá el Reglamento de esta Ley en un plazo de ciento ochenta
días contados a partir de la entrada en vigor de esta Ley.

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Quinto. Los recursos financieros, materiales y humanos para el establecimiento y funcionamiento del
organismo que se crea en el presente decreto, serán aquellos con los que cuenta actualmente el
Secretariado Técnico del Consejo Nacional para las Personas con Discapacidad.

Sexto. Con el objeto de instalar el Consejo, la Junta de Gobierno y la Asamblea Consultiva, las
personas con discapacidad a que se refiere la fracción I del artículo 53 serán designados por los Titulares
del Poder Ejecutivo de las Entidades Federativas por única vez y durarán en su encargo hasta seis
meses.

Los representantes a que se refieren las fracciones II y III del artículo 53 de la presente Ley, serán
propuestos por el Director General por única vez y durarán en su encargo hasta seis meses.

Séptimo. Todos los entes competentes deberán desarrollar las políticas públicas y acciones
señaladas en la presente Ley, adoptando medidas hasta el máximo de sus recursos disponibles para
lograr, de manera progresiva, el pleno ejercicio de estos derechos en congruencia con la Convención.

México, D.F., a 3 de marzo de 2011.- Dip. Jorge Carlos Ramirez Marin, Presidente.- Sen. Manlio
Fabio Beltrones Rivera, Presidente.- Dip. Heron Escobar Garcia, Secretario.- Sen. Martha Leticia
Sosa Govea, Secretaria.- Rúbricas."

En cumplimiento de lo dispuesto por la fracción I del Artículo 89 de la Constitución Política de los

Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y para su debida publicación y observancia, expido el presente Decreto en la
Residencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, en la Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal, a veintisiete de mayo
de dos mil once.- Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa.- Rúbrica.- El Secretario de Gobernación, José
Francisco Blake Mora.- Rúbrica.

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ARTÍCULOS TRANSITORIOS DE DECRETOS DE REFORMA

DECRETO por el que se reforman, adicionan y derogan diversas disposiciones de la Ley

Orgánica de la Administración Pública Federal, así como de otras leyes para crear la
Secretaría de Cultura.
Publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 17 de diciembre de 2015

ARTÍCULO SEXTO.- Se REFORMAN los artículos 25, párrafo primero; 26, párrafo primero, y 44,
párrafo primero y se ADICIONA la fracción III Bis al segundo párrafo del artículo 44 de la Ley General
para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad, para quedar como sigue:

………

TRANSITORIOS

PRIMERO. El presente Decreto entrará en vigor el día siguiente al de su publicación en el Diario

Oficial de la Federación.

SEGUNDO. El Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes se transforma en la Secretaría de Cultura,
por lo que todos sus bienes y recursos materiales, financieros y humanos se transferirán a la mencionada
Secretaría, junto con los expedientes, archivos, acervos y demás documentación, en cualquier formato,
que se encuentre bajo su resguardo.

A partir de la entrada en vigor del presente Decreto, las menciones contenidas en leyes, reglamentos
y disposiciones de cualquier naturaleza, respecto del Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, se
entenderán referidas a la Secretaría de Cultura.

TERCERO. Los derechos laborales de los trabajadores que presten sus servicios en el Consejo
Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, en la Secretaría de Educación Pública, en los órganos
administrativos desconcentrados y en las entidades paraestatales que, con motivo de la entrada en vigor
del presente Decreto, queden adscritos o coordinados a la Secretaría de Cultura, respectivamente, serán
respetados en todo momento, de conformidad con lo dispuesto en las leyes y demás disposiciones
aplicables.

CUARTO. El Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia y el Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y

Literatura, continuarán rigiéndose por sus respectivas leyes y demás disposiciones aplicables y
dependerán de la Secretaría de Cultura, misma que ejercerá las atribuciones que en dichos
ordenamientos se otorgaban a la Secretaría de Educación Pública.

Los órganos administrativos desconcentrados denominados Radio Educación e Instituto Nacional de

Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México, se adscribirán a la Secretaría de Cultura y
mantendrán su naturaleza jurídica.

QUINTO. La Secretaría de Cultura integrará los diversos consejos, comisiones intersecretariales y

órganos colegiados previstos en las disposiciones jurídicas aplicables, según el ámbito de sus
atribuciones.

SEXTO. Los asuntos que se encuentren en trámite a la entrada en vigor del presente Decreto y sean
competencia de la Secretaría de Cultura conforme a dicho Decreto, continuarán su despacho por esta
dependencia, conforme a las disposiciones jurídicas aplicables.

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SÉPTIMO. Todas las disposiciones, normas, lineamientos, criterios y demás normativa emitida por el
Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes continuará en vigor hasta en tanto las unidades
administrativas competentes de la Secretaría de Cultura determinen su modificación o abrogación.

Asimismo, todas las disposiciones, lineamientos, criterios y demás normativa emitida por el Secretario
de Educación Pública que contengan disposiciones concernientes al Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y
las Artes o los órganos administrativos desconcentrados que éste coordina, continuará en vigor en lo que
no se opongan al presente Decreto, en tanto las unidades administrativas competentes de la Secretaría
de Cultura determinen su modificación o abrogación.

OCTAVO. Las atribuciones y referencias que se hagan a la Secretaría de Educación Pública o al

Secretario de Educación Pública que en virtud del presente Decreto no fueron modificadas, y cuyas
disposiciones prevén atribuciones y competencias en las materias de cultura y arte que son reguladas en
este Decreto se entenderán referidas a la Secretaría de Cultura o Secretario de Cultura.

NOVENO. Las erogaciones que se generen con motivo de la entrada en vigor de este Decreto, se
cubrirán con cargo al presupuesto aprobado al Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, así como a
las entidades paraestatales y órganos administrativos desconcentrados que quedan agrupados en el
sector coordinado por la Secretaría de Cultura, por lo que no se autorizarán recursos adicionales para tal
efecto durante el ejercicio fiscal que corresponda, sin perjuicio de aquellos recursos económicos que, en
su caso, puedan destinarse a los programas o proyectos que esa dependencia del Ejecutivo Federal
considere prioritarios, con cargo al presupuesto autorizado para tales efectos y en términos de las
disposiciones aplicables.

DÉCIMO. Se derogan todas las disposiciones que se opongan a lo dispuesto en el presente Decreto.

México, D.F., a 15 de diciembre de 2015.- Dip. José de Jesús Zambrano Grijalva, Presidente.- Sen.
Roberto Gil Zuarth, Presidente.- Dip. Verónica Delgadillo García, Secretaria.- Sen. María Elena
Barrera Tapia, Secretaria.- Rúbricas."

En cumplimiento de lo dispuesto por la fracción I del Artículo 89 de la Constitución Política de los

Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y para su debida publicación y observancia, expido el presente Decreto en la
Residencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, en la Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal, a dieciséis de
diciembre de dos mil quince.- Enrique Peña Nieto.- Rúbrica.- El Secretario de Gobernación, Miguel
Ángel Osorio Chong.- Rúbrica.

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DECRETO por el que se reforman y adicionan diversas disposiciones de la Ley de

Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas y la Ley General para la Inclusión de las Personas
con Discapacidad.
Publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 22 de junio de 2018

Artículo Segundo.- Se adicionan las fracciones IX, X, XI, XII y XIII, recorriéndose las subsecuentes
en su orden, al artículo 2 de la Ley General para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad, para
quedar como sigue:

………

Transitorios

Primero.- El presente Decreto entrará en vigor el día siguiente de su publicación en el Diario Oficial
de la Federación.

Segundo.- El Ejecutivo Federal elaborará a través del o de los institutos que él mismo designe para
este fin, dentro de los 365 días naturales siguientes a la entrada en vigor del presente Decreto, un estudio
sobre la probabilidad de ocurrencia de riesgos que puedan afectar las personas del asegurado
generándole una discapacidad, así como los costos asociados a su atención.

Tercero.- El estudio mencionado en el artículo anterior será con cargo al presupuesto del Instituto o
Dependencia que el Ejecutivo Federal designe para su realización.

Cuarto.- Las Instituciones de Seguros y Sociedades Mutualistas autorizadas tendrán un plazo de 180
días naturales contados a partir del vencimiento del plazo establecido en el Artículo Transitorio Segundo,
para presentar a registro ante la Comisión Nacional de Seguros y Fianzas la o las coberturas de que se
trata.

Ciudad de México, a 19 de abril de 2018.- Dip. Edgar Romo García, Presidente.- Sen. Ernesto
Cordero Arroyo, Presidente.- Dip. María Eugenia Ocampo Bedolla, Secretaria.- Sen. Juan G. Flores
Ramírez, Secretario.- Rúbricas."

En cumplimiento de lo dispuesto por la fracción I del Artículo 89 de la Constitución Política de los

Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y para su debida publicación y observancia, expido el presente Decreto en la
Residencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, en la Ciudad de México, a veinte de junio de dos mil dieciocho.-
Enrique Peña Nieto.- Rúbrica.- El Secretario de Gobernación, Dr. Jesús Alfonso Navarrete Prida.-
Rúbrica.

27 de 32
 LEY GENERAL PARA LA INCLUSIÓN DE LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD
CÁMARA DE DIPUTADOS DEL H. CONGRESO DE LA UNIÓN Última Reforma DOF 06-01-2023
Secretaría General
Secretaría de Servicios Parlamentarios

DECRETO por el que se reforman y adicionan diversas disposiciones de la Ley General

para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad, de la Ley General de Salud y de la
Ley General de Población.
Publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 12 de julio de 2018

Artículo Segundo.- Se adiciona la fracción XXV y se recorren las subsecuentes al artículo 2, y se

reforman los artículos 22 y 23 de la Ley General para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad,
para quedar como sigue:

……..

Transitorios

Primero.- El presente Decreto entrará en vigor al día siguiente de su publicación en el Diario Oficial
de la Federación.

Segundo.- El Sector Salud deberá, en un plazo no mayor a un año, a partir de la publicación del
presente Decreto en el Diario Oficial de la Federación, publicar e implementar la Norma Oficial Mexicana
en materia de Certificación de la Discapacidad. Esta NOM deberá elaborarse de acuerdo con los tratados
internacionales de los que México forma parte y adoptar la Clasificación Internacional del
Funcionamiento, la Discapacidad y la Salud.

Tercero.- El Sector Salud deberá adecuar, en un plazo no mayor a un año, a partir de la publicación
del presente Decreto en el Diario Oficial de la Federación, las NOM sobre información en salud y atención
a la discapacidad a fin de incluir la certificación de la discapacidad, la reglamentación para su elaboración
y las adecuaciones reglamentarias que resulten necesarias en el certificado de nacimiento.

Cuarto.- La Secretaría de Gobernación y las autoridades competentes deberán, en un plazo no mayor

a 180 días a partir de la publicación del presente Decreto en el Diario Oficial de la Federación, instalar el
Registro Nacional de Personas con Discapacidad y llevar a cabo los ajustes técnicos que permitan la
impresión del comprobante de la Clave Única de Registro de Población con o sin la información del
Certificado de Discapacidad, según los fines que al interesado convengan.

Quinto.- Las erogaciones que se generen con motivo de la entrada en vigor del presente Decreto, se
cubrirán con cargo al presupuesto aprobado a las dependencias y entidades involucradas para el
ejercicio fiscal respectivo y subsecuentes.

Ciudad de México, a 25 de abril de 2018.- Dip. Edgar Romo García, Presidente.- Sen. Ernesto
Cordero Arroyo, Presidente.- Dip. Ana Guadalupe Perea Santos, Secretaria.- Sen. Itzel S. Ríos de la
Mora, Secretaria.- Rúbricas."

En cumplimiento de lo dispuesto por la fracción I del Artículo 89 de la Constitución Política de los

Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y para su debida publicación y observancia, expido el presente Decreto en la
Residencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, en la Ciudad de México, a seis de julio de dos mil dieciocho.-
Enrique Peña Nieto.- Rúbrica.- El Secretario de Gobernación, Dr. Jesús Alfonso Navarrete Prida.-
Rúbrica.

28 de 32
 LEY GENERAL PARA LA INCLUSIÓN DE LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD
CÁMARA DE DIPUTADOS DEL H. CONGRESO DE LA UNIÓN Última Reforma DOF 06-01-2023
Secretaría General
Secretaría de Servicios Parlamentarios

DECRETO por el que se reforma el párrafo primero del artículo 4 de la Ley General para la
Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad.
Publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 12 de julio de 2018

Artículo Único.- Se reforma el párrafo primero del artículo 4 de la Ley General para la Inclusión de las
Personas con Discapacidad, para quedar como sigue:

……..

Transitorio

Único. El presente Decreto entrará en vigor el día siguiente al de su publicación en el Diario Oficial de
la Federación.

Ciudad de México, a 26 de abril de 2018.- Dip. Edgar Romo García, Presidente.- Sen. Ernesto
Cordero Arroyo, Presidente.- Dip. Ana Guadalupe Perea Santos, Secretaria.- Sen. Juan G. Flores
Ramírez, Secretario.- Rúbricas."

En cumplimiento de lo dispuesto por la fracción I del Artículo 89 de la Constitución Política de los

Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y para su debida publicación y observancia, expido el presente Decreto en la
Residencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, en la Ciudad de México, a seis de julio de dos mil dieciocho.-
Enrique Peña Nieto.- Rúbrica.- El Secretario de Gobernación, Dr. Jesús Alfonso Navarrete Prida.-
Rúbrica.

29 de 32
 LEY GENERAL PARA LA INCLUSIÓN DE LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD
CÁMARA DE DIPUTADOS DEL H. CONGRESO DE LA UNIÓN Última Reforma DOF 06-01-2023
Secretaría General
Secretaría de Servicios Parlamentarios

DECRETO por el que se reforma el párrafo cuarto del artículo 4 de la Ley General para la
Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad.
Publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 29 de abril de 2022

Artículo Único.- Se reforma el párrafo cuarto del artículo 4 de la Ley General para la Inclusión de las
Personas con Discapacidad, para quedar como sigue:

……..

Transitorio

Único.- El presente Decreto entrará en vigor el día siguiente al de su publicación en el Diario Oficial
de la Federación.

Ciudad de México, a 15 de marzo de 2022.- Dip. Sergio Carlos Gutiérrez Luna, Presidente.- Sen.
Olga Sánchez Cordero Dávila, Presidenta.- Dip. Fuensanta Guadalupe Guerrero Esquivel,
Secretaria.- Sen. Verónica Noemí Camino Farjat, Secretaria.- Rúbricas."

En cumplimiento de lo dispuesto por la fracción I del Artículo 89 de la Constitución Política de los

Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y para su debida publicación y observancia, expido el presente Decreto en la
Residencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, en la Ciudad de México, a 30 de marzo de 2022.- Andrés
Manuel López Obrador.- Rúbrica.- El Secretario de Gobernación, Lic. Adán Augusto López
Hernández.- Rúbrica.

30 de 32
 LEY GENERAL PARA LA INCLUSIÓN DE LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD
CÁMARA DE DIPUTADOS DEL H. CONGRESO DE LA UNIÓN Última Reforma DOF 06-01-2023
Secretaría General
Secretaría de Servicios Parlamentarios

DECRETO por el que se reforma el artículo 11 de la Ley General para la Inclusión de las
Personas con Discapacidad.
Publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 27 de octubre de 2022

Artículo Único.- Se reforma el primer párrafo y las fracciones I, II, III y IV del artículo 11 de la Ley
General para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad, para quedar como sigue:

………

Transitorio

Único. El presente Decreto entrará en vigor el día siguiente al de su publicación en el Diario Oficial de
la Federación.

Ciudad de México, a 13 de septiembre de 2022.- Sen. Alejandro Armenta Mier, Presidente.- Dip.
Santiago Creel Miranda, Presidente.- Sen. Verónica Noemí Camino Farjat, Secretaria.- Dip. Sarai
Núñez Cerón, Secretaria.- Rúbricas."

En cumplimiento de lo dispuesto por la fracción I del Artículo 89 de la Constitución Política de los

Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y para su debida publicación y observancia, expido el presente Decreto en la
Residencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, en la Ciudad de México, a 18 de octubre de 2022.- Andrés
Manuel López Obrador.- Rúbrica.- El Secretario de Gobernación, Lic. Adán Augusto López
Hernández.- Rúbrica.

31 de 32
 LEY GENERAL PARA LA INCLUSIÓN DE LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD
CÁMARA DE DIPUTADOS DEL H. CONGRESO DE LA UNIÓN Última Reforma DOF 06-01-2023
Secretaría General
Secretaría de Servicios Parlamentarios

DECRETO por el que se reforman y adicionan los artículos 2, 29 y 32 de la Ley General

para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad.
Publicado en el Diario Oficial de la Federación el 6 de enero de 2023

Artículo Único.- Se reforman los artículos 29 y 32, fracción I y se adiciona una fracción XIX Bis al
artículo 2 de la Ley General para la Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad, para quedar como
sigue:

……..

Transitorios

Primero.- El presente Decreto entrará en vigor el día siguiente al de su publicación en el Diario Oficial
de la Federación.

Segundo.- Las obligaciones que se generen con motivo de la entrada en vigor del presente Decreto
se sujetarán a la disponibilidad presupuestaria de los ejecutores del gasto responsable para el presente
ejercicio fiscal y los subsecuentes.

Ciudad de México, a 16 de noviembre de 2022.- Dip. Santiago Creel Miranda, Presidente.- Sen.
Alejandro Armenta Mier, Presidente.- Dip. Sarai Núñez Cerón, Secretaria.- Sen. Verónica Noemí
Camino Farjat, Secretaria.- Rúbricas."

En cumplimiento de lo dispuesto por la fracción I del Artículo 89 de la Constitución Política de los

Estados Unidos Mexicanos, y para su debida publicación y observancia, expido el presente Decreto en la
Residencia del Poder Ejecutivo Federal, en la Ciudad de México, a 4 de enero de 2023.- Andrés Manuel
López Obrador.- Rúbrica.- El Secretario de Gobernación, Lic. Adán Augusto López Hernández.-
Rúbrica.

32 de 32
Normativa
Mexicana
Santrock
chapter 6
LEARNERS WHO ARE EXCEPTIONAL
chapter outline
1 Children with Disabilities 3 Children Who Are Gifted
Learning Goal 1 Describe the various types of Learning Goal 3 Define what gifted means
disabilities and disorders. and discuss some approaches to teaching
Learning Disabilities children who are gifted.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Characteristics
Intellectual Disability Nature/Nurture and Domain-Specific Giftedness
Physical Disorders Educating Children Who Are Gifted
Sensory Disorders
Speech and Language Disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

2 Educational Issues Involving

Children with Disabilities
Learning Goal 2 Explain the legal framework
and technology advances for children with
disabilities.
Legal Aspects
Technology

Only the educated are free.

—Epicurus
Greek Philosopher, 4th Century B.C.

© faithhoca/Getty Images RF
182 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

Connecting with Teachers Verna Rollins Hayes

Verna Rollins Hayes taught language arts in the Ypsilanti Community phrase “slow speech” when he was too excited to speak in a
School system in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and developed a reputation for smooth voice.
working successfully with so-called hard to teach or difficult stu- He used a computer to take quizzes and needed a little more
dents. She found that the best strategy to use with these students time to complete any task, but he was so excited about being “out
was to find out what they need, decide how to provide it, provide it, in the real world” that his attention span improved, as did his self-
worth. In fact, his mother wrote a letter to me expressing her grati-
and constantly evaluate whether it is working. A challenge for many
tude for the “most positive influence you have been on him! You
regular education classroom teachers is how to effectively teach
have re-instilled and greatly increased his love of reading and writ-
children with disabilities. In many instances, the education of chil- ing. You have given my child a wonderful gift.”
dren with disabilities in the regular education classroom is carried
out in coordination with a special education teacher or staff. Here is
Verna Rollins Hayes description of her contribution in the coordi-
nated effort to teach a student with a severe disability:
Jack was in a special education classroom for children with physi-
cal disabilities. He has twisted legs, cerebral palsy, seizures, and
some other brain damage from birth. He also has a comparatively
short attention span. Since he drools, speaks in a loud monotone,
stutters when he is excited, and has so little motor control that his
penmanship is unreadable, people often think he has an intellec-
tual disability.
My strategies included making sure that he had all the equip-
ment he needed to succeed. I gave him tissues for the drooling
and mutually agreed-upon reminders to wipe his mouth. I found
that he could speak softly and without stuttering if he calmed
down. We developed a signaling plan in which I would clear my
throat when he talked too loudly and I would prompt him with the © Zuma Press Inc/Alamy

Preview
Verna Rollins Hayes was challenged to find the best way to teach a child with multiple
disabilities in her classroom and to coordinate this teaching with Jack’s special education
teacher. Like Verna Rollins Hayes, you will likely work with children with disabilities if you
teach in a regular classroom. In the past, public schools did little to educate these chil-
dren. Today, however, children with disabilities must have a free, appropriate education—
and increasingly they are educated in regular classrooms. In this chapter, we will study
children with many different types of disabilities, as well as another group of children who
are exceptional—those who are gifted.

