Jimma University

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences

Department of Special Needs and Inclusive Education

,jimma ,univ}s;y
,college ( ,$uc,n & ,2havioral ,sci;es
,de"p;t ( ,special ,ne$s &
,9clusive ,$uc,n

Distance Teaching material for the course Inclusiveness

,ja6} ,lola
April, 2021
JU
 Jimma University
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
Department of Special Needs and Inclusive Education

Distance Teaching material for the course Inclusiveness

A Course for Higher Education of all Disciplines

Editor Jaffer Lola (Asst. Professor)

 Table of Contents

Contents
1. Understanding Disabilities and Vulnerabilities ......................................................................... 1
1.1 Definitions of Basic Terms (Impairment, Disability and Handicap) .................................... 1
1.2 Causes of Disability .............................................................................................................. 3
1.3 Types of disabilities .............................................................................................................. 5
1.4 Historical Movement from segregation to Inclusion .......................................................... 32
1.5 Models of understanding disability..................................................................................... 39
1.6 Vulnerability ....................................................................................................................... 41
Chapter Two.................................................................................................................................. 48
2. Concept of Inclusion ................................................................................................................ 48
2.1. Definition of Inclusion ....................................................................................................... 48
2. 2. Principles of Inclusion ...................................................................................................... 52
2.3. Rationale for Inclusion ....................................................................................................... 53
2.4. Factors that Influenced Development of Inclusion ............................................................ 54
2.5. Inclusive Environments ..................................................................................................... 60
Chapter Three................................................................................................................................ 65
3. Identification and Differentiated Services ............................................................................... 65
3.1 Needs of Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerabilities. ..................................................... 66
3.2 Gender and disability .......................................................................................................... 69
3.3 Belongingness and disability .............................................................................................. 71
3.4 The Health Care Needs of Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerabilities .......................... 73
3.5 Creating Welcoming (Inclusive) Environment ................................................................... 81
3.6 Strategies to Disability inclusive intervention and rehabilitation Prevention ..................... 86
3.7. Barriers of employment ..................................................................................................... 89
Chapter Four ............................................................................................................................... 102
4. Legal Frameworks ................................................................................................................. 102
4.1 General Overview of Legal frameworks........................................................................... 103
4.2 Legal Frameworks Regarding Inclusion ........................................................................... 104
4.3 International and National Legal Frameworks ................................................................. 105
4.4 Key International Instruments and other Documents that Promote Inclusion .................. 107
4.5 National Laws and Policy Frameworks ............................................................................ 118
Chapter Five ................................................................................................................................ 124
5. Collaborative Partnerships with stakeholders ......................................................................... 124
5.1 Definition of collaboration, partnership and stakeholder ..................................................... 125
5.2 Key elements of successful collaboration ......................................................................... 126
5.3 Cooperativeness ................................................................................................................ 128
5.4 Roles of Stakeholders in a Project .................................................................................... 129
References ................................................................................................................................... 132
 I. Course information
1.1. Course Title: Inclusiveness
1.2. Credit hours: 2 (4 ECTS)
1.3. Target group: Compulsory for all undergraduate students
1.4. Course code: SNIE 1012
1.5. Contact hours: 48 Hours
1.6. Course offering: A course should be offered only by certified Special Needs/Inclusive
Education Professionals

ii
 II. Course Description

Development efforts of any organization need to include and benefit people with various types
of disabilities, people at risks of exclusion/discrimination and marginalization, through
providing quality education and training, creating equity, accessibility, employability,
promoting prosperity, reducing poverty and enhancing peace, stability and creating inclusive
society. Unfortunately, this has not been the practice for the majority of people with disabilities
and vulnerable groups, due to unfavorable attitude, negligence, inaccessibility and exclusion
from all development endeavors. It is obvious that people with disabilities are the large stand
most disadvantaged minority in the world. They are about 15 percent of the global population
(about one billion people), and 17.6 million in Ethiopia, with most extended families including
someone with a disability (World Health Organization and World Bank and 2011). An
exclusion practice of this large number of persons with disabilities in Ethiopia is an indicator of
violating fundamental human rights that undermines their potential/ability to contribute to
poverty reduction and economic growth within their household, their community and the
country. It is clear that it is not impairment, but, the exclusion practices that has contributed for
insecurity (conflict), poverty aggravation for persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities, that
has highly demanding inclusive practices. Exclusion practices of persons with disabilities have
a long history, affecting the life of people with disabilities and the society at large. In the past
and even today people have been discriminated due to their disabilities.

Inclusiveness promotes effective developments through full participation of all members

of a population, people with disabilities and vulnerabilities, where all are equal contributors of
development and equitable beneficiaries. Through inclusive practices, it is possible to identify
and remove social and physical barriers so that people with disabilities and vulnerabilities can
participate and benefit from all developments. Genuine inclusion of people with disabilities and
vulnerabilities allow of them to actively participate in development processes and eliminate
dependence syndrome, leads to broader benefits for families and communities, reduces the
impacts of poverty, and positively contributes to a country's economic growth, development and
ultimately create inclusive society. All stages of development processes of any organization
should be inclusive through creating equal access to education, health care services, work and
employment, social protection and all development center of human being.

iii
 Hence, in this course, the higher education students will learn how to assess, understand
and address the needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities; and provide relevant
support or seek extra support from experts. He/she also learns how to adapt and implementing
services for an inclusive environment that aimed to develop holistic development such as
affective, cognitive and psychosocial skills of the population with disabilities and vulnerabilities.
Identification and removal/management of environmental barriers would find a crucial place in
the course. The students learn how to give more attention and support for persons with; hearing
impairments, visual impairment, deaf-Blind, autism, physical and health impairments,
intellectually challenged, emotional and behavior disorders, learning difficulty, communication
disorders, vulnerable persons including gifted and talented, and those at risk due to different
reason (persons who are environmentally and culturally deprived, abused, torched, abandoned,
and orphaned..etc.). All University students should be given the chance to study the specific
developmental characteristics of each group of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities.
Furth more, they also indentify the major environmental and social barriers that hinder the
development of individuals; and come up with appropriate intervention strategies in inclusive
settings of their respective professional environment and any development settings where all
citizens are equally benefited.

III. Course objective and Expected Learning outcomes

The objective of this course is to develop knowledge, skill and attitude of the learners so that
they can provide appropriate services, the tools and strategies that help to create a convenient
inclusive environment. This course encourages learners exploring the benefits of collaborating
with colleagues to design and implement inclusion an all sphere of life. It also guides the
discovery of ways to modify environment as well as services and practices to meet the needs of
all persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities in inclusive environment. As a result of reading
this material, completing the assignments, engaging in related discussions, and strongly
workings on activities, the students will be able to:

• Identify the needs and potentials of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities.

iv
• Identify environmental and social barriers that hinder the needs, potentials and full
participations, in all aspects of life of persons disabilities and vulnerabilities
• Demonstrate desirable inclusive attitude towards all persons with disabilities and
vulnerabilities in full participations
• Apply various assessment strategies for service provisions for evidence-based planning and
implementation to meet the needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities
• Adapt environments and services according to the need and potential of the persons with
disabilities and vulnerabilities
• Utilize appropriate assistive technology and other support mechanisms that address the
needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities
• Respect and advocate for the right of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities
• Collaboratively work with special needs experts and significant others for the life success of
all persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities in every endeavors and in all environments.
• Create and maintain successful inclusive environment for persons with disabilities and
vulnerabilities
• Promote the process of building inclusive society .

v
 Chapter One
1. Understanding Disabilities and Vulnerabilities
Chapter Overview
This chapter discusses issues that help to understand about disabilities and
vulnerabilities. It starts by defining terms and concepts as these are basics to
understand the other chapters also.
It then proceeds to present types/classifications or characteristics and causes of the disabilities
and vulnerabilities to help the learners understand the disabilities as well as vulnerabilities and
what causes them. The chapter then moves to trace historical movement from segregation to
inclusion including the attitude issues. The major models of understanding disability was also
discussed in this chapter.
Learning outcomes
At the end of completing this chapter, the students will be able to:
 Define disability and vulnerability
 List different types of disabilities and vulnerabilities
 Explain brief causes of disability and vulnerability
 Describe the brief historical movements from segregation to inclusion
 Describe the effect of attitude on the move towards inclusion
 Discuss models of disability

1.1 Definitions of Basic Terms (Impairment, Disability and Handicap)

I. Have you ever heard about the three terms impairment, disability and handicap?
II. How do they relate to each other?
III. Did you observe that people use them interchangeably?
Impairment
i. What is impairment?
ii. Can impairment visible, invisible, or both? Justify.

1
 mpairment means a lack/abnormality of an anatomic, physiological or

I
psychological structure or function or deviation on a person.
It refers to any loss or abnormality of physiological, psychological or
anatomical structure or function. It is the absence of particular body part or
organ. It could also a condition in which the body exists but doesn’t
function. Some children, for instance, have impairments such as eyes
that do not see well, arms and legs that are deformed, or a brain not
developing in a typical way etc.
Disability

I. What is disability?
II. Is disability the result of impairment? Is it the result of environment? Or from both the
interaction between the individual and environment?
III. What is the the relationship between a person with impairment and inaccessible
environment?
IV. What is the difference between medical model and social model approach in explaining
disability?

Disability means functional limitations due to physical, intellectual or psychic

impairment, health or psychic disorders on a person (Medical model approach).
Sometimes the social view of disability is presented as an alternative to the
‘medical view’ of disability.
This seeks to identify the cause of the disability through tests and then tries to fix the impairment
through the use of surgery, drugs or therapy. Both viewpoints are valid and both are needed. But
too often only the medical view is considered and when it fails or is not available, people give
up.
The biggest danger with the medical view is that the ‘problem’ is seen solely as being with the
child. That’s why children with impairments were excluded from ordinary schools and sent to

2
special schools for children with the same disability – if they were available. The belief was
that they required special ‘treatments’ because of their impairments.
But the social model of disability asserts that disability is caused by the way society is organised,
rather than by a person’s impairment or difference. It looks at ways of removing barriers that
restrict life choices for disabled people. When barriers are removed, people with disability can be
independent and equal in society, with choice and control over their own lives.
Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the
interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she
lives. Overcoming the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to
remove environmental and social barriers.

Handicap
i. What is handicap?
ii. Do you believe that a person with impairment become immediately
handicapped?
iii. How do you relate “handicap” and “society”?

andicap refers to social abilities or relation between the individual and the society. It

H
means a lack of or limited opportunities to take equal part in the society for person
with disability. It refers to lack of participation in social, political and economic
activities. Note that a disability may pose a handicap in one environment but not in
another. The child with a prosthetic limb may be handicap (i.e. disadvantaged) when
competing against nondisabled peers on the basket ball court but may experience no
handicap in the classroom. Individuals with disabilities also experience handicaps
that have nothing to do with their disabilities but are the result of negative attitudes and the
inappropriate behavior of others who needlessly restrict their access and ability to participate
fully in school, work or community activities.

1.2 Causes of Disability

I. What do you think is the causes of disability?

3
 II. Do you think that disability is a curse from God?
III. Do you know anyone with disability? If YES what do you know about its
cause?
IV. What do others believe about the cause of the disability?

Some people, especially in the past times, wrongly believe that disability is a punishment from
God.
There are some who still believe that disability is a form of personal punishment for individual
with disability, a kind of karma for their past mistakes, which is totally unacceptable now days.
Disability can be caused by the following factors.
Genetic Causes

Abnormalities in genes and genetic inheritance can cause intellectual disability in children. In
some countries, Down Syndrome is the most common genetic condition. Sometimes, diseases,
illnesses, and over-exposure to x-rays can cause a genetic disorder. .

Environmental / Life Events

Poverty and malnutrition in pregnant mothers can cause a deficiency in vital minerals and result
in deformation issues in the unborn child. After birth, poverty and malnutrition can also cause
poor development of vital organs in the child, which can eventually lead to disability.

The use of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, the exposure to certain toxic chemicals and illnesses,
toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, rubella and syphilis by a pregnant mother can cause intellectual
disability to the child. Childhood diseases such as a whooping cough, measles, and chicken pox
may lead to meningitis and encephalitis. This can cause damage to the brain of the child. Toxic
material such as lead and mercury can damage the brain too. .

4
Unfortunate life events such as drowning, automobile accidents, falls and so on can result in
people losing their sight, hearing, limbs and other vital parts of their body and cause disability.

Unknown Causes

The human body is a phenomenal thing. Scientists have still not figured out what and how some
things in the body, cells, brain, and genes come about. Humans have still not found all the
answers to all the defects in the human body .

Inaccessible environments

Sometimes society makes it difficult for people with some impairment to function freely. When
society develops infrastructure such as houses, roads, parks and other public places without
consideration to people with impairment, the basically make it impossible for them to take care
of themselves. For example, if a school is built with a ramp in addition to stairs, it makes it easy
for people with wheelchairs to move about freely. This way, their impairment is not made worse.
Lack of education, support services, health and opportunities for people with impairment can
cause additional disability to people with disabilities and even people with no disability.

1.3 Types of disabilities

1.3.1 Visual impairment

[Link] Definitions of visual impairment
i. Define visual impairment
ii. What is the difference between blindness and low vision?
iii.
iv.
Explain the difference between educational and legal definition of blindness.
Define visual field and visual acuity.
?

5
 v. What do we mean by 6/60m?

Visual impairment in general designates two sub- classifications. These are blindness and low
vision.
 Blindness, total or partial inability to see because of disease or disorder of the eye, optic
nerve, or brain. The term blindness typically refers to vision loss that is not correctable
with eyeglasses or contact lenses. Blindness may not mean a total absence of sight,
however. Some people who are considered blind may be able to perceive slowly moving
lights or colors.
 The term low vision is used for moderately impaired vision. People with low vision may
have a visual impairment that affects only central vision—the area directly in front of the
eyes—or peripheral vision—the area to either side of and slightly behind the eyes.

Experts defined visual impairment in terms of educational/functional and clinical/legal aspects.

 Educational /Functional Definition

In terms of educational and functional aspect, the visually impaired person may be defined as
one whose vision is limited to such an extent that he /she may require modifications and special
adaptations to learn. This means if the person reads printed material in either enlarged print or
special magnification devices s/he is classified as a person having low vision or as being a print
reader. On the other hand, persons whose visual impairment is so severe that they must use
materials other than print such as Braille and audio tapes are classified as educationally blind or
Braille readers.

 Clinical/Legal Definition

Vision experts assess an individual's sight using two measurements: visual acuity and visual
field. Visual acuity is the ability to see details, such as symbols or letters of specific sizes.
Normal vision is described as 20/20 ft. A person with any degree of sight loss has a visual acuity
with a higher second number, such as 20/200 ft.

6
Visual field refers to the space around the center of vision—the peripheral area. A normal visual
field is said to be 180 degrees in diameter, or half a circle.

Legal blindness is defined as a person with a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with
the best optical correction, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses, or a visual field whose widest
diameter is no greater than 20 degrees. An individual with a visual acuity of 20/200 must stand at
6 m (20 ft) to see objects that a person with normal sight can see at 60 m (200 ft). An individual
with a visual field of 20 degrees or less has a limited visual range sometimes referred to as tunnel
vision that is likened to viewing the world through a toilet paper roll. A person declared legally
blind in the United States is eligible for government benefits.

Facts about Blindness and Visual Impairment

1. Worldwide, 285 million people are visually impaired due to various cases; 39 million of
them are blind.

2. 121 million are visually impaired because of uncorrected refractive errors (near-
sightedness, far-sightedness or astigmatism). Almost all of them could have normal vision
restored with eyeglasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery.

3. 90% of visually impaired people live in low-and middle-income countries.

4. 51% of all blindness is due to age-related cataract, the leading cause of blindness.

5. Cataract surgery and correction of refractive errors are among the most cost-effective
health interventions.

6. Age-related causes of visual impairment and blindness are increasing, as is blindness due
to uncontrolled diabetes.

7. Up to 80% of all blindness in adults is preventable or treatable. Among children, the

major causes of avoidable blindness include cataract, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and
Vitamin A deficiency.

7
8. Blindness caused by infectious diseases is decreasing globally due to public health action.
Blinding trachoma affects 40 million people today, compared to 360 million in 1985.

9. Around 1.4 million children under age 15 are blind. Yet approximately half of all
childhood blindness can be avoided by treating diseases early and by correcting abnormalities at
birth such as cataract and glaucoma.

10. For decades, WHO has been working with global partners to eliminate the main causes
ofavoidable blindness, strengthening country-level efforts by providing technical assistance,
monitoring and coordination.

11. There are different degrees of blindness. Someone can be legally blind but still see colors,
shapes and varying degrees of light. In fact, only about 10-15 percent of people who are blind
see nothing at all.

12. You might walk by someone who is visually impaired and not know it – fewer than 2
percent of visually impaired people use a white cane to navigate. The rest use guide dogs or
nothing at all.

13. Surprisingly, 80 percent of vision problems worldwide could be avoided or even cured
with prompt medical care and regular eye examinations. In particular, a leading cause of
blindness among adults over 50 is cataracts, which are treatable with surgery. Organizations like
the World Health Organization are working to eliminate causes of avoidable blindness in
developing countries.

14. People who are blind are just as likely as anyone else to experience vivid dreams while
sleeping. The difference is that their dreams are dominated by sounds, smells and tastes.

16. Guide dogs can’t tell whether a traffic light is green or red or if it changes color. A person
who is blind or visually impaired uses audible cues like traffic noise to determine when they
think it is safe to cross, and then signals their dog to move forward. If a car is coming, the dog
will refuse to obey the command.

8
17. People who are blind are often better at identifying aromas than their sighted peers.
Studies have refuted the age-old myth that blindness sharpens other senses, but researchers
believe that people who are blind pay more attention to how an object smells and devote more
cognitive energy toward cataloguing that information.

18. People who are blind are often lucky in love – 65 percent of Americans who are blind are
married or live with a partner and only 16.5 percent have divorced.

19. Blind people can use computers and smartphones: Some visually impaired individuals have
partial sight, making it possible for them to see a computer or smartphone screen with the help of
a magnifier. People with greater sight-loss, though, access the computer with the help of assistive
technology, in two different ways. One way is with the use of a Braille display, which connects
to the computer and converts the text into Braille, line-by-line. Another way of accessing the
computer is a screen reader that reads out the information seen on the computer screen. The latter
is implemented on smartphones as well, where individuals can use assistive technology like
TalkBack or VoiceOver to access their phone.

I. Do you blind person having special talent? What is that?

?
1.3.2 Hearing Impairment
[Link] Definitions of hearing impairment
II. What is hearing impairment?
III.
IV.
How do deaf people communicate?
Write names of 3 famous deaf people.
?

Different people define the term hearing impairment differently. The definitions given to
hearing impairment convey different meaning to different people. Different definitions and
terminologies may be used in different countries for different purpose. Pasonella and Carat
from legal point of view, define hearing impairment as a generic term indicating a continuum of

9
hearing loss from mild to profound, which includes the sub-classifications of the hard of hearing
and deaf.
ard of Hearing: "A hearing impairment, whether permanent of fluctuating, which

H
adversely affects a child's educational performance but which is not included under
the definition of 'deaf'." Whelan, R. J. (1988).
This term can also be used to describe persons with enough (usually with hearing
aids) as a primary modality of acquisition of language and in communication with
others. Whether it is permanent or fluctuating, it ranges between 26 dB and 70 dB.
Some People also referred to hard of hearing if their hearing levels are low enough to
interfere with basic activities—such as schooling—but not so disabling that they cannot
understand speech.
Deaf: Those who have difficulty understanding speech, even with hearing aids, are called deaf.
Cultural definitions of deafness, on the other hand, emphasize an individual’s various abilities,
use of sign language, and connections with the culturally deaf community.
Deafness can also be defined as a hearing impairment which is so sever that a child is impaired
in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, which
adversely affects educational performance. The hearing loss is usually about 70 dB.
Note: dB refers to a unit for measuring the relative loudness of sounds. The quietest audible
sound measure is given the value of 0. The loudest sound attains a value of 140. Normal speech
is about 60 decibels (dB).Hearing impairment can be measured on the decibel scale in terms of
dB loss.

