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The Disability Standards for Education 2005 - A comprehensive guideline too all things pertaining to disability and education. As a resource it is very lengthy, and whilst it is an invaluable tool for assessing legal and ethical frameworks, it may not be the most practical solution for looking at approaches to pedagogy and classroom management.

https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/disability_standards_for_education_2005_plus_guidance_notes.pdf

Teaching Strategies for Students with a Learning Disability UNE - Although this resource is designed for university teaching, a lot of the information is transferable. It outlines some very useful and practical strategies for disability inclusive teaching for large groups, small groups, learning outside of the classroom and correspondence.

https://www.une.edu.au/current-students/support/student-support/special-needs-office/information-for-staff/specific-disabilities/learning/learning-teaching

Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) Guide to Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities and Intellectual Disabilities - an online resource that provides information, advice and resources to disability practitioners, teachers and students on inclusive practices.

Learning Disabilities - http://www.adcet.edu.au/inclusive-teaching/specific-disabilities/learning-disability/

Intellectual Disabilities - http://www.adcet.edu.au/inclusive-teaching/specific-disabilities/intellectual-disability/

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Some practical strategies for students with disability

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Some practical strategies for students with disability

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Having worked in the community sector for the past five years, I have found that when it comes to supporting people with disability, consistency is everything.

A couple of really simple strategies for ensuring that communication remains consistent and that students feel safe and supported include -

- Having a diary. Parents and caretakers can use this to communicate with teachers and support staff to notify them of any changes, news or issues that may result in the student feeling anxious or uneasy

- An individual support plan. Creating a planner based on the student's needs, can be a really effective way for the students to feel at ease and trust that those around them are aware of their schedule and what each day at school generally entails. The planner can even be condensed into a storyboard or picture-chart for the student to take around with them for quick and easy reference.

Other strategies could include:

- An incentives or reward system. Although this can look a little bit like blackmail at a glance, incentives and reward systems can be a really effective tool for encouraging progress and facilitating motivation, particularly for students who are on the Autism spectrum.

- Modelling learning activities for students. Although this is already an important part of teaching practice, regardless of student ability, it is particularly important in the context of students with disability. Modelling work with verbal cues and spoken instruction can help to clarify student understanding, as often students with disability will struggle with written instructions, particularly if the information is dense.

- Oral  assessments and verbal instruction. Continuing on from the above point, many students with a learning disability will prefer oral assessment to written. Thus, it is important to keep instructions short and simple, to focus on the key points, and to keep instructions short and clear.

- ICT. Often students with learning disabilities will prefer word processing to hand written work. This allows them to use tools such as thesauruses, dictionaries and and spellcheck, thus giving them more independence and less of a reliance on teachers or support staff.

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But is it really
that easy? Can't there be some difficulties?

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But is it really
that easy? Can't there be some difficulties?

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The inclusive education model can pose some serious difficulties to classroom dynamics, allocated teaching time and the social aspects of school-life. These are all sensitive issues that require careful consideration. Furthermore, it is crucial to understand that just because one is present or visible within a school, does not necessarily mean that one is being included. Thus, it is important to ensure that inclusivity is achieved in a way that is meaningful and significant.

- Inclusive education can place a strain on teaching resources, family-life, fellow classmates and even the students themselves.

- Inclusive education creates a greater need for differentiated learning and inclusive teaching strategies. This requires a lot of time and energy from teachers who often don't have much time or energy to spare.

- Often, students who have disability also have very special and unique needs. The busyness of the classroom environment can often be quite challenging and stressful for these students.

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Why do we include students with disability in mainstream settings? 

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Why do we include students with disability in mainstream settings? 

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Including students with disability in mainstream schools can be really beneficial for the whole class if it's done right.
Placing students with disability in mainstream educational environments prepares them and enables them to take up their rightful place later on, in a mainstream adult life.  Inclusive education celebrates and values difference and diversity. This valuing of diversity and difference can be used as an intersectional crossroad for incorporating human rights, social justice and equity issues in the classroom. It teaches students about respect, diversity and tolerance.   Each of these benefits encompasses the social model of disability and the sociopolitical model of education. They also assist in strengthening our focus on children’s entitlement and access to education by providing students with educational access and opportunities to participate in society, regardless of ability.

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As a teacher, it can be quite difficult to find the time to look at additional content such as guidelines and policies. This is especially true in the instance of looking up additional resources for assisting in teaching students with disability. In fact, a 2015 review of The Disability Standards for Education found that although standards and guidelines had been put in place to support teachers with disability inclusion, it was found that many teachers were unaware of the support they had and tended to rely on their intuition instead.

The purpose of this resource is to provide teachers with a quick snapshot of resources they can access to assist in teaching students with disability in a mainstream setting, as well as providing quick overview of some useful strategies for practical application.