LG 1  escribe the various types of

D 1 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
disabilities and disorders.
Learning Intellectual Sensory Autism Spectrum
Disabilities Disability Disorders Disorders

Attention Deficit Physical Speech and Emotional and

Hyperactivity Disorders Language Behavioral
Disorder Disorders Disorders

Of all children in the United States, 12.9 percent from 3 to 21 years of age received
special education or related services in 2012–2013, an increase of 3 percent since
1980–1981 (Condition of Education, 2015). Figure 1 shows the five largest groups
of students with a disability who were served by federal programs during the 2012–
2013 school year (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016).
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children with Disabilities 183

Educators increasingly speak of “children with disabilities” rather than “disabled Percentage of
All Children in
children” to emphasize the person, not the disability. Also, children with disabilities Disability Public Schools
are no longer referred to as “handicapped,” although the term handicapping condi-
Learning 4.6
tions is still used to describe the impediments to the learning and functioning of disabilities
individuals with a disability that have been imposed by society. For example, when
children who use a wheelchair do not have adequate access to a bathroom, transpor-
tation, and so on, this is referred to as a handicapping condition. Speech 2.7
and language
impairments
LEARNING DISABILITIES
Autism 1.0
Bobby’s second-grade teacher complains that his spelling is awful. Eight-year-old Tim
says reading is really hard for him, and a lot of times the words don’t make much sense.
Alisha has good oral language skills but has considerable difficulty in computing cor-
Intellectual 0.9
rect answers to arithmetic problems. Each of these students has a learning disability. disability

Characteristics and Identification The U.S. government created a definition of learn-

ing disabilities in 1997 and then reauthorized the definition with a few minor changes Emotional 0.7
disturbance
in 2004. Following is a description of the government’s definition of what determined
whether a child should be classified as having a learning disability. A child with a
learning disability has difficulty in learning that involves understanding or using
spoken or written language, and the difficulty can appear in listening, thinking, read-
FIGURE 1 U.S. CHILDREN WITH A
DISABILITY WHO RECEIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION
ing, writing, and spelling. A learning disability also may involve difficulty in doing SERVICES
mathematics. To be classified as a learning disability, the learning problem is not
Figures are for the 2012–2013 school year and
primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; intellectual disability;
represent the five categories with the highest
emotional disorders; or due to environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. numbers and percentages of children. Both learning
From the mid-1970s through the early 1990s, there was a dramatic increase in disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
the percentage of U.S. students receiving special education services (from 1.8 percent are combined in the learning disabilities category
in 1976–1977 to 12.2 percent in 1994–1995) (National Center for Education Statistics, (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016).
2008). Some experts say that the dramatic increase reflected poor diagnostic prac-
tices and overidentification. They argue that teachers sometimes are too quick to
label children with the slightest learning problem as having a learning disability,
instead of recognizing that the problem may rest in their ineffective teaching. Other
experts say the increase in the number of children being labeled with a “learning
disability” is justified (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015).
About three times as many boys as girls are classified as having a learning dis-
ability. Among the explanations for this gender difference are a greater biological
vulnerability among boys and referral bias (that is, boys are more likely to be
referred by teachers for treatment because of their behavior).
Most learning disabilities are lifelong. Compared with children who do not have
a learning disability, children with a learning disability are more likely to show poor
academic performance, high dropout rates, and poor employment and postsecondary
education records (Berninger, 2006). Children with a learning disability who are
taught in the regular classroom without extensive support rarely achieve the level of
competence of children without a disability, even those who are low achieving
(Hocutt, 1996). Still, despite the problems they encounter, many children with a
learning disability grow up to lead normal lives and engage in productive work
(Heward, Alber-Morgan, & Konrad, 2017).
Diagnosing whether a child has a learning disability is often a difficult task (Smith &
learning disability Difficulty in learning that involves
others, 2016). Because federal guidelines are just that—guidelines—it is up to each
understanding or using spoken or written language; the
state, or in some cases school systems within a state, to determine how to define and
difficulty can appear in listening, thinking, reading, writing,
implement diagnosis of learning disabilities. The same child might be diagnosed as and spelling. A learning disability also may involve diffi-
having a learning disability in one school system and receive services but not be diag- culty in doing mathematics. To be classified as a learn-
nosed and not receive services in another school system. In such cases, parents some- ing disability, the learning problem is not primarily the
times will move to a different school district to either obtain or avoid the diagnosis. result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; intellectual
Initial identification of a possible learning disability usually is made by the class- disability; emotional disorders; or due to environmental,
room teacher. If a learning disability is suspected, the teacher calls on specialists. cultural, or economic disadvantage.
184 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

An interdisciplinary team of professionals is best suited to verify whether a student

has a learning disability. Individual psychological evaluations (of intelligence) and
educational assessments (such as current level of achievement) are required (Hallahan,
Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015). In addition, tests of visual-motor skills, language, and
memory may be used.

Reading, Writing, and Math Difficulties The most common academic areas in which
children with a learning disability have problems are reading, writing, and math.

Thinking Back/Thinking Forward Dyslexia Among children with a learning disability, 80 percent have trouble with
An increasing number of experts con- reading. Such children have difficulty with phonological skills, which involve being
clude that direct instruction in phono- able to understand how sounds and letters match up to make words, and also can
logical training is a key aspect of learning have problems in comprehension. Dyslexia is a category reserved for individuals
to read. Connect to “Learning and with a severe impairment in their ability to read and spell (Hulme & Snowling, 2015;
Cognition in the Content Areas.” Thompson & others, 2015).

Dysgraphia Dysgraphia is a learning disability that involves difficulty in handwrit-

ing (Berninger, Richards, & Abbott, 2015; Dohla & Heim, 2016). Children with
dysgraphia may write very slowly, their writing products may be virtually illegible,
RESEARCH and they may make numerous spelling errors because of their inability to match up
sounds and letters (Berninger & others, 2015). One study revealed that boys were
more impaired in handwriting than were girls (Berninger & others, 2008).

Dyscalculia Dyscalculia, also known as developmental arithmetic disorder, is a

learning disability that involves difficulty in math computation (Kucian & von
Aster, 2015; Rapin, 2016). It is estimated to characterize 2 to 6 percent of U.S.
elementary school children (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2006).
Researchers have found that children with difficulties in math computation often
have cognitive and neuropsychological deficits, including poor performance in
working memory, visual perception, and visuospatial abilities (Mammarella &
others, 2015). A child may have both a reading and a math disability, and
there are cognitive deficits that characterize both types of disabilities,
such as poor working memory (Siegel, 2003).

Causes and Intervention Strategies The precise causes of learning

disabilities have not yet been determined. However, some possible
FIGURE 2 BRAIN SCANS AND LEARNING DISABILITIES causes have been proposed. Learning disabilities tend to occur in fami-
An increasing number of studies are using MRI brain scans to examine
lies where one parent has a disability such as dyslexia or dyscalculia,
the brain pathways involved in learning disabilities. Shown here is although the specific genetic transmission of learning disabilities is not
9-year-old Patrick Price, who has dyslexia. Patrick is going through an known. Also, some learning disabilities are likely caused by problems
MRI scanner disguised by drapes to look like a child-friendly castle. during prenatal development or delivery. For example, researchers
Inside the scanner, children must lie virtually motionless as words and have found that learning disabilities are more prevalent in children
symbols flash on a screen and they are asked to identify them by who were low birth weight and preterm infants (Jarjour, 2015).
clicking different buttons. Researchers also use brain-imaging techniques, such as magnetic
© Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Images resonance imaging (MRI), to reveal any regions of the brain that might
be involved in learning disabilities (Shaywitz, Morris, & Shaywitz, 2008) (see Figure
2). This research indicates that it is unlikely learning disabilities reside in a single,
RESEARCH specific brain location. More likely, learning disabilities are due to problems with
dyslexia A severe impairment in the ability to read
integrating information from multiple brain regions or subtle difficulties in brain
and spell. structures and functions (National Institutes of Health, 1993).
Interventions with children who have a learning disability often focus on improv-
dysgraphia A learning disability that involves difficulty ing reading ability (Bursuck & Damer, 2015; Reid & others, 2009). Intensive instruc-
in handwriting.
tion over a period of time by a competent teacher can help many children (Del
dyscalculia Also known as developmental arithmetic Campo & others, 2015). Improvement in children’s reading skills and changes in
disorder, this learning disability involves difficulty in math brain regions involved in reading often require early intervention and/or intensive
computation. instruction in reading (Lyytinen & others, 2015).
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children with Disabilities 185

I recently asked teachers how they work with students with a learning disability.
Following are their responses.
RESEARCH
EARLY CHILDHOOD To accommodate our children with learning disabilities,
we have them sit close to teachers during work time at craft tables, use more
transition warnings so all students clearly know when we are mov-
ing to a different activity, and prepare lessons that are visual and
hands-on. Having children of different abilities in our school not
only benefits the learning of children with disabilities, but it
immensely helps their “typically” developing peers to accept others
who are not like them.
—Valarie Gorham, Kiddie Quarters, Inc.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: GRADES K–5 Learning disabilities come in all

shapes and sizes and require adaptations to ensure that all students reach their full
potential. An adaptation that helps a student with ADHD is not an adaptation that
will help a student with dyslexia. Some of the adaptations and mod-
ifications I use in my class are visuals, modeling, graphic organizers,
and mnemonic devices. Many students with learning disabilities
have trouble learning information through one sense. Therefore, the
more senses you engage while teaching, the more likely the children
will learn.
—Shane Schwarz, Clinton Elementary School

MIDDLE SCHOOL: GRADES 6–8 When working with students with learning
disabilities, I offer assistance with organization (by providing a notebook with color-
coded individual folders for each subject); provide a structured class-
room setting with high expectations; have private, open discussions
concerning specific disabilities with the student; maintain a consistent
classroom routine and schedule (students with learning challenges often
have difficulty with change); and provide a daily overview of the day.
—Felicia Peterson, Pocantico Hills School

HIGH SCHOOL: GRADES 9–12 With high school students, I find it extremely
effective to pair the student with a learning disability with a concerned, helpful peer.
Sometimes it is necessary to let the peer know what to expect or how
to help the other student. However, there is a fine line to walk as you
do not want other students to be aware of the student’s disability.
I also find that books on tape help students with a learning disability
master information, as does providing extra time to complete tests
and quizzes.
—Sandy Swanson, Menomonee Falls High School

ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

Matthew has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and the outward signs are fairly
typical. He has trouble attending to the teacher’s instructions and is easily distracted.
He can’t sit still for more than a few minutes at a time, and his handwriting is messy.
His mother describes him as very fidgety.

Characteristics Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disability

in which children consistently show one or more of these characteristics over a attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) A
period of time: (1) inattention, (2) hyperactivity, and (3) impulsivity. For an ADHD disability in which children consistently show one or
diagnosis, onset of these characteristics early in childhood is required, and the char- more of the following characteristics over a period of
acteristics must be debilitating for the child. time: (1) inattention, (2) hyperactivity, and (3) impulsivity.
186 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS: Best Practices

Strategies for Working with Children Who Have Learning Disabilities

1. Take the needs of the child with a learning disability into

account during instructional time. Clearly state the objec-
tive of each lesson. Present it visually on the board or
with an overhead projector as well. Be sure directions are
explicit. Explain them orally. Use concrete examples to
illustrate abstract concepts.
2. Provide accommodations for testing and assignments.
This refers to changing the academic environment so
that these children can demonstrate what they know.
An accommodation usually does not involve altering
the amount of learning the child has to demonstrate.
Common accommodations include reading instructions
aloud to children, highlighting important words (such
as underline, or answer two of the three questions), © Kathryn Cantrell, Courtesy of Nancy Downing

using/giving untimed tests, and providing extra time

on assignments.
3. Make modifications. This strategy changes the work child, who has learning difficulties. She created Downfeld
itself, making it different from other children’s work in Phonics using phonics, sign language, and lively jingles to make
an effort to encourage children’s confidence and suc- learning fun for students. She developed the character Uey
cess. Asking a child with dyslexia to give an oral report Long (a “uey” is the sign over a short vowel) to demonstrate
while other children give written reports is an example vowel rules.
of a modification.
4. Improve organizational and study skills. Many children with 6. Challenge children with a learning disability to become
learning disabilities do not have good organizational skills. independent and reach their full potential. It is important
Teachers and parents can encourage them to keep long- not only to provide support and services for children with
term and short-term calendars and create “to-do” lists a learning disability but also to guide them toward becom-
each day. Projects should be broken down into their ele- ing responsible and independent. Teachers need to chal-
ments, with steps and due dates for each part. lenge children with a learning disability to become all they
5. Work with reading and writing skills. As indicated earlier, can be. We will have more to say about the importance of
the most common type of learning disability involves read- challenging children with disabilities to reach their poten-
ing problems. Children with a reading problem often read tial later in this chapter.
slowly, so give them more advance notice of outside read- 7. Become familiar with applications for mobile devices
ing assignments and more time for in-class reading. Many that offer strategies for children with a learning disabil-
children with a learning disability that involves writing defi- ity, and recommend these to the children’s parents.
cits find that using a computer helps them compose their These include:
writing projects more quickly and competently, so make ∙ www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2012/12/17assistive-
sure to provide them the opportunity to use a computer technology-in-the-classroom. This site lists seven assistive
for their assignments. In Through the Eyes of Teachers, applications that can be used with mobile devices.
you can read about the unique strategy a second-grade
∙ www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-kids-
teacher created for working with children who have a
learning-disabilities-overview. Parents of students with a
learning disability.
learning disability can use this site to find applications re-
lated to their child’s disability.
THROUGH THE EYES OF TEACHERS The seven teaching strategies we have described are not meant to
give children with a learning disability an unfair ad-
Creating a Character Named Uey Long
vantage over other students, just to provide them
N ancy Downing, a teacher at Don R. Roberts Elementary with an equal chance to learn. Balancing the needs
School in Little Rock, Arkansas, takes a multisensory approach of children with learning disabilities and the needs
to education, which she developed while working with her own of other students is a challenging task. TECHNOLOGY
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children with Disabilities 187

Inattentive children have difficulty focusing on any one thing and may get
bored with a task after only a few minutes. One study found that problems in sus- Thinking Back/Thinking Forward
taining attention were the most common type of attentional problem in children
Sustained attention is the ability to main-
with ADHD (Tsal, Shalev, & Mevorach, 2005). Hyperactive children show high
tain attention over a period of time.
levels of physical activity, almost always seeming to be in motion. Impulsive chil-
Sustained attention is a very important
dren have difficulty curbing their reactions and don’t do a good job of thinking
aspect of cognitive development. Connect
before they act. Depending on the characteristics that children with ADHD display,
to “The Information-Processing Approach.”
they can be diagnosed as (1) ADHD with predominantly inattention, (2) ADHD
with predominantly hyperactivity/impulsivity, or (3) ADHD with both inattention
and hyperactivity/impulsivity.

Diagnosis and Developmental Status The number of children diagnosed and

treated for ADHD has increased substantially, by some estimates doubling in the
1990s. The American Psychiatric Association (2013) reported in the DSM-V Manual
that 5 percent of children have ADHD, although estimates are higher in community DEVELOPMENT
samples. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016) esti-
mates that ADHD has continued to increase in 4- to 17-year-old children, going from
8 percent in 2003 to 9.5 percent in 2007 and to 11 percent in 2016. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13.2 percent of U.S. boys and 5.6
of U.S. girls have ever been diagnosed with ADHD.
There is controversy about the increased diagnosis of
ADHD, however (Lewis, Wheeler, & Carter, 2017; Turnbull &
others, 2016). Some experts attribute the increase mainly to
heightened awareness of the disorder. Others are concerned
that many children are being diagnosed without undergoing
extensive professional evaluation based on input from multi-
ple sources.
Unlike learning disabilities, ADHD is not supposed to be
diagnosed by school teams because ADHD is a disorder that
appears in the classification of psychiatric disorders (called
DSM-IV) with specific diagnostic criteria. Although some
school teams may diagnose a child as having ADHD, this is
incorrectly done and can lead to legal problems for schools
and teachers. One reason that is given as to why a school team
should not do the diagnosis for ADHD is that ADHD is dif-
ficult to differentiate from other childhood disorders, and
accurate diagnosis requires evaluation by a specialist in the
disorder, such as a child psychiatrist.
Although signs of ADHD are often present in the pre-
school years, children with ADHD are not usually classified
until the elementary school years. The increased academic and
social demands of formal schooling, as well as stricter stan-
dards for behavioral control, often illuminate the problems of
the child with ADHD. Elementary school teachers typically
report that this type of child has difficulty in working inde-
pendently, completing seat work, and organizing work.
Restlessness and distractibility also are often noted. These
problems are more likely to be observed when doing repetitive
or difficult tasks, or tasks the child perceives to be boring
(such as completing worksheets or doing homework).
It used to be thought that children with ADHD improved
during adolescence, but now it appears this often is not the
case. Estimates suggest symptoms of ADHD decrease in only Many children with ADHD show impulsive behavior, such as this child who is throwing a
about one-third of adolescents. Increasingly, it is being recog- paper airplane at other children. How would you handle this situation if you were a
nized that these problems may continue into adulthood teacher and this were to happen in your classroom?
(Fritz & O’Connor, 2016; Marshall & others, 2016). © Jupiterimages RF
188 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

Causes and Treatment Definitive causes of ADHD have not been found. However,
a number of causes have been proposed (Turnbull & others, 2016). Some children
likely inherit a tendency to develop ADHD from their parents (Gallo & Posner,
2016). Other children likely develop ADHD because of damage to their brain during
prenatal or postnatal development (Chiang & others, 2015). Among early possible
contributors to ADHD are cigarette and alcohol exposure, as well as a high level of
maternal stress during prenatal development and low birth weight (Obel & others,
2016; Say & others, 2016).
As with learning disabilities, the development of brain-imaging techniques is
leading to a better understanding of the brain’s role in ADHD (Berger & others,
2015; Wolfers & others, 2016). One study revealed that peak thickness of the cere-
DEVELOPMENT bral cortex occurred three years later (10.5 years) in children with ADHD than in
children without ADHD (peak at 7.5 years) (Shaw & others, 2007). The delay was
more prominent in the prefrontal regions of the brain that especially are important
in attention and planning (see Figure 3). Researchers also are exploring the roles
that various neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, might play in ADHD
RESEARCH (Zhong, Liu, & Yan, 2016). A recent study found that the dopamine transporter gene
DAT 1 was involved in decreased cortical thickness in the prefrontal cortex of chil-
dren with ADHD (Fernandez-Jaen & others, 2015).
The delays in brain development just described are in areas linked to executive
function. An increasing focus of interest in the study of children with ADHD is their
difficulty performing tasks involving executive function, such as behavioral inhibi-
tion when necessary, use of working memory, and effective planning (Craig & oth-
ers, 2016; Dovis & others, 2015). Researchers also have found deficits in theory of
mind in children with ADHD (Mary & others, 2016).
Stimulant medication such as Ritalin or Adderall (which has fewer side effects
than Ritalin) is effective in improving the attention of many children with ADHD,
but it usually does not improve their attention to the same level as children who
do not have ADHD (Brams, Mao, & Doyle, 2009). Researchers have often found
that combining medication (such as Ritalin) with behavior management improves
the behavior of children with ADHD better than medication alone or behavior
RESEARCH management alone, although not in all cases (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2016).
Prefrontal cortex Prefrontal cortex Teachers play an important role in monitoring whether ADHD medication has
been prescribed at the right dosage level. For example, it is not unusual for a student
on ADHD medication to complete academic tasks in the morning, but in the after-
noon, when the dosage has worn off, to be inattentive or hyperactive.
Critics argue that many physicians are too quick to prescribe stimulants for
children with milder forms of ADHD. Also, in 2006, the U.S. government issued
a warning about the cardiovascular risks of using stimulant medication to treat
ADHD.
Recently, researchers have been exploring the possibility that three types of
brain, cognitive, and physical training exercises might reduce ADHD symptoms.
First, neurofeedback can improve the attention of children with ADHD (Zuberer,
Brandeis, & Drechsler, 2015). Neurofeedback trains individuals to become more
aware of their physiological responses so they can attain better control over their
brain’s prefrontal cortex, where executive control primarily occurs.
Second, mindfulness training also has been found to reduce ADHD symptoms
Greater than 2 years delay of children with ADHD (Anderson & Guthery, 2015). Mindfulness training espe-
0 to 2 years delay cially focuses on getting individuals to focus on moment-to-moment experiences,
and can include such activities as yoga, meditation, and tai chi. A recent meta-
FIGURE 3 DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRAIN analysis concluded that mindfulness training significantly improved the attention of
IN CHILDREN WITH ADHD SHOWS A DELAYED children with ADHD (Cairncross & Miller, 2016).
PEAK IN THICKNESS OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX Third, exercise is being investigated as a possible treatment for children with
Note: The greatest delays occurred in the prefrontal ADHD (Pan & others, 2016). In a recent study, a higher physical activity level in
cortex. adolescence was linked with a lower incidence of ADHD in emerging adulthood
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children with Disabilities 189

(Rommel & others, 2015). Also, a recent meta-analysis concluded that short-term
aerobic exercise is effective in reducing symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity,
and impulsivity (Cerillo-Urbina & others, 2015). Another recent meta-analysis indi- RESEARCH
cated that exercise is associated with better executive function in children with
ADHD (Vysniauske & others, 2016).
I recently asked teachers how they work with students who have been diagnosed
with ADHD. Following are their recommendations.