Facts about hearing impairments

250 million people in the world have disabling hearing impairment (moderate or worse hearing
impairment in the better ear, see: Grades of hearing impairment)


Two-thirds of these people live in developing countries.
Half of deafness and hearing impairment is avoidable.

10
1.3.3. Specific learning disability

[Link] Definition

i. What is specific learning disability? Is it visible or invisible/hidden disability?

?
ii. Can individual with learning disabilities achieve success in school, at work, in
relationships, and in the community? How?
iii. Do you know any great inventor/scientist with learning disability?
iv. How do you understand the following terms: dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia

S
pecific Learning Disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may
manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do
mathematical calculations.

The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain
dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not include learning problems
that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; of intellectual disability; of
emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. Learning
disabilities should not be confused with learning problems which are primarily the result of
visual, hearing, or motor handicaps; of intellectual disability; of emotional disturbance; or of
environmental, cultural or economic disadvantages.

Generally speaking, people with learning disabilities are of average or above average
intelligence. There often appears to be a gap between the individual’s potential and actual
achievement. This is why learning disabilities are referred to as “hidden disabilities”: the person
looks perfectly “normal” and seems to be a very bright and intelligent person, yet may be unable
to demonstrate the skill level expected from someone of a similar age.

11
A learning disability cannot be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong challenge. However, with
appropriate support and intervention, people with learning disabilities can achieve success in
school, at work, in relationships, and in the community.

[Link] Types of Specific Learning Disabilities

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder, this is a condition that adversely affects
how sound that travels unimpeded through the ear is processed or interpreted by the brain.
Individuals with APD do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in words, even when
the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. They can also find it difficult to tell where
sounds are coming from, to make sense of the order of sounds, or to block out competing
background noises.

Dyscalculia

A specific learning disability that affects a person’s ability to understand numbers and learn math
facts. Individuals with this type of LD may also have poor comprehension of math symbols, may
struggle with memorizing and organizing numbers, have difficulty telling time, or have trouble
with counting.

Dysgraphia

A specific learning disability that affects a person’s handwriting ability and fine motor skills.
Problems may include illegible handwriting, inconsistent spacing, poor spatial planning on
paper, poor spelling, and difficulty composing writing as well as thinking and writing at the same
time.

Dyslexia

A specific learning disability that affects reading and related language-based processing skills.
The severity can differ in each individual but can affect reading fluency, decoding, reading
comprehension, recall, writing, spelling, and sometimes speech and can exist along with other
related disorders. Dyslexia is sometimes referred to as a Language-Based Learning Disability.

12
Language Processing Disorder

A specific type of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) in which there is difficulty attaching
meaning to sound groups that form words, sentences and stories. While an APD affects the
interpretation of all sounds coming into the brain, a Language Processing Disorder (LPD) relates
only to the processing of language. LPD can affect expressive language and/or receptive
language.

Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities

A disorder which is usually characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher verbal

skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial and social skills. Typically, an individual with NLD (or
NVLD) has trouble interpreting nonverbal cues like facial expressions or body language, and
may have poor coordination.

Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit

A disorder that affects the understanding of information that a person sees, or the ability to draw
or copy. A characteristic seen in people with learning disabilities such as Dysgraphia or Non-
verbal LD, it can result in missing subtle differences in shapes or printed letters, losing place
frequently, struggles with cutting, holding pencil too tightly, or poor eye/hand coordination.

Specific learning disabilities commonly affect skills in the areas of:

 Reading (called dyslexia)

 Writing (called dysgraphia)
 Listening
 Speaking
 Reasoning
 Math (called dyscalculia)

13
1.3.4 Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

[Link] Definition ?
i. What is the IDEA definition of emotional and behavioral disorders?
ii. What are the five criteria or characteristics used in defining emotional and behavioral
disorders?
iii. Did you experience any of your classmates showing any one of the characteristics at a
marked degree? If yes what the response of the school/teachers was towards the student?
iv. List classifications of emotional and behavioral disorders?

According to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the term

motional and Behavioral Disorders means a condition exhibiting one or more of the

E
following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that
adversely affects educational performance
1) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
factors;
2) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers
and teachers;
3) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
4) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
5) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school
problems.

[Link] Classification of behavioral and emotional disorders

An individual having behavioral or emotional disorders can exhibit widely varied types of
behavior. Therefore, different classification systems of behavioral and emotional disorders can
be used for special education. Different professionals have developed a classification system,
which shows some promise for educational practice. These include:
 Conduct disorder: individuals may seek attention, are disruptive and act out. The disorder is
classified by type: overt (with violence or tantrums) versus covert (with lying, stealing,
and/or drug use).

14
 Socialized aggression: individuals join subculture group of peers who are openly
disrespectful to their peers, teachers, and parents. Common are delinquency and dropping
out of school.
Early symptoms include stealing, running away from home, habitual lying, cruelty to
animals, and fire setting.
 Attention problems- These individuals may have attention deficit, are easily destructible and
have poor concentration. They are frequently impulsive and may not think the consequence
of their actions.
 Anxiety/Withdrawn- These individuals are self-conscious, reserved, and unsure of
themselves. They typically have low self-esteem and withdraw from immediate activities.
They are also anxious and frequently depressed.
 Psychotic behavior: These individuals show more bizarre behavior. They may hallucinate,
deal in a fantasy world and may even talk in gibberish.
 Motor excess: These students are hyperactive. They cannot sit nor listen to others nor keep
their attention focused.
Kauffman (1993) conclude that emotion or behavioral disorders fall into two broad
classifications:
1) Externalizing Behavior: also called under controlled disorder, include such problems
disobedience, disruptiveness, fighting, tempers tantrums, irresponsibility, jealous, anger,
attention seeking etc…
2) Internalizing Behavior: also known as over controlled disorders, include such problems
anxiety, immaturity, shyness, social withdrawal, feeling of inadequacy (inferiority), guilt,
depression and worries a great deal

1.3.5 Intellectual Disability

[Link] Definition of Intellectual Disability ?

i. What is intellectual disability?
ii. What are the three criteria used in defining intellectual disability? Explain each.
iii. List specific adaptive skills limited among individuals with intellectual disability.
iv. Discuss characteristics of individuals with intellectual disability.

15
 v. Discuss the implication of classifying intellectual disability in to different levels.

Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual

functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills.
This disability originates before the age of 18.

An individual is considered to have an intellectual disability based on the following three

criteria:

1. Sub average intellectual functioning: It refers to general mental capacity, such as learning,
reasoning, problem solving, and so on. One way to measure intellectual functioning is an IQ test.
Generally, an IQ test score of around 70 or as high as 75 indicates a limitation in intellectual
functioning.

2. Significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skill areas: It is the collection of
conceptual, social, and practical skills that are learned and performed by people in their everyday
lives.

 Conceptual skills—language and literacy; money, time, and number concepts; and self-
direction.
 Social skills—interpersonal skills, social responsibility, self-esteem, gullibility, naïveté
(i.e., wariness), social problem solving, and the ability to follow rules/obey laws and to
avoid being victimized.
 Practical skills—activities of daily living (personal care), occupational skills, healthcare,
travel/transportation, schedules/routines, safety, use of money, use of the telephone.
Standardized tests can also determine limitations in adaptive behavior.

3. The condition manifests itself before the age 18: This condition is one of several
developmental disabilities-that is, there is evidence of the disability during the developmental
period, which is operationalized as before the age of 18.

Additional Considerations

16
But in defining and assessing intellectual disability, the AAIDD stresses that additional factors
must be taken into account, such as the community environment typical of the individual’s peers
and culture. Professionals should also consider linguistic diversity and cultural differences in the
way people communicate, move, and behave.

n intellectual disability is a significant limitation in a individual’s cognitive

A functioning and daily adaptive behaviors (Schalock & Luckasson, 2004; American
Association on Mental Retardation, 2002). The individual may have limited language
or impaired speech and may not perform well academically. Compared to students with learning
disabilities discussed earlier, individuals with intellectual disabilities have impairments to
learning that are broader and more significant. They score poorly on standardized tests of
intelligence (<70—75). Everyday tasks that most people take for granted, like getting dressed or
eating a meal, may be possible, but they may also take more time and effort than usual. Health
and safety can sometimes be a concern (for example, knowing whether it is safe to cross a
street). For older individuals, finding and keeping a job may require help from supportive others.
The exact combination of challenges varies from one person to another, but it always (by
definition) involves limitations in both intellectual and daily functioning.

[Link] Characteristics of people with Intellectual Disability

Characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities that can affect their academic learning, as
well as their ability to adapt to home, school, and community environments are presented under
the following sub-headings:

 General Cognition
People with intellectual disabilities vary physically and emotionally, as well as by personality,
disposition, and beliefs. Their apparent slowness in learning may be related to the delayed rate of
intellectual development (Wehman, 1997). When adults with intellectual disabilities attend to
appropriate aspects of presented learning stimuli versus inappropriate aspects, their rate and
amount of learning can be acceptable (Vakil, Shelef-Reshef, & Levy-Shiff, 1997; Werts, Wolery,
Gast & Holcombe, 1996). If specific educational supports are implemented, few researches
indicate children with intellectual disabilities may achieve at the same rates but overall remain

17
behind their peers (Vakil et al. 1997; Wehman, 1997). The score of an IQ test is less important in
determining the general cognition, or ability and facility in obtaining information, of a person
with intellectual disability than the types and amount of support needed to function at specified
tasks or levels (Hourcade, 2002).

 Learning and Memory

T
he learning and memory capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities are
significantly below average in comparison to peers without disabilities. People with
intellectual disabilities develop learning sets at a slower pace than peers without
disabilities, and they are deficient in relating information to new situations (Beirne-
Smith, Patton, & Kim, 2006). Children with intellectual disabilities may not spontaneously use
appropriate learning or memory retention strategies and may have difficulty in realizing the
conditions or actions that aid learning and memory. However, these strategies can be taught
(Fletcher, Huffman, & Bray, 2003; Hunt & Marshall, 2002; Werts, Wolery, Holocombe, & Gast,
1995; Wolery & Schuster, 1997). People with intellectual disabilities have trouble focusing on
relevant stimuli in learning and in real-life situations, sometimes attending to the wrong things
(Kittler, Krinsky-McHall,& Devenny, 2004; Westling & Fox, 2004).

 Attention
To acquire information, children must attend to the learning task for the required length of time
and control distractions. Children with intellectual disabilities may have difficulty
distinguishingand attending to relevant questions in both learning and social situations
(Saunders, 2001). The problem is not that the student will not pay attention, but rather that the
student does not understand or does not filter the information to get to the salient features (Hunt
& Marshall, 2002; Meyen & Skrtic, 1988).
 Adaptive Skills
The adaptive skills of people with intellectual disabilities are often not comparable to those of
theirs peers without disabilities. A child with intellectual disabilities may have difficulty in both
learning and applying skills for a number of reasons, including a higher level of distractibility,
inattentiveness, failure to read social cues, and impulsive behaviour (Hardman et al., 2008). Lee,
Yoo, and Bak (2003) investigated the quality of social relationships among children with mild

18
intellectual disabilities and peers who were not disabled and found that the children without
disabilities did perceive their classmates with intellectual disabilities as fr -
RegulationThe ability to rehearse a task is related to a broad concept known as self-regulation, or
the ability to mediate or regulate one’s own behaviour (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Information-
processing theorists study how a person processes information from sensory stimuli to motoric
output (Sternberg, 2003). In information-processing theory, the learning differences in people
with intellectual disabilities are seen as the underdevelopment of metacognitive processes. The
lack or underdevelopment of these skills notably affects memory, rehearsal skills, organizational
ability, and being in control of the process of learning (Erez & Peled, 2001; Hunt & Marshall,
2002).
 Speech and Language

P
eople with intellectual disabilities may have delayed speech, language comprehension
and formulation difficulties. Language problems are generally associated with delays in
language development rather than with a bizarre use of language (Beirne-Smith et al.,
2006; Moore-Brown & Montgomery, 2006). People with intellectual disabilities may show
delayed functioning on pragmatic aspects of language, such as turn taking, selecting acceptable
topics for conversation, knowing when to speak knowing when to be silent, and similar
contextual skills (Haring, McCormick, & Haring, 1994; Yoder, Retish, & Wade, 1996). Kaiser
(2000) emphasized that “the overriding goal of language intervention is to increase the functional
communication of students” (p. 457). The severity of the speech and language problems is
positively correlated with the cause and severity of the intellectual disabilities: the milder the
intellectual disabilities, the less pervasive the language difficulty (Moore-Brown & Montgomery,
2006).
 Motivation
People with intellectual disabilities are often described as lacking motivation, or outer-directed
behaviour. Past experiences of failure and the anxiety generated by those failures may make
them appear to be fewer goals directed and lacking in motivation. The result of failure is often
learned helplessness. The history of failure is likely to lead to dependence on external sources of
reinforcement or reward rather than on internal sources of reward. They are less likely to self-
starters motivated by self-approval (Beirne-Smith et al., 2002; Taylor et al., 2005).
 Academic Achievement

19
The cognitive inefficiencies of children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities lead to
persistent problems in academic achievement (Hughes et al., 2002; Macmillan, Siperstein, &
Gresham, 1996; Quenemoen, Thompson, & Thurlow, 2003; Turnbull et al., 2004). Children with
mild intellectual disabilities are better at decoding words than comprehending their meaning
(Drew & Hardman, 2007) and read below their own mental-age level (Katims, 2000). Children
with intellectual disabilities may be able to learn basic computations, but may be unable to apply
concepts appropriately in a problem-solving situation (Beirne-Smith et al., 2006). A growing
body of research has indicated that children with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities can
be taught academics as a means to gain information, participate in social settings, increase their
orientation and mobility, and make choices (Browder, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Courtade-Little, & Snell,
2006).
 Physical characteristics
Children with intellectual disabilities with differing biological etiologies, may exhibit coexisting
problems, such as physical, motor, orthopedic, visual and auditory impairments, and health
problems (Hallahan & Kauffman, 2006). A relationship exists between the severity of the
intellectual disabilities and the extent of physical differences for the individual (Drew &
Hardman, 2007; Horvat, 2000). The majority of children with severe and profound intellectual
disabilities have multiple disabilities that affect nearly every aspect of intellectual and physical
development (Westling & Fox, 2004).

[Link] Classifications of Intellectual Disability

A number of ways have been developed to classify children with intellectual disability during the
past few decades. The 1973 and 1983 AAIDD defnitions of intellectual disability divided
severity of disability into four categories (mild, moderate, severe and profound intellectual
disability), a classifcation system that continues to have widespread acceptance and use.

Classification of Intellectual Disability According to severity of disability

Level of IQ range Approximate mental age in adulthood % of persons with

Intellectual Intellectual Disability at
Disability this level

20
Mild 55-69 8 years, 3months to 10 years, 9 months 85
Moderate 36-51 5 years, 7 months to 8 years, 2 months 10
Severe 20-35 3 years, 2 months to 5 years, 6 months 3.5
Profound < 20 < 3years, 2 months 1.5

1.3.6 Physical disability/Orthopedic Impairment and Health impairment

i.
ii.
What is physical disability?
What is the broad classification of physical disability?
?
iii. What is the role of physical environment to facilitate or hinder the participation of
individuals with physical disability?
iv. Define health impairments.

[Link] Definition

P
hysical disability is a condition that interferes with the individual’s ability to use his
or her body. Many but not all, physical disabilities are orthopedic impairments. ( The
term orthopedic impairment generally refers to conditions of muscular or skeletal
system and sometimes to physical disabling conditions of the nervous system).

Health impairment is a condition that requires ongoing medical attention. It includes asthma,
heart defects, cancer, diabetes, hemophilia. HIV/AIDS, etc.

[Link] Classification and Characteristics

?
How can you classify physical impairment?
Physical disabilities:- based on the impact of physical disability on mobility and motor skills, it is
divided into three. These are:-

21
 A. Mild physical disability:- these individuals are able to walk without aids and may make
normal developmental progress.
B. Moderate physical disability:- individuals can walk with braces and crutches and may have
difficulty with fine-motor skills and speech production.
C. Severe physical disability:-these are individuals who are wheel-chair dependent and may
need special help to achieve regular development.

The physical disability could be broadly classified in to two

I. The neurological system (the brain ,spinal cord & nerve) related problems.
II. Musculo skeletal system ( the muscles, bones and joints) are deficient due to various
causes.
I. Neurological system:-with a neurological condition like cerebral palsy or a traumatic
brain injury, the brain either sends the wrong instructions or interprets feedback
incorrectly. In both cases, the result is poorly coordinated movement.
 With the spinal cord injury or deformity, the path ways between the brain and the
muscles are interrupted, so messages are transmitted but never received. The result is
muscle paralysis and loss of sensation beyond the point where the spinal cord or the
nerve is damaged. These children and youth may have motor skill deficits that can range
from mild in coordination to paralysis of the entire body. The most severely affected
children are totally dependent on other people or sophisticated equipment to carry out
academic and self-care task
What impairments are associated with problems in neurological system?
 Some of the physical disabling conditions included under neurological system are as
follow.
A. Cerebral palsy:- it is not a single disease but a number of disabilities caused by damage to
the motor control center of the brain. Cerebral refers to the brain and palsy to disorders of
movement.
 The damage that results in cerebral palsy can occur before birth, during the birth process,
or after birth form an accident or injury (a blow to the head, lack of oxygen). The
condition affects muscle tone ( the degree of tension in the muscles), which interferes

22
 with voluntary movement and full control of muscles, and delay in gross and the motor
development.

Classification of cerebral palsy by limb involvement

Classification Limb involvement
* Monoplegia * Only one limb is involved (Rare)
* Triplegia * Three limbs are involved, usually one arm and
* Hemiplegia both legs
* Paraplegia * One arm and one leg on the same side of the body
* Dipleria are involved
* Quadriplegia  Only the leg is involved
 All limbs are involved but the legs are more
involved than the hands
 Major involvement occurs throughout the body
and all four limbs.

Additional problems that can be associated with cerebral palsy include learning disabilities,
mental retardation. Seizures, speech impairments, eating problems, sensory impairments, and
joint and bone deformities such as spinal curvatures and contractures (permanently fixed,
tight muscles and joints).

Approximately 40 percent of those with cerebral palsy have normal intelligence; the
remainders have from mild to severe retardation. This is an extremely heterogeneous group
having unique abilities and needs.

?
i. What is epilepsy?
ii. How do people traditionally treat a person with epilepsy? Is it scientific? Justify your
answer by reading from internet!

