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Knowing the child is more important because it allows educators to understand each student's unique strengths, needs, and motivations beyond their diagnosis. While knowledge of their disability provides valuable insight, effective support comes from seeing and responding to the individual child.

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It is absolutely more important to know the child first and foremost. Through this, one can understand how their personal situation and idiosyncrasies, and their strengths and weaknesses, will impact upon management of the disability itself. However, it is important to have a knowledge of the disability as well, to provide the student with the best possible support.

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There is definitely an unspoken requirement to know the child and their disability, but I believe that it is critically more important to know them over all else. This is due to the fact that it is the child in the room with you, talking to you and sharing themselves with you, not the disability. The disability is then a piece of the child rather than the definition of their whole.

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Knowing the child is more important. You can understand a disability, but every child is different - even if they have the same diagnosis. If you focus too much on the label, you miss who they are. It’s more helpful to learn how they communicate, what helps them feel calm, and how they learn best. That’s how you support them properly. The diagnosis can guide you, but it’s the relationship with the child that really makes the difference.

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I think that having a good knowledge of student and the disability goes hand in hand with the way they are taught in a classroom environment.

Unfortunately, you can't have one without the other. My eldest granddaughter was diagnosed at 18 months old with Williams Syndrome, I had experienced this only once before with a student that was in grade 4 in 2006. So naturally I made sure I had knowledge of what it was and how this would impact my granddaughter growing up to better help me support her and my son and her mother.

Making me aware of the issues that she may encounter helps me become more understanding of her sensory issues as well as her Behavorial ones. I am keen to spread awareness of this very rare genetic disorder. She has achieved so much as she finishes her last year of primary school and looks at transitioning to a high school environment.

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Both knowledge of the child and knowledge of the disability are crucial for effectively supporting students. Understanding the child allows teachers to build strong relationships, personalise learning, and support emotional and social development. Meanwhile, knowledge of the disability helps teachers recognise specific needs, provide targeted support, promote inclusion, and collaborate with specialists. A balanced approach that integrates both aspects is essential. While the disability informs strategies and accommodations, understanding the child ensures these interventions are personalized, creating a supportive, inclusive learning environment that fosters the child’s overall development.

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Both. Knowledge of the disability is the basis of understanding your student's needs, however having the knowledge on the disability should be a guide only. Knowledge of the student, their needs and how that disability affects them is key to providing for them.

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In my opinion, knowledge of the child is more important than just knowledge of the disability. Every child is unique, and while understanding a diagnosis can be helpful, it does not tell the whole story. Knowing the child, their interests, strengths, challenges, and what makes them feel safe and motivated allows me to support them in a way that truly meets their needs. Labels can guide us, but it is the relationship and understanding of the individual that really make a difference in how we teach and care for them.

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I think knowing the child and the disability are both important. As an educator, I believe you need to understand both to provide the best support system for the student.

Knowing the child, you gain more knowledge about individual things such as their strengths and interests. You also learn their best preferred learning style, which is vital when planning work for them.

Knowing the disability will enable a teacher to understand how they can support the student. You will understand what challenges they face, and how to ensure the child is safe. Knowing this, you will also learn about what strategies will be best to implement for the student.

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I believe having a basic knowledge of the disability is essential to understanding the student.  I feel that the student and their careers would appreciate the fact that you had a rudimentary knowledge of the student's disability. I personally see the student then the disability, and I feel the approach of one size fits all never works.  Gaining a sound knowledge of the student is vital.

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I think knowing the child and knowing the disability are equally as important.

Knowing the child as a person outside of the disability is important for them to feel respected and treated like an individual.

But knowing the disability ensures that the child is safe and supported. It is important to know how to help and what ways the child will need any additionally support to ensure that they can thrive.

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Knowledge of the disability gives you a head start on what to expect and how to accomodate for the disability (especially if there are notes from OT or other supportive services). Knowing the student and building a positive relationship with that student will always be more important than any diagnosis.

As teachers, I believe we naturally adapt and teach according to what works in the classroom and with the student/s. A knowledge of the diagnosis just expedites the process of trial and error in teaching a class of students with varied needs.

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Knowledge of the child would be more important to me however, knowledge of the disbaility may help to understand the child more. General understanding about a disability may assist in how best to communicate with the child, then allow the child the opportunity to inform me about themselves, their disbaility and their needs.

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I also agree with this response and the emphasis on the importance of both knowing the student and understanding their disability.

Knowing the student on a personal level, how they learn, what motivates them, and their individual preferences helps educators to provide respectful, person-centred support.

At the same time, being informed about the specific disability gives context to the student’s experiences and can guide the use of appropriate strategies. When these two areas of knowledge are used together, they allow for support that is thoughtful, flexible, and genuinely tailored to the student, rather than relying on generalisations.

This kind of approach is key to creating inclusive environments where all learners are valued and understood.

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I also agree with the responses here; although it is important to understand a disability as it provides expectations and a loose framework for guidance and support, knowing the student is more important. Every individual is different and comes to school with a unique set of strengths, challenges, hobbies and motivations. Therefore, to truly provide meaningful education for a child, support strategies must be individualized and tailored.

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I agree with the responses here. I think that if we had to rate one as more important [disability vs child], I would say knowledge of the child. However, they are highly interlinked and having knowledge of the disability, in addition to the ways it impacts the child specifically is highly beneficial. This is based on the diverse and individualised nature of disabilities impacting children, as each will have their own strengths and support systems.

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I believe that these aspects should work hand-in-hand.

The knowledge of the student that you are supporting or teaching allows education staff to know and understand their strengths, interests, and their unique personality traits. It give the student respect by putting them as a person first and shows empathy.

By understanding their disability (ies), it helps you to understand the challenges that they may face, when paired with the knowledge of the student – rather than thinking a one size fits all approach will work for a certain disability(ies). Understanding their unique personalities, strengths, and interests allows you to pair this with the knowledge of the diagnoses to equip you with a holistic approach to supporting the student and to advocate for their needs, which suit them best.

Jacqui

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Knowing the child is more important than just knowing their disability. Every child is different, even if they have the same diagnosis. I belive you gain so much more insight into the student by learning their own strengths, challenges, and interests rather than just learning about their disability.