EARLY CHILDHOOD Our preschoolers who have been diagnosed with

ADHD work well within a very structured environment. Although our ADHD
students are treated just like any other student in the classroom,
we take care to give them ample physical activity and sometimes
receive extra time to gather their thoughts and calm down by tak-
ing a few deep breaths. If necessary, medication is given as pre-
scribed by a pediatrician.
—Missy Dangler, Suburban Hills School

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: GRADES K–5 I find that frequent breaks (such as

asking the student to bring something to the school secretary or to put something
away) helps give the child an opportunity to move a bit and then refocus. In second
grade, we play a lot of singing and movement games (such as “Simon
Says”) in the room between lessons, or when I see a lot of “itchiness.”
All of these games/songs allow standing up, moving, and singing or
laughing and provide stretching and body awareness, which can help
a child with ADHD to focus. Also, I don’t have a problem with a
child lying on the floor to work or standing at a desk, if that is how
the child needs to focus. This is okay as long as the child is not bothering anyone
else and is completing the task at hand.
—Janine Guida Poutre, Clinton Elementary School

MIDDLE SCHOOL: GRADES 6–8 Working with ADHD students requires orga-
nization and planning. My ADHD students sit in a strategic location in the room.
I usually pick a spot that allows them freedom to get up and move
around if necessary. I also make sure that these students sit where I
can easily access them. And I give directions clearly and ask the
ADHD students to repeat the directions to me to make sure that they
not only are listening but also understand.
—Casey Maass, Edison Middle School

HIGH SCHOOL: GRADES 9–12 One of my biggest challenges in teaching is

working with untreated ADHD students. One thing I do with my
ADHD students is to sit them in the front row. I may touch the stu-
dent’s shoulder as I walk by or gently knock on the desk to refocus
the student’s attention. When I am walking about the room, I will
“loop” back to the student’s desk or quietly ask for directions to be
repeated back to me. I often check their assignment books to make
sure that homework assignments are written down correctly. Of course, communica-
tion with parents also is very important.
—Jennifer Heiter, Bremen High School

INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
Increasingly, children with an intellectual disability are being taught in the regular
classroom. The most distinctive feature of intellectual disability is inadequate intel-
lectual functioning (Kaderavek, 2015). Long before formal tests were developed to
190 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS: Best Practices

Strategies for Working with Children Who Have ADHD

1. Monitor whether the child’s stimulant medication is work- THROUGH THE EYES OF TEACHERS
ing effectively.
Structuring the Classroom to Benefit Students with
2. Repeat and simplify instructions about in-class and home- ADHD
work assignments.
3. Involve a special education resource teacher.
I have found success with these students when I seat them in
the front row, make instructions explicit, break down larger tasks
4. State clear expectations and give the child immediate into smaller ones, write necessary information on the board and
feedback. point out exactly where it is, allow extra time on tests (as speci-
5. Use proven, effective behavior management strategies, fied on his or her plan), and check in with the students frequently.
such as providing positive feedback for progress. We will This frequent contact allows me to know how the student is do-
discuss these approaches in considerable detail in the ing, how much he understands, and gives him a welcomed op-
chapter on behavioral and social cognitive approaches. portunity to chat.
6. Provide structure and teacher-direction. In many instances,
a structured learning environment benefits children with
ADHD. In Through the Eyes of Teachers Joanna Smith, a 7. Provide opportunities for students to get up and move
high school English teacher, describes how she arranges around.
her classroom to accommodate students with ADHD. 8. Break assignments into shorter segments.

assess intelligence, individuals with an intellectual disability were identified by a

Thinking Back/Thinking Forward lack of age-appropriate skills in learning and in caring for themselves. Once
­intelligence tests were created, numbers were assigned to indicate how mild or severe
The Stanford-Binet Test and the Wechsler
the intellectual disability was. A child might have a mild intellectual disability and
Scales are the two most widely used in-
be able to learn in the regular classroom or have a severe intellectual disability and
dividually administered intelligence tests.
be unable to learn in that setting.
Connect to “Individual Variations.”
In addition to low intelligence, deficits in adaptive behavior and early onset
also are included in the definition of intellectual disability (Green, Landry, &
Iarocci, 2016). Adaptive skills include skills needed for self-care and social
responsibility such as dressing, toileting, feeding, self-control, and peer interac-
intellectual disability A condition with an onset tion. By definition, intellectual disability is a condition with an onset before
before age 18 that involves low intelligence (usually age 18 that involves low intelligence (usually below 70 on a traditional individu-
below 70 on a traditional individually administered intelli- ally administered intelligence test) and difficulty in adapting to everyday life.
gence test) and difficulty in adapting to everyday life. For an individual to be given a diagnosis of intellectual disability, the low IQ
and low adaptiveness should be evident in childhood, not following a long period
of normal functioning that is interrupted by an accident or other type of assault
Type of
Intellectual
on the brain.
Disability IQ Range Percentage
Classification and Types of Intellectual Disability As indicated in Figure 4,
Mild 55–70 89
intellectual disability is classified as mild, moderate, severe, or profound.
Approximately 89 percent of students with intellectual disability fall into the mild
Moderate 40–54 6 category. By late adolescence, individuals with mild intellectual disability can be
expected to develop academic skills at approximately the sixth-grade level. In their
adult years, many can hold jobs and live on their own with some supportive super-
Severe 25–39 4
vision or in group homes. Individuals with more severe intellectual disability
require more support.
Profound Below 1 If you have a student with an intellectual disability in your classroom, the degree
25 of impairment is likely to be mild. Children with severe intellectual disability are
more likely to also show signs of other neurological complications, such as cerebral
FIGURE 4 CLASSIFICATION OF palsy, epilepsy, hearing impairment, visual impairment, or other metabolic birth
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY BASED ON IQ defects that affect the central nervous system (Terman & others, 1996).
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children with Disabilities 191

Intermittent Supports are provided “as needed.” The individual may need episodic or
short-term support during life-span transitions (such as job loss or acute medical
crisis). Intermittent supports may be low- or high-intensity when provided.

Limited Supports are intense and relatively consistent over time. They are time-limited
but not intermittent. Require fewer staff members and cost less than
more-intense supports. These supports likely will be needed for adaptation to
the changes involved in the school-to-adult period.

Extensive Supports are characterized by regular involvement (for example, daily) in at least
some setting (such as home or work) and are not time-limited (for example,
extended home-living support).
A child with Down syndrome. What causes a child to
develop Down syndrome?
© Realistic Reflections RF
Pervasive Supports are constant, very intense, and are provided across settings. They may
be of a life-sustaining nature. These supports typically involve more staff members
and intrusiveness than the other support categories.

FIGURE 5 CLASSIFICATION OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY BASED ON LEVELS OF SUPPORT

Source: Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports by David L. Coulter, p. 26.
Copyright © 1992 by American Association on Intellectual Developmental Disabilities. Reproduced with permis-
sion of American Association on Intellectual Developmental Disabilities in the format Textbook via Copyright
Clearance Center.

Most school systems still use the classifications mild, moderate, severe, and
profound. However, because these categorizations based on IQ ranges aren’t perfect
predictors of functioning, a newer classification system is based on the degree of
support children require to function at their highest level (Hallahan, Kauffman, & DEVELOPMENT
Pullen, 2015). As shown in Figure 5, the categories used are intermittent, limited,
extensive, and pervasive.

Determinants Genetic factors, brain damage, and environmental factors are key
determinants of intellectual disability. Let’s explore genetic causes first.

Genetic Factors The most commonly identified form of intellectual disability is

Down syndrome, which is genetically transmitted. Children with Down syndrome
have 47 chromosomes instead of 46 (Lewanda & others, 2016). They have a round
face, a flattened skull, an extra fold of skin over the eyelids, a protruding tongue, short
limbs, and motor and mental disabilities. It is not known why the extra chromosome
is present, but the health of the male sperm or female ovum might be involved. Women
between the ages of 18 and 38 are far less likely than younger or older women to give
birth to a child with Down syndrome. Down syndrome appears in about 1 in every
700 live births. African American children are rarely born with Down syndrome.
With early intervention and extensive support from the child’s family and pro-
fessionals, many children with Down syndrome can grow into independent adults
(Skotko & others, 2016). Children with Down syndrome can fall into the mild to
severe categories of intellectual disability. DEVELOPMENT

Brain Damage and Environmental Factors Brain damage can result from seizures,
infections, and environmental hazards (Pisani & Spagnoli, 2016). Infections in the
pregnant mother-to-be, such as rubella (German measles), syphilis, herpes, and
AIDS, can cause intellectual disability in children. Meningitis and encephalitis are
infections that can develop in childhood. They cause inflammation in the brain and
can produce intellectual disability. Environmental hazards that can result in intel-
lectual disability include blows to the head, malnutrition, poisoning, birth injury, and
alcoholism or heavy drinking on the part of the pregnant woman (Alexander, Down syndrome A genetically transmitted form of
Dasinger, & Intapad, 2015). intellectual disability due to an extra (47th) chromosome.
192 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS: Best Practices

Strategies for Working with Children Who Have an Intellectual Disability

During the school years, the main goals of teaching children with 5. Give children opportunities to practice what they have
an intellectual disability are to provide them with basic educa- learned. Have them repeat steps a number of times and
tional skills such as reading and mathematics, as well as voca- overlearn a concept to retain it.
tional skills (Boyles & Contadino, 1997). Here are some positive 6. Have positive expectations for the child’s learning. It is
teaching strategies for giving children who have an intellectual easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a child with an
disability the best learning experience: intellectual disability cannot achieve academically. Set a
goal to maximize his or her learning.
1. Help children who have an intellectual disability to practice
making personal choices and to engage in self-determina- 7. Look for resource support. Use teacher aides and recruit
tion when possible. volunteers such as sensitive retirees to help you educate
children with an intellectual disability. They can assist you
2. Always keep in mind the child’s level of mental function-
in increasing the amount of one-on-one instruction the
ing. Children who have an intellectual disability will be at a
child receives.
considerably lower level of mental functioning than most
8. Consider using applied behavior analysis strategies. Some
other students in your class. If you start at one level of
teachers report that these strategies improve children’s self-
instruction and the child is not responding effectively,
maintenance, social, and academic skills. If you are inter-
move to a lower level.
ested in using these strategies, consult a resource such as
3. Individualize your instruction to meet the child’s needs. Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers by Paul Alberto and
4. As with other children with a disability, make sure that you Anne Troutman (2017). The precise steps involved in applied
give concrete examples of concepts. Make your instruc- behavior analysis can help you use positive reinforcement
tions clear and simple. effectively with children who have an intellectual disability.

PHYSICAL DISORDERS
Physical disorders in children include orthopedic impairments, such as cerebral palsy,
and seizure disorders. Many children with physical disorders require special educa-
tion and related services, such as transportation, physical therapy, school health ser-
vices, and psychological services.

Orthopedic Impairments Orthopedic impairments involve restricted movement

or lack of control over movement due to muscle, bone, or joint problems. The
severity of problems ranges widely. Orthopedic impairments can be caused by
prenatal or perinatal problems, or they can be due to disease or accident during
the childhood years. With the help of adaptive devices and medical technology,
many children with orthopedic impairments function well in the classroom (Lewis,
Wheeler, & Carter, 2017).
Cerebral palsy is a disorder that involves a lack of muscular coordination, shak-
ing, or unclear speech. The most common cause of cerebral palsy is lack of oxygen
at birth. Special computers especially can help children with cerebral palsy to learn.

Seizure Disorders The most common seizure disorder is epilepsy, a neurologi-

orthopedic impairments Restricted movements or
cal disorder characterized by recurring sensorimotor attacks or movement convul-
lack of control of movements, due to muscle, bone, or sions (Berg & others, 2014). Children who experience seizures are usually treated
joint problems. with one or more anticonvulsant medications, which often are effective in reducing
the seizures but do not always eliminate them (Mudigoudar, Weatherspoon, &
cerebral palsy A disorder that involves a lack of Wheless, 2016).
muscle coordination, shaking, or unclear speech.
When they are not having a seizure, students with epilepsy show normal behav-
epilepsy A neurological disorder characterized ior. If you have a child in your class who has a seizure disorder, become well
by recurring sensorimotor attacks or movement acquainted with the procedures for monitoring and helping the child during
­convulsions. a seizure.
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children with Disabilities 193

SENSORY DISORDERS THROUGH THE

Sensory disorders include visual and hearing impairments. EYES OF STUDENTS
Visual impairments include the need for corrective lenses,
low vision, and being educationally blind. Children who are
hearing impaired can be born deaf or experience a loss in It’s Okay to Be Different
hearing as they develop. Why me? I often ask myself, why did I have to be the one?
Why did I get picked to be different? It took more than ten
Visual Impairments A small portion of students (about 1 years for me to find answers and to realize that I’m not more
in every 1,000 students) have very serious visual problems different than anyone else. My twin sister was born with no
and are classified as visually impaired. This includes stu- birth defects, but I was born with cerebral palsy.
dents who have low vision and students who are blind. People thought I was stupid because it was hard for me to
Children with low vision have a visual acuity of between write my own name. So when I was the only one in the class
20/70 and 20/200 (on the familiar Snellen scale, in which to use a typewriter, I began to feel I was different. It got worse
20/20 vision is normal) with corrective lenses. Children with when the third-graders moved on to the fourth grade and I had
low vision can read large-print books or regular books with to stay behind. I got held back because the teachers thought
the aid of a magnifying glass. Children who are education- I’d be unable to type fast enough to keep up. Kids told me
ally blind cannot use their vision in learning and must rely that was a lie and the reason I got held back was because I
on their hearing and touch to learn. Approximately 1 in was a retard. It really hurt to be teased by those I thought
every 3,000 children is educationally blind. Many children were my friends. . . .
who are educationally blind have normal intelligence and I have learned that no one was to blame for my disability.
function very well academically with appropriate supports I realize that I can do things and that I can do them very well.
and learning aids. 3-D printing provides an important tech- Some things I can’t do, like taking my own notes in class or
nology support for students with visual impairments. Also, running in a race, but I will have to live with that. . . .
haptic devices (involving the sense of touch) have been There are times when I wish I had not been born with
found to increase the learning and exploration of students cerebral palsy, but crying isn’t going to do me any good. I can
with a visual impairment (Nam & others, 2012; Pawluk & only live once, so I want to live the best I can. . . . Nobody
others, 2015). else can be the Angela Marie Erickson who is writing this. I
An important task in working with a child could never be, or ever want to be, anyone else.
who has visual impairments is to determine the —Angie Erickson
modality (such as touch or hearing) through Ninth-Grade Student
which the child learns best. Seating in the front Wayzata, Minnesota
of the class often benefits the child with a
visual impairment. TECHNOLOGY

Hearing Impairments A hearing impairment can make

learning very difficult for children. Children who are born
deaf or experience a significant hearing loss in the first sev- THROUGH THE
eral years of life usually do not develop normal speech and EYES OF STUDENTS
language. You also might have some children in your class
who have hearing impairments that have not yet been detected.
If you have students who turn one ear toward a speaker, Eyes Closed
frequently ask to have something repeated, don’t follow
­ In kindergarten, children truly begin to appreciate, not fear or
directions, or frequently complain of earaches, colds, and think strange, each other’s differences. A few years ago, a child
allergies, consider having the student’s hearing evaluated by in my kindergarten class was walking down the hall with his eyes
a specialist, such as an audiologist. closed and ran into the wall. When I asked him what he was
Many children with hearing impairments receive supple- doing, he said, “I was just trying to do like Darrick. How come
mentary instruction beyond the regular classroom. There are he does it so much better?” Darrick is his classmate who is
two categories of educational approaches to help students legally blind. He wanted to experience what it was like to be blind.
with hearing impairments: oral and manual. Oral approaches In this case, imitation truly was the greatest form of flattery.
include using lip reading, speech reading (a reliance on visual
cues to teach reading), and whatever hearing the student has. Anita Marie Hitchcock
Manual approaches involve sign language and finger spell- Kindergarten Teacher
Holle Navarre Primary
ing. Sign language is a system of hand movements that sym-
Santa Rosa County, Florida
bolize words. Finger spelling consists of “spelling out” each
word by signing.
194 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS: Best Practices

Strategies for Working with Children Who Have a Hearing Impairment

1. Be patient. 6. Check into obtaining recorded texts. For over half a

2. Speak normally (not too slowly or too quickly). ­century, recorded textbooks from Recording for the Blind &
3. Don’t shout, because this doesn’t help. Speaking distinctly Dyslexic have contributed to the educational progress
is more helpful. of students with visual, perceptual, or other disabilities.
More than 90,000 volumes of these audio and
4. Reduce distractions and background noises.
­computerized books are available at no charge
5. Face the student to whom you are speaking, because the (phone: 1-866-732-3585).
student needs to read your lips and see your gestures.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS

Speech and language disorders include a number of speech problems
(such as articulation disorders, voice disorders, and fluency disorders)
and language problems (difficulties in receiving information and express-
ing thoughts) (Owens, Farinella, & Metz, 2015).
Approximately 21 percent of all children who receive special educa-
tion services have a speech or language impairment (Condition of
Education, 2015).

Articulation Disorders Articulation disorders are problems in pronounc-

ing sounds correctly (Bauman-Waengler, 2016). A child’s articulation at 6
or 7 years is still not always error-free, but it should be by age 8. A child
with an articulation problem might find communicating with peers and the
teacher difficult or embarrassing. As a result, the child might avoid asking
Speech therapist Sharla Peltier, helping a young child improve his lan- questions, participating in discussions, or communicating with peers.
guage and communication skills. What are some different types of Articulation problems can usually be improved or resolved with speech
speech problems children can have? therapy, though the process might take months or years (Bernthal,
© Sharla Peltier
Bankson, & Flipsen, 2017).

Voice Disorders Voice disorders are reflected in speech that is hoarse, harsh,
too loud, too high-pitched, or too low-pitched. Children with cleft palate often
have a voice disorder that makes their speech difficult to understand. If a child
speaks in a way that is consistently difficult to understand, refer the child to a
speech therapist.

speech and language disorders A number of Fluency Disorders Fluency disorders often involve what is commonly called
speech problems (such as articulation disorders, voice dis- “stuttering.” Stuttering occurs when a child’s speech has a spasmodic hesitation,
orders, and fluency disorders) and language problems (dif- prolongation, or repetition. The anxiety many children feel because they stutter often
ficulties in receiving information and expressing language). just makes their stuttering worse. Speech therapy is recommended (Bernthal,
articulation disorders Problems in pronouncing Bankson, & Flipsen, 2017).
sounds correctly.
voice disorders Disorders producing speech that is
Language Disorders Language disorders include a significant impairment in
hoarse, harsh, too loud, too high-pitched, or too low-pitched.
a child’s receptive or expressive language. Receptive language involves the
reception and understanding of language. Expressive language involves using
fluency disorders Disorders that often involve what
language for expressing one’s thoughts and communicating with others. Language
is commonly referred to as “stuttering.”
disorders can result in significant learning problems (Owens, Farinella, & Metz,
language disorders Significant impairments in a 2015). Treatment by a language therapist generally produces improvement in the
child’s receptive or expressive language. child with a language disorder, but the problem usually is not eradicated.
receptive language The reception and understanding Language disorders include difficulties in phrasing questions properly to get the
of language. desired information, following oral directions, following conversation, especially
expressive language The ability to use language to when it is rapid and complex, and understanding and using words correctly
express one’s thoughts and communicate with others. in sentences.
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children with Disabilities 195

Specific language impairment (SLI) involves language development problems

with no other obvious physical, sensory, or emotional difficulties (Kaderavek, 2015; Thinking Back/Thinking Forward
Swanson, 2016). In some cases, the disorder is referred to as developmental language
Syntax is the language system that in-
disorder.
volves the way words are combined to
Children with SLI have problems in understanding and using words in sentences.
form acceptable phrases and sentences.
One indicator of SLI in 5-year-old children is their incomplete understanding of
Connect to “Cognitive and Language
verbs. They typically drop the –s from verb tenses (such as “She walk to the store”
Development.”
instead of “She walks to the store”) and ask questions without “be” or “do” verbs
(rather than saying “Does he live there?” the child will say “He live there?”). These
characteristics make children with specific language impairment sound like children
who are approximately two years younger than they are.
Early identification of SLI is important and can usually be accurately accom-
plished by 5 years of age and in some cases earlier. Intervention includes modeling
correct utterances, rephrasing the child’s incorrect utterances during conversation,
and reading instruction. Parents may also wish to send a child with SRI to a speech
or language pathologist.

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), also called pervasive developmental disorders,
range from the more severe disorder called autistic disorder to the milder disorder
called Asperger syndrome. Autism spectrum disorders are characterized by problems
in social interaction, problems in verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive
behaviors (Bernier & Dawson, 2016; Boutot, 2017; Wheeler, Mayton, & Carter,
2015). Children with these disorders may also show atypical responses to sensory
experiences (National Institute of Mental Health, 2016). Autism spectrum disorders
can often be detected in children as young as 1 to 3 years of age.
Recent estimates of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders indicate that they
are dramatically increasing in occurrence or are increasingly being detected. Once What characterizes autism spectrum disorders?
thought to affect only 1 in 2,500 children decades ago, they were estimated to be © Realistic Reflections RF
present in about 1 in 150 children in 2002 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2007) and 1 in 88 children in 2008 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2012). In the most recent survey, autism spectrum disorders were identified five times
more often in boys than in girls, and 8 percent of individuals aged 3 to 21 with these
RESEARCH
disorders were receiving special education services (Condition of Education, 2015).
Autistic disorder is a severe developmental autism spectrum disorder that has specific language impairment (SLI) Involves prob-
its onset during the first three years of life and includes deficiencies in social rela- lems in language development that are not accompa-
tionships; abnormalities in communication; and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped nied by other obvious physical, sensory, or emotional
patterns of behavior. problems; in some cases, the disorder is called develop-
mental language disorder.
Asperger syndrome is a relatively mild autism spectrum disorder in which the
child has relatively good verbal language skills, milder nonverbal language problems, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) Also called per-
and a restricted range of interests and relationships (Boutot, 2017; Helles & others, vasive developmental disorders, they range from the
2015). Children with Asperger syndrome often engage in obsessive, repetitive rou- severe disorder labeled autistic disorder to the milder
tines and preoccupations with a particular subject. For example, a child may be disorder called Asperger syndrome. Children with these
obsessed with baseball scores or YouTube videos. disorders are characterized by problems in social inter-
What causes autism spectrum disorders? The current consensus is that autism is action, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repeti-
tive behaviors.
a brain dysfunction characterized by abnormalities in brain structure and neurotrans-
mitters (Conti & others, 2015). Recent interest has focused on a lack of connectivity autistic disorder A severe developmental autism
between brain regions as a key factor in autism (Fakhoury, 2015). Genetic factors spectrum disorder that has its onset in the first three
also likely play a role in the development of autism spectrum disorders (Ning & years of life and includes deficiencies in social relation-
others, 2015), but there is no evidence that family socialization causes autism. ships, abnormalities in communication, and restricted,
Intellectual disability is present in some children with autism, while others show repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.
average or above-average intelligence (Memari & others, 2012). Asperger syndrome A relatively mild autism spec-
Children with autism benefit from a well-structured classroom, individualized trum disorder in which the child has relatively good ver-
instruction, and small-group instruction (Simmons, Lanter, & Lyons, 2014). Behavior bal language, milder nonverbal language problems, a
modification techniques are sometimes effective in helping autistic children learn restricted range of interests and relationships, and often
(Wheeler, Mayton, & Carter, 2015; Zirpoli, 2016). engages in repetitive routines.
196 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS

Most children have emotional problems sometime during their school years. A
small percentage have problems so serious and persistent that they are classified
as having an emotional or a behavioral disorder (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen,
2015). Emotional and behavioral disorders consist of serious, persistent prob-
lems that involve relationships, aggression, depression, fears associated with per-
sonal or school matters, and other inappropriate socioemotional
characteristics. Approximately 6 percent of children who have a
­disability and require an individualized education plan fall into this
classification (Condition of Education, 2015). Boys are three times as
likely as girls to have these disorders.
Various terms have been used to describe emotional and behavioral
disorders, including emotional disturbances, behavior disorders, and
maladjusted children. The term emotional disturbance (ED) recently has
been used to describe children with these types of problems for whom
it has been necessary to create individualized learning plans. However,
critics argue that this category has not been clearly defined.