23
 B. Epilepsy:-is disorder that occurs when the brain cells are not working properly and is
often called a seizure disorder.
Some children and youth will epilepsy have only a momentary loss of attention (petit mal
seizures); others fall to the floor and then move uncontrollably (grand mal seizures); still
others act out or do things with
Fortunately, once epilepsy is diagnosed, it can usually be controlled with medication and
does not interfere with performance in school. Most individuals with epilepsy have
normal intelligence.
Epilepsy is a condition that affects 1 to 2 percent of the population. It is characterized by
recurring seizures, which are spontaneous abnormal discharge of electrical impulses of
the brain.
C. Spinal bifida and spinal cord injury:- damage to the spinal cord leads to paralysis and loss
of sensation in the affected areas of the body. The spinal bifida is a birth defect of the
backbone (spinal column). The cause is unknown but it usually occurs in the first twenty-
six days of pregnancy.
The several types of spinal bifida car be classified as follows
1. Oculata:- only a slight defect in the spinal cord during infancy and childhood with no
protrusion of the cord. May cause leg numbness and mild loss of bladder control in
adulthood.
2. Meningocele:- cyst or lump containing part of the spinal cord. The cord lumps outward,
and the spine is open at this point
3. Meningo myelocele:-the most severe form of spinal bifida. The broken area of the spinal
cord has no skin protecting it. Surgery must take place as soon as possible after birth to
prevent possible infection and further damage.
Spinal cord injuries are primarily caused by car or motorcycle accidents, gunshot wounds
or falls, although some may be caused by infections. It leads to partial or total paralysis
below the injured spinal cord area.

II. Musculoskeletal system:- it includes the muscles and their supporting framework and
the skeleton.
A. Progressive muscle weakness (muscular dystrophy);

24
 B. Inflammation of the joints (arthritis), or
C. Loss of various parts of the body (amputation)
Dear learner list impairments associated with musculoskeletal malformation?
?
A. Muscular dystrophy:- is an inherited condition accruing mainly in males, in which the
muscles weaken and deteriorate. The weakness usually appears around 3 to 4 years of age
and worsens progressively. By age 11 most victims can to longer walk. Death usually
comes between the ages of 25 and 35 from respiratory failure or cardiac arrest.
B. Arthrtis:-is an inflammation of the joints. Symptoms include swollen and stiff joints,
fever, and pain in the joints during acute periods. Prolonged inflammation can lead joint
deformities that can eventually affect mobility.
C. Amputation:- a small number of children have missing limbs because of congenital
abnormalities or injuiry or disease (malignant bone tumors in the limbs). These children
can use customized prosthetic devices (artificial hands, arms, or legs) to replace limp
functions and increase independence in daily activities.
Other muscle skeletal disorders are:-
1. Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder in which the muscles are poorly developed and the
spine is curved. Individuals with marfan syndrome may have either long, thin limbs,
prominent shoulder blades, spinal curvature, flat feet, or long fingers & thumbs. The
heart and blood vessels are usually affected. The greatest danger is damage to aorta,
which can lead to heart failure. Individuals with marfan syndrome need to avoid heavy
exercise and lifting heavy objects.
2. Achondroplasis:- is a genetic disorder that affects 1 in 10,000 births. Children with this
disorder usually develop a normal torso but have a straight upper back and a curved
lower back (sway back).
These children are at risk of sudden death during sleep from compression of the spinal
cord interfering with their breathing. The disability may be lessened through the use of
the back braces or by surgery.
3. Polo:- is viral disease that invade the brain and cause severe paralysis of the total body
system. In its mild form results in partial paralysis. Post polio muscles that were
previously damaged weaken, and in some persons, other muscles that were not previously
affected weaken as well.

25
 4. Club foot:- is a major orthopedic problem affecting about 9,000 infants each year. This
term is used to describe various ankle or foot deformities, i.e
i. Twisting inward (equino varus), the most severe form
ii. Sharply angled at the heel (calcanel vaigus), most common
iii. The front part of the foot turned inward.
These conditions can be treated with physical therapy, and a cast on the foot can solve the
problem in most instances. In more severe cases, surgery is necessary. With early treatment,
most children can wear regular shoes and take part in all school activities.
5. Cleft lip and cleft palate:- are openings in the lip or roof of the mouth, respectively, that
fail to close before birth, the cause is unknown. Most cleft problems can be repaired
through surgery.
Health Impairments

?
i. What are the common health problems of individuals?
ii. What is common for all diseases list under this topic?
Any disease that interferes with learning can make students eligible for special services. These
disease caused problems are as follow.
1. heart disease:- this is common among young people. It is caused by improper circulation
of blood by the heart some of the disorders are congenital )present at birth);others are
the product of inflammatory heart disease. Some students have heart value disorders;
others have disorders of the blood vessels. His time heart implantation helps children to
get cured.
2. Cystic fibrosis:- is a hereditary disease that affects the lungs and pancreas. It leads to
recurrent respiratory and digestive problems including abnormal amounts of thick
mucus, sweet and saliva. The disease is so progressive and few who have it survive
beyond age 20. Children with such disease often spend significant timeout of school.
3. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS):- is a very severe disease caused by
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and transmitted primarily through
exchange of bodily fluids in transfusions or unprotected sex, and by contaminated
needles in addictive drug use.

26
4. Hemophilia:- is a hereditary disease in which the blood clots very slowly or not all. The
disorder is transmitted by sex-linked recessive gene and nearly always occurs in males.

27
Other Health Impairments
Condition Description
* Asthma * Chronic respiratory condition characterized by
repeared eplosde of breathing difficulties especially
while exhaling.
* Diabetes * Developmental or hereditary disorder characterized by
in adequate secretion or use of
* Nephrosis & * Kidney disorders or diseases caused by infections,
Nephritis polsoning, burns, accidents or other diseases
* Sickle-cell anemia * Hereditary and chronic blood disease (occurring primarly in
African Americans) characterized by red blood cells that are
distored and that do not circulate properly.
* Leukenia * Disease characterized by excessive production of white blood
cells
* Lead polsoning * Disorder caused by ingesting lead-based paint chips or other
substances containing lead
* Rheumatic fever * Disease characterized by painful swelling and inflammation of
the
joints that can spread to the hear and central nervous system.
* Tuberculosis
* Infectious disease that commonly affects the lungs and may
* Cancer affect
other tissues of the body.

* Abnormal growth of cells that can affect any organ system

1.3.7 Speech or Language Impairments

[Link] Definition ?
i. Define speech and language impairment.
ii. Discuss characteristics of individuals with speech and language impairment.

28
S peech and language impairment means a communication disorder such as stuttering,
impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely
affects a child’s educational performance. It is disorder that adversely affects the
child's ability to talk, understand, read, and write. This disability category can be divided into
two groups: speech impairments and language impairments.

[Link] Characteristics of speech and language impairment

Speech Impairments

There are three basic types of speech impairments: articulation disorders, fluency disorders, and
voice disorders.

Articulation disorders are errors in the production of speech sounds that may be related to
anatomical or physiological limitations in the skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular support for
speech production. These disorders include:

 Omissions: (bo for boat)

 Substitutions: (wabbit for rabbit)
 Distortions: (shlip for sip)

Find words in your mother’s tongue used by individuals

?
with articulation disorder which can be examples for
omissions, substitutions, and distortions.

Fluency disorders are difficulties with the rhythm and timing of speech characterized by
hesitations, repetitions, or prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases. Common
fluency disorders include:

 Stuttering: rapid-fire repetitions of consonant or vowel sounds especially at the beginning

of words, prolongations, hesitations, interjections, and complete verbal blocks
 Cluttering: excessively fast and jerky speech

29
 ?
Find words in your mother’s tongue used by individuals with Fluency disorders which can be
examples for stuttering and cluttering.

Voice disorders are problems with the quality or use of one's voice resulting from disorders in
the larynx. Voice disorders are characterized by abnormal production and/or absences of vocal
quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, and/or duration.

Language Impairments
Discuss the five basic areas of language impairments.

There are five basic areas of language impairments: phonological disorders, morphological
disorders, semantic disorders, syntactical deficits, and pragmatic difficulties.

Phonological disorders are defined as the abnormal organization of the phonological system, or
a significant deficit in speech production or perception. A child with a phonological disorder
may be described as hard to understand or as not saying the sounds correctly. Apraxia of speech
is a specific phonological disorder where the student may want to speak but has difficulty
planning what to say and the motor movements to use.

Morphological disorders are defined as difficulties with morphological inflections (inflections

on nouns, verbs, and adjectives that signal different kinds of meanings).

Semantic disorders are characterized by poor vocabulary development, inappropriate use of

word meanings, and/or inability to comprehend word meanings. These students will demonstrate
restrictions in word meanings, difficulty with multiple word meanings, excessive use of
nonspecific terms (e.g., thing and stuff), and indefinite references (e.g., that and there).

Syntactic deficits are characterized by difficulty in acquiring the rules that govern word order
and others aspects of grammar such as subject-verb agreement. Typically, these students produce
shorter and less elaborate sentences with fewer cohesive conjunctions than their peers.

30
Pragmatic difficulties are characterized as problems in understanding and using language in
different social contexts. These students may lack an understanding of the rules for making eye
contact, respecting personal space, requesting information, and introducing topics.

1.3.8 Autism

[Link] Definition

?
I. What is autism?
II. Is autism is a developmental disability?
III. What does autism affects?
IV. What type of support if offered for a child with autism?

Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal

communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three that adversely affects a
child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engaging
in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change
in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. The term autism does not apply
if the child’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an
emotional disturbance.

Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder defined by impairments in social and communication

development, accompanied by stereotyped patterns of behavior and interest (Landa, 2007).
Autism is pervasive developmental disorder characterized by lack of normal sociability, impaired
communication and repetitive obsessive behavior such as politeness, turn-taking (Young &
Nettlebeck , 2005). Linked to Profound Learning Disability (PLDs) are further impairments in
the production of speech. Among these are (i) personal pronouns reversal for instance the use of
“I” instead of “you” and vice-versa, (ii) the misuse of such prepositions as “in”, “on”, “under”,
“next to” (...), and (iii) the prevalence, in speech, of echolalia formal repetition of other’s
utterances (Arron and Gittens, 1999).
Children with autism vary literally in their use of words, (Rutter, 1966). Communication
deficiencies may leave a lasting mark of social retardation on the child. The link, between social
skills and language is made evident by the often spontaneous appearance of affectionate and

31
dependent behavior in these children after they have been trained to speak (Churchill, 1966 &
Hewett, 1965).

1.4 Historical Movement from segregation to Inclusion

i. How was disability considered in medieval era? What was the life of individuals with
disabilities at that time?
ii. Discuss attitudes of the society towards individuals with disabilities during that time.
iii. How do special schools began to emerge?
iv.
v.
Discuss the shortcoming of special schools.
What is integration?
?
vi. What benefits did integration brought for individuals with disabilities?
vii. What is the main challenge with integration?
viii. What is inclusion? How can it benefit individual, community, society, and nation?

In the medieval era, disability was wrongly considered a punishment from God for one's sin or
misbehavior or that of one's ancestors. Others over the centuries have viewed disability as the
work of the devil. Disability was seen as a failure, deformity or defect of the individual. As a
result of the myths about disability, people with disabilities were feared and often stigmatized,
shunned, abused, or condemned. People with visible disabilities were even used for
entertainment (e.g., court jesters or oddities in circuses and freak shows). Children and adults
with severe disability were kept at home, isolated and hidden from public view. They were often
denied what others received, including education, care, employment, and a place in the family or
in society. They were considered "different" and their differences were viewed negatively.
Disability was viewed as inability and those with disabilities were often viewed as a burden to
their families and to society as a whole. In societies that required travel to escape danger or to
obtain food, children and adults with disabilities were often abandoned. In some societies, adults
and children with disabilities were forced to beg on the street for money because they had no
other means of support or were pitied by others. Unfortunately, this still exists in some countries
including Ethiopia. Many persons with disabilities were powerless to do anything else and
institutionalization was often the only option for those with disabilities to receive care and food.

32
P
eople with disabilities have been considered sick or unhealthy. Being healthy and
having a disability have been perceived as a contradiction in terms. Disability was seen
as an issue blamed on the individual with a disability. Quality of life of individuals with
disability was often seen---and still is by some---to be poor by others who have very negative
views about disability, even though only an individual can determine the quality of life of his or
her own life.
People with disabilities (PWDs) were considered to pose a social threat, to contaminate an
otherwise pure human species. People with disability were killed and used as objects of
entertainment. As such, the society had to be protected from PWDs and the converse was also
true, the latter had to be protected from society. Philanthropists found it imperative that PWDs
should be given custodial care. These attitudes led to PWDs being placed in asylums where
they were fed and clothed. Asylums were not meant to be educational institutions (Pritchard,
1960; Bender, 1970). Some PWDs, mainly those with physical and intellectual impairments
as well as mentally ill persons, were placed in hospitals for custodial care and treatment. This
was the period of institutionalization.
Special schools began to emerge in the 15th Century, starting with those with sensory
impairments. Other disability groups were considered for special schools when schooling
were expanded. The emphasis in the early special schools was on vocational skills. Their
curriculum was thus different from that in public schools. In addition, these early schools
belonged to private philanthropic organizations. Government involvement came in much later.
It was not until the late 1950s that categorization of people with disabilities into separate
groups and institutionalization began to be questioned. Institutionalization removed PWDs
from the cultural norms of the society to which they rightly belonged. This led to the concept
of normalization, first developed in Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark and Sweden.
Institutions were considered to be artificial and counter-productive. Transfer from institutions
to and integration into, normal community settings required considerable adjustment. Despite
the adjustment problem, it was considered necessary to implement normalization or de-
institutionalization.

33
Special Education/Segregation
ttempts have been made to defend the placement of children and young people with

A disabilities in special schools and integrated provision, which are the components of the
special education system. It has been argued that regular classroom teachers are relieved
"of the need to devise and implement curricula for students who appeared unable to learn from
normal instruction in the regular class" (Jenkinson, 1997: 13). However, this argument is in itself
excluding in that children with disabilities have to follow a different curriculum from that of the
regular school.
Special education has the following characteristics: it is separate system of education for
disabled children outside the ‘mainstream; It may exist in the form of day, or boarding, schools,
and small units attached to mainstream schools; the service is given for children with the same
disability group; its proponents believe that ‘special methods’, ‘special teachers ; special
environments’ and ‘special equipment’ are needed to teach ‘special children ; It sees the child as
the problem, not the system or the teacher; it defines the whole child on the basis of his/her
impairment and segregates them on this basis; it wants to make the child ‘normal’ rather than
respecting his/her own particular strengths and characteristics.
The special education has the following disadvantages:
 It does not foster holistic development of children, mainly refer to the psychological, social,
language and cognitive.

 It is a deficit oriented approach that focuses on students deficits/weaknesses

 it Does not address environmental factors that affect students with special needs education

 it creates distance between students with and without special needs education and
perpetuates fear and discrimination among students

 it is expensive and covers only a very limited segment of the children with special needs
when compared with inclusive education

 It doesn’t promote equity & human rights issue in terms of education and other aspects of lie

 Believes that ‘special methods’, ‘special teachers’, ‘special environments’ and ‘special
equipment’ are needed to teach ‘special children’. This is not true because the specialization

34
 results in drop in quality education, healthy psychosocial development o students with
special needs.

 It sees the student as the problem, not the system/the school or the teacher as a problem.

 It violates the children with special needs rights to learn in their natural environment with
their peers in regular classrooms

 It wants to make the child ‘normal’ rather than respecting their own particular strengths and
characteristics. This can result in inappropriate emphasis on making a child talk, or walk,
when this is unrealistic and can cause undue pain

 Defines the whole child on the basis of his/her impairment and segregates them on this basis.
In reality the impairment is only a part of the child. The majority of the qualities and
characteristics of a child with disabilities are the same as any other child – the need for
friends, to be included, loved, to take part in the local community.

In recent years, the appropriateness of such separate system of education has been challenged,
both from a human rights perspective (modern form of hiding children) and from the point of
view of effectives. To respond to these apparent weaknesses, integration was seen as a
reasonable arrangement. Thus, special education practices were moved into the mainstream
through an approach known as integration.

ntegration-It refers to the placement of children with disability and vulnerability in

I
educational programs that also serve children without disability and vulnerability.
‘Integration’ in its widest usage entails a process of making whole, of combining different
elements into a unit. As used in special education, it refers, to the education of pupils with
special needs in ordinary schools. Integration provides a ‘natural’ environment where these
pupils are together with their peers, are free from the isolation that is characteristics of
much special school placement.
.integration is most commonly used to describe the process of bringing children with disabilities
into a mainstream school. It differs from inclusive education as follows (Stubbs, 2008):
 The focus is still on the individual child, not the system. The child is seen as the problem,

35
  It often just refers to a geographical process – moving a child physically into a
mainstream school. It ignores issues such as whether the child is really learning, really
being accepted and included.
 The majority of resources and methods are focused on the individual child, not on the
teacher’s skills or the system.
 Classroom assistants/itinerant teachers/ personal assistants focus their attention on an
individual child rather than on the whole classroom environment – this can be over-
protective for the child, can increase stigmatization, and also ignores any other children
who may need support.
 The ‘integrated’ child will either just be left to cope within a rigid mainstream system
with no support, or will receive individual attention that separates them out from their
peers.
 If the child drops out, repeats many years, or is excluded, then this is perceived to be the
child’s fault: “they could not follow the curriculum”, “they could not walk to the school”,
“they could not cope with the other children’s comments”.
 Integration will often focus on a particular group of students, such as those with mild
impairments, and assume that not all children can be integrated.
 Despite being based on similar concepts to segregated special education, integrated
education is, in practice, often a precursor to inclusion, and can lead to changes in the
system.
The main challenge with integration is that it has not been accompanied by changes in the
organization of the school, its curriculum, and teaching and learning strategies. This lack of
organizational changes has proved to be one of the major barriers to support every individual
with disabilities fairly. It has criticized as exclusion with in inclusion. Students with disabilities
are physically in the class but they were not learning which results in school dropout, class
repetition, or low achievements. Revised thinking has thus led to a re-conceptualization of
‘special needs’ to inclusive education. This view implies that progress is more likely if we
recognized that difficulties experienced by students with disabilities result from the ways in
which schools are organized and from rigid teaching methods. It has been argued that schools
need to be reformed and pedagogy needs to be improved in ways that will lend them to respond

36
positively to pupils’ diversity-seeing individual differences not as problems to be fixed, but as
opportunities for enriching learning (UNESCO, 2005).
Inclusion

I
nclusion is seen as a process of addressing and responding to the diversity of needs of all
learners through increasing participation in learning, in cultures and communities, and
reducing exclusion within and from education. It involves changes and modifications in
content, approaches, structures and strategies, with a common vision which covers all
children of the appropriate age range and a conviction that it is the responsibility of the regular
system to educate all children.
Inclusion is concerned with providing appropriate responses to the broad spectrum of learning
needs informal and non-formal educational setting. Rather than being a marginal issue on how
some learners can be integrated in mainstream education, inclusive education is an approach that
looks into how to transform education systems and other learning environments in order to
respond to the diversity of learners. It aims towards enabling teachers and learners both to feel
comfortable with diversity and to see it as a challenge and an enrichment of the learning
environment, rather than a problem. Inclusion emphasizes providing opportunities for equal
participation of persons with disabilities (physical, social and/or emotional) whenever possible
into general education, but leaves often the possibility of personal choice and options for special
assistance and facilities for those who need it (Ekelindh and Brule, 2006).

