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(Divjot)
All students require supports to fully engage and benefit from their school experience. With the right supports in place, students with special needs are able to thrive and better meet their learning potential.

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Fact/Possible:  Need to be Inclusive (Divjot)

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Fact/Possible:  Need to be Inclusive (Divjot)

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Creating an inclusive environment is a necessity and a right for all students, including those with exceptionalities. While this idea of inclusion continues to be debated, literature review has shown that achievement rates are actually not negatively impacted by including students with exceptionalities in the classroom.

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(Divjot)
Every child has strengths, whether they have an identified disability or not. It is crucial that we as educators draw upon a student’s strengths in an effort to move that student along in their learning journey and in essence when  developing a specific program for  that child.

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The term "disabled" is beginning to receive less usage than the term "student with a disability". The reason for this is that the latter places the focus on the student, rather than his/her disability. Each student is unique, and they are not defined by their disability or how it affects them. We must work to see each of our students as unique individuals, whether or not they have a disability.

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The notion that students with disabilities are dependent on others, or that they prefer to depend on others, is false. There are many individuals with disabilities who thrive in situations where they must self-advocate and self-help. Students with disabilities often enjoy new challenges and problem solving, and they seek ways to increase their level of independence through the use of technology, the acquisition of new strategies, and the practising of life skills.

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People may often view students with disabilities as being limited; they may believe them to have limited abilities, limited thoughts, limited beliefs, or limited emotional responses. However, despite facing the challenges that disabilities may bring forth, students with disabilities are NOT limited in their opinions, abilities or emotions. Rather, they require the right supports and tools to enable them to express themselves. These special students are capable of achieving much higher than many believe possible.

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Many people look at disabilities as a negative thing when in fact it can be looked at as a time to get to know and discover new and interesting things about yourself and develop new skills. With so many resources out there, people with disabilities have the opportunity to do everything that everyone else can do.

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Discrimination is a fact of life for many groups of people. It meant not only being misunderstood, but being rudely mistreated. For example, people assuming they are stupid, taxi’s pass by instead of stopping, strangers pretending they don’t see them, and people taking their parking spots.

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The largest number of those with mental illnesses is not violent than the average person.

Stereotypes related to violence persist even though studies show that most people with mental health disabilities are no more likely to engage in violent behaviour than the general population. People with mental health issues may also be perceived to lack the capacity to make decisions in their own best interests, even where this may not be the case.

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While some disabilities are permanent and present from birth, others develop or occur later in life, or are episodic in nature. This is when the individual's condition fluctuates in periods of wellness and disability, often in an unpredictable way and varying in severity. Examples of such episodic disabilities include arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and mental illness.
In other cases, a traumatic event may be the cause of the disability, such as an acquired brain injury, PTSD, and physical impairments. These factors will affect the individual's position in the workforce or education system, sometimes needing part-time work or flexible attendance expectations.

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For many, individuals with invisible disabilities are considered to be "faking it" or "milking the system". In fact, there are many disabilities, from deaf and hard of hearing and low-vision, to chronic pain and learning disabilities, which all may not be outwardly evident. Conversely, many with invisible disabilities choose to hide their disabilities due to the negative stigma attached to it.

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Despite being a human rights issue, according to the WHO, people with disabilities worldwide have higher rates of poverty, lower education and employment rates, poorer health outcomes than people without disabilities.

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Disabilities are far more common then many people realize. I am sure that we all know someone who has been diagnosed with a disability. Disabilities come in many different forms. As others have mentioned we cannot always see disabilities, so we are not always aware.  according the the ministry 178,500 students are identified and 162,000 more who are not formally identified are being provided with special education programs and services.

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Many students with disabilities can be very successful in school and in their personal life. With the correct systems in place those with a disability can be fully functioning members of society, and can be very successful. Many actors and politicians suffered from disabilities such as speech impediments or language impairments (dyslexia).

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Many think that students with disabilities such as ADHD, or ADD are just lazy and need to focus on their school work, and stay in their seat.  In reality science has shown that ADHD and ADD are very real, and effect many students in different ways.  What may appear to be laziness is actually a very bored student who needs to be challenged and given opportunities to learn.  Those with ADHD or ADD have a different brain chemistry and are not lazy or unfocussed – they simply work and approach learning in a different way.

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People often assume that individuals with disabilities can't do anything for themselves, much like the woman who was condescending to Phoebe in the video. They are treated like charity cases, rather than as individuals with strengths, passions, goals, etc.

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Myth/Stereotype: Support is only for those with disabilities (Uri)

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Myth/Stereotype: Support is only for those with disabilities (Uri)

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Abled or disabled, we all need some sort of support in our lives. Some support systems are just more visible than others. Needing the support of a wheelchair or a text-to-speech program doesn't make you weak; it makes you self-aware and empowered. It's no different than the person who uses a methodical colour-coded post-it note system, or the person who needs to physically write out their notes in order to remember them better, or the person who needs a personal tutor. We all have our learning preferences. It's all about knowing yourself as a learner.

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Individuals with disabilities have academic, personal, physical, and social challenges to overcome like most of us; They are just as, if not more capable than most of us to demonstrate great amounts of perseverance in order to push on and master that life skill, learning strategy, visual cue system, assistive technology, or concept.

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Explanation:  Many students struggle with communication and initiation skills, and it may appear as though s/he is not engaged or interested in being social.  Actually, students we support want friends and want social connections with people.  They may need coaching, purposeful situations created, peers who have similar interests, or others to initiate and facilitate, but social connections are important.

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Students with exceptionalities are often embraced and supported by their peers.  Students become their 'upstanders' and advocates.  As students (and teachers) have opportunities to spend time with students with an exceptionality in their class, their comfort, knowledge and support of their peer continues to grow.

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There are a lot of simple or creative alternatives for traditional ways of doing things. There are often things schools can do to accommodate and make learning more accessible to all students. Increases in technology has had a huge impact on this.

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According to the World Health Organization, over one billion people (approximately 15% of the world’s population), live with some form of disability. This prevalence has created more awareness and acceptance of people with disabilities.

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Myth/Stereotype: Disabilities are obvious (Cory)

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Myth/Stereotype: Disabilities are obvious (Cory)

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Although some exceptionalities are physical, most are not immediately apparent.  In fact, behavior, communication and  intellectual exceptionalities are often hidden.

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Some people can tend to feel sorry for people who have some form of disability, taking pity on them. People can view people with disabilities as someone constantly in need of assistance. In reality, these people are often much more independent than people give them credit for.

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Explanation: students with disabilities are sometimes looked down upon and stereotyped as though they are not capable of doing the same things or are not as smart as “normal” students, this however is not the case in most circumstances and students with disabilities should not be treated differently or looked down upon. They want to be talked to, not at

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Explanation: students with disability need to learn self-advocacy and they need people to self-advocate for them. They need to be heard and helped in the best way possible for them

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Explanation:  Everyone – with or without a disability needs to be included and they all bring a different element to the table. Classrooms need to be inclusive environments for all types of students. Having students with disabilities in the classroom teaches patience, tolerance, acceptance, empathy, it teaches students to be non-judgemental etc.