Aggressive, Out-of-Control Behaviors Some children classified as

having a serious emotional disturbance engage in disruptive, aggressive,
defiant, or dangerous behaviors and are removed from the classroom.
These children are much more likely to be boys than girls and more
likely to come from low-income than from middle- or high-income fami-
lies (Powers, Bierman, & Coffman, 2016). When these children are
returned to the regular classroom, both the regular classroom teacher and
a special education teacher or consultant must spend a great deal of time
What are some characteristics of students who show aggressive,
helping them adapt and learn effectively.
­out-of-control behaviors?
© SW Productions/Photodisc/Getty Images RF
In the chapter on social contexts and socioemotional development we
discussed rejected students and improving students’ social skills. Many of the com-
ments and recommendations we made there apply to children with a serious emotional
Thinking Back/Thinking Forward disturbance. In other chapters we will discuss more strategies and plans for effectively
dealing with children who show emotional and behavioral problems.
Rejected children are infrequently nomi-
nated as someone’s best friend and also
Depression, Anxiety, and Fears Some children turn their emotional problems
actively disliked by their peers. Connect
inward. Their depression, anxiety, or fears become so intense and persistent that their
to “Social Contexts and Socioemotional
ability to learn is significantly compromised. All children feel depressed from time
Development.”
to time, but most get over their despondent, down mood in a few hours or a few
Teachers can use effective strategies to
days. For some children, however, the negative mood is more serious and longer
deal with fighting, bullying, and hostility
lasting. Depression is a type of mood disorder in which the individual feels worth-
toward the teacher. Connect to “Managing
less, believes that things are unlikely to get better, and behaves lethargically for a
the Classroom.”
prolonged period of time. When children show these signs for two weeks or longer,
they likely are experiencing depression. Having a poor appetite and not being able
to sleep well also can be associated with depression.
Depression is much more likely to appear in adolescence than in childhood and
Thinking Back/Thinking Forward has a much higher incidence in girls than in boys (Salk & others, 2016). Experts on
A number of programs have been devel- depression say that this gender difference is likely due to a number of factors.
oped to reduce students’ high anxiety Females tend to ruminate on their depressed mood and amplify it, whereas males
levels. Connect to “Motivation, Teaching, tend to distract themselves from the negative mood; girls’ self-images are often more
and Learning.” negative than those of boys during adolescence; and societal bias against female
achievement might be involved (Schwartz-Mette & Rose, 2016).
Because it is turned inward, depression is far more likely to go unnoticed than
emotional and behavioral disorders Serious, persis- aggressive, acting-out behaviors. If you think that a child has become depressed,
tent problems that involve relationships, aggression, have the child meet with the school counselor (Kauffman & Landrum, 2009).
depression, fears associated with personal or school mat- Anxiety involves a vague, highly unpleasant feeling of fear and apprehension.
ters, and other inappropriate socioemotional characteristics. It is normal for children to be concerned or worried when they face life’s
 SELF-ASSESSMENT 1
Evaluating My Experiences with People Who
Have Various Disabilities and Disorders
Read each of these statements and place a check mark next to the ones that apply to you.
1. Learning Disabilities
I know someone who has a learning disability and have talked with her or him about the disability.
I have observed students with learning disabilities in the classroom and talked with teachers about their strategies for educating them.
2. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
I know someone with ADHD and have talked with him or her about the disability.
I have observed students with ADHD in the classroom and talked with teachers about their strategies for educating them.
3. Intellectual Disability
I know someone who has an intellectual disability and have talked with her or his parents about their child’s disability.
I have observed students with an intellectual disability in the classroom and talked with their teachers about their strategies for
educating them.
4. Physical Disorders
I know someone with a physical disorder and have talked with him or her about the disability.
I have observed students with physical disorders in the classroom and talked with their teachers about strategies for edu-
cating them.
5. Sensory Disorders
I know someone with a sensory disorder and have talked with her or him about the disability.
I have observed students with sensory disorders in the classroom and talked with their teachers about their strategies for edu-
cating them.
6. Speech and Language Disorders
I know someone with a speech and language disorder and have talked with him or her about the disability.
I have observed students with a speech and language disorder in the classroom and talked with their teachers about strategies
for educating them.
7. Autism Spectrum Disorders
I know someone with an autism spectrum disorder.
I have observed students with an autism spectrum disorder in the classroom and talked with their teachers about strategies for
educating them.
8. Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
I know someone with an emotional and behavioral disorder and have talked with her or him about the disorder.
I have observed students with emotional and behavioral disorders and talked with their teachers about strategies for educating them.
For those disabilities that you did not place a check mark beside, make it a point to get to know and talk with someone who has
the disability and observe students with the disability in the classroom. Then talk with their teachers about their strategies for
educating them.

challenges, but some children have such intense and prolonged anxiety that it sub-
stantially impairs their school performance (Griffiths & Fazel, 2016). Some children
also have personal or school-related fears that interfere with their learning. If a
child shows marked or substantial fears that persist, have the child see the school DEVELOPMENT
counselor. More information about anxiety appears in the chapter on motivation,
teaching, and learning.
At this point, we have explored many different disabilities and disorders. To
evaluate your experiences with people who have these disabilities and disorders,
complete Self-Assessment 1.

197

198 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

Review, Reflect, and Practice

1 Describe the various types of disabilities and disorders.

REVIEW
∙ What is the definition of a learning disability? What are some common learning dis-
abilities? How are they identified? How are they best treated?
∙ What is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? What are some important aspects of
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for teachers to know?
∙ What is the nature of intellectual disability?
∙ What types of physical disorders in children are teachers likely to see?
∙ What are some common visual and hearing sensory disorders in children?
∙ What are the differences among articulation, voice, fluency, and language disorders?
What characterizes autism spectrum disorders?
∙ What are the main types of emotional and behavioral disorders?

REFLECT
∙ Considering the age group of children and the subject that you plan to teach, which
of the disabilities that we have discussed do you think will present the most difficulty
for your teaching? Where should you focus your attention in learning more about
this disability?

PRAXIS™ PRACTICE
1. Marty is in the fourth grade. Intelligence tests indicate that he is of average to above-
average intelligence. However, his grades in reading, social studies, spelling, and science
are very low. His math grades, on the other hand, are quite high and his writing skills
are adequate. Achievement tests indicate that he reads at the first-grade level. When
he reads aloud, it is apparent that he has difficulty matching sounds and letters. Marty
most likely has
a. ADHD
b. dyscalculia
c. dyslexia
d. dysgraphia
2. Which of the following classroom environments is most likely to help students with
ADHD achieve?
a. Ms. Caster’s class, which is very loosely structured so that students will only have
to attend to something for a short period of time.
b. Ms. Dodge’s class, which is tightly structured and has explicit expectations.
Student learning is often supplemented with computer games and physical
­activity.
c. Ms. Ebert’s class, in which students are expected to sit still for extended periods of
time, working independently on seatwork.
d. Ms. Fish’s class, in which students work at their own pace on self-selected tasks
and receive sporadic feedback regarding their progress and behavior.
3. Marci is a White non-Latino student with mild intellectual disability. In addition to cogni-
tive deficits, she has poor motor skills. Her legs and arms are shorter than average.
She has a round face, with an extra fold of skin over her eyelids. Her tongue pro-
trudes. What is most likely the cause of Marci’s intellectual disability?
a. Down syndrome
a. fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
b. fragile X syndrome
c. maternal illness during pregnancy
(continued)
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children with Disabilities 199

Review, Reflect, and Practice

PRAXIS™ PRACTICE (CONTINUED)
4. Mark is a middle school student in Ms. Walsh’s language-arts class. She observes
that Mark often stares out the window. Sometimes calling his name redirects his
­attention to her; at other times he continues to stare out the window for several
­seconds and appears oblivious to Ms. Walsh’s reprimands. Mark’s grades are
suffering­as a result of his inattention. What is the most likely explanation for
Mark’s inattention?
a. ADHD
b. absence seizure disorder
c. tonic-clonic epilepsy
d. cerebral palsy
5. Amiel’s first-grade teacher notices that he squints a lot and holds books close to his
face. Amiel most likely has which of the following disorders?
a. physical disorder
b. speech and language disorder
c. sensory disorder
d. autism spectrum disorder
6. Carrie’s third-grade teacher, Ms. Brown, often gets frustrated when Carrie tries to
answer questions in class. Carrie takes a long time to answer. Her sentence struc-
ture is not as good as that of other students in her class, and she often pre­
sents ideas in what sounds like a random manner. Ms. Brown should suspect that
Carrie has
a. articulation disorder
b. expressive language disorder
c. receptive language disorder
d. specific language impairment
7. Mike is a seventh-grade boy of above-average intelligence. He has good language skills
but does not interact well with other young adolescents. He has one friend and
responds well to his mother and to the aide who works with him, although he shies
away from contact with other people. He does fairly well in school, as long as his rou-
tine is not disrupted. He especially enjoys math and anything to do with numbers. He
has memorized the batting averages of the starting line-up of all major league baseball
teams. Mike most likely has
a. autistic disorder
b. Asperger syndrome
c. behavioral disorder
d. specific language disorder
8. Which middle school student is at greatest risk of developing a serious emotional
­disturbance?
a. Jill, the most popular girl in the seventh grade, who sometimes says demeaning
things to less popular girls
b. Kevin, an eighth-grader who gets good grades in most subjects, has difficulty inter-
acting with classmates, and has memorized all of Shakespeare’s sonnets
c. Harriet, a sixth-grade girl whose ADHD symptoms are controlled well by medication
d. Mark, a seventh-grade boy who gets poor grades in many classes and frequently
acts out in angry, violent ways

Please see answer key at end of book . . . .

200 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

LG 2 E xplain the legal framework and

technology advances for children 2 EDUCATIONAL ISSUES INVOLVING CHILDREN
with ­disabilities. WITH DISABILITIES
Legal Aspects Technology

Public schools are legally required to serve all children with disabilities in the least
restrictive environment possible. We will explore the legal aspects of working with
children who have a disability and examine the role of technology in educating
children with a disability.

LEGAL ASPECTS
Beginning in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, legislatures, the federal courts, and the
U.S. Congress laid down special educational rights for children with disabilities.
Prior to that time, most children with disabilities were either refused enrollment or
inadequately served by schools. In 1975, Congress enacted Public Law 94-142, the
Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which required that all students with
disabilities be given a free, appropriate public education and which provided the
funding to help implement this education.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) In

1990, Public Law 94-142 was recast as the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA was
amended in 1997 and then reauthorized in 2004 and
renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act. IDEA spells out broad mandates for
services to all children with disabilities (Heward, Alber-
Morgan, & Konrad, 2017). These include evaluation
and eligibility determination, appropriate education and
an individualized education plan (IEP), and education
in the least restrictive environment (LRE) (Smith &
others, 2016).
Children who are thought to have a disability are
evaluated to determine their eligibility for services under
IDEA. Schools are prohibited from planning special edu-
cation programs in advance and offering them on a space-
Increasingly, children with disabilities are being taught in the regular classroom, as is this child available basis. In other words, schools must provide
with mild intellectual disability. What are some legal aspects of educating children with disabilities? appropriate education services to all children who are
© Richard Hutchings/Science Source determined to need them (Turnbull & others, 2016).
Children must be evaluated and diagnosed with a disability before a school can
begin providing special education services. However, because an assessment can take
Public Law 94-142 The Education for All Handicapped a long time, variations of pre-referral interventions are in place in many schools.
Children Act, which required that all students with dis- Parents must be invited to participate in the evaluation process. Reevaluation is
abilities be given a free, appropriate public education required at least every three years (sometimes every year), when requested by par-
and also provided the funding to help implement this
ents, or when conditions suggest a reevaluation is needed. A parent who disagrees
education.
with the school’s evaluation can obtain an independent evaluation, which the school
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is required to consider in providing special education services. If the evaluation finds
(IDEA) This act spells out broad mandates for services that the child has a disability and requires special services, the school must provide
to all children with disabilities, including evaluation and the child with appropriate services.
determination of eligibility, appropriate education and an IDEA requires that students with disabilities have an individualized education
individualized education plan (IEP), and education in the plan (IEP). An IEP is a written statement that spells out a program specifically
least restrictive environment (LRE).
tailored for the student with a disability. In general, the IEP should be (1) related to
individualized education plan (IEP) A written the child’s learning capacity, (2) specially constructed to meet the child’s individual
statement that spells out a program specifically tailored needs and not merely a copy of what is offered to other children, and (3) designed
for the student with a disability. to provide educational benefits.
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Educational Issues Involving Children with Disabilities 201

IDEA has many other specific provisions that relate to the parents of a child
with a disability. These include requirements that schools send notices to parents of
proposed actions, that parents be allowed to attend meetings regarding the child’s
placement or individualized education plan, and that parents have the right to appeal
school decisions to an impartial evaluator.
Amendments were made to IDEA in 1997. Two of these involve positive behav-
ioral support and functional behavioral assessment.
Positive behavioral support focuses on culturally appropriate application of posi-
tive behavioral interventions to attain important behavior changes in children.
“Culturally appropriate” refers to considering the unique and individualized learning
histories of children (social, community, historical, gender, and so on). Positive behav-
ioral support especially emphasizes supporting desirable behaviors rather than punish-
ing undesirable behaviors in working with children with a disability or disorder.
Functional behavioral assessment involves determining the consequences (what
purpose the behavior serves), antecedents (what triggers the behavior), and setting
events (contexts in which the behavior occurs). Functional behavioral assessment
emphasizes understanding behavior in the context in which it is observed and guiding
positive behavioral interventions that are relevant and effective.
A major aspect of the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA involved aligning it with
the government’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, which was designed to
improve the educational achievement of all students, including those with disabili- Thinking Back/Thinking Forward
ties. Both IDEA and NCLB mandate that most students with disabilities be included
in general assessments of educational progress. This alignment includes requiring No Child Left Behind is the federal gov-
most students with disabilities to take standardized tests of academic achievement ernment’s legislation that requires states
and to achieve at a level equal to that of students without disabilities. Whether this to test students annually in various sub-
expectation is reasonable is an open question (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015). jects. Connect to “Educational Psychology:
Alternative assessments for students with disabilities and funding to help states A Tool for Effective Teaching” and
improve instruction, assessment, and accountability for educating students with dis- “Standardized Tests and Teaching.”
abilities are included in the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Under IDEA, the child with a disability
must be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). This means a setting
as similar as possible to the one in which children who do not have a disability are
educated. And schools must make an effort to educate children with a disability in
the regular classroom. The term inclusion means educating a child with special
educational needs full-time in the regular classroom. In a recent school year (2014),
61 percent of U.S. students with a disability spent more than 80 percent of their
school day in a general classroom (compared with only 33 percent in 1990 (Condition
of Education, 2015).
What is least restrictive likely depends to some degree on the child’s disability
(Smith & others, 2016). Some children with a learning disability or a speech impair-
ment can be educated in the regular classroom, but children with severe hearing or
vision impairments may need to be educated in separate classes or schools (Lewis,
Wheeler, & Carter, 2017).
In the last two decades, collaborative teaming has been increasingly advocated
in educating children with disabilities (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015). In col-
laborative teaming, people with diverse expertise interact to provide services for
children. Researchers have found that collaborative teaming often results in gains for
children, as well as improved skills and attitudes for teachers (Snell & Janney, 2005).
Ideally, collaborative teaming encourages shared responsibility in planning and
decision making. It also enables educators with diverse expertise to construct effec-
tive alternatives to traditional educational approaches. When collaborative teaming least restrictive environment (LRE) A setting that
is as similar as possible to the one in which children
is used, many children remain in the regular classroom, and the regular classroom
who do not have a disability are educated.
teacher is actively involved in planning the child’s education.
Many legal changes regarding children with disabilities have been extremely posi- inclusion Educating children with special education
tive. Compared with several decades ago, far more children today are receiving needs full-time in the regular classroom.
202 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

competent, specialized services. For many children, inclusion in the regular classroom,
with modifications or supplemental services, is appropriate (Heward, Alber-Morgan, &
Konrad, 2017). However, some leading experts on special education argue that the
effort to use inclusion to educate children with disabilities has become too extreme
in some cases. For example, James Kauffman and his colleagues (Kauffman,
Hallahan, & Pullen, 2015; Kauffman, McGee, and Brigham, 2004) state that inclusion
too often has meant making accommodations in the regular classroom that do not
always benefit children with disabilities. They advocate a more individualized approach
that does not always involve full inclusion but rather allows for options such as special
education outside the regular classroom. Kauffman and his colleagues (2004, p. 620)
acknowledge that children with disabilities “do need the services of specially trained
professionals to achieve their full potential. They do sometimes need altered curricula

CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS: Best Practices

Strategies for Working with Children with Disabilities as a Regular Classroom Teacher

1. Carry out each child’s individualized education plan (IEP). such as Exceptional Children, Teaching Exceptional
2. Encourage your school to provide increased support and Children, and Journal of Learning Disabilities, to keep up-
training in how to teach children with disabilities. In to-date on the latest information about these children.
Through the Eyes of Teachers, Michelle Evans, a sixth- Look into taking a class at a college or university or a
grade teacher, describes her relationship with resource per- continuing education course on topics such as exceptional
sonnel and some strategies that worked for her students. children, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and
emotional and behavioral disorders.
4. Be cautious about labeling children with a disability. It is
THROUGH THE EYES OF TEACHERS easy to fall into the trap of using the label as an explana-
Strategies for Working with Children Who Have a tion for the child’s learning difficulties. For example, a
Disability teacher might say, “Well, Larry has trouble with reading
because he has a learning disability” when in fact the rea-
Support and resource personnel are invaluable. Communication son Larry is having trouble with reading is unknown or not
with parents, students, and with anyone involved is essential. yet identified. Also, labels have a way of remaining after
Make certain that you communicate with your entire class, the child has improved considerably. Remember that terms
too. . . . Because I want each student to feel successful, I create such as intellectual disability and learning disability are
different levels of mastery or participation in learning objectives. descriptive labels for disorders. Always think of children
One student with cerebral palsy had difficulty standing, mental with disabilities in terms of what the best conditions are
impairments, and other problems. She had little and often no for improving their learning and how they can be helped to
short-term memory. As we sat together and talked, I found that make progress rather than in terms of unchanging labels.
her strength was that she loved to copy words, stories, and other 5. Remember that children with disabilities benefit from many
things. Her hands were weak, but writing helped them. Her par- of the same teaching strategies that benefit children with-
ents wanted her to do anything she could. By capitalizing on her out disabilities and vice versa. These include being caring,
fondness for copying and writing, she eventually learned math accepting, and patient; having positive expectations for
facts and spelling words. I assigned a poem about having a posi- learning; helping children with their social and communica-
tive attitude as a memorization for everyone in the class. A few tion skills as well as academic skills; and challenging chil-
kids complained that the poem would be too hard to memorize dren with disabilities to reach their full potential.
when I presented it. She copied that poem so many times that
6. Help children without a disability to understand and accept
three days after the assignment she stood and delivered it flaw-
children with a disability. Provide children without a disabil-
lessly to the class. I could see the complainers melt away as we
ity information about children with a disability and create
all realized that she was the first to recite the poem. Her parents
opportunities for them to interact with each other in posi-
came to witness her accomplishment. There wasn’t a dry eye in
tive ways. Peer tutoring and cooperative learning activities
the room by the time she finished. She taught us a great deal.
can be used to encourage positive interaction between
children without a disability and children with a disability.
3. Become more knowledgeable about the types of children We will discuss these activities further in the chapter on
with disabilities in your classroom. Read education journals, social constructivist approaches.
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Educational Issues Involving Children with Disabilities 203

or adaptations to make their learning possible. However, we sell students with dis-
abilities short when we pretend that they are not different from typical students. We
make the same error when we pretend that they must not be expected to put forth
extra effort if they are to learn to do some things—or learn to do something in a dif-
ferent way.” Like general education, an important aspect of special education should
be to challenge students with disabilities “to become all they can be.”
One concern about special education involves disproportionate representation of
students from minority backgrounds in special education programs and classes. The
U.S. Department of Education (2000) has three concerns about the overrepresenta-
tion of minority students in special education programs and classes: (1) students may
be unserved or receive services that do not meet their needs; (2) students may be
misclassified or inappropriately labeled; and (3) placement in special education
classes may be a form of discrimination.

TECHNOLOGY
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including its 1997 amend-
ments, requires that technology devices and services be provided to students with
disabilities if they are necessary to ensure a free, appropriate education (Dell,
Newton, & Petroff, 2017).
Two types of technology that can be used to improve the education of students Nico Calabria, who was born without a hip and right leg,
dribbles the ball during soccer practice in Concord,
with disabilities are instructional technology and assistive technology. Instructional
Massachuetts. He already has become one of the top
technology includes various types of hardware and software, combined with innova-
wrestlers in the state in his weight class and has suc-
tive teaching methods, to accommodate students’ learning needs in the classroom cessfully climbed the top of Africa’s highest mountain.
(Luiselli & Fischer, 2016). Examples of instructional technology that are being used © Matt Stone/Boston Herald/AP Images
with students with a disability today are software, Web sites, and apps for mobile
devices (Butcher & Jameson, 2016).
Assistive technology consists of various services and devices designed to help
students with disabilities function within their environment (Marchel, Fischer, &
Clark, 2015). Examples include communication aids, alternative computer keyboards,
and adaptive switches. Following are excellent Web sites on assistive technologies:
∙ www.unicef.org/disabilities/files/Assistive-Tech-Web.pdf
∙ www.edutopia.org/article/assistive-technology-resources
The Edutopia site has a valuable set of resources for children with physical and
learning disabilities.
TECHNOLOGY

Review, Reflect, and Practice

2 Explain the legal framework and technology advances for children with disabilities.

REVIEW
∙ What is IDEA? How is it related to IEPs and LREs? What is the current thinking about
inclusion?
∙ What is the difference between instructional and assistive technology?

REFLECT
∙ What do you think will present the greatest challenges to you in teaching children
with a disability?