It is about the child’s right to participate and the school’s duty to accept and ensure this right. It
is thus about rejecting exclusion of learners for any reason, maximization of the participation of
all learners, making learning more meaningful for all children, and rethinking and restructuring
school policies, curricula and practices so that all learning needs can be met. Only by removing
physical and social barriers to learning can one create truly inclusive classrooms and societies
and speak of education for all (EFA) in a holistic sense.
The fundamental principle of inclusion is that all children should learn together, wherever
possible, regardless of any difficulties or differences they may have. Inclusion in the context of
education is based on the idea that all children should learn together, regardless of differences or
disability. Inclusive education extends beyond special needs arising from disabilities, and
includes consideration of other sources of disadvantage and marginalization, such as gender,

37
poverty, language, ethnicity, and geographic isolation. The complex inter-relationships that exist
among these factors and their interactions with disability must also be a focus of attention.
Besides, inclusive education begins with the premise that all learners have unique characteristics,
interests, abilities and particular learning needs and, further, that learners with special education
needs must have equal access to and receive individual accommodation in the general education
system. Inclusive education approaches differences and diversity affirmatively, recognizing the
value of such differences and the learning opportunities that such diversity offers. Inclusion
implies transition from separate, segregated learning environments for persons with disabilities
reflected in the “special education” approach, to schooling in the general education system.
Moreover, effective transitions from special education approaches to inclusive education requires
careful planning and structural changes to ensure that learners with disabilities are not placed
within the regular or mainstream school system without the appropriate accommodation and
supports that ensure an inclusive learning environment. in addition, inclusive schools must
recognize and respond to the diverse needs of their students, accommodating both different styles
of and rates of learning and ensuring quality to all through appropriate curricula, organizational
arrangements, teaching strategies, resource use and partnerships, with their communities. There
should be a continuum of support and services to match the continuum of special needs
encountered in every school.
Furthermore, UNESCO (2005) has provided four major inclusion principles that support
inclusive practice. These include:
1. Inclusion is a process. It has to be seen as a never-ending search to find better ways of
responding to diversity. It is about learning how to live with difference and learning how to learn
from difference. Differences come to be seen more positively as a stimulus for fostering learning
amongst children and adults.
2. Inclusion is concerned with the identification and removal of barriers. It involves collecting,
collating and evaluating information from a wide variety of sources in order to plan for
improvements in policy and practice. It is about using evidence of various kinds to stimulate
creativity and problem - solving.
3. Inclusion is about the presence, participation and achievement of all students. ‘Presence’ is
concerned with where children are educated and how reliably and punctually they attend;
‘participation’ relates to the quality of their experiences and must incorporate the views of

38
learners and ‘achievement’ is about the outcomes of learning across the curriculum, not just test
and exam results.
4. Inclusion invokes a particular emphasis on those groups of learners who may be at risk of
marginalization, exclusion or underachievement. This indicates the moral responsibility to ensure
that those ‘at risk’ are carefully monitored, and that steps are taken to ensure their presence,
participation and achievement.

1.5 Models of understanding disability

A
model is a set of guiding assumptions, concepts, and propositions about the nature
of phenomena or human experience. Models have often been defined as human-
made tools for understanding and human-made guidelines for action. As would be
expected, treatment and intervention strategies are guided by the type of disability
model used. Different models of disability have different uses, and each model has its advantages
and limitations. Here under we will see three basic models of conceptualizing disability: 1)
traditional model. 2) medical model. 3) social model.
Each of the following models formed the basis for the development of different types of services.

1.5.1 Traditional Model

T
he traditional model associates disability with sin, shame and feelings of guilt. This
is historically the oldest model, resulting in general social rejection and ostracism,
generating a feeling of self-hatred, dependency and hopelessness (Kaplan, 2004).
That is, the cause of disability is wrongly perceived as: a) a curse; b) a consequence
of a sin or wrong doings or evil deeds by parents; ancestors, the persons with disabilities
themselves; or c) other supernatural presences.
This sort of unfounded causal attribution creates a disheartening feeling and psychological shock
on the part of the family members at the birth of a child with disability. That may ultimately
generate a psychological distance between persons with disabilities, the community as well as
the society at large.
Implication of Traditional Model for PWD: PWD become without any type of service,
dependent, subject of charity, consider themselves as sign of shame, hidden behind home etc.

39
1.5.2 Medical model

U
nder the Medical Model, persons with disabilities are defined by their illness or
medical condition. Through the medical model, disability is understood as an
individual problem. If somebody has an impairment – a visual, mobility or hearing
impairment, for example their inability to see, walk or hear is understood as their
disability. It promotes the view of a person with disability as dependent and needing to be cured
or cared for, and justifies the way in which persons with disabilities have been systematically
excluded from society. The person with disability is the problem, not society. Control resides
firmly with professionals; choices for the individual are limited to the options provided and
approved by the 'helping’ expert.
This model employs objective, clear-cut, standardized measures and as the name suggests, uses
experts, such as physicians to provide defining characteristics, causes prognoses and methods of
treatment. The medical model conceived the problem as existing entirely within the individual
and focused all efforts on fixing the individual.
The medical model of disability also affects the way persons with disabilities think about
themselves. Many persons with disabilities internalize the negative message that all disabled
people’s problems stem from not having ‘normal’ bodies. People with disabilities have generally
rejected this model. They say it has led to their low self-esteem, undeveloped life skills, poor
education and consequent high unemployment levels.
Implication of Medical Model for PWD: Segregated Education/Special Education /Offsite
services/ Rehabilitation centers, residential schools etc or Modern way of hiding children with
disabilities/

1.5.3 The Social Model

T
hrough the social model, disability is understood as an unequal relationship within a
society in which the needs of people with impairments are often given little or no
consideration. People with impairments are disabled by the fact that they are
excluded from participation within the mainstream of society as a result of physical,
organizational and attitudinal barriers.
Disability is no longer seen as an individual problem but as a social issue caused by policies,
practices, attitudes and/or the environment. The social model is about the barriers that disabled

40
people face. For example, if a wheelchair user cannot climb stairs, then a ramp or a stair lift
should be fitted. If a blind person cannot read written information then the solution is to provide
it in an alternative format such as audio or braille. Disability is therefore a particular form of
social oppression and focuses on the barriers (attitudinal, environmental and organizational)
which prevent disabled people from having equality of opportunity in education, employment,
housing, transport, leisure and so on.
This model refuses to accept the inferior, dependent, and stigmatizing definition of disability;
furthermore, in this model, disability is defined as a social construction in that the limitations and
disadvantages experienced by people with disabilities have nothing to do with the disability but
are only social constrictions and therefore unwarranted. If society constructs disability, society
can also deconstruct disability. Stigmatization, prejudice, discrimination, inferiority and
handicapism are not inevitable, natural or unavoidable consequences of disabilities.
Implication of Social Model for PWD: Integration/Inclusion/Awareness Raising etc
Generally, no one today subscribes to a single disability model. There is a purpose for each
model, and comparison and combination of models can result in greater accuracy and detail in
understanding the disability experience. It is important to understand how these models of
disability relate to each other.
i. What can you learn from the above three models?

?
ii. Which one is the best model to explain disability for you? Why?
iii. What is the shortcoming of each model?
iv. Discuss the virtue of each model
v. In which of the model/s does the majority of understanding of your community/society
coincide? Why?

1.6 Vulnerability

1.6.1 Definition of vulnerability

?
i. What is vulnerability?

41
 ii. Discuss dimensions of vulnerability.
iii. Discuss characteristics of vulnerable people.

I
t is true that vulnerability has no universal definition, but undoubtedly it is a powerful
analytical tool in describing the existing condition of susceptibility to harm,
powerlessness, and marginality of both physical and socio-ecological systems.
Being vulnerable means being at risk of being harmed. Everyone can be harmed, so being
vulnerable is part of being human. In principle, everyone is vulnerable to some adverse event or
circumstance, but some people are more vulnerable than others. For instance, people with
disabilities are more likely as a group to experience greater vulnerability. They are also often
more severely affected by the vulnerability they experience.
Based on the existing literature, vulnerability can be generally defined as a complex phenomenon
that refers to the following dimensions:
1. Economic difficulties/lack of financial resources: poverty, low living standards, housing
problems (e.g. too damp, too expensive, too cold or difficult to heat) etc.;
2. Social exclusion: limited access to facilities such as shops, schools, libraries or medical
services;
3. Lack of social support from social networks: no assistance from family members, friends,
neighbors or colleagues (referring to practical help as well as emotional support) like
highly gifted individuals;
4. Stigmatization: being a victim of stereotypes, being devalued, confronted with
disgraceful behavior because of belonging to a particular social or ethnic group;
5. Health difficulties: disadvantages resulting from poor mental health, physical health or
disabilities;
6. Being a victim of crime: in family context especially of violence.

1.6.2 Characteristics of Vulnerable People

The following are thought to be characteristics of vulnerable people (with examples of groups of
potentially vulnerable people):
1. less physically or mentally capable (infants, older adults, people with disabilities)
2. fewer material and/or financial resources (low-income households, homeless)

42
 3. less knowledge or experience (children, illiterate, foreigners, tourists)
4. restricted by commitments (people taking care of children, people with pets)
These four characteristics lie at the root causes of how people can be vulnerable and unable to
prepare themselves for or save themselves from disaster (i.e., damaging or destructive event: an
event that causes serious loss, destruction, hardship, unhappiness, or death). When considering
the characteristics of who are vulnerable people to disasters, an overlap may exist where people
can have multiple characteristics simultaneously or their characteristics may change during their
lifetime. People who are helped by others (who are then restricted by commitments) are still
vulnerable people, but their resilience is increased by the help.

Source Identified potentially vulnerable groups and characteristics and/or circumstances

influencing vulnerability
Comfort et al. The groups include women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, the very
(1999) old, and the very young.
Morrow (1999) The groups and circumstances include people living in poverty, older adults,
woman-headed households, recent residents, gender, race, ethnicity, single-parent
households, human or personal resources (education), family and social resources
(networks of reciprocity), political resources (power, autonomy ), residents of
group living facilities, people with physical or mental disabilities, renters, poor
households, large households, large concentrations of children/youth, homeless,
tourists, and transients.
McEntire et al. The groups include women, children, older adults, people with disabilities,
(2002) minority groups, tourists, and people living in poverty. Circumstances include
people’s values, attitudes, and practices.
Cardona (2003) Circumstances include fragility of the family and the collective economy, the
absence of basic social utilities, lack of access to property and credit, the
presence of ethnic and political discrimination, polluted air and water resources,
high rates of illiteracy, and the absence of educational opportunities. The groups
include older adults, children, and women.
Brooks (2003) Circumstances include poverty, inequality, health, access to resources, and social
status. Adaptation depends on health, education, access to information, financial

43
 and natural resources, social networks, and absence of conflict.
Dwyer et al. Circumstances include age, income, residence type, tenure, employment, English
(2004) skills, household type, disability, house insurance, health insurance, debt and
savings, car, and gender. Qualitative indicators include sense of community,
emotional capacity, psychological capacity, trust in authority figure,
understanding of natural hazard, perception of risk, capacity for change, core
beliefs and values, preparedness, and capabilities of local government.
Vincent (2004) Circumstances include economic well-being and poverty, demographic structure,
institutional stability and strength of public infrastructure, global
interconnectivity, and natural resource dependence. Specific indicators include
population below income poverty line, population that is < 15 or > 65, adults
aged 15–49 living with HIV/AIDS, and % of the rural population.
Adger et al. Circumstances include public health expenditure, disability-adjusted life
(2004) expectancy, maternal mortality, AIDS/HIV infection, calorie intake, education
expenditure, and literacy rate.
Leichenko et al. Circumstances include agricultural dependency, vulnerability of agricultural
(2004) workforce, adult literacy rate, if < 48.5% of the population in the 0–6 age group
is female, and female literacy rate.
Rygel et al. Circumstances include poverty, gender, race and ethnicity, age and disabilities.
(2006)
Thomalla et al. The groups include women, older adults, children, ethnic/religious minorities,
(2006) single-headed households, people engaged in marginal livelihoods, socially
excluded groups (“illegal” settlers and others whose rights and claims to
resources are not officially recognized), and those with inadequate access to
economic (credit/welfare) and social (networks/information/relationships) capital.
National Circumstances include gender, age, education, profession, income, ethnicity,
Research class, number of dependents, lack of access to resources, limited access to
Council (2006) political power and representation, certain beliefs and customs, demographic
characteristics, built environment, infrastructure, and urbanization.
Naudé et al. Circumstances and groups include population density, urbanization rate, human
(2007) development index, people in poverty, unemployment rate, volatility in income,

44
 and people with HIV.
Yarnal (2007) The groups include people living in poverty, the weak, the sick, older adults,
people who are unemployed, people who are and friendless, the very young,
people who are physically or mentally challenged, poorly educated or non-
English speakers, women, single-mother households, and minorities.
Rovins (2009) Circumstances include the impacts to the social structure such as injury and
death, demographics, and the psychological effects on the populous.
Laukkonen et Circumstances and groups include the location of settlements, how settlements
al. (2009) are serviced, capabilities of local governments, coping skills of communities,
poor communities, urban poor, women, older adults, and children.
Cutter et al. Circumstances and groups include education, those who are not older adults,
(2010) those owning vehicles or phones, those with language competency, people
without sensory/physical/mental disability, those with health insurance coverage,
homeownership, the employed, those with flood insurance (Note: these are
factors judged as increasing resilience).
Kahn and Circumstances include population density, illiteracy, lack of decent housing, lack
Salman (2012) of decent standard of living, dependence on agriculture/livestock, and casual
labor/lack of industrial base.
Dinh et al. Circumstances and groups include growing coastal population, shelters, % of
(2012) people with disabilities, children and older adults (< 14, > 65), awareness and
preparedness.
Jubeh and Mimi Circumstances include the < 5 mortality rate, educational level, government
(2012) effectiveness, political stability and absence of violence, voice and
accountability, rule of law, and control of corruption.
Balica et al. Circumstances include cultural heritage, number of shelters, % of people with
(2012) disabilities (< 14, > 65), awareness and preparedness, and recovery time.
Rubin (2010a) The groups include ethnic minorities, women, children, people with disabilities,
older adults, those with limited proficiency in English, and individuals housed in
institutions such as hospitals or prisons.
Adikari et al. The groups and circumstances include older adults, children, literacy, awareness
(2013) and building code reinforcement.

45
GP DRR (2013) The groups include the most at-risk people, particularly low-income households,
women, children, displaced, older adults, and people with disabilities.
MacDonald People of different racial and socioeconomic groups, communities of color,
(2013) recent/low-income immigrants limited by economic/political/social resources.
GNCSODR The groups include people from developing countries, women, children, older
(2013) adults, the most at risk (poorest and marginalized people), youth, displaced, and
people with disabilities.
Lee et al. (2014) Circumstances and groups include the age-related dependency ratio (those < 15,
> 64), unplanned urbanization, political corruption, capacity for early warning,
community solidarity, and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) education.

?
1.6.3 Vulnerability of Gifted Students

Is there a possibility that gifted students become vulnerable? Explain.

Students who are labeled as gifted in a certain area may feel isolation as they are pulled from
their regular classrooms and given instruction in separate settings. These students sometimes
“they feel lonely even when they are popular and that they try to hide their giftedness to save
their friendships” (Shechtman & Silektor, 2012, p. 63). They may feel as if they are different
from others and experiences feelings of loneliness, especially in the school setting. Children
who are gifted often may feel as if they are not part of the normal group. According to Barbara
Clark (2013), “the gifted label itelf may create problems between these children and others in the
classroom” (p. 113). These feelings can lead to poor interpersonal relationships among highly
gifted students and their average intelligence counterparts. According to Lovecky (1992), highly
gifted students can have trouble finding peers who truly understand and appreciate their unusual
and advanced perceptions (p. 18).” It is important for parents and teachers to help these students
find peers who have either common interests or are intellectually challenging.

Highly gifted students can have their interpersonal relationships affected by their perfectionism.
They may often feel they have more unstable relationships due to the fact they feel they do not

46
measure up to the standards of others (Schuler, 2000). Perfectionism can also cause gifted
students to set unrealistic expectations and standards for those around them (Clark, 2013). These
unhealthy expectations can put a strain on their social interactions. hese children tend to take on
too take on too much responsibility for their relationships. They then compensate by trying to
please those around them resulting in them feeling personal responsibility for the feelings of
others (Lovecky, 1992). Diedre Lovecky (1992)
The resulting relationships can be negative because the child is not fully involved in the
relationship as an individual and, instead, behave in ways they believe will please their peers.
Their relationships can also tend to be somewhat one-sided. For example, often their peers tend
to take advantage of them using them to do the work and forcing them to be the responsible party
(Lovecky, 1992). Children who are gifted often have trouble interacting with children their own
age. They often feel isolated and lonely (Schechtman & Silektor, 2012). As a result of these
feelings, the students will often have trouble with certain social skills such as friendship, conflict
resolution and tolerance (Schechtman & Silektor, 2012).

Another area of vulnerability for academically gifted students is that they are often viewed as
less appealing than their artistically or physically gifted counterparts. Children who are
advanced in certain sports are often idolized or thought more highly of than those who are smart
in reading or math. “Smart” children are often labeled as nerds or geeks and can be the brunt of
cruel bullying by their peers (O’Connor, 2012). Often students who are “sporting prodigies are
characterized by admiration, and stories about musical prodigies are characterized by awe, then
stories about academic prodigies could best be described as being characterized by pity”
(O’Connor, 2012, p. 301). Academic students need to be encouraged to foster their talents just
as athletic or artistic students are taught to foster their skills. These stereotypical attitudes must
also be addressed in order to help gifted students feel accepted and understood.

47
 Chapter Two
2. Concept of Inclusion
Chapter Overview

This chapter tries to introduce students with the concept inclusion. The specific
contents addressed in the chapter Include: definition of inclusion, concept of
inclusion, inclusion shift from special education and integrated education,
rationale for inclusion, factors that influenced development of inclusion, benefits
of inclusion to students, teachers' parents and society, inclusive school and
classroom environment, strategies to implement inclusion in teaching and
learning processes and barriers to inclusion.

Learning Objectives

After the students have studied this chapter, they will be able to:

■ Define inclusion,
■ Discuss the concept of inclusion in education,
■ Identify reason regarding shift from special education and integrated
education inclusion,
■ Differentiate the major rationales for inclusion,
■ List factors that influenced development of inclusion,
■ Identify benefits of inclusion to students, teachers' parents and society,
■ Name major characteristics of inclusive school and inclusive classroom
environments,
■ Point out strategies to implement inclusion in teaching and learning processes
■ Differentiate the major barriers to inclusion.

2.1. Definition of Inclusion

Brainstorming Questions
■ What comes to your mind when you hear about the word inclusion?

48
 ■ Do you know to whom inclusion is required? Why?

?
■ Who do you think benefit from inclusion?
■ Why inclusion has got the world wide attention?
■ Where do you think inclusion originated from?
■ How do you think inclusion can be implemented?
■ What are the barriers to inclusion?

Inclusion in education/service refers to "an ongoing process aimed at offering quality

education/services for all while respecting diversity and the different needs and abilities,
characteristics and learning expectations of the students and communities and eliminating
all forms of discrimination" (UNESCO, 2008, P.3, as cited in EADSNE, 2010, p.11).
Inclusive services at any level are quality provisions without discrimination or partiality
and meeting the diverse needs of people.

nclusion is seen as a process of addressing and responding to the diversity of needs

I of all persons through increasing participation in learning, employment, services,

cultures and communities, and reducing exclusion at all social contexts. It involves
changes and modifications in content, approaches, structures and strategies, with a common
vision which covers all people, a conviction that it is the responsibility of the social system to
educate all children (UNESCO 2005), employ and provide social services. Besides, inclusion is
defined as having a wide range of strategies, activities and processes that seek to make a reality
of the universal right to quality, relevant and appropriate education and services. It
acknowledges that learning begins at birth and continues throughout life, and includes learning
in the home, the community, and in formal, informal and non-formal situations. It seeks to
enable communities, systems and structures in all cultures and contexts to combat
discrimination, celebrate diversity, promote participation and overcome barriers to learning and
participation for all people. It is part of a wider strategy promoting inclusive development, with
the goal of creating a world where there is peace, tolerance, and sustainable use of resources,
social justice, and where the basic needs and rights of all are met. This definition has the
following components:

49
1) Concepts about learners
• Education is a fundamental human right for all people
• Learning begins at birth and continues throughout life
• All children have a right to education within their own community
• Everyone can learn, and any child can experience difficulties in learning
• All learners need their learning supported child-focused teaching benefits all children.
2) Concepts about the education system and schools
• It is broader than formal schooling
• it is flexible, responsive educational systems
• It creates enabling and welcoming educational environments
• It promotes school improvement - makes effective schools
• It involves whole school approach and collaboration between partners.
3) Concepts about diversity and discrimination

• It promotes combating discrimination and exclusionary pressures at any social sectors

• It enables responding to/embracing diversity as a resource not as a problem

• It prepares learners for an inclusive society that respects and values difference.
4) Concepts about processes to promote inclusion
• It helps to identifying and overcoming barriers to participation and exclusionary
pressures
• It increases real participation of all collaboration, partnership between all stakeholders
• It promotes participatory methodology, action research, collaborative enquiry and other
related activities
5) Concepts about resources
• Promotes unlocking and fully using local resources redistributing existing resources
• It helps to perceive people (children, parents, teachers, members of marginalized
groups, etc) as key resources
• It helps to use appropriate resources and support within schools and at local levels for
the needs of different children, e.g. mother tongue tuition, Braille, assistive devices.

