As the saying goes, “Education is the key to every opportunity”. It determines what we know, as well as how we view, approach, and practice our careers, and our positions in life. It helps us to formulate a way to interact and integrate ourselves with the entire world, Moreover, we aim to contribute positively to our existing and the upcoming generations of communities. Students do not experience and go through everything in the same way. Responsibilities are intended to aid a person’s development, Encouragement of and support to persons with disabilities is a complex matter. The road to these particular students is very complex. This is more of a support system which is intended to aid a more balanced approach to educating every single student.

It is not a a matter of favoritism. This applies to each and every single individual and with every student in each and every school. This is what Treating differently is what leads to the unbalanced approach to education. Remember: we do not wish to treat students with disabilities differently. This determinant leads to honor the wish to formulate a unifying and well balanced school system.

The Challenges Students Face

Disabilities may manifest differently from one learner to another. Certain forms of disabilities are evident, such as those that affect mobility, while others are more concealed, such as differences in learning and mental health conditions. Each entails its own unique requirements, yet the commonality among them is the discrepancy between traditional teaching approaches and supportive and inclusive education.

For example,

• A pupil with dyslexia may have a hard time ‘reading’ text but is able to shine in class ‘talk’ presentations.
• A learner with ADHD may need to perform shorter activities that incorporate movement to remain engaged.
• Learners with hearing disabilities may depend on audiovisual materials that have captions, sign, as well as on a variety of other visual supports.

In the absence of proper accommodations, these learners may be viewed as ‘slower’ than their peers, when in fact, the information is not being presented to them in the most appropriate manner.

Why Extra Support is Essential

Students with disabilities need support, not for supplemental reasons, but because it is essential for their educational journey. There is a lot to be said about the importance this has on them below:

Access to Education Is A Right

Education is a fundamental human right. Access to the classroom is almost impossible for students who are not supported, which is a violation of this right. This support is needed for students to participate meaningfully and benefitting from their education.

Confidence And Independence

Without support, a lot of students with disabilities might feel frustrated and demotivated. This slowly, over time, has the potential to build self-doubt that is disengaging. Support helps build self esteem and motivation which are both important facets of independence.

Better Results

Students who are equipped with the right tools, are more likely to put in the necessary time and effort to assistive technology, and individual teaching plans. This combination makes them more likely to achieve their set academic goals, making it that much easier for them to gain higher education and build a career.

Standing For Inclusion and Empathy

The students who have disabilities need support not only for their academic needs, but for support for their personal peers. Understanding, empathy and respect is normalized in the inclusive classrooms, allowing students to build a culture that appreciates and celebrates differences rather than stigmatizing them.

Types of Support That Make a Difference

Every student has a unique set of hardware and software skills of strengths and weaknesses and a unique set of disabilities which means no strategy is a panacea for every student. However, there are a core set of strategies that seem to consistently benefit students with disabilities.

• Individualized education plans are a set of goal-accompaniment teaching plans for each student, that is, each student targets different goals and is provided with a unique set of accommodations and ways of teaching to reach the goals.
• In every classroom a student is a member of, there are tools such as screen readers, speech to text, and other special learning devices that facilitate the gaps and bridge the learning to communication. These devices permit students with disabilities to acquire knowledge and skills that they would find challenging.
• The assignments that are given to students are flexible, and students have the freedom to choose their own set of activities that they would prefer to do first, that would also make their class more enjoyable. Consequently, students are given less work and would have a higher chance of succeeding as a whole class.
• Incorporating students with disabilities into the wider education context using strategies like the ones outlined above improves the educational experience for all students and is a vital part of the teacher’s work.
• When put with the proper tools, technology has the ability to make amazing things happen. For example, interactive tools such as JoinPD allow teachers to provide students with lessons that they can work through at their own pace which means students are presented with the opportunity to learn at their own pace and through devices of their own choice.

The Role of Teachers and Parents

This initiative hinges on the teachers’ efforts. Their ability to embrace change, implement new techniques, and exhibit patience can redesign the classroom. But parents equally are important. They advocate for their child’s interests, collaborate with schools, and provide assistance at home to make certain that their children receive the appropriate services.

With the combined knowledge of both parents and teachers, students with disabilities are less likely to be denied such important services. Rather, it is these students who are given the opportunities to maximize their potentials.

A Move to the More Inclusive Future

Providing services to students with disabilities is an issue of equity— not bias. Every learner is entitled to his or her’s educational equity. This opportunity, however, is not universal to every learner. With the provision of additional assistance, we maintain that being different in the way people learn is not a deficiency; it is the factor that enriches our classrooms, and our society.

In any form, education must move towards inclusivity, which means allocating funds for teacher training, improving assistive tech accessibility, and fostering school environments that respect and celebrate diversity as opposed to ignoring it. It is necessary to overcome the misconception that supporting students with disabilities benefits solely the individuals. Instead, it illustrates a positive mindset towards integrating education

Final Thoughts

At its most fundamental level, education is about unlocking a student’s capacity. With regards to students with disabilities, that potential is only able to shine when the supports needed to remove the barriers are implemented. These supports do not reduce the expectations; they enhance the probability of success. When every child is equipped with the right tools to succeed, it is not just the children who succeed, but the entire society that progresses.

Inclusive education is not something that we have to wait for the future to accomplish. It is something we can work on right now, one encouraging teacher, one caring parent, and one self confident student at a time.