PRAXIS™ PRACTICE
1. Jenny has a moderate learning disability. She is educated in the special education class- Special input devices can help students with physical
disabilities use computers more effectively. Many stu-
room of her school, as she has been for the past two years. She and her classmates
dents with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy
eat lunch in the resource room as well. Each of the students in the resource room
cannot use a conventional keyboard and mouse but
(continued) can use alternative keyboards effectively.
© Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
204 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

Review, Reflect, and Practice

PRAXIS™ PRACTICE (CONTINUED)
works on different things, due to their very different abilities and disabilities. This place-
ment was made because the regular education teachers in Jenny’s school do not have
the necessary skills to teach Jenny. Therefore, she was placed in the resource room
with the school’s sole special educator. What is the legal issue with this placement?
a. Jenny’s IEP does not specify a diagnosis.
b. Jenny is not being educated in the least restrictive environment.
c. Jenny’s placement needs to be reconsidered at least every six months.
d. The functional behavior assessment did not consider the use of technology.
2. Azel has cerebral palsy. His teacher has found an alternative computer keyboard to
facilitate his learning. What type of technology is the teacher using?
a. instructional technology
b. computer-assisted instruction
c. assistive technology
d. complex hypermedia

Please see answer key at end of book . . . .

LG 3  efine what gifted means and

D 3 CHILDREN WHO ARE GIFTED
­discuss some approaches to teach-
ing children who are gifted. Characteristics Nature/Nurture and Educating Children
Domain-Specific Giftedness Who Are Gifted

Thinking Back/Thinking Forward The final type of exceptionality we will discuss is quite different from the disabilities
Robert J. Sternberg argues that creative and disorders that we have described so far. Children who are gifted have above-
thinking should be considered a different average intelligence (usually defined as an IQ of 130 or higher) and/or superior
form of intelligence than the intelligence talent in some domain such as art, music, or mathematics. Admissions standards for
measured by traditional standardized children who are gifted in schools are typically based on intelligence and academic
tests of intelligence. Connect to aptitude (Molinero & others, 2016). However, there is an increasing call to widen
“Individual Variations” and “Complex the criteria to include such factors as creativity and commitment (Ambrose &
Cognitive Processes.” Sternberg, 2016a, b). The U.S. government has described five areas of giftedness:
intellectual, academic, creative, visual and performing arts, and leadership.
Some critics argue that too many children in “gifted programs” aren’t really
gifted in a particular area but are just somewhat bright, usually cooperative, and,
usually, non-Latino White. They say the mantle of brilliance is cast on many children
who are not that far from simply being “smart normal” (Winner, 2014).
General intelligence as defined by an overall IQ score continues to be a key
criterion in many states’ decision of whether a child should be placed in a gifted
program, but changing conceptions of intelligence increasingly include ideas such
as Gardner’s multiple intelligences and creativity. As a result, placement decisions
may move away from an IQ criterion in the future (Ambrose & Machek, 2015;
Olszewski-Kubilius & Thomson, 2015).

CHARACTERISTICS
Ellen Winner (1996), an expert on creativity and giftedness, described three criteria
that characterize children who are gifted:
children who are gifted Children with above-aver-
age intelligence (usually defined as an IQ of 130 or 1. Precocity. Children who are gifted are precocious when given the opportunity
higher) and/or superior talent in some domain such as to use their gift or talent. They begin to master an area earlier than their peers.
art, music, or mathematics. Learning in their domain is more effortless for them than for children who are
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children Who Are Gifted 205

not gifted. In most instances, children who are gifted are precocious because
they have an inborn high ability in a particular domain or domains, although
this inborn precocity has to be identified and nourished.
2. Marching to their own drummer. Children who are gifted learn in a qualitatively
different way than children who are not gifted. One way they march to a different
drummer is that they require less support, or scaffolding, from adults to learn than
their nongifted peers do. Often they resist explicit instruction. They also often
make discoveries on their own and solve problems in unique ways within their
area of giftedness. They can be normal or below normal in other areas.
3. A passion to master. Children who are gifted are driven to understand the domain
in which they have high ability. They display an intense, obsessive interest and
an ability to focus. They are not children who need to be pushed by their parents.
They frequently have a high degree of internal motivation.
A fourth area in which children who are gifted excel involves information-
processing skills. Researchers have found that children who are gifted learn at a
faster pace, process information more rapidly, are better at reasoning, use more
effective strategies, and monitor their understanding better than their nongifted coun-
terparts (Ambrose & Sternberg, 2016a).
Research also supports the conclusion that gifted people tend to be more mature At 2 years of age, art prodigy Alexandra Nechita col-
than others, have fewer emotional problems than others, and grow up in a positive ored in coloring books for hours and took up pen and
family climate. For example, a recent study revealed that parents and teachers identi- ink. She had no interest in dolls or friends. By age 5
fied elementary school children who are not gifted as having more emotional and she was using watercolors. Once she started school,
behavioral risks than children who are gifted (Eklund & others, 2015). In this study, she would start painting as soon as she got home. At
when children who are gifted did have problems, they were more likely to be inter- the age of 8, in 1994, she saw the first public exhibit of
her work. In succeeding years, working quickly and
nalized problems, such as anxiety and depression, than externalized problems, such
impulsively on canvases as large as 5 feet by 9 feet,
as acting out and high levels of aggression.
she has completed hundreds of paintings, some of
which sell for close to $100,000 apiece. Shown here
NATURE/NURTURE AND DOMAIN-SPECIFIC GIFTEDNESS as a teenager, Alexandra has continued to paint—
relentlessly and passionately. It is, she says, what she
Two important issues in the education of children are: (1) What roles do nature and loves to do. What are some characteristics of children
nurture play in giftedness? (2) To what extent is giftedness domain-specific? who are gifted?
© Koichi Kamoshida/Newsmakers/Getty Images

Nature/Nurture Is giftedness a product of heredity or environment? Likely both

(Duggan & Friedman, 2014). Individuals who are gifted recall that they had signs
of high ability in a particular area at a very young age, prior to or at the beginning
of formal training. This suggests the importance of innate ability in giftedness.
However, researchers have also found that individuals with world-class status in the RESEARCH
arts, mathematics, science, and sports all report strong family support and years of
training and practice (Bloom, 1985). Deliberate practice is an important characteristic
of individuals who become experts in a particular domain. For example, in one study,
the best musicians engaged in twice as much deliberate practice over their lives as
did the least successful ones (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Romer, 1993).

Domain-Specific Giftedness Individuals who are highly gifted are typically not
gifted in many domains, and research on giftedness is increasingly focused on
domain-specific developmental trajectories (Winner, 2014). During the childhood
years, the domain in which individuals are gifted usually emerges. Thus, at some DEVELOPMENT
point in the childhood years the child who is to become a gifted artist or the child
who is to become a gifted mathematician begins to show expertise in that domain.
Regarding domain-specific giftedness, software genius Bill Gates (1998), the founder
of Microsoft and one of the world’s richest persons, commented that when you are
good at something you may have to resist the urge to think that you will be good
at everything. Gates says that because he has been so successful at software develop-
ment, people expect him to be brilliant about other domains in which he is far from
being a genius.
206 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

EDUCATING CHILDREN WHO ARE GIFTED

Increasingly, experts argue that the education of children who are gifted in the United
States requires a significant overhaul (Ambrose & Sternberg, 2016a, b; Winner,
2014). Underchallenged children who are gifted can become disruptive, skip classes,
and lose interest in achieving. Sometimes these children just disappear into the wood-
work, becoming passive and apathetic toward school. Teachers need to challenge
children who are gifted to establish and reach high expectations.
Four program options for children who are gifted follow (Hertzog, 1998):
∙ Special classes. Historically, this has been a common way to educate children
who are gifted. The special classes during the regular school day are called
“pullout” programs. Some special classes also are held after school, on
Saturdays, or in the summer.
∙ Acceleration and enrichment in the regular classroom setting. This could include
early admission to kindergarten, grade skipping (also known as double promo-
tion), telescoping (completing two grades in one year), advanced placement, sub-
ject-matter acceleration, and self-paced instruction (Cloud, 2007). Curriculum
compacting is a variation of acceleration in which teachers skip over aspects of
the curriculum that they believe children who are gifted do not need.
∙ Mentor and apprenticeship programs. These are impor-
tant, underutilized ways to motivate, challenge, and
effectively educate children who are gifted.
∙ Work/study and/or community-service programs.
THROUGH THE Educational reform has brought into the regular class-
EYES OF STUDENTS room many strategies that once were the domain of
separate gifted programs. These include an emphasis
Children Who Are Gifted Speak on problem-based learning, having children do proj-
ects, creating portfolios, and critical thinking.
James Delisle (1987) interviewed hundreds of elementary school Combined with the increasing emphasis on educating
children who are gifted. Here are some of their comments. all children in the regular classroom, many schools
In response to “Describe Your Typical School Day” now try to challenge and motivate children who are
gifted in the regular classroom. Some schools also
Oh what a bore to sit and listen, include after-school or Saturday programs or develop
To stuff we already know.
mentor apprenticeship, work/study, or community-­
Do everything we’ve done and done again,
But we must still sit and listen.
service programs. Thus, an array of in-school and
Over and over read one more page ­out-of-school opportunities is provided.
Oh bore, oh bore, oh bore. The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), developed by
Girl, Age 9, New York Joseph Renzulli (1998), is a program for children who are
gifted that focuses on total school improvement. Renzulli says
I sit there pretending to be reading along when I’m really that when enrichment has a school-wide emphasis, positive
six pages ahead. When I understand something and half outcomes are likely to occur, not only for children who are
the class doesn’t, I have to sit there and listen. gifted but also for children who are not gifted and for class-
Girl, Age 10, Connecticut room and resource teachers. When school-wide enrichment is
emphasized, “us” versus “them” barriers often decrease, and
In response to “What Makes a Teacher a Gifted Teacher?”: classroom teachers are more willing to use curriculum com-
She is capable of handling our problems and has a good pacting with their children who are most gifted. Instead of
imagination to help us learn. feeling isolated, resource teachers begin to feel more like
members of a team, especially when they work with regular
Girl, Age 10, Louisiana classroom teachers on enriching the entire classroom. Thus,
Will challenge you and let the sky be your limit. important goals of SEM are to improve outcomes for both
students who are gifted and those who are not gifted and to
Boy, Age 11, Michigan improve the contributions and relationships of classroom and
Opens your mind to help you with your life. resource teachers (Reis & Renzulli, 2014).
A number of experts argue that too often children who are
Boy, Age 11, New Jersey gifted are socially isolated and underchallenged in the classroom
(Winner, 2014). It is not unusual for them to be ostracized and
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children Who Are Gifted 207

labeled “nerds” or “geeks.” A child who is truly gifted often is the only child in the
room who does not have the opportunity to learn with students of like ability. Many
eminent adults report that school was a negative experience for them, that they were
bored and sometimes knew more than their teachers (Bloom, 1985). Winner (2006)
points out that American education will benefit when standards are raised for all children.
When some children are still underchallenged, she recommends that they be allowed to
attend advanced classes in their domain of exceptional ability, such as allowing some
especially precocious middle school students to take college classes in their area of
expertise. For example, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, took college math classes and
hacked a computer security system at 13; Yo-Yo Ma, famous cellist, graduated from
high school at 15 and attended Juilliard School of Music in New York City.
Some educators conclude that the inadequate education of children who are
gifted has been compounded by the federal government’s No Child Left Behind
policy that seeks to raise the achievement level of students who are not doing well
in school at the expense of enriching the education of children who are gifted (Clark,
2008). In the era of No Child Left Behind policy, some individuals who are con-
cerned about the neglect of students who are gifted argue that schools spend far
more time identifying students’ deficiencies than cultivating students’ talents (Cloud,
2007). For example, U.S. schools spend approximately $8 billion a year educating
students with an intellectual disability and only $800 million educating students who
are gifted. In many cases, say the critics, U.S. education squanders the potential
contributions of America’s most talented young minds (Cloud, 2007).
A final concern is that African American, Latino, and Native American children
are underrepresented in gifted programs (Ford, 2012, 2014, 2015a, b; Mills, 2015).
Much of the underrepresentation involves the lower test scores for these children
compared with non-Latino White and Asian American children, which may be due
to reasons such as test bias and fewer opportunities to develop language skills such
as vocabulary and comprehension (Ford, 2012, 2014, 2015a, b).
I recently asked teachers how they work with students who are gifted. Following
are their responses.

EARLY CHILDHOOD Our preschoolers who are considered gifted are given
more challenging projects to complete and given more responsibili-
ties throughout the day. Parents are also contacted and given strate-
gies and suggestions about extracurricular activities that will stimulate
their child’s strengths.
—Missy Dangler, Suburban Hills School

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: GRADES K–5 When working with students who

are gifted, it is important to remember that they don’t need more
work, but they do need work that will challenge them. Also, no mat-
ter how gifted students are, their work needs to always be checked
to make sure that they haven’t misunderstood something.
—Esther Lindbloom, Cooper Mountain Elementary School

MIDDLE SCHOOL: GRADES 6–8 It is important that you not bore students
who are gifted in your classroom. For example, if children who are gifted are learn-
ing about the causes and effects of the Civil War and they already
know the information being covered, I would have them apply what
they already know by having them create a journal about someone
who lived during that time period.
—Casey Maass, Edison Middle School

HIGH SCHOOL: GRADES 9–12 Students who are gifted have a unique set of
issues. They need to be challenged at a higher level, but they also need to accept
the fact that other students who are not as gifted as they are also have worth.
208 Chapter 6 Learners Who Are Exceptional

My homeroom is a prime example. Among the 18 students I have, one is the num-
ber-one student who never found a math or science problem that he couldn’t solve;
one is learning disabled with a seizure disorder; and three students have missed
school time for jail. In the three years that we have been together,
we have worked on respecting differences in each other and on team-
work activities, and have won homeroom competitions. Relationships
are key in getting students of all abilities to work together and feel
part of a school or classroom community. Teachers need to build trust
in order for this to happen.
—Sandy Swanson, Menomonee Falls High School

CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS: Best Practices

Strategies for Working with Children Who Are Gifted

Here are some recommended strategies commented, “If I don’t get it one way, she’ll
for working with children who are gifted explain it another and talk to you about it
(Colangelo, Assouline, & Gross, 2004, pp. and show you until you do get it.” Peg says it
49–50): is important to be passionate about teaching
math and open up a world for students that
1. Recognize that the child is academi-
shows them how beautiful learning math can
cally advanced.
be. (Source: Wong Briggs, 2007, p. 6D)
2. Guide the child to new challenges
and ensure that school is a positive
experience. To read about some 3. 
Remember that giftedness is usually
ways talented teacher Margaret domain-specific. Don’t expect a stu-
(Peg) Cagle accomplishes this, see dent to be gifted across most
Through the Eyes of Teachers. Margaret (Peg) Cagle with some of the gifted sev- domains.
enth- and eighth-grade math students she teaches
at Lawrence Middle School in Chatsworth, California. 4. 
Monitor the accurate evaluation of the
child’s readiness to be accelerated.
THROUGH THE EYES OF © Scott Buschman

5. 
Discuss with parents ways to appropri-
TEACHERS
ately challenge the child.
Passionate About Teaching Math to Students
6. Learn about and use resources for children who are
Who Are Gifted
gifted. Among these are the National Research Center
M argaret (Peg) Cagle teaches gifted seventh- and eighth-grade on Gifted and Talented Education at the University of
math students at Lawrence Middle School in Chatsworth, Connecticut and the Belin-Blank Center at the University
California. She especially advocates challenging students who are of Iowa; Gifted Child Quarterly and Gifted Child Today
gifted to take intellectual risks. To encourage collaboration, she journals; and books on children who are gifted, such as
often has students work together in groups of four, and frequently Giftedness and Talent in the 21st Century (Ambrose &
tutors students during lunch hour. As 13-year-old Madeline Lewis Sternberg, 2016a).

Review, Reflect, and Practice

3 Define what gifted means and discuss some approaches to teaching children
who are gifted.

REVIEW
∙ What is the definition of being gifted? What are some criticisms of gifted programs?
What characteristics does Winner ascribe to children who are gifted?
(continued)
www.mhhe.com/santedu6e Children Who Are Gifted 209

Review, Reflect, and Practice

REVIEW (CONTINUED)
∙ What roles do nature/nurture, developmental changes, and domain specificity play in
giftedness?
∙ What are some options for educating students who are gifted?

REFLECT
∙ Suppose that you had several students in your class who were strikingly gifted. Might
this lead to problems? Explain. What might you do to prevent such problems from
developing?

PRAXIS™ PRACTICE
1. Ms. Larson has a student in her kindergarten class who continuously surprises her. He
requested that she allow him to play with a puzzle of the United States that no chil-
dren had played with in years. She observed him expertly put each state in place,
saying its name as he did so. Soon he was teaching the other students in the class
each state’s name, its capital, and where it belonged in the puzzle. On a recent trip to
the school learning center, he asked to check out a book of international flags that
was written at an eighth-grade level. Her first instinct was to deny his request, but
instead she asked him about the book. He told her, “I know I can’t read all of it, but I
can read the names of the countries, and I want to learn more flags. See how many I
already know?” He then flipped through the book, correctly identifying most of the flags.
Which characteristics of giftedness is this student showing?
a. numerical ability, highly developed social skills, and precocity
b. verbal ability, intensity, and a passion to master
c. high reading level, marching to his own drummer, and stubbornness
d. precocity, marching to his own drummer, and a passion to master
2. Roberto is gifted in math but not in social studies and English. These characteristics of
Roberto’s giftedness are best described as
a. due more to nature than nurture
b. domain-specific
c. reflecting deliberate practice
d. domain-general
3. The kindergarten student in Ms. Larson’s class (item 1) continued to progress in school.
In fourth grade, he finished third in his K–8 school’s geography bee. He finished first in
the next two years. In seventh grade, he finally took his first course in geography. He
received C’s. He often complained to his parents that he already knew the material
being taught, that he wanted to learn “new stuff, not just listen to the same old junk.”
His teacher put a great deal of emphasis on completing map worksheets, which he
completed very quickly and sloppily. He often became disruptive in class. How should
the geography teacher handle this situation?
a. The teacher should punish the student for disrupting class. The student should con-
tinue to do the same assignments as the other students, because he needs to
understand that not all work is fun.
b. The teacher should consider curriculum compacting, because the student has
already mastered the course content. Once he is challenged, his disruptive behavior
is likely to diminish.
c. The teacher should ask this student to become a co-teacher.
d. The teacher should use the student’s sloppy work as a negative example to the
rest of the class.
Please see answer key at end of book . . . .
Connecting with the Classroom: Crack the Case
Now What?
Before the school year starts, Ms. Inez always holds a “get can begin to make word associations.
acquainted meeting” with the parents of her incoming kindergart- “Today is sunny and warm.” Alex shouts
ners. She does this so that she can explain what the children will out, “That isn’t what you wrote. You
be doing in kindergarten, her educational philosophy and expecta- wrote today is sunny and hot.” Ms. Inez is
tions, and the procedure for dropping students off at school the astounded. Later, during free-play time she
first day. She encourages parents to ask questions and share any asks Alex to sit with her. Alex looks longingly at the puzzles, but
concerns they might have. Inevitably, parents do have concerns grudgingly complies. “Alex, will you read this book to me?”
and questions they would like addressed. “Sure,” replies Alex, and he does so flawlessly.
Here are some typical things she hears from parents: Ms. Inez queries, “Do you have this book at home?”
“Joey still naps in the afternoon; can we have him changed to Alex: “Yep. Lots of others, too.”
the morning class?” Ms. Inez: “How about this one? Do you have it?”
“Ashley has severe asthma. She will need to have her nebulizer Alex: “Nope.”
close in case she has an asthma attack. Do you know how to use Ms. Inez: “Well, then, suppose you try to read this one to me.”
one?” Alex: “Okay, but then can I go play with the puzzles?”
“I just know that Steve won’t be able to sit still for very long. Ms. Inez: “Certainly.”
Do you let the kids move around a lot?” Alex reads the book to Ms. Inez, missing only a few words, and
“I hope you give the kids lots of active time. Bill won’t be able then rushes off to play with the puzzles, build towers of blocks
to sit still for long either.” and knock them down, and play with trucks. The next day during
“Alex is very advanced for his age. What can you do to chal- calendar time, Ms. Inez asks the class, “If today is the fifteenth
lenge him?” day of the month and there are thirty days in the month, how
“Amanda is advanced, too.” “So is my Timmy.” “Well, Peter could we find out how many days are left?”
seems to be behind. He doesn’t speak very well.” The children call out, “We could count the days that don’t have
Ms. Inez listens respectfully to each concern or question and X’s on them.”
assures the parents, “I’ll do everything I can to ensure your children “Very good,” replies Ms. Inez.
have a good year in my class. All children are different and learn at Alex looks puzzled. “What’s wrong, Alex?” asks Ms. Inez.
different rates, so don’t be too worried about your child being a little “Why don’t we just subtract?” he asks.
bit behind or ahead. I think we’ll all do fine together.” As she is leav-
ing for the evening, she chuckles at the number of parents who think 1. What are the issues in this case?
their children are very advanced. It’s the same every year—about a 2. Why do you suppose Ms. Inez makes light of parents’ percep-
third of the parents are convinced that their child is the next Einstein. tions of their children’s strengths?
The school year begins uneventfully. Ms. Inez uses the chil- 3. How should Ms. Inez approach the parents of the students she
dren’s free-play time to observe them. Although there are obvious thinks might have ADHD?
differences between the children, she doesn’t notice that any of 4. Is it appropriate for her to recommend testing of any of the
the children are truly exceptional, except perhaps for Harman and children? Why or why not? Would it be appropriate for her
Rowan. Their lack of attention and inability to sit still during story to recommend a particular doctor for this testing? Why or
time is beginning to be a bit disruptive. Ms. Inez makes a note to why not?
herself to talk to their parents about the possibility that they might
5. If Alex can already read and subtract, are there other skills he
have ADHD and recommend testing. Some other students might
has likely mastered? If so, what might they be? How might this
be candidates for this as well, including Alex. Although Ms. Inez
impact his experiences in kindergarten?
has learned how to use Ashley’s nebulizer, she hasn’t needed to
use it thus far. 6. How should Ms. Inez address this?
Each day at the beginning of class, Ms. Inez marks off the day 7. Which of the following is most likely true about Alex?
of the month on the calendar with a large X. She then writes a a. Alex has a fluency disorder.
statement on the blackboard, describing the day’s weather. On the b. Alex has a learning disability.
tenth day of school she writes on the board, “Today is sunny and c. Alex has ADHD.
hot.” She then reads the statement to the students so that they d. Alex is gifted.

210
 Connecting with Learning: Reach Your Learning Goals
1 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES: Describe the various types of disabilities and disorders.