50
McLeskey and Waldron (2000) have identified inclusion and non-inclusive practices. According
to them inclusion includes the following components:

• Students with disabilities and vulnerability attend their neighborhood schools

• Each student is in an age-appropriate general education classroom
• Every student is accepted and regarded as a full and valued member of the class and the
school community.
• Special education supports are provided to each student with a disability within the context
of the general education classroom.
• All students receive an education that addresses their individual needs
• No student is excluded based on type or degree of disability.
• All members of the school (e.g., administration, staff, students, and parents) promote
cooperative/collaborative teaching arrangements
• There is school-based planning, problem-solving, and ownership of all students and
programs
• Employed according to their capacities without discriminations

On the other hand, they argue that inclusion does not mean:

• Placing students with disabilities into general education classrooms without careful planning
and adequate support.
• Reducing services or funding for special education services.
• Placing all students who have disabilities or who are at risk in one or a few designated
classrooms.
• Teachers spending a disproportionate amount of time teaching or adapting the curriculum for
students with disabilities.
• Isolating students with disabilities socially, physically, or academically within the general
education school or classroom.
• Endangering the achievement of general education students through slower instruction or a
less challenging curriculum.
• Relegating special education teachers to the role of assistants in the general education
classroom.

51
• Requiring general and special education teachers to team together without careful planning
and well-defined responsibilities.

2. 2. Principles of Inclusion

he fundamental principle of inclusion is that all persons should learn, work and live

T together wherever possible, regardless of any difficulties or differences they may have.
Inclusive education extends beyond special needs arising from disabilities, and includes
consideration of other sources of disadvantage and marginalization, such as gender, poverty,
language, ethnicity, and geographic isolation. The complex inter-relationships that exist among
these factors and their interactions with disability must also be a focus of attention. Besides,
inclusion begins with the premise that all persons have unique characteristics, interests, abilities
and particular learning needs and, further, that all persons have equal access education,
employment and services. Inclusion implies transition from separate, segregated learning and
working environments for persons with disabilities to community based systems. Moreover,
effective transitions from segregated services to inclusive system requires careful planning and
structural changes to ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with appropriate
accommodation and supports that ensure an inclusive learning and

working environment. Furthermore, UNESCO (2005) has provided four major inclusion
principles that support inclusive practice. These include:

1. Inclusion is a process. It has to be seen as a never-ending search to find better ways of

responding to diversity. It is about learning how to live with difference and learning how
to learn from difference. Differences come to be seen more positively as a stimulus for
fostering learning amongst children and adults.
2. Inclusion is concerned with the identification and removal of barriers that hinders the
development of persons with disabilities. It involves collecting, collating and evaluating
information from a wide variety of sources in order to plan for improvements in policy
and practice. It is about using evidence of various kinds to stimulate creativity and
problem - solving.

52
 3. Inclusion is about the presence, participation and achievement of all persons. 'Presence'
is concerned with where persons are provided and how reliably and punctually they
attend; 'participation' relates to the quality of their experiences and must incorporate the
views of learners/and or workers and 'achievement' is about the outcomes of learning
across the curriculum, not just test and exam results.
4. Inclusion invokes a particular emphasis on those who may be at risk of marginalization,
exclusion or underachievement. This indicates the moral responsibility to ensure that
those 'at risk' are carefully monitored, and that steps are taken to ensure their presence,
participation and achievement.
2.3. Rationale for Inclusion

Reflection activities: ?
Dear students, why do you think inclusion in education is implemented in many countries of the
world?

Implementation of inclusion has number of rationales.

The major ones include: educational, social, legal, economic and inclusive society building
foundations
Rationales for Inclusion and Their Respective Descriptions
Educational Foundations
• Children do better academically, psychologically and socially in inclusive settings.
• A more efficient use of education resources.
• Decreases dropouts and repetitions
• Teachers competency( knowledge, skills, collaboration, satisfaction
Social Foundation
• Segregation teaches individuals to be fearful, ignorant and breeds prejudice.
• All individuals need an education that will help them develop relationships
and prepare them for life in the wider community.
• Only inclusion has the potential to reduce fear and to build friendship, respect
and understanding.

53
 Legal Foundations
• All individuals have the right to learn and live together.
• Human being shouldn't be devalued or discriminated against by being
excluded or sent away because of their disability.
• There are no legitimate reasons to separate children for their education
Economic Foundation
• Inclusive education has economic benefit, both for individual and for society.
• Inclusive education is more cost-effective than the creation of special schools
across the country.
• Children with disabilities go to local schools
• Reduce wastage of repetition and dropout
• Children with disabilities live with their family use community infrastructure
• Better employment and job creation opportunities for people with disabilities

Foundations for Building Inclusive Society

• Formation of mutual understanding and appreciation of diversity
• Building up empathy, tolerance and cooperation
• Promotion of sustainable development
2.4. Factors that Influenced Development of Inclusion
Brainstorming questions: Dear student:
1. As stated earlier, inclusive education has got priority as the main education policy in many
countries of the world. Why do you think it has got the world's attention?
2. Is it possible to solve different crises that the world is acing these days by implementing
inclusion philosophy? If your answer is "Yes," how it is possible? If your answer is "No,"
why it is not possible?
3. What do you think are the drivers of inclusion to be materialized in reality?

nclusiveness originated from three major ideas. These include: inclusive education is a

I basic human right; quality education results from inclusion of students with diverse
needs and ability differences, and there is no clear demarcation between the
characteristics of students with and without disabilities and vulnerabilities. Therefore,

54
separate provisions for such students cannot be justified. Moreover, inclusion has got the
world's attention because it is supposed to solve the world's major problems occurring in
social, economic, religious, educational and other areas of the world. For instance, it is
supposed to : counteract-social, political, economical and educational challenges that happen
due to globalization impact; enhance psychosocial, academic and other benefits to students
with and without special needs education; help all citizens exercise educational and human
rights; enhance quality education for all in regular class rooms through inclusion; create
sustainable environmental development that is suitable for all human beings; create
democratic and productive society

that promote sustainable development; build an attitude of respecting and valuing of differences
in human beings; and ultimately build an inclusive society.

Inclusive education is facilitated by many influencing actors. Some of the major drivers include:

1. Communities: pre-colonial and indigenous approaches to education and community-

based programs movement that favor inclusion of their community members.
2. Activists and advocates: the combined voices of primary stakeholders - representatives
of groups of learners often excluded and marginalized from education (e.g. disabled
activists; parents advocating for their children; child rights advocates; and those
advocating for women/girls and minority ethnic groups).
3. The quality education and school improvement movement: in both North and South,
the issues of quality, access and inclusion are strongly linked, and contribute to the
understanding and practice of inclusive education as being the responsibility of
education systems and schools.
4. Special educational needs movement: the 'new thinking' of the special needs education
movement - as demonstrated in the Salamanca Statement - has been a positive influence
on inclusive education, enabling schools and systems to really respond to a wide range of
diversity.
5. Involvement of International agencies: the UN is a major influence on the
development of inclusive education policy and practice. Major donors have formed a

55
 partnership - the Fast Track Initiative - to speed progress towards the EFA goals. E.g.
UNESCO, etc.
6. Involvement of NGOs movements, networks and campaigns: a wide range of civil
society initiatives, such as the Global Campaign for Education, seek to bring policy and
practice together and involve all stakeholders based on different situations
7. Other factors: the current world situation and practical experiences in education. The
current world situation presents challenges such as the spread of HIV/AIDS, political
instability, trends in resource distribution, diversity of population, and social inclusion.
This necessitates implementation of inclusion to solve the problems. On the other hand,
practical experiences in education offers lessons learned from failure and success in
mainstream, special and inclusive education. Moreover, practical demonstrations of
successful inclusive education in different cultures and contexts are a strong influence on
its development
Benefits of Inclusion

It is now understood that inclusion benefits communities, families, teachers, and students by
ensuring that children with disabilities attend school with their peers and providing them with
adequate support to succeed both academically and socially.

1. Benefits for Students with Special Needs Education

In inclusive settings people will develop:

• Appropriate models of behavior. They can observe and imitate socially acceptable
behaviors of the students without special needs
• Improved friendships with the social environment
• Increased social initiations, interactions, relationships and networks
• Gain peer role models for academic, social and behavior skills
• Increased achievement of individualized educational program (IEP) goals
• Greater access to general curriculum
• Enhanced skill acquisition and generalization in their learning
• improved academic achievement which leads to quality education service s

56
 • Attending inclusive schools increases the probability that students with SEN will
continue to participate in a variety of integrated settings throughout their lives
(increased inclusion in future environments that contribute building of inclusive
society).
• Improved school staff collaboration to meet these students' needs and ability
differences
• Increased parental participation to meet these students' needs and ability differences
• Enhanced families integration into the community
2. Benefits for persons without Special Needs
Education

Students without special educational needs (SEN) will:

• Have a variety of opportunities for interacting with their age peers who experience SEN in
inclusive school settings.
• serve as peer tutors during instructional activities
• Play the role of a special 'buddy' during lunch, in the bus or playground.
• Gain knowledge of a good deal about tolerance, individual difference, and human
exceptionality.
• Learn that students with SEN have many positive characteristics and abilities.
• Have chance to learn about many of the human service profession such as special education,
speech therapy, physical therapy, recreation therapy, and vocational rehabilitation. For some,
exposure to these areas may lead to career choices.
• Have increased appreciation, acceptance and respect of individual differences among human
beings that leads to increased understanding and acceptance of diversity
• Get greater opportunities to master activities by practicing and teaching others
• Have increased academic outcomes

• have opportunity to learn to communicate, and deal effectively with a wide range of
individuals; this prepares them to fully participate in society when they are adults that make
them build an inclusive society

57
3. Benefits for Society

Inclusion goes beyond education and should involve consideration of employment,

recreation, health and living conditions. It should therefore involve transformations across all
government and other agencies at all levels of society.

When students with special needs and without special needs are educated through quality
inclusive education, it not only benefits students, teachers and parents it also benefits the
society. Some of the major benefits may include:

Introduction of students with disabilities and vulnerabilities into mainstream schools bring in
the students into local communities and neighborhoods and helps break down barriers and
prejudice that prevail in the society towards persons with disability.

Communities become more accepting of difference, and everyone benefits from a friendlier,
open environment that values and appreciates differences in human beings.

Meaningful participation in the economic, social, political and cultural life of communities
own cost effective non-segregated schooling system that services both students with and
without special needs education.

Ultimate Goal of Inclusion

Brainstorming questions
Dear student, what do you think about the ultimate goal regarding the implementation of
quality inclusive education?

goal of inclusive education is to create schools where everyone

The belongs. By creating inclusive schools, we ensure that there's a

welcoming place in the community for everyone after their school
year's end. Students educated together have a greater understanding of

58
difference and diversity. Students educated together have fewer fears about difference and
disability. An inclusive school culture creates better long-term outcomes for all students. Typical
students who are educated alongside peers with developmental disabilities understand more
about the ways that they're all alike. These are the students who will be our children's peer group
and friends. These students hold the promise of creating inclusive communities in the future for
all our children. These students will be the teachers, principals, doctors, lawyers, and parents
who build communities where everyone belongs. Inclusive society is a necessary precondition
for inclusive growth is a society which does not exclude or discriminate against its citizens on
the basis of disability, caste, race, gender, family or community, a society which 'levels the
playing field for investment' and leaves no one behind. Thus, Inclusive growth which is
equitable that offers equality of opportunity to all as well as protection in market and
employment transitions results from inclusive society.

Reflection

 Dear student, can you explain the benefits o inclusive education or

students, teachers, parents and society at large?
 What kink o society can be created when inclusive education is properly
implemented?

. Features of Inclusive Environment

Brain storming questions:

?
Dear learners, what does inclusive environment mean?
Do you think it is possible to create an inclusive environment?

What could be the major components of inclusive environment in terms of inclusive education?

An inclusive environment is one in which members feel respected by and connected to one
another. An inclusive environment is an environment that welcomes all people, regardless of
their disability and other vulnerabilities. It recognizes and uses their skills and strengthens their
abilities. An inclusive service environment is respectful, supportive, and equalizing. An

59
inclusive environment reaches out to and includes individuals with disabilities and
vulnerabilities at all levels — from first time participants to board members.

It has the following major characteristics:

• it ensures the respect and dignity of individuals with disabilities

• it meets current accessibility standards to the greatest extent possible to all people with
special needs
• provides accommodations willingly and proactively

Persons with disabilities are welcomed and are valued for their contributions as individuals.

2.5. Inclusive Environments

An inclusive environment is a place that is adjusted to individuals' needs and not vice versa -
that individuals are adjusted to the environmental needs. It acknowledges that individual
differences among individuals are a source of richness and diversity, and not a problem, and that
various nee4s and the individual pace of learning and development can be met successfully with
a wide range of flexible approaches. Besides, the environment should involve continuous
process of changes directed towards strengthening and encouraging different ways of
participation of all members of the community.

An inclusive environment is also directed towards developing culture, policy and practice which
meet pupils' diversities, towards identifying and removing obstacles in learning and
participating, towards developing a suitable provisions and supporting individuals.

Therefore, successful environment has the following characteristics:

• It develops whole-school/environment processes that promote inclusiveness and

quality provisions and practice that are responsive to the individual needs and
diversities

60
 • It recognizes and responds to the diverse needs of their individuals and ensuring
quality provisions for all through appropriate accommodations, organizational
arrangements, resource use and partnerships with their community.

• It is committed to serve all individuals together regardless of differences. It is also

deeply committed to the belief that all persons can learn, work and be productive.
• It involves restructuring environment, culture, policy, and practice.
• It promoting pro-social activities
• It makes provides services and facilities equally accessible to all people
• It involves mobilizing resources within the community
• It is alert to and uses a range of multi-skilled personnel to assist people in their
learning and working environment.

• It strives to create strong links with, clinicians, caregivers, and staff in local schools,
work place, disability services providers and relevant support agencies within the
wider community.

• It develops social relationships as an equal member of the class. It is also the classroom
responsive to the diversity of individuals' academic, social and personal learning
needs.

B
arriers to Inclusion
• Though many countries seem committed to inclusion their rhetoric, and
even in their legislation and policies, practices often fall short. Reasons for
the policy-practice gap in inclusion are diverse. The major barriers include:
• Problems related with societal values and beliefs- particularly the community and policy
makers negative attitude towards students with disability and vulnerabilities. Inclusion
cannot flourish in a society that has prejudice and negative attitude towards persons with
disability.
• Economic factors- this is mainly related with poverty of family, community and society
at large
• Lack of taking measures to ensure conformity of implementation of inclusion practice
with policies

61
 • Lack of stakeholders taking responsibility in their cooperation as well as collaboration
for inclusion
• Conservative traditions among the community members about inclusion
• Lack of knowledge and skills among teachers regarding inclusive education
• Rigid curricula, teaching method and examination systems that do not consider students
with dives needs and ability differences.
• Fragile democratic institutions that could not promote inclusion
• Inadequate resources and inaccessibility of social and physical environments
• Large class sizes that make teachers and stakeholders meet students' diverse needs
• Globalization and free market policy that make students engage in fierce completion,
individualism and individuals' excellence rather than teaching through cooperation,
collaboration and group excellence.
• Using inclusive models that may be imported from other countries.

Reflection questions
Think of Ethiopian socio-cultural, economic and political conditions and reflect
on the following issues.
Do you think the country's socio-cultural, economic and political conditions
suitable to implement inclusive education? What should be done to make

? conditions suitable to implement inclusion?

Due think the schools you leant in relation respecting students' rights to learn,
addressing the students' diverse needs and ability differences and promoting
quality education for all students. Point out the strengths and weakness based on
the inclusive education concepts and practices.

62
 Chapter summary

Inclusion is defined from the concept of education process of education that is

aimed at meeting students' diverse needs in regular classrooms. It focuses not
only students with special educational needs but also students without special
needs.

It is based on the concept o respecting diversity and the different needs and abilities,
characteristics and learning expectations of the students and communities and eliminating all
forms of discrimination in educational, social, economic and other aspects o f life. The concept
of inclusive education originated from three major ideas. These include: inclusive education is a
basic human right; quality education results from inclusion of students with diverse needs and
ability differences, and there is no clear demarcation between the characteristics of students with
and without disabilities and vulnerabilities. Its philosophy centers on enabling communities,
systems and structures in all cultures and contexts to fight discrimination, celebrate diversity,
promote participation and overcome barriers to learning and participation for all people (persons
with and without special educational needs). It is part of a wider strategy promoting inclusive
development, with the goal of creating a world where there is peace, tolerance, and sustainable
use of resources, social justice, and where the basic needs and rights of all persons are met.

Inclusion concept evolved from special and integrated education based on the notion that both
special needs and integrated/mainstreaming education do not address unique needs,
characteristics of students with in regular schools classrooms.

The concept of inclusion has a number of rationales: educational, social, economic, legal and
foundations or inclusive society. Specifically, it has also benefits to students with and without
special educational needs, parents, teachers and society at large. Inclusion is implemented as on
its ultimate goal which is aimed building an inclusive society. The concept of inclusion
development is influenced by different factors: communities, activists and advocates, the quality
education and school improvement movement, special educational needs movement,
involvement of international agencies, involvement of NGOs movements, networks and
campaigns, and other factors such as current world situation and demand or quality education.

63
Inclusive education implementation needs adjusting schools and classrooms environments to
address unique needs of students with diverse needs and ability differences. These environments
should be adjusted address factors that address the students' rights, respecting and valuing
differences, foster team work, and improve academic achievement, promote healthy
psychosocial development.

Implementation inclusion in education aces number of barriers. The barriers are related with
lack of teachers knowledge and skills, their negative attitude; rigid curriculum and teaching and
learning methods; lack of active participation of relevant stakeholders; lack of resources and
facilities; globalization and free market economic policy; and lack of considering local
indigenous values, ideologies and culture and other related factors.

64
 Chapter Three
3. Identification and Differentiated Services
Chapter Overview

The onset of disability is accompanied by a complex series of shocks to the

individual and to everyone around him. The impact of disability and vulnerability
take many form. The immediate effects are often physical pain, limitation of
mobility, disorientation, confusion, uncertainty and a disruption of roles and
patterns of social interaction. Peoples with disabilities and vulnerabilities have
survival (physiological), safety, social, esteem, and self- actualization
(fulfillment) needs like persons without disabilities.