Learning Disabilities ∙ An estimated 13 percent of U.S. children between 3 and 21 years of age receive special
education or related services. The term “children with disabilities” is now used rather
than “disabled children,” and children with disabilities are no longer referred to as hand-
icapped children.
∙ The greatest number of children served by special education are those with a learning
disability. A child with a learning disability has difficulty in learning that involves under-
standing or using spoken or written language, and the difficulty can appear in listening,
thinking, reading, writing, and spelling. A learning disability also may involve difficulty
in doing mathematics.
∙ To be classified as a learning disability, the learning problem is not primarily the result of
visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; intellectual disability; emotional disorders; or due to
environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. About three times as many boys as girls
have a learning disability.
∙ The most common academic problems for children with a learning disability are reading,
writing, and math. Dyslexia is a severe impairment in the ability to read and spell. Dysgraphia
is a learning disability that involves having difficulty in handwriting. Dyscalculia is a learn-
ing disability that involves difficulties in math computation.
∙ Controversy surrounds the “learning disability” category; some critics believe it is overdi-
agnosed; others argue that it is not. Diagnosis is difficult, especially for mild forms. Initial
identification of children with a possible learning disability often is made by the classroom
teacher, who then asks specialists to evaluate the child. Various causes of learning disabili-
ties have been proposed. Many interventions for learning disabilities focus on reading abil-
ity and include such strategies as improving decoding skills. The success of even the best-
designed interventions depends on the training and skills of the teacher.

Attention Deficit ∙ Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disability in which children consistent-
Hyperactivity Disorder ly show problems in one or more of these areas: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
For an ADHD diagnosis, the characteristics must appear early in childhood and be debilitat-
ing for the child. Although signs of ADHD may be present in early childhood, diagnosis of
ADHD often doesn’t occur until the elementary school years.
∙ Many experts recommend a combination of academic, behavioral, and medical interven-
tions to help students with ADHD learn and adapt. ADHD is not supposed to be diagnosed
by school teams because accurate diagnosis requires evaluation by a specialist, such as a
psychiatrist. It is important for teachers to monitor whether ADHD medication has been pre-
scribed at the right dosage, to involve a special education resource teacher, to use behavior
management strategies, to supply immediate feedback to the child for clearly stated expecta-
tions, and to provide structure and teacher-direction. Other recent efforts to reduce ADHD
symptoms involve neurofeedback, mindfulness training, and exercise.

Intellectual Disability ∙ Intellectual disability is a condition with an onset before age 18 that involves low intelligence
(usually below 70 on an individually administered intelligence test) and difficulty in adapt-
ing to everyday life.
∙ Intellectual disability has been classified in terms of four categories based mainly on IQ
scores: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. More recently, a classification system has been
advocated that is based on degree of support required. Determinants of intellectual disability
include genetic factors (as in Down syndrome), brain damage (which can result from many
different infections, including AIDS), and environmental hazards.

Physical Disorders ∙ Among the physical disorders that students might have are orthopedic impairments (such as
cerebral palsy) and seizure disorders (such as epilepsy).

211

 Sensory Disorders ∙ Sensory disorders include visual and hearing impairments.
∙ Visual impairments include having low vision and being educationally blind. A child with
low vision can read large-print books or regular books with a magnifying glass. An educa-
tionally blind child cannot use vision in learning, instead relying on hearing and touch. An
important task is to determine which modality (such as touch or hearing) the student who is
visually impaired learns best in. A number of technological devices help these students learn.
∙ Educational strategies for students with hearing impairments fall into two main categories:
oral and manual. Increasingly, both approaches are used with the same student in a total-
communication approach.

Speech and Language ∙ Speech and language disorders include a number of speech problems (such as articulation
Disorders disorders, voice disorders, and fluency disorders) and language problems (difficulties in re-
ceiving and expressing language). Articulation disorders are problems in pronouncing words
correctly. Voice disorders are reflected in speech that is too hoarse, loud, high-pitched, or
low-pitched. Children with cleft palate often have a voice disorder. Fluency disorders often
involve what we commonly call “stuttering.”
∙ Language disorders involve significant impairments in children’s receptive or expres-
sive language. Receptive language involves the reception and understanding of language.
Expressive language involves using language for expressing one’s thoughts and commu-
nicating with others. Specific language impairment (SLI) is another type of speech and
language disorder that children may have and involves problems in understanding and
using words in sentences.

Autism Spectrum Disorders ∙ Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an increasingly popular term that refers to a broad
range of autism disorders including the classical, severe form of autism, as well as
Asperger ­syndrome.
∙ Autism is a severe autism spectrum disorder with an onset in the first three years of life,
and it involves abnormalities in social relationships and communications. It also is char-
acterized by repetitive behaviors. The current consensus is that autism involves an organic
brain dysfunction.

Emotional and ∙ Emotional and behavioral disorders consist of serious, persistent problems that involve rela-
Behavioral Disorders tionships, aggression, depression, fears associated with personal or school matters, and other
inappropriate socioemotional characteristics.
∙ The term emotional disturbance (ED) recently has been used to describe this category of
disorders, although the use of this term has been criticized. In severe instances of aggressive,
out-of-control behaviors, students are removed from the classroom. These problems are far
more characteristic of boys than of girls. Problems involving depression, anxiety, and fear,
involving turning problems inward, are much more likely to appear in girls than in boys.

2 EDUCATIONAL ISSUES INVOLVING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES: Explain the legal framework
and technology advances for children with disabilities.

Legal Aspects ∙ The educational rights for children with disabilities were laid down in the mid-1960s. In
1975, Congress enacted Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children
Act, which mandated that all children be given a free, appropriate public education. Public
Law 94-142 was recast in 1990 as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
which spells out broad requirements for services to all children with disabilities. Children
who are thought to have a disability are evaluated to determine their eligibility for services.
∙ The IDEA has many provisions that relate to the parents of children with disabilities.
IDEA was amended in 1997 and then reauthorized in 2004 and renamed the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. The 2004 version especially focuses on its
alignment with No Child Left Behind legislation, which has raised questions about whether

212
 students with disabilities can be expected to meet the same general education standards and
achievement as students without disabilities.
∙ The IEP is a written plan of the program specifically tailored for the child with a disability. The
plan should (1) relate to the child’s learning capacity; (2) be individualized and not a copy of a
plan that is offered to other children; and (3) be designed to provide educational benefits.
∙ The concept of least restrictive environment (LRE) is contained in the IDEA. It states that
children with disabilities must be educated in a setting that is as similar as possible to the one
in which children without disabilities are educated. This provision of IDEA has given a legal
basis to making an effort to educate children with disabilities in the regular classroom. The
term inclusion means educating children with disabilities full-time in the regular classroom.
The trend is toward using inclusion more. Children’s academic and social success is affected
more by the quality of instruction they receive than by where they are placed.

Technology ∙ Instructional technology includes various types of hardware and software, combined with
innovative teaching methods, to accommodate children’s needs in the classroom. Assistive
technology consists of various services and devices to help children with disabilities func-
tion within their environment.

3 CHILDREN WHO ARE GIFTED: Define what gifted means and discuss some approaches to teaching
children who are gifted.

Characteristics ∙ Children who are gifted have above-average intelligence (usually defined as an IQ of 130
or higher) and/or superior talent in some domain, such as art, music, or mathematics. Some
critics argue that gifted programs include too many children who are just somewhat bright,
usually cooperative, and usually non-Latino White. Winner described children who are gift-
ed as having three main characteristics: precocity, marching to the tune of a different drum-
mer, and a passion to master.

Nature/Nurture and
∙ Giftedness is likely a consequence of both heredity and environment. Developmental chang-
Domain-Specific Giftedness es characterize giftedness. Deliberate practice is often important in the achievement of the
gifted. Increasingly the domain-specific aspect of giftedness is emphasized.

Educating Children ∙ Educational programs available for children who are gifted include special classes (“pullout”
Who Are Gifted
programs), acceleration, enrichment, mentor and apprenticeship programs, as well as work/
study or community-service programs. Debate focuses on whether acceleration or enrich-
ment programs most benefit children who are gifted.
∙ Children who are gifted increasingly are being educated in the regular classroom. Some
experts recommend that increasing the standards in the regular classroom will help children
who are gifted, although programs such as mentoring and additional instruction might be
needed for children who are still underchallenged. One concern is that the No Child Left
Behind legislation has harmed the education of students who are gifted by focusing attention
on students’ deficiencies.

KEY TERMS
articulation disorders 194 Down syndrome 191 individualized education orthopedic
Asperger syndrome 195 dyscalculia 184 plan (IEP) 200 impairments 192
attention deficit dysgraphia 184 Individuals with Public Law 94-142 200
hyperactivity disorder dyslexia 184 Disabilities Education receptive language 194
(ADHD) 185 emotional and behavioral Act (IDEA) 200 specific language
autism spectrum disorders 196 intellectual disability 190 impairment (SLI) 195
disorders (ASD) 195 epilepsy 192 language disorders 194 speech and language
autistic disorder 195 expressive language 194 learning disability 183 disorders 194
cerebral palsy 192 fluency disorders 194 least restrictive voice disorders 194
children who are gifted 204 inclusion 201 environment (LRE) 201

213

PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES
Now that you have a good understanding of this chapter, complete inclusion and other aspects of educating children with disabili-
these exercises to expand your thinking. ties. Ask them what their most successful strategies are in work-
ing with children who have disabilities. Also ask what the
Independent Reflection biggest challenges are. Write a summary of the interviews.
1. Fostering Positive School-Home Linkages for Children with (INTASC: Principle 9)
Disabilities. Place yourself in the role of a parent. Imagine that
the school has just notified you that your child has a learning Collaborative Work
disability. Write down answers to these questions: (1) What 3. Technology Resources for Gifted Students. Together with
feelings are you likely to be having as a parent? (2) As a parent, three or four other students in your class, come up with a list
what questions do you want to ask the teacher? (3) Now put and description of software programs that you think would ben-
yourself in the role of the teacher. How would you respond to efit gifted children. One good source of information on such
these questions? (INTASC: Principles 3, 10) software is the Journal of Electronic Learning. Write down the
list and descriptions. (INTASC: Principles 3, 4, 9)
Research/Field Experience
2. Inclusion in Action. Interview elementary school, middle
school, and high school teachers about their impressions of

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Tunnicliffe
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2
Defining able, gifted and talented

Arriving at a suitable definition requires clarity of purpose

about:
• The contrasting range of overlapping terms and concepts available in
discussing high ability
• The organisational ethos underpinning the agreed definition
• The availability of generic definitions and how they might be used to
scaffold a whole-school formula
• Theoretical models of gifted performance and how they relate to
learners and learning within the school
• Appropriate professional development activities to achieve
consensus.

The purpose of this chapter is to prompt consideration of what the school policy
means when it refers to able, gifted and talented children. This question is not
merely one of abstract or academic definition. Being clear about the terms makes it
easier to be clear about which youngsters the terms describe. This is why defining the
cohort must precede the task of identifying the cohort discussed in Chapter 3.
Moreover, the way high ability is understood has a significant impact on the way in
which it is taught. In this sense there is a direct correspondence between the type(s)
of provision established to meet AG&T needs in the school (see Chapter 4) and the
school’s defined view of how its most able pupils can best succeed as learners.

Activity
This may be attempted individually but is best done in pairs. It may be used as
an introduction to the topic of definition within a professional development
programme. It is a useful brainstorming exercise to help establish current think-
ing before reading the rest of the chapter.

The task is to note down (and agree) brief definitions for each of the following
words/phrases:
(Continued)

15
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16 TEACHING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN

(Continued)

• Giftedness • Exceptional ability

• Talent • Intelligence

• Exceptional performance • Above-average ability

• Creativity • Skill

• Intellectual • Aptitude

• Intellectual capacity • Marked-aptitude

• High ability • Outstanding

• High attainment • Excellent

• High achievement • Prodigy

• High flyer • Academic

• Exceptionally gifted • Genius

• Great potential

If used as part of a professional development programme (PDP), the following

method may be employed.
Make the words available and ask pairs/small groups to sort the list into syn-
onyms and words with a singular meaning. Then arrive at a common definition
for any perceived synonym groups and distinctive definitions for words with
distinctive implications (NB: ‘Post-it’ notes stuck to flip chart paper are an effec-
tive and visually striking way of organising this). Take feedback regarding the
list of different terms and concepts so identified. Try to arrive at some agreed
overview and go on to discuss the range of different categorisations within the
topic. Work towards answering the question ‘what do the differences imply
about learners so described’? (Timing ranges from 20 minutes for an individual
activity to 45 minutes as a PDP activity.)

The point of this activity is threefold:

1. It suggests the very large number of potentially vague terms that educationalists
use to describe high ability and so reveals some of the problems of terminology
and definition faced by policy-makers in this area.

2. It indicates how the language used to describe and define an able child within
the school relates to the school’s ethos with regard to ability and what particu-
lar aspects of the AG&T agenda it seeks to support.
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DEFINING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED 17

3. It provides an opportunity via feedback and discussion to arrive at some initial

school-based consensus within the somewhat shifting sands of definitions and
educational perspectives surrounding AG&T performance.

Some given definitions

Happily for schools looking to develop their own definitions of AG&T, there are a
number of high profile formulations available internationally which are intended
for adoption/adaptation by individual organisations. The most influential of these
is The Marland Definition produced in 1972 by the then US Commissioner of
Education for use in state and local education agencies. It states that:

Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons
who, by virtue of outstanding abilities, are capable of high performance. These are
children who require differential educational programs and/or services beyond those
provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self
and the society.

Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achieve-

ment and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in
combination –

• General intellectual ability;

• Specific academic aptitude;

• Creative or productive thinking;

• Leadership ability;

• Visual and performing arts;

• Psychomotor ability.

(Marland, 1972)

The carefully crafted Marland formulation has been used extensively to inform
policy in America and around the world. It has also met with widespread (though
not universal) academic approval. Eighty per cent of experts and organisations
polled before its release agreed that high intellectual ability, creative or productive
thinking, specific academic aptitude, and ability in visual or performing arts
should be key elements of any overarching definition. However, only half agreed
that leadership and psychomotor ability should be included. In England the
Schools’ Council issued a remarkably similar definition in which physical talent,
artistic talent, mechanical ingenuity, leadership, high intelligence and creativity
were the six criteria for high attainment, taking in an estimated 30–40% of any
given cohort.

Clearly, academic and professional reassessments over four decades will bring new
emphases to almost any educational formula. This is particularly the case where
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18 TEACHING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN

social change redefines attitudes and modifies traditional values. The current US
federal prescription, for example, reflects the cultural shift towards science and
information technology by defining (for funding purposes) a gifted student more
narrowly as one who ‘demonstrates actual or potential high performance capabil-
ity in the fields of mathematics, science, foreign languages, or computer learning’
(US Regulations for the Educational Security Act, 1984, cited by Mary Codd at
www.riage./org/gifteddef.html).

It is always the case that definitions of excellence encapsulate the social values
and aspirations of their time and place. No modern definition, for example,
would prioritize rhetoric as an essential accomplishment of a gifted individual
and yet for the ancient Greeks and Romans it was exactly that. In China today,
the traditional Confucian cultural view that giftedness is not an innate ability
but the outcome of talented performance developed through effort colours the
official determination to extend gifted provision not to the estimated 3 million
or so youngsters with IQ scores of 130 plus but to the 200 million estimated to
be of above-median intelligence so that many more children can work hard to
develop their talents in all areas for the benefit of an emerging superpower and
its growing economy.

Similarly in England, the recent definition provided by central government

through the Young, Gifted and Talented programme to promote the devel-
opment of personalised provision for the able is underwritten by the socially
inclusive ethos of The Children’s Act. Its aim is to address underachievement and
support the most disadvantaged, in attainment, aspirations, motivation and self-
esteem. Accordingly, the definition offered to the profession by the Department
for Children, Schools and Families is broadly based, egalitarian and school-
focused:

Gifted and talented learners are defined as those who have one or more abilities devel-
oped to a level significantly ahead of their year group (or with the potential to develop
those abilities).

Gifted describes learners who have the ability to excel academically in one or more
subjects such as English, drama, technology.

Talented describes learners who have the ability to excel in practical skills such as
sport, leadership, artistic performance, or in an applied skill.

Our policy starts from the expectation that there are gifted and talented learners in
every year group in every school. It is up to each school to decide on the proportion
of their population who are gifted and talented. Since we believe that ability is evenly
distributed throughout the population, a school’s gifted and talented pupils should be
broadly representative of its whole school population. (www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/
giftedandtalented/who/)

Why not simply adopt an available definition?

The definitions set out in the previous section can help to scaffold an individual
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DEFINING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED 19

school’s strategy towards AG&T. Each definition, however, reveals differences of

emphasis and ethos to be considered before wholesale adoption. Questions to be
asked include:

• Which aspects of the model definition(s) specifically address the needs of the
organisation as revealed through audit (Chapter 1)?

• Does the ethos of the model in whole or in part accord with that of the school
and the nature of the provision it seeks to develop?

• Is the funding available likely to be sufficient to underwrite broadly inclusive

policy and provision or do local resourcing priorities dictate a more targeted
approach to defining AG&T within the school?

• Do ‘off-the-shelf’ definitions of gifted and talented behaviour need to be evalu-

ated and possibly combined before arriving at a definition that best fits the
developmental agenda of the school improvement plan?

Cross-reference
The following summaries of earlier and current theories relating to the AG&T
performance should be compared and contrasted with the national definitions
already examined. Consider any features of the research that seem valuable
within your school context but which do not feature strongly in any or all of the
given models.

IQ and the measurement of general intellectual ability

In the early twentieth century Alfred Binet developed an IQ test to predict those
who would do well in school and those who would need additional support. This
work was extended by Lewis Terman who developed the idea of intelligence quo-
tient as almost the sole arbiter of giftedness. He went on to suggest a classification
scheme which is still in use today and in which a score of 135 is described as ‘mod-
erately gifted’, above 150 as ‘exceptionally gifted’ and above 180 as ‘severely
and/or profoundly gifted’. It will be necessary to return to IQ as an identifier of
giftedness in Chapter 3, but, in the context of definition and the measurement of
general intellectual ability, questions for schools include:

• At what cut-off point should an abstract reasoning test or tests indicate that a
pupil becomes eligible for consideration as one of the AG&T cohort?

• Should the definition distinguish between pupils scoring – say – 120+ (able),
135+ (gifted) and 150+ (exceptionally gifted), given that the provision made for
an individual at 150 will need to be as different from that of someone at 120 as
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20 TEACHING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN

the provision for a 120 will need to be from that of those scoring 90?

• Ought the formula reflect absolute IQ scores or should provision be relative to

the school cohort, so that a grammar school would routinely expect to meet the
needs of its numerous 120 IQ band pupils through normal practice, making tar-
geted support unnecessary, whereas a school with high incidence of
disadvantage may need to consider differentiated provision for any student
with a score above 115?

• How should primary schools address the issue of measuring intelligence when
standardised tests are unavailable and/or considered inappropriate as a meas-
urement of potential ability?

• Is it possible and/or desirable to augment or substitute abstract reasoning tests

with more subjective gauges of potential intellectual ability such as language
development, conceptual awareness, memory and reasoning capability?

• Should a curriculum-specific solution be adopted to assess intellect based more

on current attainment than measured potential, such as that recommended by
the English Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in defining AG&T pupils
as those that well exceed the expectations for their age-group, either in all
subjects or just one (www.qcda.gov.uk/1957.aspx)?

Multiple intelligence
In one respect the notion of multiple intelligence, so far as defining AG&T is
concerned, does little more than expand on the Marland suggestion that high
ability can manifest itself as an aptitude for just one subject or academic area.
There is, however, an important distinction. While multiple intelligence theory,
as originally expounded by Howard Gardner, can explain why some pupils excel
at art and others at music, it also suggests that individuals – by dint of their
defining intelligence(s) – have one or more preferred learning style(s):

• Linguistic (using language in all its forms)

• Musical (including compositional, instrumental and vocal skills)

• Logical-mathematical (number, pattern, shape and deductive reasoning)

• Visual-spatial (seeing and manipulating objects physically and in abstract)

• Bodily-kinaesthetic (use of the whole body as in sport, dance and drama)

• Naturalist (using and being inspired by the natural world, natural sciences, etc.)

• Interpersonal (the sense of others and the social skills reliant on that sense)
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DEFINING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED 21

• Intrapersonal (the sense of self and the ability to reflect on and evaluate the
self).

The implication is that everyone brings their dominant style(s) to all areas of
learning. The linguistic/intrapersonal learner, for example, will benefit from and
enjoy lessons in which he/she is focused on language and allowed to consider its
impact and meaning individually. A visual-spatial/interpersonal learner, however,
will benefit much more from lessons involving diagrams, images and artefacts
discussed in a group or collaborative context.

This insight clearly extends the recognition that there are particular types of gift-
edness linked to particular types of achievement (academic, creative, social, etc.)
towards the view that there are also particular types of learners. Here the question
is not how bright the pupil is but how is the pupil bright? Embracing such a notion
as part of the definition of high ability within the school not only raises issues con-
cerning the range of learning styles supported by teaching across the whole
curriculum but also the extent to which the provision encourages pupils to become
aware of their own strengths and weaknesses as learners. In this context learning
styles link powerfully to the development of personalised learning. The way in
which a school identifies and communicates information about learning styles to
the learner (assessment for learning), and the way in which learners themselves
make use of their self-knowledge to maximise their opportunities are both key
issues of provision (Chapter 4) which could be supported through the definitions
of able learners written into the policy.

Ability, commitment and creativity

The Marland definition cites creativity as one facet of AG&T performance. For
some this itemisation of creativity as one of six possible defining factors does not
go far enough in highlighting the central role played by creativity in almost all
socially purposeful educational outcomes. Multiple intelligence theory, for exam-
ple, sees each intelligence as defining a particular type of problem-solving
approach and creative capability.

The psychologist Joseph Renzulli divided giftedness into two main categories. The
first (or schoolhouse giftedness) is associated with success in tests and quantifiable
assessments. Such pupils are easy to identify though sometimes the potential
revealed in IQ tests fails to translate into academic performance. The second cate-
gory (creative-productive giftedness) relates to activity that puts high value on the
development of original material or products designed to suit defined audiences.
This is a key factor in ensuring productive outcomes emerge from the challenges
of education and of life.