T
his chapter begins with the overview of the impacts of disability on daily life of
peoples with disabilities and vulnerabilities and their needs for inclusive service
provisions. It describes diverse needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities
followed by differentiated intervention and rehabilitation approaches. The chapter further
discusses inclusiveness from different perspectives such as; health services provision,
accessibility of technologies, employment and economic independence, disability and rural life
and access to education for peoples with disabilities and vulnerabilities in brief.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, you are expected to:

• Depict needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities

• Describe the effects of environment on the life of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities.

• Describe intervention and rehabilitation approaches for disabilities and vulnerabilities.

• depict barriers for inclusive services provisions in different sectors

• describe the role technologies in the life of persons with disabilities

• relate the concept of inclusiveness to their specific profession

65
 • Evaluate inclusiveness of services provision in their specific fields of
studies

3.1 Needs of Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerabilities.

Needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities depends on different factors.

?
Dear students

What needs do you think persons with disabilities may have?

Generally speaking they have the similar need as other people do, need to grow, self
actualize.

People with disabilities do not all share a single experience, even of the same
impairment; likewise, professionals in the same discipline (sector) do not follow a
single approach or hold the same values. Exciting new directions will arise from
individual professionals (sectors) working with persons with disabilities and
vulnerabilities on particular briefs. This will produce different responses each time,
complementary and even contradictory directions, but this richness is needed.

Analyzing the human beings, Maslow has identified five categories of needs, with
different priority levels (Fig. 3.1), in the following order: survival (physiological), safety,
social needs, esteem, and self-actualization (fulfillment). Maslow's model is also valid for
persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities, whose needs are similar to those of ordinary
persons. Nevertheless, many of these needs are not fulfilled, so disabilities and vulnerabilities
seek to fulfill these needs and reach a state of wellbeing. Initially, disabilities and
vulnerabilities attempt to fulfill the first level of needs (survival). The survival needs are
formed by the physiological needs and include the biological requirements for feeding,
performing hygiene, sleeping, ADL, and so on. When disabilities and vulnerabilities fulfill
their survival needs, they will look for situations that keep them safe, before moving up the
chain and fulfill their needs to be part of society and to achieve. As an example of needs in
terms of safety, consider a person with visual impairment who wishes to cross the street

66
safely. In contrast, for the elderly, at risk and street children safety might represent the ability
to obtain emergency help after falling and not being able to stand again. Social need is a key
element that disabilities and vulnerabilities would like to develop continuously. For example,
a person with a hearing impairment suffers from a diminution of social contact, while
someone with a motor disability feels excluded from social activities.

The third level of the pyramid relates to esteem, both self-esteem and being favorably
recognized by others. Esteem is often related to the capability of achieving things,
contributing to a work activity and being autonomous. In particular, disabilities and

vulnerabilities in a dependent situation feel the need for increased autonomy, as well as the
opportunity to prove their worth to themselves and others through work or other activities.

Fig.3.1 Abraham's Maslow Hierarchy of needs

67
Persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities have socio-emotional, psychological, physical
and social environmental and economic needs in general. The following list but not last are
basic needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities to ensure equality for all within
our society.

?
Dear student,

List the needs of a person with disability living in your neighbor as much as you can.

a) Full access to the Environment (towns, countryside & buildings)

b) An accessible Transport system
c) Technical aids and equipment
d) Accessible/adapted housing
e) Personal Assistance and support
f) Inclusive Education and Training
g) An adequate Income
h) Equal opportunities for Employment
i) Appropriate and accessible Information

j) Advocacy (towards self-advocacy)

k) Counseling

l) Appropriate and Accessible Health Care

Social Needs of Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerabilities ?

S
ocial protection plays a key role in realizing the rights of persons with disabilities and
vulnerabilities of all ages: providing them with an adequate standard of living, a basic
level of income security; thus reducing levels of poverty and vulnerability. Moreover,
mainstream and/or specific social protection schemes concerning persons with disabilities can
have a major role in promoting their independence and inclusion by meeting their specific needs
and supporting their social participation in a non-discriminatory manner. These social protection

68
measures may include poverty reduction schemes; cash transfer programs, social and health
insurance, public work programs, housing programs, disability pensions and mobility grants.
Social protection from a rights-based approach must accommodate the needs of persons with
disabilities and vulnerabilities. Traditional disability-related social welfare schemes have mainly
focused on poverty rather than taking into account specific challenges faced by persons with
disabilities and vulnerabilities; particularly active participation in education, access to health and
employment. Previous methods of addressing benefits for persons with disabilities have shown
limited progress in overcoming the deeply-rooted social structures and practices that hinder
opportunities for persons with disabilities. Consequently, social protection needs to move
beyond traditional welfare approaches to intervention systems that promote active citizenship,
social inclusion and community participation while avoiding paternalism and dependence.

The right of persons with disabilities to social protection is recognized by the 1948 Universal Declaration

of Human Rights (UDHR), the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

and, more specifically, the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Article 28 of

the CRPD in particular recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living and to

social protection, ensuring the enjoyment of both rights without discrimination on the basis of ability. Therefore,

States parties should take appropriate measures to ensure that they receive equal access to mainstream social

protection programs and services —including basic services, social security systems, poverty reduction programs

and housing programs— but also specific programs and services for disability-related needs and expenses.

Furthermore, the Social Protection Floors Recommendation (No. 202) recognizes the importance of national social

protection floors to provide basic social security guarantees to all persons, including persons with disabilities and

vulnerabilities, across the life cycle (with priority given to poverty, vulnerability, and social exclusion).

3.2 Gender and disability

Dear student, what impact does rural living have on women with disabilities?
?
The importance of work and the daily activities required of living in the country are paramount
in considering gender. For the male and female with disabilities and vulnerable groups, work is
universally seen as important, whether paid work or voluntary. When the work interests of men
with disabilities are similar to those of others around them, their identity as a 'man' becomes
more valuable to the community. However, there are issues around how masculinity in rural

69
areas is constituted. Finding ways to express this through involvement in common activities can
be difficult. Many of male and females with disabilities have creativity and skill in finding ways
to do things and consequently being able to build friendships with other men in their
communities.

Work, particularly paid work, is also important for many of the female contributors.
Sustaining this in the face of community views about disability is at times difficult, particularly
when it is balanced with expectations of traditional women's roles of home making and
childcare. Being excluded from these latter tasks because of others' protective or controlling
views is particularly difficult for some women in asserting their identities as women and
exploring these types of gendered practices.

Identity and disability

The relational nature of identity seems to be of central importance to people with disabilities and
a rural environment in some instances provides a different way for people to be perceived by
others and by themselves. People with disabilities are not primarily clients or service users but
rather are known members of their communities with a shared and, at times, intergenerational
history. The formality of the service system is counterpointed by the relationships people formed
with those who share a rural life.

Identity marked by disability is complex and multilayered; relationships, outside of paid,

formalized service settings. Services are facilitators of a rural life, rather than the focus of rural
life itself. New technologies, determination and interests shape differing identities for people
who are active agents in their own lives.

This is not to argue that rural living is an idyll for people with disabilities. For some,
their interests and aspirations are elsewhere and they may be constrained by the necessity of
living rurally either because of the needed support from families or a personal need for the
refuge of rural living in times of difficulty. Such difficulties are often generated by broader
structural relations of being socially identified as 'disabled', such as with the onset of new
austerity measures.

70
 Disability as part of an individual's identity is seen by some as a struggle. This is often
twofold: internally to individuals and their sense of self and, too often, in the way they are
perceived and constructed by those around them. An acquired disability is experienced as
challenging the nature of one's internal pre-established identity and as a struggle to change the
perceptions and attitudes of others and the physical environment in which a person lives.
Relations with family, friends and communities often provided a contradictory landscape, where
a person has to negotiate his or her new disabled identity yet, at the same time, is able to draw
upon previous shared experiences to become re-embedded in friendships and communities.
Finding ways to gain 'value' in the local community with a disability is an ongoing and, too
often, difficult journey. It is these very journeys that create one's identity and the relational
nature of this identity to the rural landscape.

3.3 Belongingness and disability

Belonging is a complex concept involving an attachment to place, relationships with others, a

sense of safety, common values and a shared and/or developing history. Belonging is also an
internal sense of being at home in one's own body and mind. Persons with disabilities and
vulnerable groups have struggled to come to terms with a body and mind which seem unfamiliar
to them, in which they have to make adjustments or accommodations both for themselves and in
terms of their relationships with others. This internal negotiation and navigation shape their
engagement with their social worlds, particularly in rural communities.

Persons with disabilities in rural areas should have a strong attachment to place,
somewhere familiar and known where they can feel safe, find their ways alone, exercise
autonomy and express their embodied selves. The possibility of making change happen in an
environment, where one's voice is heard, is also seen as a part of belonging in a community.
While this is sometimes a struggle, there is a sense that people can use their personal contacts
and friends to get change to happen when it is needed.

Family relationships as a means of connecting to community and being known by others,

and knowing others outside the family are important. Different kinds of relationship contributed

71
to this sense of belonging, ranging from the more superficial nodding acquaintances to specific
informal support from known others, to the intimacy of close friends and kin.

Historically for people with disabilities, rurality was once the site of exclusion, rather
than belonging, where identity and gender were disregarded in favor of ensuring protection of
people with disabilities and of the society in which they lived. The idea of belonging in a rural
landscape was promoted by people with a vested interest in segregation. People with disabilities
and marginalized groups feel isolated. Some persons with disabilities have actively sought to
migrate to urban environments, to escape from the confines and constraints of small rural
environments and to build broader social networks away from the farm.

Intersectionality

Social structures and norms surrounding age are particularly significant, shaping the kind of
lives people have and their experience of gender and identity. They have particular implications
for people's attachment to place and their aspirations and desires for the future. Age matters, too,
in terms of the support that family and services can offer in a rural environment and the types of
'age-appropriate' opportunities that can be facilitated in the person's home, family and
community. Being a particular 'age' in a rural landscape has implications for the types of social
relationship that are openly facilitated and enabled.

The wider contextual values and economic and social changes have also impact on the
life of persons with disabilities. Religious values that shape the way disability is constituted in
some countries are a powerful influence on the way people with disabilities are able to live their
lives. These values intersect with societal expectations of gender roles. Many peoples with
disabilities are subjected to being viewed as objects of pity and prevailing myths about their
capacities, socially and individually. These social myths are key sites of struggle and, as
suggested earlier, are deeply intertwined with a person's own subjective understandings of
gendered identities and sense of belonging as a person with a disability.

Economic changes which have led to mass migration from the rural to the urban and
increased the emphasis on citizens' economic contribution to society have also had an impact on

72
rural living for some people. Further, structural changes, such as austerity and welfare retraction,
in some countries have created unique pressures on some people with disabilities living in rural
areas. These places may provide a space to 'hide', a place where one is known and familiar, and
where one is sheltered from the negative attitudes that accompany government cutbacks. Such
prevailing economic constraints also lead to new forms of isolation. The constant pressure to
'present' in an acceptable way to the people one knows and, at the same time, to continue to
qualify for the benefits one needs has added a new form of stress to rural living not previously
experienced by many people with disabilities. The experience of having a disability and not
being on welfare is significantly different to that of people with disabilities whose economic
security depends on what has become highly stigmatized support. The management of the self
and of rural social relationships intersects deeply with these broader structural changes, and
navigating such structural continuities and disruptions is a critical influence on the lives of
people with disabilities.

Poverty has impact on living a decent life with a disability in a rural landscape, a life that
they have defined and desired. In a number of cases this is centered on the need for paid work
and the difficulties in finding it where employment is often scarce or highly exclusionary due to
farming practices. Some contributors emphasize the importance of familial social networks and
the additional support these provide, alongside belonging to a community where one is known,
in enabling people with disabilities to counter the negative aspects of poverty. Given the
changing welfare environment, including the growing insecurity of disability support
landscapes, many of the contributors express fears of the future. Particular concerns are the very
real possibility of a time when services or family support may not be available, alongside the
impact of diminished access to social security with the onset of austerity.

3.4 The Health Care Needs of Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerabilities

People with disabilities report seeking more health care than people without disabilities and
have greater unmet needs. For example, a recent survey of people with serious mental disorders,
showed that between 35% and 50% of people in developed countries, and between 76% and
85% in developing countries, received no treatment in the year prior to the study.

73
 Health promotion and prevention activities seldom target people with disabilities. For
example women with disabilities receive less screening for breast and cervical cancer than
women without disabilities. People with intellectual impairments and diabetes are less likely to
have their weight checked. Adolescents and adults with disabilities are more likely to be
excluded from sex education programs.

Dear students, how are the lives of people with disabilities affected by lack of health care
service?

People with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to deficiencies in health care services.
Depending on the group and setting, persons with disabilities may experience greater
vulnerability to secondary conditions, co-morbid conditions, age-related conditions, engaging in
health risk behaviors and higher rates of premature death.

A) Secondary conditions: conditions occur in addition to (and are related to) a primary
health condition, and are both predictable and therefore preventable. Examples include
pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections, osteoporosis and pain.
B) Co-morbid conditions: conditions occur in addition to (and are unrelated to) a primary
health condition associated with disability. For example the prevalence of diabetes in
people with schizophrenia is around 15% compared to a rate of 2-3% for the general
population.
C) Age-related conditions: The ageing process for some groups of people with disabilities
begins earlier than usual. For example some people with developmental disabilities show
signs of premature ageing in their 40s and 50s.
D) Engaging in health risk behaviors: Some studies have indicated that people with
disabilities have higher rates of risky behaviors such as smoking, poor diet and physical
inactivity.

Barriers to Health Care for Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerable Groups

People with disabilities encounter a range of barriers when they attempt to access health care
including the following.

74
 a) Prohibitive costs: Affordability of health services and transportation are two main
reasons why people with disabilities do not receive needed health care in low-income
countries - 32-33% of non-disabled people are unable to afford health care compared to
51-53% of people with disabilities.
b) Limited availability of services: The lack of appropriate services for people with
disabilities is a significant barrier to health care. For example, studies indicate that the
lack of services especially in the rural area is the second most significant barrier to using
health facilities.
c) Physical barriers: Uneven access to buildings (hospitals, health centers), inaccessible
medical equipment, poor signage, narrow doorways, internal steps, inadequate bathroom
facilities, and inaccessible parking areas create barriers to health care facilities. For
example, women with mobility difficulties are often unable to access breast and cervical
cancer screening because examination tables are not height-adjustable and
mammography equipment only accommodates women who are able to stand.
d) Inadequate skills and knowledge of health workers: People with disabilities were
more than twice as likely to report finding health care provider skills inadequate to meet
their needs, four times more likely to report being treated badly and nearly three times
more likely to report being denied care.

Addressing for Inclusive Barriers to Health Care

Governments and professionals can improve health outcomes for people with disabilities by
improving access to quality, affordable health care services, which make the best use of
available resources. As several factors interact to inhibit access to health care, reforms in all the
interacting components of the health care system are required.

a) Policy and legislation: Assess existing policies and services, identify priorities to reduce
health inequalities and plan improvements for access and inclusion. Make changes to
comply with the CRPD. Establish health care standards related to care of persons with
disabilities with enforcement mechanisms.
b) Financing: Where private health insurance dominates health care financing, ensure that
people with disabilities are covered and consider measures to make the premiums

75
 affordable. Ensure that people with disabilities benefit equally from public health care
programs. Use financial incentives to encourage health-care providers to make services
accessible and provide comprehensive assessments, treatment, and follow- ups. Consider
options for reducing or removing out-of-pocket payments for people with disabilities
who do not have other means of financing health care services.
c) Service delivery: Provide a broad range of modifications and adjustments (reasonable
accommodation) to facilitate access to health care services. For example changing the
physical layout of clinics to provide access for people with mobility difficulties or
communicating health information in accessible formats such as Braille. Empower
people with disabilities to maximize their health by providing information, training, and
peer support. Promote community-based rehabilitation (CBR) to facilitate access for
disabled people to existing services. Identify groups that require alternative service
delivery models, for example, targeted services or care coordination to improve access to
health care.
d) Human resources: Integrate disability inclusion education into undergraduate and
continuing education for all health-care professionals. Train community workers so that
they can play a role in preventive health care services. Provide evidence-based
guidelines for assessment and treatment.

Disability, vulnerability and the Environment ?

Dear students,

• How specific nature of environment increases or decreases the degree of disability?

• How society's attitudes affect the services provision for persons with disabilities?
• How can you decrease the impact of disability in your specific profession to make the
life of persons with disabilities simple?

76
The prevailing understanding about the cause of disability has undergone
profound change worldwide. Previous models of absolute determinism that
viewed pathology and disability interchangeably and that excluded
consideration of the environment have been replaced by models in which
disability is seen to result from the interaction between the characteristics of
individuals with disabilities and the characteristics of their environment.
Cultural norms affect the way that the physical and social environments of the
individual are constituted and then focus on a few—but not all—of the
elements of the environment to provide examples of how the environment
affects the degree of disability. The amount of disability is not determined by
levels of pathologies, impairments, or functional limitations, but instead is a
function of the kind of services provided to people with disabling conditions
and the extent to which the physical, built environment is accommodating or
not accommodating to the particular disabling condition. Because societies
differ in their willingness to provide the available technology and, indeed, their
willingness to provide the resources to improve that technology, disability
ultimately must been seen as a function of society, not of a physical or medical
process.

Disability is not inherent in an individual but is, rather, a relational concept—a

function of the interaction of the person with the social and physical
environments. The amount of disability that a person experiences, depends on
both the existence of a potentially disabling condition (or limitation) and the
environment in which the person lives. For any given limitation (i.e., potential
disability), the amount of actual disability experienced by a person will depend
on the nature of the environment, that is, whether the environment is positive
and enabling (and serves to compensate for the condition, ameliorate the
limitation, or facilitate one's functional activities) or negative and disabling (and
serves to worsen the condition, enhance the limitation, or restrict one's
functional activities). Human competencies interact with the environment in a
dynamic reciprocal relationship that shapes performance. When functional
limitations exist, social participation is possible only when environmental
support is present. If there is no environmental support, the distance between
what the people can do and what the environment affords creates a barrier that
limits social participation.

The physical and social environments comprise factors external to the

individual, including family, institutions, community, geography, and the
political climate. Added to this conceptualization of environment is one's
intrapersonal or psychological environment, which includes internal states,
beliefs, cognition, expectancies and other mental states. Thus, environmental
factors must be seen to include the natural environment, the human made
environment, culture, the economic system, the political system, and
psychological factors.

Dear students, list some of disabling and enabling environment as much as you
can?

Some Enabling and Disabling Factors in the Physical Environment

Type of Type of Environment

Factor
Natural Environment Built Environment
enabling Dry climate Ramps
Flat terrain Adequate lighting
Clear paths Braille signage
disabling Snow Steps
Rocky terrain Low-wattage lighting
High humidity Absence of flashing light alerting
systems
Dear students, What do you understand when we say physical, social and
psychological environment? And how it affects life of persons with
disabilities?

The environmental mat may be conceived of as having two major parts: the
physical environment and the social and psychological environments. The
physical environment may be further subdivided conceptually into the natural
environment and the built environment. Both affect the extent to which a
disabling condition will be experienced by the person as a disability.

Three types of attributes of the physical environment need to be in place

to support human performance. The first attribute is object availability.
Objects must be in a location that is useful, at a level where they can be
retrieved, and must be organized to support the performance of the activity.
Neither a sink that is too high for a wheelchair user nor a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) that is kept at a hotel reception desk is available. The
second attribute is accessibility. Accessibility is related to the ability of people
to get to a place or to use a device. Accessibility permits a wheelchair user to
ride a bus or a Braille user to read a document. The third attribute is the
availability of sensory stimulation regarding the environment. Sensory
stimulation, which can include visual, tactile, or auditory cues, serves as a
signal to promote responses. Examples of such cues could include beeping
microwaves, which elicit responses from people without hearing impairments,
or bumpy surfaces on subway platforms, which tell users with visual
impairments to change their location.