Paradoxically, some of the most gifted individuals in terms of measured potential fail
to live up to that potential either in school or in life beyond formal education. One
reason for the phenomenon of gifted underachievement is the tendency for some
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22 TEACHING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN

individuals to lack task commitment or the ability and/or desire to apply themselves
to the challenges they are set or face. For some youngsters, the ease with which they
meet the major challenges of their formative years (e.g. language development, con-
cept development, literacy, numeracy, abstract thought, etc.) means that they fail to
develop the capacity, the psychological muscle, the work ethic that predisposes a per-
son to try hard and meet the challenges of learning and life.

In this model of AG&T accomplishment there are three interdependent factors

associated with achieving optimum performance – see Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 Renzulli’s tripartite model of giftedness

Renzulli, J.S. (1994) ‘New directions for the schoolwide enrichment model’, Gifted Education International,
10(1): 33–6

Schoolhouse ability without creativity suggests a sterile mindset in which knowl-

edge or accomplishment or skill has few productive outcomes for the individual or
society. Creativity without task commitment is unlikely to produce sustained sat-
isfactory outcomes. Optimum performance arises when talent tries hard to
produce effective solutions.

Any definition of AG&T that seeks to incorporate this tripartite model of giftedness
has to accept that provision needs to be made to develop creative working and task
commitment alongside enhanced academic opportunities. The Chinese Confucian
approach, for example, draws strongly on the social and cultural expectation of
hard work. Often, however, it places far less emphasis on creativity and independ-
ent learning skills.

The challenge is to foster all three, working in unison. The opportunity is to

improve creative working and staying power. Unlike measured intelligence (which
unfortunately appears to be a given; a fixed determinant), creative capacity and
power of application are more akin to muscles that can be developed through
appropriate activity. Chapter 4 endeavours to address this challenge.

Defining giftedness from a child-centred perspective

Gifted children may often develop cognitively at a much faster rate than they do
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DEFINING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED 23

physically, socially and emotionally. This so-called asynchronous development can

cause a number of problems for the gifted child, including:

• A mismatch between ideas or intentions and the physical inability to realise

them

• Reading, thinking about or understanding issues and material they are not emo-
tionally ready to handle

• Intellectual isolation from peers including difficulties in play resulting from

more advanced interests

• A preference for older, even adult, company, which can be unwelcome or inap-
propriate.

Generally, the brighter the child the greater the mismatch between physical and
mental development, and with this comes the greater potential for confusion,
alienation, unhappiness and vulnerability.

Where such issues are perceived to cause problems for individuals, the resulting
definition of AG&T children should allow for pastoral support and/or counselling
to address the issue of susceptible youngsters.

Defining gifts and talents

The English central government formula defines giftedness in terms of the
potential of a learner in one or more academic areas. Talent is defined in terms
of excellence in an applied skill such as art or sport or leadership. This distin-
ction between gifts and talents, however, is neither obligatory nor inevitable.
The Chinese conception, for example, sees all potential as something to be
developed through education and application into specific manifestations of
talented performance. Within this model there is no philosophical or qualitative
distinction drawn between high achievement in physics and high achievement
in dance.

Making this point may appear to be little more than terminological quibbling with
little practical relevance to the overall aim of maximising potential in schools.
Alternatively, it may better match the inclusive ethos of some schools to describe
all youngsters as similarly striving to realise their latent abilities. Whether these
abilities are termed gifts, talents or even aptitudes is less important than their
being described and valued equally.

This is an approach supported by Françoys Gagné (2004) whose model of

giftedness and talent envisages gifts as natural abilities which grow – or don’t
grow – into talents not only through application but in association with all of
the other influences and variables which impact on human performance – see
Figure 2.2.
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24 TEACHING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN

Figure 2.2 Gifts into talents model

Adapted from Gagné, F. (2004) ‘Transforming gifts into talents: the DMGT as a developmental theory’,
High Ability Studies, 15(2): 119–47. Reprinted by kind permission of the publisher (Taylor & Francis Group,
www.informaworld.com)

Here the natural abilities (gifts) reveal themselves as a facility for particular types
of activity – the greater the gift the greater the ease of acquisition. The
sensor/motor gift of dexterity, for example, will mean that its possessor will be nat-
urally adept at any activity that requires this attribute, be it juggling or gymnastics.
Talents, however, begin to emerge via the transformation of gifts through learning,
training and practice into well-honed and systematically developed skills relating
to a particular field of human activity or performance. Thus reasoning ability as a
gift can be shaped into the skills required by a forensic scientist, a chess player or
a computer programmer, but any such shaping ultimately depends on affirmative
personal and environmental factors.

Key points for this model are:

• Gifts that are not developed remain as raw materials and represent under-
achievement.

• The highest levels of talent require the most intensive development.

• The quality of the developmental process from gift to talent is shaped by school
programmes and other formal agents and environmental influences which
establish the ‘nature of the nurture’, but also by a more fluid and unpredictable
variety of motivational characteristics, inherited predispositions or traits and
acquired attitudes towards learning.

• Personal qualities such as determination, courage, cooperativeness and enthu-

siasm are as important as latent ability in securing the transition from potential
to talented performance.

For potential to be deemed gifted and performance to be deemed talented it must

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DEFINING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED 25

by definition be above average. Significant deviation above the average in any nor-
mal distribution is considered by statisticians to begin beyond the 85th percentile
and it is the top 15% of youngsters who are routinely targeted within this devel-
opmental context.

The size of target groups will, of course, vary from setting to setting for a diversity
of reasons. One constant, however, is the understanding that high achievement
requires positive attitudes. For schools to foster the individual curiosity, motiva-
tion, strength of purpose and simple joy in learning necessary to facilitate the
journey towards talented performance may well be the most powerful way in
which any intervention programme can support gifted young people. In this con-
text, developing such personal qualities becomes a major objective of
personalisation. Any definition drawing on recent research and socio-political
expectations would do well to reflect this insight.

Activity
The following activities should help individuals, dedicated working parties or
whole-staff groups work towards an agreed definition for AG&T in the school
or setting.

Activity 1
Begin with the given definition that is closest to the formulation desired by the
school or setting. From there, review the other theories discussed above and
highlight any additional points which need to be added or taken into account
in the final definition. On this basis produce a draft statement a to be reviewed
and commented on by key stakeholders before finalising the formula.

Activity 2
In pairs agree on and label a picture of a composite AG&T pupil at the school
or setting drawing on ideas taken from this chapter, school audit and
improvement plans. Join each pair into a four to work collaboratively on an
agreed picture and illustrative labels, captions, headings, etc. Finally snowball
the fours into eight. Here each four presents its diagram to the other and the
ultimate task is to construct a concept map incorporating all of the key terms
and features to be included in the definition (see Figure 2.3).

Activity 3
From the introductory activity and the chapter as a whole decide which terms
and descriptions will be used in your definition. Make sure you are clear about
the implications of each term and how it relates to others you will use.
Endeavour to structure your definition around these key terms and concepts
(see Figure 2.4).

(Continued)
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26 TEACHING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED CHILDREN

(Continued)

Figure 2.3 Mapping out a definition

Figure 2.4 Agreeing a definition

8718 revise.qxd 18/03/2010 10:59 Page 27

DEFINING ABLE, GIFTED AND TALENTED 27

Summary
Some key points have been made in this chapter in relation to defining able,
gifted and talented children.
• There are a variety of terms, definitions and theories linked to AG&T that are
not always interchangeable.
• A school or setting should be clear about what it wants to achieve through
its policy and not be tempted to ‘bolt-on’ definitions that do not support its
ethos and improvement objectives.
• Involving all staff in professional development on the topic of AG&T will
promote wider ownership of the policy.
Walton
3
THE MEANiNG OF iNClUSiVE
EDUCAtiON

An inclusion class for inclusion kids

Some years ago, when inclusive education was just becoming known in South
Africa, a colleague told me about her husband’s new job. He had been appointed in
an independent high school that had taken a policy decision to pursue ‘inclusion’.
The school had a reputation for stringent academic entry requirements and excep-
tional matriculation results. Now, the school was looking to ‘include’ learners from
remedial or special primary schools, and others who previously would not have met
the minimum entry requirements. My colleague explained (with no apparent sense
of irony) that her husband had been assigned to the ‘inclusion class’ and would be
responsible for the ‘inclusion kids’. In the interests of providing ‘support’ in a smaller
class with handpicked teachers, this school had decided to contain all the learners
admitted in terms of the new inclusion policy in one class. I am convinced that the
school devised this arrangement with the expectation that it would give these learn-
ers the best possible chance of success in this hitherto exclusionary educational envi-
ronment. But whether or not this counts as ‘inclusive education’ or ‘inclusion’ is
debatable, depending on what inclusive education or inclusion means.

What meaning means

The desire to define or settle on meaning is natural and necessary. We wouldn’t
make much progress in human interaction if we did not have shared understandings
of what words mean in various contexts. And, where words have contested or
multiple meanings, we recognise the need to define exactly how it is that we are
using a word. Language is inextricably linked with thought and meaning. Vygotsky’s
important contribution to the understanding of the relationship between words and
meanings was in showing that words do not derive meanings from their repeated
48 The meaning of inclusive education

association with objects. Instead, words and thought develop together. Language
does not only allow us to express what we think, it also determines how we think.
But word meaning is not only a matter of thought and speech, it is also a matter of
communication and social interchange (Vygotsky 1986). As a result, meanings vary
across different contexts, and words are used for different purposes. In other words,
meaning is situated. Meaning is also negotiated. Humpty Dumpty was wrong in
thinking that when using a word, ‘It means just what I choose it to mean – neither
more nor less’ (Carroll 1988: 113). Meanings are not made by individuals alone but,
as Gee (2008: 10) reminds us, they are ‘… ultimately rooted in negotiation between
different social practices with different interests by people who share or seek to
share some common ground’. Power is always involved in the negotiation of
meaning, as those with status or influence can dominate the negotiation and enforce
their meanings.

What ‘inclusive education’ means

Understanding what is meant by ‘inclusive education’ requires acknowledging that
inclusive education does not exist apart from our construction of it. It is not some-
thing ‘out there’, waiting to be found and needing description or explication. The
term ‘inclusive education’ does not have a fixed association with a particular object.
Its meaning is not stable and, like all other words, must be regarded as being in a
constant state of evolution. The meaning of inclusive education is made in/by/
through its discursive community or communities, so ‘inclusive education’ means
what the discursive community/ies says it means. But, as indicated in the previous
chapter, inclusive education has become something of a ‘broad church’ (Allan and
Slee 2008: 99), and the singularity of the term belies the breadth of (potentially
contradictory) positions.
There has long been an argument that the situated meaning of inclusive education
must be taken into account in its analysis. Kozleski et al. (2011: 4) maintain that

… inclusive education has largely ignored the complex histories and socio-
cultural conditions of developed and developing nations that shape how
inclusive agendas are defined and implemented.

These authors argue that for developing countries, access and completion is the
focus of education, whereas for developed countries, participation and outcomes
for diverse groups would be more of a concern. This acknowledges that inclusive
education must be articulated within the possibilities and constraints of particular
contexts. While this argument has merit, and draws attention to the very real con-
textual issues that impact the way inclusive education is conceptualised and realised,
this position is not unproblematic. It potentially sets up two tiers of meaning of
inclusive education. There is a gold standard for learners in developed countries,
where participation and outcomes constitute the agenda for inclusive education,
but learners in developing countries must be satisfied with a lesser agenda, because
 The meaning of inclusive education 49

access and completion are still the priorities of these education systems. This is
paternalism, suggesting that developing countries (made poor by the legacies of
colonialism and the impact of globalisation) cannot or should not be expected to
aspire to the same standard of inclusivity expected in developed countries. Put dif-
ferently, what is deemed an unquestionable educational minimum in an (over-)
privileged context (i.e. access for all to well-functioning schools with adequate
resources and tuition of an acceptable quality) potentially becomes an issue of
‘inclusive education’ in an un(der)-privileged context. So while acknowledging the
situatedness of meaning there must also be a recognition that meanings are bounded.
There are limits to how far an elasticity of meaning (Slee 2011) can stretch, before
it snaps and the meaning is lost. But this then begs the question of who gets to
decide on the limits of what inclusive education can mean.
The meaning of ‘inclusive education’ is not completely relative, even though it
may be negotiated and determined by the discourse community. There are those
who can exercise their power to promote their meanings of inclusive education.
This power is enacted in various ways, like the gatekeeping by editors of journals
and their preferred reviewers and (non-)endorsement of conferences through
(non-)attendance by ‘big names’. These big names in inclusive education constitute
the ‘canon’,1 that list of authors (or ‘ideal knowers’2) whose status in the field gives
them the power to dominate the discourse. But even these canonical writers offer
a bewildering array of perspectives, enough to challenge the novice to identify
various ‘camps’ and work out how (not) to be implicated in one or other (Allan and
Slee 2008).
Before considering what inclusive education might mean by looking at how it
can be defined, it is worth considering the synonymous use of ‘inclusion’ and
‘inclusive education’. South Africa’s White Paper Six (DoE 2001) uses the terms
interchangeably, as do many scholars in the field (Anderson et al. 2014; Graham and
Jahnukainen 2011). Inclusion offers a useful contraction of ‘inclusive education’
and can make for easier expression, particularly when inclusive education is cou-
pled with another aspect of education, like teacher education. Inclusion is, how-
ever, a generic word made imprecise by its multiple meanings and applications
across fields like economics, health and politics. It is a term of ‘extreme abstraction’
(Abbott 1988: 103) which, as Shalem (2014: 96) notes, has such wide applicability
that ‘when recruited into practice’ it works like ‘a metaphor and not like a con-
cept’. ‘Inclusion’ is also problematic as a nominalisation of the verb ‘include’.3
There are at least two good reasons for preferring ‘inclusive education’ over ‘inclu-
sion’. The first is that ‘inclusive education’ is potentially distinctive and marks the
concept as being academic knowledge exclusive to the professional knowledge of
education (Shalem 2014). The second is that it keeps education firmly in focus.
There is no doubt that the affective climate of a school and classroom plays a crucial
role in enabling learning. But without foregrounding ‘education’, inclusion can
become merely an issue of values and attitudes, and ways of securing access and
belonging. The educational focus is potentially lost, with ‘inclusion’ deemed suc-
cessful if all learners feel welcome. Instead, I would argue, the success of ‘inclusion’
50 The meaning of inclusive education

needs to be measured in terms of rigorous educational outcomes for all learners. But
while the term ‘inclusion’ is problematic, so too is ‘inclusive education’, particularly
when its grammar is closely examined.
When the adjective ‘inclusive’ is appended to the noun ‘education’, there are two
possibilities. The first is that ‘inclusive’ works as an epithet and the second is that it
works as a classifier (Halliday and Matthiessen 2004). If ‘inclusive’ is an epithet, it may
be regarded as an experiential epithet, in which case it indicates a quality of the noun
‘education’. This embeds inclusiveness as a characteristic of this type of education
and, significantly, suggests the potential for definition relative to some norm (Halliday
and Matthiessen 2004). In other words, we should be able to define what character-
ises inclusive education relative to anything else, and inclusive education should be
recognisable. In functional linguistic terms, this means that the information necessary
to identify this particular kind of education is contained in the epithet ‘inclusive’. But,
definitiveness does not sit well with the multiple and contested possibilities of what
‘inclusive’ may mean.
The second possibility is that ‘inclusive’ may work as a classifier, in which case it
is identifying a subclass of education. It is in this sense that ‘inclusive education’ may
distinguish itself as a field, distinct, for example, from ‘language education’ or ‘ICT
education’. It may also serve to differentiate inclusive education from special educa-
tion or regular education, showing that these are distinctive types of education. If
‘inclusive’ is a classifier, though, the rules of functional linguistics do not allow for
degrees of comparison or intensity (Halliday and Matthiessen 2004). So it is not pos-
sible, in this sense, to have ‘more’ or ‘very’ inclusive education. This, in turn, is
problematic for a definition of inclusive education as a (gradual) process towards
increasing inclusivity. These linguistic distinctions begin to suggest why inclusive
education, despite its ideological appeal, falters when hard pressed for definition.

A progression in definitions
Writers cannot assume or negotiate a shared meaning directly with their readers, but
they can try to make their meanings clear. For this reason, writers often define their
terms at the outset of a piece of writing. Over the past decades, various scholars have
offered their definitions or understandings of what inclusive education is or should
be. Rather than arbitrarily selecting some of these authors and discussing what each
has offered to developing the meaning of inclusive education, I have, for this sec-
tion, adopted McNiff’s (2008) idea of narrativising one’s learning by critically tracing
my own attempts to encapsulate what inclusive education might mean. Ellis (2004:
42), an author who champions personal narrative in research, commented, ‘I can
trace my own transition through the terms I favoured over time.’ The terms I have
favoured track developments in South African education and also reflect my own
trajectory from school teacher and leader and part-time postgraduate student to
academic and teacher educator in higher education.
In 2002, when I presented a master’s research report, inclusive education was
relatively new to South Africa. Before 1994 and the advent of democracy, education
 The meaning of inclusive education 51

here was segregated both on the basis of race and (dis)ability. The Constitution of
1996 (Republic of South Africa (RSA) 1996a) enshrined equality and human
rights, including the right to basic education and freedom from discrimination, for
all South Africans and it forms one of the legislative imperatives for inclusive educa-
tion in this country. The South African Schools Act of the same year (RSA 1996b)
outlawed discrimination in schools on the basis of race and made provision that
where it is ‘reasonably practicable’, learners with ‘special education needs’ should
be served in the mainstream and relevant support should be provided for these
learners (section 12(4)). After a period of consultation, White Paper Six: Special
Needs Education was published by the Department of Education (DoE) in 2001. The
White Paper provides a policy framework for the implementation of inclusive edu-
cation in this country and outlines a 20-year strategic plan to achieve its goals. In
this White Paper, inclusive education is positioned simultaneously as an issue of
disability and special need, but also more broadly as concerned with all barriers to
learning that learners may experience.
Inclusive education was not unknown in South Africa at the time of the publi-
cation of White Paper Six. The independent sector was already showing interest in
inclusive education with some independent schools positioning themselves as lead-
ers in this regard. In the state sector, many schools had become inclusive by default,
since prior to 1994 there were relatively few special schools for black learners. The
quality of education afforded to learners with disabilities in these mainstream
schools was, however, not always satisfactory. Against this background, I defined
inclusion in my master’s research report thus:

Definition one
Inclusion in South Africa … should refer to all efforts that are made to improve
schools to make them accessible to all, and responsive to the learning needs
of all. (Walton 2002: 19)

In the four years between this definition and the next, various policy documents
were published which served to ‘flesh out’ White Paper Six. The outcomes-based
curriculum introduced in 2002 proclaimed inclusivity as a foundational principle
(DoE 2002) and specific guidelines were issued for curriculum adaptation and assess-
ment for inclusion. By 2006 there was growing research interest in inclusive educa-
tion, with evidence emerging of state and independent schools intentionally pursuing
more inclusive policies and practices. It is against this background that I suggested a
more complex definition of inclusive education in my doctoral thesis. I had con-
cluded from a review of the international literature that definitions of inclusive
education tended either to emphasise access, belonging and participation in the
general classroom for all learners with an underlying culture that values diversity, or
to focus more on the organisational implications of inclusive ­education with an
52 The meaning of inclusive education

Definition two
Inclusion is…

…School and system-wide …Meeting diverse needs in the

restructuring and improvement general classroom by providing
towards greater effectiveness AND appropriate support

Underpinned by

Inclusive culture or ethos

and

Inclusive policy and legislation

FiGURE 3.1 Definition two

Source: Walton (2006: 33).

emphasis on school restructuring and improvement and the role of policy and legis-
lation, or to stress support for learning and define inclusion in terms of the ways in
which support is facilitated at various levels (Walton 2006). I presented my synthesis
of these views as a definition in diagrammatic form, as shown in Figure 3.1.
By 2010 another tranche of Department of Education guidelines for inclusive
education had been published and a major curriculum revision was underway. I
had moved into higher education and dutifully began to submit journal articles for
review. And reviewers wanted definitions. In an article published in a South African
journal, I settled on the following definition:

Definition three

Inclusive education is … concerned with achieving equity by identifying and

addressing direct and indirect impediments to access, participation and belong-
ing in school cultures, facilities and curricula. This is not achieved by attempts
at normalising or assimilation, but by the radical reconstruction of schools and
schooling to meet the learning needs of a diverse learner population. (Walton
2011b: 85)

In the face of various attempts to define inclusive education by scholars in the field,
Slee (2010: 105) asserts that, ‘The project of inclusive education may not be best
served by pressing for intellectual foreclosure on its definition.’ Adjudicating among
definitions in order to arrive at a normative definition of inclusive education is less
useful than an analysis of definitions. Such an analysis potentially reveals ­perspectives
 The meaning of inclusive education 53

and priorities through what is said, what is omitted and how the definition is con-
structed. A critical analysis of how I have constituted the three definitions reveals a
shift in the educational agenda I have associated with inclusive education and how
I have defined inclusive education with various combinations of attributes. It is
noteworthy, however, that in none of these definitions is disability or special need
mentioned, a position that reflects a ‘broad’ definition of inclusive education
(Ainscow et al. 2006) and potentially concerns itself with the many identity markers
that are correlated with educational exclusion, such as poverty, gender, language,
migrant status and sexual orientation.