A) The Natural Environment

The natural environment may have a major impact on whether a limitation is

disabling. For example, a person who has severe allergies to ragweed or mold,
which can trigger disabling asthma, can be free of that condition in climates
where those substances do not grow. The physical conditions still exist, but in
one environment they may become disabling and in another environment they
might not. Another example might be that a person who has limited walking
ability will be less disabled in a flat geographical location than he disabled in
both places during the winter than during the summer. Thus, the natural
environment, including topography and climate, affect whether or to what
degree a functional limitation will be disabling.

B) The human made Environment

The physical environment is a complex interaction of built-in objects. Built

objects are created and constructed by humans and vary widely in terms of their
complexity, size, and purpose. Built objects are created for utilitarian reasons
and also for an outlet for creativity. For instance, built objects such as
dishwashers and computers have the potential to enhance human performance
or to create barriers.

Rural environment, Disability and

?
Vulnerability Dear students;

What does rural living mean for people with disabilities?

How far does living rurally facilitate or create barriers to people with
disabilities belonging in their community?

Dear students, this topic focus on rural environment and life of persons with
disabilities, vulnerabilities and marginalized groups, how rural landscapes,
infrastructure and communities shaped social understandings of disability, and
how these understandings might uniquely shape opportunities a better life of
this group of people. People with disabilities, vulnerabilities and marginalized
groups have no voices about their lives and what rural living means to them.
Physical landscapes are infused with social meaning and that the feelings we
have for particular places are built up through an accumulation of experiences
that invoke strong emotional responses. Rurality must be considered as more
than an issue of context or setting. Instead, rurality professionals in rural should
prioritize the voices and experiences of those who live rurally, and that the
specific characteristics or aspects of the particular rural communities to which
they belong.

Since larger population of Ethiopia (more than 85%) are agricultural

community, life and aspirations of disabilities and vulnerable groups highlight
both the pull and the push of rural living without appropriate services and
supports.

Persons with disabilities, vulnerable and marginalized groups living in rural

areas have double disadvantaged due to their impairments and vulnerabilities
and unfavorable physical and social environment. Professional who are
working in rural areas should work in collaboration accordingly. More
specifically, these group of people have been excluded from agricultural works
(productivity) due its nature high demand to labour and lack of technologies
and well organized support from professional.

3.5 Creating Welcoming (Inclusive) Environment

External environmental modifications can take many forms. These can include
assistive devices, alterations of a physical structure, object modification, and
task modification. The role of environmental modification as a prevention
strategy has not been systematically evaluated, and its role in preventing
secondary conditions and disability that accompany a poor fit between human
abilities and the environment should be studied. Environmental strategies may
ease the burden of care experienced by a family member who has the
responsibility of providing the day-to-day support for an individual who does
not have the capacity for social participation and independent living in the
community. These environmental modifications may well be an effort at
primary prevention because the equipment may provide a safety net and
prevent disabling conditions that can occur through lifting and transfer of
individuals who may not be able to do it by themselves.

Rehabilitation must place emphasis on addressing the environmental

needs of people with disabling conditions. Environmental strategies can be
effective in helping people function independently and not be limited in their
social participation, in work, leisure or social interactions as a spouse, parent,
friend, or coworker.

Examples of Environmental Modification

1. Mobility aids
• Hand Orthosis
• Mouth stick
• Prosthetic limb
• Wheelchair (manual and/or motorized)
• Canes
• Crutches
• Braces

2. Communication aids
• Telephone amplifier or TDD
• Voice-activated computer
• Closed or real-time captioning
• Computer-assisted note taker
• Print enlarger
• Reading machines
• Books on tape
• Sign language or oral interpreters
• Braille writer
• Cochlear implant
 • Communication boards FM, audio-induction loop, or infrared
systems
3. Accessible structural elements

• Ramps Elevators
• Wide doors
• Safety bars
• Nonskid floors
• Sound-reflective building materials
• Enhanced lighting
• Electrical sockets that meet appropriate reach ranges
• Hardwired flashing alerting systems Increased textural contrast

4. Accessible features

• Built up handles
• Voice-activated computer
• Automobile hand controls

5. Job accommodations
 • Simplification of task
• Flexible work hours
• Rest breaks
• Splitting job into parts
• Relegate nonessential functions to others

6. Differential use of personnel

• Personal care assistants

• Note takers
• Secretaries Editors
• Sign language interpreters

3.6 Impact of the Social and Psychological Environments on the Enabling-Disabling

Process

The social environment is conceptualized to include cultural, political, and economic factors.
The psychological environment is the intrapersonal environment. This section examines how
both affect the disabling process.

Culture and the Disabling Process

Culture affects the enabling-disabling process at each stage; it also affects the transition from
one stage to another. This section defines culture and then considers the ways in which it affects
each stage of the process.

A disability can exist without functional limitation, as in the case of a person with a
facial disfigurement living in cultures such as that in the United States, whose standards of
beauty cannot encompass such physical anomalies. Culture is thus relevant to the existence of
disabilities: it defines what is considered disabling. Additionally, culture determines in which
roles a person might be disabled by a particular functional limitation. For example, a farmer in a
small village may have no disability in work roles caused by a hearing loss; however, that
person may experience disabilities in family or other personal relationships. On the other hand, a
profoundly deaf, signing person married to another profoundly deaf, signing person may have no
disability in family-related areas, although there may be a disability in work-related areas. Thus,
culture affects not just whether there is a disability caused by the functional limitation but also
where in the person's life the disability will occur. Culture is therefore part of the mat; as such, it
can protect a person from the disabling process and can slow it down or speed it up. Culture,
however, has a second function in the disabling process.

Although there is a direct path from culture to disability, there is an also indirect path.
The indirect function acts by influencing other aspects of personal and social organization in a
society. That is, the culture of a society or a subculture influences the types of personality or
intrapsychic processes that are acceptable and influences the institutions that make up the
social organization of a society. These institutions include the economic system, the family
system, the educational system, the health care system, and the political system. In all these
areas, culture sets the boundaries for what is debatable or negotiable and what is not. Each of
these societal institutions also affects the degree to which functional limitations will be
experienced by individuals as disabling.

All of the ways in which intrapsychic processes or societal institutions affect the
enabling-disabling process cannot be considered here. However, the remainder of this section
presents some examples of how the enabling-disabling process can be affected by three
factors: economic, political, and psychological.

Disability Inclusive Intervention and Rehabilitation Services

A 'One-size-fits-all' approach to provide services for persons with disabilities and

vulnerability groups is no longer enough.

Dear students,

?
• What do we mean intervention and rehabilitation?
• How one can make services inclusive in your sector?

Including people with disabilities in everyday activities and encouraging them to have roles.
similar to peoples who do not have a disability is disability inclusion. This involves more than
simply encouraging people; it requires making sure that adequate policies and practices are in
effect in a community or organization. Inclusion should lead to increased participation in
socially expected life roles and activities—such as being a student, worker, friend, community
member, patient, spouse, partner, or parent. Disability inclusion means provision of
differentiated services for persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities. Differentiated service
means a multiple service delivery model that can satisfy the most needs of persons with
disabilities and vulnerabilities. Socially expected activities may also include engaging in
social activities, using public resources such as transportation and libraries, moving about
within communities, receiving adequate health care, having relationships, and enjoying other

day-to-day activities. To reach ambitious targets for the general population, as well as targeted
care for persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups, we need differentiated service delivery.

Persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities are often excluded (either directly or
indirectly) from development processes and humanitarian action because of physical, attitudinal
and institutional barriers. The effects of this exclusion are increased inequality, discrimination
and marginalization. To change this, a disability inclusion approach must be implemented. The
twin-track approach involves: (1) ensuring all mainstream programs and services are inclusive
and accessible to persons with disabilities, while at the same time (2) providing targeted
disability-specific support to persons with disabilities. The two tracks reinforce each other.
When mainstream programs and services, such as health and education services, are disability-
inclusive and aware, this can help facilitate both prevention of impairments, as well as early
identification of children and persons with disabilities who can then be referred to disability-
specific services. And the provision of disability-specific supports, such as assistive devices, can
help facilitate more effective inclusion of persons with disabilities in mainstream services.

3.6 Strategies to Disability inclusive intervention and rehabilitation Prevention

Prevention of conditions associated with disability and vulnerability is a development issue.

Attention to environmental factors - including nutrition, preventable diseases, safe water and
sanitation, safety on roads and in workplaces - can greatly reduce the incidence of health
conditions leading to disability. A public health approach distinguishes:

i) Primary prevention - actions to avoid or remove the cause of a health problem in an

individual or a population before it arises. It includes health promotion and specific
protection (for example, HIV education).
 ii) Secondary prevention (early intervention) - actions to detect a health and disabling
conditions at an early stage in an individual or a population, facilitating cure, or reducing
or preventing spread, or reducing or preventing its long-term effects (for example,
supporting women with intellectual disability to access breast cancer screening).

iii) Tertiary prevention (rehabilitation) - actions to reduce the impact of an already

established disease by restoring function and reducing diseaserelated complications (for
example, rehabilitation for children with musculoskeletal impairment).

Primary prevention issues are consider as crucial to improved overall health of countries'
populations. Viewing disability as a human rights issue is not incompatible with prevention of
health conditions as long as prevention respects the rights and dignity of people with disabilities,
for example, in the use of language and imagery. Preventing disability and vulnerability should
be regarded as a multidimensional strategy that includes prevention of disabling barriers as well
as prevention and treatment of underlying health conditions.

Implementing the Twin-track Approach

Implementing the twin-track approach involves:

Track 1: Mainstreaming disability as a cross-cutting issue within all key programs and
services (education, health, relief and social services, microfinance, infrastructure and camp
improvement, protection, and emergency response) to ensure these programs and services are
inclusive, equitable, non-discriminatory, and do not create or reinforce barriers.

This is done by: gathering information on the diverse needs of persons with disabilities
during the assessment stage; considering disability inclusion during the planning stage; making
adaptations in the implementation stage; and gathering the perspectives of persons with
disabilities in the reporting and evaluation stage.

Track 2: Supporting the specific needs of vulnerable groups with disabilities to ensure they
have equal opportunities to participate in society. This is done by strengthening referral to both
internal and external pathways and ensuring that sector programs to provide rehabilitation,
assistive devices and other disability-specific services are accessible to persons with disabilities
and vulnerable groups and adhere to protection standards and inclusion principles. A Sector's
organizational structures and human resources on disability inclusion should aim to reflect this
twin-track approach. In particular, each sector should have disability program officers in all
fields working to implement disability-specific support activities.

Implement Disability Inclusive Project/ Program

As a direct service provider, consultant and materials and equipment producers concerned with
realizing equity, quality services and protecting human rights, all sectorial strategies, program,
projects and services must be disability-inclusive. The sectors operations should be largely
framed within broad programs, making it very important to ensure that disability inclusion is
reflected in program strategies and design documents. This in turn will help to subsequently
ensure disability is also incorporated into the projects that are designed to contribute to the
overall program objectives. However, persons with disabilities are often not considered in
crucial stages of most sectorial and developmental program and projects because of lack of
awareness about the characteristics of people with disabilities, vulnerability groups and
disability inclusion in practice.

The following tips will help to overcome the challenges as a key considerations for including
persons with disabilities in all program and project cycle management stages of Assessment,
Planning, Implementation and Monitoring, and Reporting/Evaluation.

A) Education and vocational training -Inclusive Educationrealize the universal right to

education for all, meaning all mainstream education services need to be supporting children
and persons with disabilities.

B) Health - vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities have the same health-care needs as
all other peoples and health sector services can also play an important prevention and early
identification role to ensure children and persons with impairments have timely access to
health services and referral rehabilitation support.
C) Relief and social services - the two-way link between poverty and disability means that
vulnerable group and peoples with disabilities and their families need to be able to access
relief support.
D) Infrastructure and camp improvement, shelter, water and sanitation and
environmental health - universal design concepts must be considered in all infrastructure
and construction programs and projects.
E) Livelihoods, employment and microfinance - vulnerable groups and people with
disabilities face numerous barriers to achieving an independent livelihood, it is crucial that
 specific sectors responsible for livelihood programs and projects to make accessible to all
vulnerable and people with disabilities.
F) Protection - marginalized groups and people with disabilities may face risks and
vulnerabilities to experiencing violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and violation of rights
and therefore need to be specifically considered and included in protection programs and
projects.
G) Humanitarian and emergency response - the disproportionate effect of emergency and
humanitarian situations on vulnerable groups and people with disabilities should be
reflected in the design and implementation of the humanitarian projects.

3.7. Barriers of employment

Dear students, what are barriers for employment and job opportunities for persons with
disabilities and vulnerable groups?

Barriers to the employment of persons with disabilities take many forms and operate at
many levels, both within and beyond the workplace itself. Persons with disabilities may be
prevented from working due to inaccessible transportation services; the lack of accessible
information and communications services; the preference of employers for candidates without
disabilities; legal stipulations that prevent individuals with particular impairments from working
in certain fields; or the discouragement of family and community members. Whilst these
obstacles are often interconnected, and act collectively to limit employment opportunities for
persons with disabilities, it is essential to distinguish between different barriers in order to
develop effective policy responses. The major types of barriers are described below.

Attitudes and Discrimination

Employers may be reluctant to hire persons with disabilities based on the perception that they
are less productive or less capable of carrying out their jobs than others. Colleagues of persons
with disabilities may also hold prejudicial attitudes. At a wider level, social attitudes that cast
persons with disabilities as objects of pity and need perpetuate the assumption that they should
not work. In some cultures, people view disabilities as being indicative of wrongdoing in a past
life, or are simply uncomfortable around people who seem different. Persons with disabilities
may also be discouraged from working by their families, often out of a sense of shame or a well-
intentioned but stifling desire not to impose additional burden on their family members.
 Though there are laws and regulations in some sectors, majority of social and economic
sectors in Ethiopian do not yet have anti-discrimination legislation that specifically targets the
employment of persons with disabilities. Discrimination is a major barrier faced by persons with
disabilities in their efforts to find employment in the labour market. Clearly, there needs to be
greater awareness about the need to break down barriers faced by persons with disabilities — be
it lack of accessibility features in public services or of laws that protect persons with disabilities
from discrimination by employers.

Accessibility

The accessibility of the following areas are crucial to the employment of persons with
disabilities: the physical environment; transportation; information and communications; and
other facilities open to the public. In the workplace itself, a lack of physical features such as
ramps and elevators can prevent persons with mobility disabilities from being able to work.
Similarly, the lack of accessible information and communication infrastructure in workplaces
such as clear signage, computers equipped with software such as screen-readers, and devices
such as Braille displays can prevent persons with print and intellectual disabilities from being
able to gain employment. Lack of access to sign language interpretation or captioning services
can inhibit the employment of deaf people. In addition to the informational and physical design
of the workplace itself, the broader inaccessibility of public environments and crucially,
transport, can prevent persons with disabilities from being able to travel to work, receive
information about job opportunities, and communicate with employers.

Education and Training

Persons with disabilities have disproportionately restricted access to education and training. This
severely limits their job opportunities due to a lack of skills and knowledge that are relevant to
find or retain a job. Children with disabilities are less likely to attend school, and when they do
they are less likely to stay in school.18 In Indonesia, children with disabilities are one third less
likely to complete their primary education as those without a disability. In India in 2007, close to
40 per cent of children with disabilities were not enrolled in school, compared to only between 8
and 10 per cent of children in scheduled tribes or castes — groups that also face high levels of
discrimination and poorer socio-economic outcomes. Notwithstanding the numerous other
barriers they face, persons with disabilities are thus often prevented from being able to acquire
the human capital necessary to effectively compete for jobs. In addition, young persons with
disabilities who have attended school may not get the support they need when transitioning from
school to work.

Social Networks

Another barrier to employment for persons with disabilities can be their more limited social
networks. Social networks greatly aid the process of searching for work, the lack of which is
likely to limit options for persons with disabilities. As part of their broader exclusion from many
important social activities, persons with disabilities often therefore lack the opportunity to build
social relationships with those who may be in a position to offer suggestions for potential work
opportunities. These limited networks are part of the broader cultural and attitudinal barriers that
inhibit participation in social, leisure, civic, and religious activities. A key benefit brought by
employment itself is the building of social relationships with colleagues, clients and business
partners. As a result of the barriers they face in entering and retaining work, many persons with
disabilities are also denied the possibility of expanding their networks at the workplace itself.

Women Disabilities

In many developing countries including Ethiopia, as a result of continued prejudices both

towards women and surrounding disability, women with disabilities are doubly discriminated
against in the labor market. Study found that in many developing countries, women with
disabilities are only half as likely as men with disabilities to have a job. Moreover, when they
are employed, women with disabilities encounter worse working conditions and lower pay as
compared with other women, as well as men with disabilities. Women with disabilities are also
less likely to receive education and vocational training, and those women who do access
education and attain a degree of financial stability are more likely to have done so before
acquiring their disability. However, it remains difficult to quantify these trends as a result of the
limited availability of reliable data that is disaggregated by both sex and disability. Not only the
particular difficulties faced by women with disabilities as they search for work, but also the
significance of social networks in sharing potential employment opportunities. The governments
and NGOs must ultimately step up to improve the precarious economic situation many women
with disabilities find themselves in.

Legal Barriers

As a result of discriminatory attitudes about the perceived capabilities of persons with

disabilities, some countries impose legal restrictions on their participation in certain types of
employment or processes. In some countries, people must be considered 'physically and
mentally healthy' or 'sound' to represent oneself in a court of law, to occupy official positions, or
to use certain public services.25 Such laws effectively rule out large numbers of persons with
disabilities from accessing employment, based on the blanket assumption that they are incapable
of doing particular jobs effectively. Japan is one country that previously had such laws, but has
taken action to rectify them.

Inflexible Work Arrangements

Another common obstacle to the employment of persons with disabilities is the inflexibility of
work arrangements. In some cases, persons with disabilities might prove to be competent and
productive employees, but are nonetheless unable to perform certain tasks. The same is true for
scheduling the work day. Persons with disabilities may have particular transportation issues or
other needs that require a slightly different work day. An employer's willingness to rearrange the
responsibilities and schedules associated with a particular job can mean the difference between
employment and unemployment for many persons with disabilities. Indeed, a greater degree of
flexibility of working arrangements can boost the morale and productivity of any employee,
regardless of whether or not they have a disability.

Dismissal on the Basis of Disability

Workers who are injured and acquire a disability on the job may face unaccommodating policies
and a lack of rehabilitative services, which limit their ability to return to work. The absence of
anti-discrimination legislation in the majority of countries in the region thus allows employers to
dismiss staff on the basis of disability with impunity. Several countries, such as Iran, offer
rehabilitation programs and services to help dismissed workers to find new employment.
Ultimately though, legislation which protects the rights of workers from dismissal on the basis
of disability is also needed to more comprehensively tackle the problem

The Benefit Trap

Another obstacle to the employment of persons with disabilities can ironically be imposed by
social protection schemes ultimately designed to support them. These schemes can encourage
individuals to stay out of the labor force if they are structured in such a way as to make the
receipt of benefits contingent on the inability to work. Therefore, even if persons with
disabilities believe that they can work, they may choose not to in order to continue receiving
disability benefits. Even if working could offer them a higher level of income, persons with
disabilities may still choose to receive benefits because of the risk of attempting to hold down a
job that does not provide adequate support, or is not flexible towards their needs. It is important
to stress that this 'benefit trap' is mainly relevant to more developed countries with more
generous benefit schemes. The situation in most of the region's middle-to-low income countries
is entirely different. However, it is vital for governments to avoid creating strong work
disincentives.