A shift in agenda from access to equity

The shift in agenda is seen most clearly in the juxtaposition of the first and the
third definitions. The first definition is limited to access, reflecting the priority of
the educational access and completion agenda of developing countries that
Kozleski et al. (2011) describe. It is problematic that this first definition implies
that access equals inclusion, which it patently does not. The reports of the
Consortium for Research into Equity, Access and Transformation in Education
show that in many developing countries, including South Africa, near universal
access to primary education has been achieved, but that a significant percentage of
learners in schools are in fact silently excluded (Lewin 2009) from quality educa-
tion. Many children and young people who are ‘included’ in schools experience
marginalisation and exclusion, and are at risk of repeating years and ultimately
dropping out of school. This leads Motala and Deacon (2011: n.p.) to state that
‘Lack of meaningful access has become a defining feature of the South African
schooling system’ (emphasis mine).
By the third definition equity rather than access is linked with inclusive educa-
tion, for good reason. South Africa has the unenviable reputation of being the most
unequal country in the world. The extremes of inequality are felt in education as
exclusion from schooling, and epistemological and other marginalisation within
schools is inextricably linked with wider social and economic exclusions. Poverty,
rurality and disability are predictors of educational exclusion in South Africa (Fleisch
et al. 2012), making it important that inclusive education is positioned as an issue of
equity (Kozleski et al. 2011). Equality and equity are terms that are often used syn-
onymously. Distinguishing them, however, is valuable, with equality viewed as
‘group based and quantitative’ and equity as group or individual based, qualitative
and ‘tied to notions of justice’ (Secada 1989: 23). Put differently, equality treats
everyone the same, but equity recognises that equal treatment does not address the
social and historical disadvantage that certain individuals and groups experience. So
without providing the means for full participation and achievement, offering access
to all is a necessarily limited endeavour. But caution must also be exercised, lest the
meaning of equity be reduced to compensatory measures for previously excluded
groups, without an examination of the underlying structures that engender and
perpetuate inequity.
54 The meaning of inclusive education

Shifts in the boundaries of the definition of inclusive education

Definitions are boundary markers for a concept. They indicate what can and cannot
be legitimately regarded as constituting a concept. Across the three definitions, the
boundaries of inclusive education change. This occurs through shifts in the attrib-
utes that constitute the concept and the complexification of the rules for definition.
Four possible rules determine the definition of concepts. These are, according to
Klein (2011), affirmation (the concept must have the one attribute), negation (the
concept must not have the attribute), conjunction (the concept must have two or
more attributes) and disjunction (the concept must have both or either of the
attributes). These rules and the constituent attributes signal the boundaries of the
concept being defined. Those who define inclusive education combine potential
attributes of inclusive education according to these rules to try and fix its meaning.

Shifts in constituent attributes

All three of my definitions are similar in that they refer to changes in schools and
schooling, and present an indication of what inclusive education entails. But the
attributes that constitute the definitions are different. This section problematises
some of the constituent attributes of the definitions and shows how they change
over time. First is the shift from school improvement in the first definition to
restructuring, improvement and effectiveness in the second definition and finally to
the radical reconstruction of schools and schooling in the third definition. Second,
I show how the focus of inclusive education shifts in the three definitions from
responsiveness to the learning needs of all, to meeting diverse needs and providing
support in the general classroom, to identifying and addressing exclusionary practices
and pressures. The first shift is represented in Figure 3.2.
The reference to improving schools in the first definition reflects the interest in
school effectiveness and improvement that was prevalent at the time and which
continues today. Scholars who can be identified with school improvement and
reform on the spectrum of inclusive education researchers (Allan and Slee 2008)
feature prominently in South African research into inclusive education4 and in South
African textbooks for inclusive education.5 There is good reason for school improve-
ment to remain an important dimension of inclusive education. First, inclusive edu-
cation needs to be seen as a school improvement endeavour, particularly since there
are parents, teachers and even learners who regard inclusive education as potentially

Definition two Definition three

Definition one Restructuring, Radical reconstruction
School improvement improvement and of schools and
effectiveness schooling

FiGURE 3.2 Change in school and schooling

 The meaning of inclusive education 55

contributing to what they perceive as a lowering of standards. Concern has been

expressed that teachers’ attention will be diverted to those regarded as having ‘addi-
tional support needs’ and that the pace of learning will be slower, to the detriment
of ‘regular’ learners. Second, education in South Africa is in dire need of improve-
ment. While enrolment in the compulsory years of schooling (from age 7 to 15) is
encouraging (about 97 per cent (Fleisch et al. 2012)), participation of learners aged
16 to 18 tapers off to about 86 per cent (Meny-Gibert and Russell 2012). Learner
achievement remains low in relation not only to developed countries, but also to
comparably developing countries (Taylor et al. 2013).
Despite the affordances of the idea, improvement potentially limits inclusive
education. To improve is to get better at or increase the value of what is already
being done. The starting point for improvement is the status quo. For inclusive
education, the status quo is not a good place to begin, given the entrenched and
systemic pressures towards exclusion. Conceptualising inclusive education as a
school improvement project potentially limits it to doing better at what we have
always done. In keeping with the technē discourse of inclusive education,6 improve-
ment offers tweaking at the edge of practice to make it more efficient but not
necessarily transforming the system at its foundations. A South African comparison
is apposite. The advent of democracy brought the expectation of an inclusive soci-
ety, equity, equality and freedom from discrimination. Twenty years later, with
millions of South Africans still living in abject poverty, social unrest attests to the
failure of the ‘rainbow nation’ dream. Antjie Krog, a South African poet and writer,
explains the importance of distinguishing change from transformation:

Change and transformation are not the same thing. You may appoint a new
manager, or get a new name for your firm or your country, without changing
direction, without changing ‘the firmament’. Things have been changed but
not transformed. Transformation means that the same unit undergoes an inter-
nal change. Replacing white people with black people is therefore not transfor-
mation in itself … If black people replace white people but the same structures,
systems, visions and attitudes are retained you merely have change.
(Krog 2003: 126)

Improvement offers the possibility of change. But inclusive education needs transfor-
mation of ‘the firmament’ of education. The second definition implicitly recognises
that improvement is not sufficient and introduces restructuring and effectiveness.
Introducing restructuring into the second definition goes some way towards
indicating that the way education is currently conceived and constructed cannot be
inclusive and that we require fundamental change to the way we do things. Slee
(2011: 157) puts it well when he says that ‘we need to rethink school architecture’.
Both schools and systems are mentioned in this definition as being in need of
restructuring because I had come across a number of schools in South Africa inten-
tionally and systematically working to dismantle exclusionary policies and practices,
only to be thwarted or frustrated by systemic constraints. Restructuring offers more
56 The meaning of inclusive education

expectation of transformation than the mere improvement of the first definition.

But added to this second definition is ‘effectiveness’, a term which, like improvement,
is potentially problematic in the pursuit of inclusive education.
Given the dysfunction of much of South Africa’s schooling system, it could be
expected that the idea of school effectiveness would grip South African educational
thought.7 School effectiveness has also been linked with inclusive education, both
internationally (Avramidis et al. 2002; Waldron et al. 2011) and in South Africa
(Makoelle 2014). School effectiveness research has been concerned to find predic-
tors and indicators of ‘effective’ schools to serve as prescriptions for school improve-
ment. I do not wish to digress into a review of the contestations about the nature
and effect of research into school effectiveness, but I do want to problematise it in
relation to inclusive education. Two points are worth mentioning. The first is the
ease with which the language of effectiveness, with its lists, measures and descrip-
tors, has seeped into the language of inclusive education. Research in the field has
yielded a bumper harvest of indicators and predictors of ‘successful’ or ‘effective’
inclusive education (see, for example, Ainscow (2005), Booth and Ainscow (2002)
and Walton (2011a)). UNESCO (2005: 31) provides ‘checklists’ for the ‘incorpo-
ration of inclusive approaches’ and South Africa has goals and milestones for the
implementation of inclusive education (DBE 2011). This languages inclusive edu-
cation as a series of technical interventions which can be ordered, ticked off and
measured.
School effectiveness may also be problematic for inclusive education in that
learners are likely to be excluded in the drive to meet the indicators for effectiveness.
In Chapter 1, I referred to a newspaper report on a Johannesburg school that took
the decision no longer to enrol d/Deaf learners on account of the cost implications.
In this situation, ‘effective’ financial management trumped inclusion. Similarly,
when school effectiveness is measured by learner achievement on standardised
national assessments, including matriculation exams, pressures towards exclusion
increase. In South Africa, the ‘… pressure on schools to perform in the high-stakes
Matric exams may result in their pushing out learners who are particularly weak and
unlikely to succeed’ (Meny-Gibert and Russell 2012: 45). Exclusion is thus seen as
a prerequisite for systemic efficiency (Dorling 2011).
The third definition introduces the adjective ‘radical’ and shifts from restructuring
to reconstruction. A sign that nouns have lost their intensity is that writers need to
supplement them with adjectives and the use of the term ‘radical’ in a definition of
inclusive education is noteworthy. The title of a new book, Radical Inclusive Education
(Greenstein 2016) signals that ‘inclusive education’ has lost its original radical intent
and the term can no longer be relied upon to convey the extent of its counter-
hegemonic origins. The addition of the adjective ‘radical’ in this title now indicates
the possibility of at least two types of inclusive education: radical inclusive education
and mainstream inclusive education. In true mainstreaming fashion, inclusive educa-
tion has been forced to assimilate into a dominant educational order, and welcomed,
on condition that it adapts itself to the expectations of the mainstream and does not
disrupt the status quo. So while restructuring might suggest a change in the way in
 The meaning of inclusive education 57

Definition two Definition three

Definition one Meeting diverse Identifying and
Responsiveness to the needs and providing addressing
learning needs of all support in the general exclusionary practices
classroom and pressures

FiGURE 3.3 Shifts in what inclusive education entails

which educational structures are configured, the ‘reconstruction’ of this third defini-
tion suggests that inclusive education demands a return to the drawing board and a
completely new way of thinking and doing education.
The second shift is concerned with what inclusive education entails and is rep-
resented diagrammatically in Figure 3.3.
The final clause of the first definition states that inclusive education entails
schools being responsive to the learning needs of all. This captures an attempt to
make schools, rather than learners and their parents, responsible for making the
changes necessary to ensure effective learning. ‘Responsive’ has some value in how
inclusive education can be defined, because it challenges the one-size-fits-all, this-
is-the-way-we-have-always-done-it policies and practices that typify many schools.
But ‘being responsive’ is problematic in the sense that it positions schools and
teachers as needing to respond to ‘needs’ as and when they arise, rather than pro-
actively orientating teaching towards learning for all. The South African school that
‘accommodates’ a learner with spina bifida and others with ‘learning barriers’ by
providing daily ‘extra support’ could be regarded as being responsive.8 But the extra
effort that the school is reported (by Keating (2006)) as continually ‘trying’ to make
suggests that the school, while willing to respond to these individuals, is not funda-
mentally committed to inclusivity.
The second definition provides more nuance to a responsiveness to the learning
needs of all in saying that inclusive education is meeting diverse needs in the general
classroom by providing appropriate support. This is given equal weight and concur-
rent importance with restructuring, improvement and effectiveness. In the previous
chapter I noted a concern with the use of the word ‘diverse’, which is usually con-
stituted as different from some norm. Here I focus on the word ‘needs’ in this defini-
tion and in the language of inclusive education in general. While denoting nothing
more than requirements, the word ‘needs’, particularly in the context of education,
is loaded with connotations. Even when ‘special’ is dropped as an explicit adjective,
the ghost of ‘special’ hovers over needs, and ‘needs’ is most often used now where
‘special needs’ would have been used in the past. The intention of its use in the
definition is to embrace needs beyond traditional ‘special’ needs, like the needs of
children who experience trauma, or children who head households. This is certainly
implied by my reference to ‘diverse’ needs. But ‘needs’ is still bound to wider asso-
ciations of lack or deficit, and the division of people into those who have needs and
those who meet needs (Sapon-Shevin 2007). To be one with needs or needy is to be
in the position of a supplicant, and to have many needs is to be pitied or scorned.
58 The meaning of inclusive education

In this second definition, learners have been erased so that needs seem to be
present apart from the people who have them. The disembodiment of needs paves
the way for the language of disorders, syndromes and other conditions which can
be described and categorised outside the individual’s experience of them. Instead of
a pedagogical responsiveness to diverse learners who would come to school with a
constellation of characteristics that might impact their learning, this definition
focuses on their needs. Thus cast, the need, not the learner, is met in the classroom.
The reference to the provision of appropriate support as an essential component
of inclusion reflects the influence at the time of the concern that learners were or
could be irresponsibly placed or retained in mainstream schools that were unable to
provide the learning, physical, emotional or behavioural support that these learners
were deemed to require. ‘Support’ remains one of the most frequently used words
in the various South African guidelines for implementing inclusive education. Like
‘needs’, ‘support’ is also indicative of deficit. Providing support is associated with
doing something for others based on the assumption that they cannot do it for
themselves (Mason 2002). In South Africa, ‘support’ and ‘needs’ are often coupled
and then ‘additional’ is appended to give ‘additional support needs’ (DBE 2014: vii;
Walton et al. 2014: 320). The double deficit of ‘support’ and ‘need’ is compounded
by ‘additional’, which signifies that the learners so designated require something
extra that is not usually provided by the education system. Described thus, these
learners are signalled as being different from their peers for whom the schooling
provision is sufficient. It is an indicator that the system is designed for most learners,
with additions required for some learners. When learners are repeatedly described
as having ‘additional support needs’ there is little wonder that some teachers view
inclusive teaching as an ‘additional stressor’ (Eloff and Kgwete 2007: 354) for their
professional practice.
Locating inclusion specifically in the general (or ordinary) classroom in this
second definition was, and still is, a bold and contentious statement in the South
African context. White Paper Six (DoE 2001) is clear that in this country, special
schools will remain an important part of an inclusive education system. Special
schools will have a role as resource centres and will also enrol learners deemed to
have moderate or high support needs.9 The special school system in South Africa is
a legacy of pre-democracy schooling, with a well-resourced special education
system set up to serve mainly white and, to a limited extent, Indian and coloured
children. The only special schools for black children were set up by missionary or
philanthropic organisations. Now, our special schools are filled to capacity by chil-
dren of all races, and some teachers in these schools are not convinced of the
wisdom or viability of inclusive schooling for learners with ‘special needs’ (Ngwenya
2007). Special school enrolment has increased significantly in the years since the
publication of White Paper Six (Walton 2015), with one of South Africa’s provincial
departments of education noting that a ‘great number of learners’ are ‘unnecessar-
ily’ referred to special schools (Gauteng Department of Education 2011: 12).
Despite this, the numbers of children and young people who are out of school
because of disability remains stubbornly high, with 22.1 per cent of children with
 The meaning of inclusive education 59

disabilities not in school (Fleisch et al. 2012). While referral to a special school
remains an option whenever a learner’s support needs are deemed to exceed a
school’s capacity to meet those needs, being included is always tentative and con-
ditional. By confining my definition to the general classroom, I signalled a rejection
of the coupling of special education and inclusive education that is made in South
African policy.
The third definition makes the starting point of inclusion not school improve-
ment or the provision of support but the identification and elimination of exclu-
sionary practices and pressures. In other words, pervasive and sedimented exclusion
must be recognised before meeting the learning needs of a diverse learner popula-
tion can begin. In South Africa, as in many other countries, a surfeit of studies have
explored teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education, with many10 concluding
that a positive disposition towards inclusive education is a prerequisite for the
implementation of the idea. It is about time that we explored the attitudes of teach-
ers and school managers to various taken-for-granted practices that, in effect, pose
impediments to access, participation and belonging. These may include retention
(making learners repeat a year), streaming (class grouping by ability), pull-out
learner support and rewarding some learners with prizes for their achievement. The
investment of teachers, school managers and even parents in preserving these prac-
tices is likely to be a significant factor that prevents the transformation needed to
achieve inclusivity. While teachers and school managers may feel positive about the
idea of inclusive education, they may continue to perpetuate exclusionary practices
in the belief that these practices are neutral, if not beneficial, in their effect.
While the third definition points to the need to identify and address various
impediments to access, it fails to signal the exercise of power that engenders and
sustains these impediments. The overt and covert impediments to access, participa-
tion and belonging have become entirely commonplace, so that it is difficult to
imagine an education system that could function without sorting learners and filter-
ing out the weak, the stragglers and those with ‘barriers’ or ‘challenges’. And power
is exercised to maintain the privilege and position of the already powerful. So iden-
tifying and addressing impediments to access cannot take place without critically
engaging with the question of who benefits from their perpetuation.
One of the (many) challenges of defining inclusive education is that its constituent
attributes represent concepts which are contested in their own right. So potential
meanings proliferate, depending on how the constituent concepts are defined.
The proliferation of meanings also occurs as definitions are complexified through
the addition of attributes (the rule of conjunction) and the negation of attributes (the
rule of negation).

Complexification of definition rules

The first of the three definitions is a simple one of affirmation. It states that inclusive
education is about efforts that are made to improve schools in terms of accessibility and
responsiveness. The second definition uses the rule of conjunction and is composed
60 The meaning of inclusive education

visually in textboxes to emphasise the concurrent importance of two aspects of

inclusive education, i.e. school and systemic restructuring and meeting diverse
needs. These two aspects are visually balanced but clearly separate. Further com-
plexity is added by introducing inclusive culture and policy in a textbox underneath
the statements about school and systemic restructuring and meeting diverse needs.
Unidirectional arrows (problematically) suggest that culture and policy only influ-
ence school and systemic restructuring and meeting diverse needs but imply that
the reverse is not true. The separation of various aspects of ‘inclusion’ in this second
definition into discrete textboxes, each firmly bordered, is a visual indication that
each aspect is sealed from the others. The parts are emphasised rather than the
whole. The sharp angles of the textboxes, their linear positioning and the strong
lines and borders work together to make inclusion a precise and tidy concept, inor-
ganic, and rationally ordered (Albers 2007). While the aspects of ‘inclusion’ may
have been separated in this visual for ease of discussion, they are, in fact, not easily
and neatly separable, and pursuing inclusivity in education is much more ‘messy’
(Walton and Nel 2012: 6) and organic than this diagram implies.
The third definition is the only one in which negation is used in addition to
conjunction in defining the concept. The introduction of negation here is a state-
ment that if normalising or assimilation are present, then what is being described is
not inclusive education. Negation offers an alternative to the attempts to define
what inclusive education is. Instead of quibbling about what inclusive education is,
or should, or could be, perhaps we might be more able to say what inclusive educa-
tion is not. Slee (2011), who has suggested that precision in definition might not be
necessary, is also categorical in terms of what inclusive education is not. It is not, he
says, ‘… achieved through charitable dispensations to excluded minorities’ and it is
not ‘about the movement of people from their tenancy on the social margins into
unchanging institutions’ (107). Others have used negation to say that inclusive
education is not ‘a set of decontextualized skills used only with disabled students
but rather a commitment to critical pedagogy and social justice …’ (Lawrence-
Brown and Sapon-Shevin 2014: x) and it is not ‘about admitting previously
excluded learners into untransformed schools’ (Walton et al. 2014). These state-
ments of negation are attempts to ensure that inclusive education is not ‘tamed’
(Slee 2009) to the point that an ‘inclusion class’ for ‘inclusion kids’ can actually be
regarded as inclusive education.
While this retrospective analysis of definitions is indicative of developments in
my own scholarship, it is also illustrative of how language builds things as it defines.
Various lexical and syntactical choices make some things significant and others not
(Gee 2011). What is deemed most significant in these definitions is signalled through
what is positioned as the theme (first part) of sentences rather than the rheme (what
follows). The absence of disability or special need in these definitions signals that this
identity marker is not significant in these conceptions of inclusive education. Other
noteworthy linguistic turns in these definitions include the use of the passive voice
in the first definition (‘efforts that are made’) and the accretion of present participles
in the second and third definitions which together avoid signalling a subject who is
 The meaning of inclusive education 61

responsible for carrying out the actions. Similar analyses can be made of other schol-
ars’ definitions of inclusive education, revealing different ways in which inclusive
education is languaged.

Accents
The quest for definitions is frustrating because definitions prove to be not very
definitive. But definitions are very informative, and offer a way to understand the
development of the priorities and perspectives of those who are at work languaging
inclusive education through their efforts to fix meaning. Accents work as a useful
metaphor to account for these different priorities and perspectives. Any one lan-
guage is spoken with many different accents. These accents reflect regional origins,
and also, in the case of second-language speakers, home-language origins. People
mostly don’t think that they speak their home language with an accent – accents
are usually recognised as a feature of others’ speech. So, the language of inclusive
education can be found to be strongly accented by psychology, or sociology, or
special education, or other fields from which people come to inclusive education.
The first two definitions presented in this chapter, for example, are strongly
accented by school improvement/effectiveness. This reflects both my personal cir-
cumstances – at the time of writing these definitions I was a school manager and
came to inclusive education from the academic field of organisational leadership.
Mostly, though, people are likely to think that they speak (or write) a ‘pure’ form
of inclusive education and are thus able to detect (and scorn) the accents of others.
The challenge of accents is that they can impede understanding by others who are
not familiar with the accent. So if the language of inclusive education is spoken
with a very strong special education accent, it might be difficult to recognise by
those who speak it with a strong critical sociology accent. The question is, how
heavily may the language of inclusive education be accented before it can no longer
be regarded as inclusive education but as some other dialect?

What inclusive education means depends on

what inclusive education is
As inclusive education has become mainstreamed in recent years, the demand for
definitions seems to have diminished. The assumption of a shared understanding has
resulted in fewer journal articles explicitly defining the term. Whether or not this
trend matters depends entirely on what inclusive education is. If it is an ‘umbrella’
or ‘banner’ (Slee 2011) under which a wide variety of definitions, understandings
and meanings can cluster, then it can afford to be inclusive. If it is a discourse, as
suggested in Chapter 1, then the term will evolve and mean what the discourse
community makes it mean – the purists may rail against the shifts in meaning but, as
with all semantic change, their/our efforts are likely to prove futile. If it is an ideology,
as suggested in Chapter 2, or a value or a principle, the debate about what it means
is interesting but a matter for philosophers. If, however, inclusive education is a field
62 The meaning of inclusive education

of research and/or practice (also in Chapter 2) then the boundary matters. Even if it
is a very large field and the boundary is generous, there must be a limit, and con-
tinuing efforts to settle that limit are important to the development of the field itself.

Notes
  1  What counts as canonical will obviously be contested. What is canonical to one may be
apocryphal to another and heresy to a third.
  2  See Chapter 2 for a discussion on ideal knowers.
  3  See Chapter 2 for further discussion on the nominalisation of the word inclusion.
  4  See, for example, Engelbrecht et al. (2006) and Oswald (2010).
  5  See Chapter 5 of this book.
  6  Discussed in Chapter 1.
  7  See, for example, Botha (2010), Pretorius (2014) and Taylor et al. (2013).
  8  Refer to Chapter 1 for newspaper reports on the efforts that some schools make.
  9  Disability diagnosis is not the basis on which learners might secure enrolment in a special
school. Instead, the level of support that learners are deemed to need is the determinant
of special school admission.
10  See, for example, Avramidis and Norwich (2002), Parasuram (2006) and Savolainen et al.
(2011).

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