Strategies to Improve Employment for Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerabilities Dear
students, describe strategies to improve employment and job opportunities for persons with
disabilities and vulnerabilities.

There a number of strategies that is available to governments in respective sector as they

work to improve the employment prospects of persons with disabilities, vulnerable and
marginalized groups. In addition, private sector initiatives that have been demonstrated to
improve the employment experiences of persons with in these groups are also discussed
below.

A) Anti-Discrimination Legislation

These laws make it illegal to discriminate against an individual on the basis of disability in a
range of areas including: employment; education; access to public buildings; the provision of
goods and services, and political processes. With regard to employment, anti-discrimination
laws protect persons with disabilities from discriminatory actions in hiring and termination of
contracts and affirm the right of persons with disabilities to access employment on an equal
basis with others. Anti-discrimination laws challenge collectively held discriminatory attitudes
against persons with disabilities by influencing 'the nexus between law, norms and social
mores'.26 Anti-discrimination laws can be made stronger when they include mandates for
reasonable accommodations that remove additional barriers to employment for persons with
disabilities. Crucially, however, these laws must outline clear enforcement mechanisms.

When penalties are neither stipulated nor enforced, employers are left free to discriminate with
impunity.

Vocational Education And Training

Technical vocational education and training (TVET) programs can help to ensure that the
workforce has the skills and knowledge necessary to obtain and retain a job, while also driving
productivity and economic growth.27 As discussed in Chapter 2, persons with disabilities often
have limited opportunities to build skills and knowledge that are relevant to the labor market. A
vital first step in improving access to employment for persons with disabilities is therefore to
ensure that employment support and vocational programs are as inclusive as possible. Such
programs should also be held in accessible locations, and reasonable accommodations should be
made to improve the access of persons with disabilities. Some persons with disabilities may not
be able to attend mainstream training programs. In such situations, to allow them to participate,
programs targeted at persons with disabilities may be required. It is crucial; however, that the
content of such training programs is geared to labor market demands, and not determined by
prior beliefs about what persons with disabilities should do or are capable of doing.

Wage Subsidies

Wage subsidies cover a portion of employees' wages, usually for a limited period of time, as a
way to lessen the risk perceived by employers of hiring persons with disabilities. Since wage
subsidies directly target the recruitment process of private firms, they enable employers to
overcome their reservations about hiring employees with disabilities. It is vital that care is taken
in determining the eligibility, amount and duration of subsidies, to avoid the subsidies exceeding
the actual gap in productivity between persons with and without disabilities. Studies on the
impact of subsides show mixed results on employment rates. Most studies suggest, however, that
both workers and employers are satisfied with wage subsidy schemes.

Supported Employment

These programs integrate persons with disabilities into the open labor market by providing
direct, on-the-job support to employees with disabilities. Supports are usually offered for a
limited period of time. One common type of support is a job coach. Job coaches provide on- site,
individually tailored assistance to help persons with disabilities perform their jobs. Coaches also
help persons with disabilities adjust to their working environment, and assist in determining
which accessibility accommodations are necessary. Supported employment has been shown to
be particularly cost-effective for people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, in terms
of productivity and health related costs. Supported employment requires employers to be open to
having such services on site, and to be willing to work cooperatively with job coaches and other
service providers. Employment support services and job coaches require special training.

Workplace Accommodation Schemes

These schemes reduce the costs to employers of making workplaces more accessible to persons
with disabilities. In so doing, workplace accommodation schemes seek to minimize employer
reluctance to hire persons with disabilities. There are two ways Government programs can
decrease or even eliminate those costs. The first is by offering tax breaks or tax credits for
expenditures undertaken to make such adjustments. This strategy may, however, be less
effective for small businesses with cash flow issues or limited tax liability. Another strategy is to
provide full or partial funds for reasonable accommodations for employees with
disabilities. Such funding can be provided in various ways, either through employment
agencies, using fines from quota systems, or by offering grants to employers from separate
Government agencies. Investment in assistive equipment for employees returned costs by about
eight times through increased productivity and reduced absenteeism.

Workers' Compensation

These programs are designed to address the issue of occupational injuries and illnesses. They
provide cash and medical benefits to employees whose disability is acquired in the workplace.
Generally, workers' compensation operates through insurance programs - either through public
insurance programs, or private or even self-insurance at large firms. Because employer
premiums are experience rated, they are higher for firms with more accidents. Thus, the
approach incentivizes workplace safety and encourages employers to support employees who
acquire disabilities at work to be able to return to their jobs. In many countries, employers are
legally mandated to establish workers' compensation programs.

Quota Systems

Quota systems mandate that firms hire at minimum a certain percentage of persons with
disabilities. Typically, quotas apply only to large employers. Empirical data points to only small
net employment gains of persons with disabilities. In addition, quotas can prove difficult to both
monitor and enforce. Moreover, by obliging employers to hire a specific number of persons with
disabilities, quota systems perpetuate the prejudice that persons with disabilities are not really
equivalent to others in their capacity to be productive.

Sheltered Workshops

These programs only hire persons with disabilities, and structure jobs around the perceived
abilities of each employee. Sometimes the stated goal of sheltered workshops is to serve as a
training ground for the eventual transition of employees to the open labor market. In reality,
however, employees with disabilities are rarely supported to make this transition. Employees are
generally paid poorly, and the workshops in which they work are seen as charitable enterprises
and are funded as such, with revenues being a function not of sales but of the number of
employees. Rather than promoting sheltered workshops, governments can serve their citizens
with disabilities better by removing barriers towards their employment in the open labor market.
Persons with severe disabilities may find it difficult to enter the open labor market, even if other
barriers to their employment are removed. In certain cases therefore, programs that create non-
competitive job opportunities may be necessary. Government and public agencies should be
mandated by law to preferentially procure certain products from such workshops in order to
guarantee a stable income for their employees with severe disabilities.

I) Private Sector Initiatives

In addition to government-driven strategies, a number of private-sector initiatives also serve to

illustrate the need for action to be taken not only by governments, but by employers themselves.

J) Employer Networks

A number of networks of private companies around the world have initiated their own programs
to promote the employment of persons with disabilities. Sometimes these organizations are
established in response to the creation of a quota policy, sometimes out of a sense of corporate
social responsibility, and sometimes because of a compelling business case for being more
inclusive.

The main activities of employer organizations include:

• Raising awareness and building capacity on disability inclusion;

• Providing information and tools on disability and employment;

• Influencing policy on the employment and training of persons with disabilities;

• Providing career development opportunities and organizing vocational training;
• Linking jobseekers with disabilities and employers;
K) Support Disability-Inclusive Business

Private employers can play an important role in developing policies and programs to boost
employment for persons with disabilities, as well as their own bottom line. It is recommended
that governments:

a) Introduce programs to raise awareness among private employers of the business case
for hiring persons with disabilities.
b) Support employers' organizations and networks to share inclusion practices and build
their capacities to harness the potential of employees with disabilities.
 Disability-Inclusive Business—a number of large employers should be proactive in
promoting disability inclusion within their businesses. Many of these businesses draw on their
positive experiences of hiring persons with disabilities to demonstrate the business case for
inclusive employment, citing that persons with disabilities:

• Have higher retention and lower accident rates than employees without
disabilities, and comparable productivity;
• Represent an untapped source of skills and talent and transferable problem-
solving skills developed in daily life;
• Often have valuable skills and experiences learned on the job prior to having a
disability;
• Can provide unique insights to help firms to develop their products or services to
customers and clients with disabilities;
• Can improve the company's image, increasing morale, creating links to the
community, and appealing to potential customers who have a disability or whose
family members have a disability.
L) Social Enterprises

Social enterprises are businesses that seek to advance a social cause whilst being financially self-
sustainable. Rather than being driven solely by the desire to make profits, these businesses also
aim to maximize social impact. Social enterprises that consciously seek to hire persons with
disabilities, or address issues and barriers affecting the lives of persons with disabilities can
therefore help to boost the employment of persons with disabilities, and also influence wider
social change. Box 10 shows an example of a disability-inclusive social enterprise.

M) Support Persons with Disabilities in the Workplace

Governments can enhance the working experiences of persons with disabilities firstly by leading
by example in terms of public sector employment practices, and secondly by establishing
programs and services that support persons with disabilities to do their jobs effectively. It is
therefore recommended that governments:

a) Promote flexible working arrangements to ensure that qualified, productive individuals are
not unnecessarily prevented from doing certain jobs.
 b) Provide funding support and tax incentives to start ups and social enterprise
initiatives that aim to hire persons with disabilities or address specific needs of
persons with disabilities.
c) Provide subsidies or tax incentives that support the inclusion of persons with
disabilities in the workplace.
d) Develop job coach accreditation and training standards and provide job coaching
services to enable persons with disabilities to do their jobs effectively and
productively.
N) Building a More Inclusive Society

By creating more accessible physical environments, public transport and knowledge,

information and communication services, governments can facilitate opportunities for persons
with disabilities to work, as well as society at large. It is recommended that governments:

a) Develop and implement accessibility standards for the physical environment in line with
universal design, including public buildings and transport services, to ensure that individuals
with mobility disabilities are not denied employment opportunities.
b) Promote and provide knowledge, information and communication services in accessible
formats, in line with universal design, to meet the needs of persons with sensory, intellectual and
psychosocial disabilities to apply for and retain a job.
c) Foster greater social inclusion by establishing links with disabled persons' organizations,
including groups of women with disabilities, and working to promote employment opportunities.
O) Boost Education and Training Opportunities

Education and training is vital for all individuals to develop their human capital, and to acquire
skills and knowledge relevant to the labor market. Governments must therefore ensure that
persons with disabilities are able to access education and training on an equal basis with others.
It is recommended that governments:

a) Make education systems more inclusive, both to make schools more accessible to children
with disabilities, and to modify instruction to meet the needs of all children.

b) Mainstream disability inclusion into technical vocational education and training (TVET)
programs, to support persons with disabilities to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to find
and retain decent work.
P) Break Down Attitudinal Barriers and Challenge Discrimination ?
Dear students, what are the attitudinal barriers and how can we overcome the challenges?

Discriminatory attitudes towards persons with disabilities inform and produce other barriers to
the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society, including in employment.
For governments to better understand and challenge attitudinal barriers, it is essential to:

a) Undertake research to examine the causes and manifestations of discriminatory attitudes

towards persons with disabilities across society.
b) Launch public awareness campaigns and programs to promote the rights of persons with
disabilities and to challenge discriminatory attitudes surrounding disability.
c) Conduct disability awareness training such as Disability Equality Training for public
employees at the national and local levels.
Q) Improve Data Collection on Disability and Employment

Designing, monitoring and evaluating policies to promote decent work for persons with
disabilities requires timely and high quality information. It is recommended that governments:

a) Include the six core Washington Group questions on disability in labor force surveys
so that reliable, internationally comparable indicators on employment and disability
can be generated on a regular basis.
b) Conduct disability-dedicated surveys to improve the quality of data and
understanding on barriers to employment and in turn develop more responsive
policies.
c) Take a consistent approach to disability identification so that multiple data sources
can be used in conjunction to get a more complete picture of the experiences of
persons with disabilities.
Chapter Summary

Persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups have diverse needs such as; social-
emotional, psychological, physical and economic.

• Factors affecting the needs of persons with disabilities vary depending on the nature
of disability, personality trait of the person, the meaning the that person gives for the
disability, the individual's current life condition, type of support provided, the family,
community and society, political and economic system of the country at large.
• The basic needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities to ensure equality for all
within our society are: full access to the environment (towns, countryside & buildings). an
accessible transport system, technical aids and equipment, accessible/adapted housing,
personal assistance and support, inclusive education and training, an adequate income, equal
opportunities for employment, appropriate and accessible information, advocacy (towards
self-advocacy), counselling,, appropriate and accessible health care
• Social protection plays a key role in realizing the rights of persons with disabilities and
vulnerabilities of all ages: providing them with an adequate standard of living, a basic level
of income security; thus reducing levels of poverty and vulnerability

• Health outcomes for people with disabilities should be access to quality, affordable health
care services, which make the best use of available resources.
• As several factors interact to inhibit access to health care, reforms in all the interacting
components of the health care system such as policy and legislations, financing, services
delivery and human resources training in line with inclusiveness perspectives.
• Disability is the result of the interaction between the characteristics of individuals with
disabilities and the characteristics of their environment.
• The amount of disability is not determined by levels of pathologies, impairments, or
functional limitations, but instead is a function of the kind of services provided to people
with disabling conditions and the extent to which the physical, built environment is
accommodating or not accommodating to the particular disabling condition.
• Human competencies interact with the environment in a dynamic reciprocal relationship that
shapes performance.
• The physical and social environments comprise factors external to the individual, including
family, institutions, community, geography, and the political climate
• Environmental factors must be seen to include the natural environment, the human made
environment, culture, the economic system, the political system, and psychological
factors.
• Persons with disabilities, vulnerable and marginalized groups living in rural areas have
double disadvantaged due to their impairments and vulnerabilities and unfavorable
physical and social environment.

• Environmental strategies can be effective in helping people function independently and

not be limited in their social participation, in work, leisure or social interactions as a
spouse, parent, friend, or coworker.
• The culture of a society or a subculture influences the types of personality or intrapsychic
processes that are acceptable and influences the institutions that make up the social
organization of a society.
• Multi-sectorial and multi-disciplinary approach to prevention, intervention and
rehabilitation strategies are effective in building process of disability inclusive society.
• Inclusiveness promote equity, respect, peace, democracy, and inclusive development.
 Chapter Four
4. Legal Frameworks

Chapter overview

In this chapter students will learn concept of legal framework,

its uses and impact on inclusive education development.
Moreover, the students will learn international and national
(Ethiopian legal frameworks that promote inclusion philosophy
development. In addition the students read and understand and
conceptualize parts of legal frameworks that may incorporate:
legislations, conventions, policies and related legal frameworks.

Activities
Discuss over the following concepts:
Every child has a right to learn in a natural environment with their peers
There is legitimate background to teach students in segregated settings (for
example, special and regular schools).
Every child should get quality education that helps his/her holistic development

Chapter Objectives

After completing the study of this chapter, the students will be able
to:
 Discuss the concept of legal framework
 Identify international and national legal frameworks in
relation to inclusiveness S Discuss legal frameworks and
their implementation
 Explore gaps in implementation of legal frameworks to
implement inclusion

102
4.1 General Overview of Legal frameworks

Brainstorming ?
1. Do you think legal framework is necessary to implement inclusion?
a. If your answer is "yes," explain reasons or your answer.
b. If your answer is "no," please try to give reason(s).
2. Do you think that inclusion in Ethiopia is supported by legal frameworks?
a. If your answer is "no," please try to give reason(s).

Discrimination against persons with disabilities has a long history

and persons with disabilities are regularly excluded from
participation in society and denied their human rights.
Discrimination against the disabled can take many forms, ranging
from limited educational opportunities to more subtle forms, such
as segregation and isolation because of physical and social barriers.
The effects of discrimination are most clearly felt in the sphere of
economic, social and cultural rights, in the fields of, for instance,
housing, employment, transport, cultural life and access to public
services. The obstacles the disabled face in enjoying their human
rights are often the result of exclusion, restriction, or preference,
and, for instance, when the disabled do not have access to
reasonable accommodation on the basis

of their limitations, their enjoyment or exercise of human rights may be severely

restricted. In order for disabled persons to freely enjoy their fundamental human
rights, numerous cultural and social barriers have to be overcome; changes in
values and increased understanding at all levels of society has to be promoted,
and those social and cultural norms that perpetuate myths about disability have to
be put to rest.

103
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "All human beings are
born free and equal in dignity and rights." However, this is far from being a
reality for persons with disability around the world. This is because people with
disabilities' living conditions are always worse than those of other citizens. They are very
often excluded and marginalized different areas o life such as participation in education, social
activities, economy, and politics and so on.

The rights of persons with disability have increasingly been recognized by

international and national law. For example, The Declaration on the Rights of
Mentally Retarded Persons (1971) and the Declaration on the Rights of Disabled
Persons (1975) both establish the principle of equality of the rights of persons
with disability. The Declaration on the Rights of Deaf-Blind Persons (1979)
adopted by the Economic and Social Council provides universal rights.

The above legislations and other which were enacted after the above declarations
prompted people with disabilities addresses all aspects of disabled persons' lives,
such as equal opportunities, physical environment, services, education,
employment, and social welfare. Using legal frameworks regarding persons with
disability suggests some measures governments should take in order to ensure
that persons with disability become fully equal citizens. The rules also act as an
international instrument and as a mechanism of control to guarantee the effective
application of the stated rights. However, it is not possible to force governments
to apply them, and the rules require a concrete commitment from governments in
order to transform equal opportunities for disabled persons into reality—a
commitment which is often lacking.

4.2 Legal Frameworks Regarding Inclusion

They also have right to use public services (civil right), membership of any
associations and organization, participation in different activities like voting.
Children and youth with disabilities have moral, civil, parental, ethical and legal

104
rights (right to learn with non- disabled children).They should not be treated as
marginal, rather they must involve in different community activities. They must
be consulted and be involved in decision making

processes. Inclusive in education is the most effective means of combating

discriminatory Attitudes, creating welcoming community and building an
inclusive society. They are essential to the enjoyment and exercise of human
right. Thus, the right to an inclusive education for persons with disabilities is a
fundamental human right. It emerged first in general guarantees set forth in the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights and then in more detailed expression
in the International Covenant on Economic and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
Other international instruments express the link between the right to education
and the needs of persons with disabilities.

In addition, states have specific obligations under international law to respect,

protect and fulfill the right to inclusive education for persons with disabilities.
The obligation to respect requires States to refrain from denying or limiting
equal access to inclusive education for persons with disabilities. This right
should be guaranteed by law.

4.3 International and National Legal Frameworks

International Legal Framework

Activities
1. Do you know that people with disabilities are full members of the
community with the same rights as everyone else?
2. What different international conventions and declarations protecting the
rights of people with disabilities do you know? Would you list them as
many as you can?
3. Discuss how each of the international conventions and declarations
protecting the rights of people with disabilities.

105
 4. How do you think these international conventions and declarations
promote inclusive education?

There have been international efforts to address equal opportunity of PWDs in

employment to address such challenges primarily from ILO a specialized
agency of UN and the General Assembly of the UN itself. Most of the
endeavors resulted in the adoption of resolutions and recommendations as well
as conventions featuring different legal effect. While conventions produce a
binding legal effect, resolutions, declarations and recommendation, which are
referred as soft laws, do not create binding legal effect. However, it does not
mean that they are adopted for no purpose since they can have a role to play in
awareness raising, influencing future development and encourage national
policy initiatives.

106
 International human rights instruments protect the rights of persons with disabilities through
the principles of equality and non-discrimination. There are a number of international legal
frameworks regarding people with disability that are aimed at protecting the rights of
persons with disabilities through the principles of equality and non- discrimination. The
table below indicates the major types of international legal frameworks.

4.4 Key International Instruments and other Documents that Promote Inclusion
 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Article 26
 1960 UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education - Articles 1, 3 and 4
 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination -
Article 5
 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - Article 13
 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - Articles 18 and 19
 1973 ILO Convention on the Minimum Age for Employment - Article 7
 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women -
Article 10
 1982 World Program of Action Concerning Disabled Persons proposals for
implementation, national action, part 2
 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child - Articles 23, 28 and 29
 1989 ILO Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples - Articles 26, 27, 28, 29,
30 and 31
 1990 The World Declaration on Education for All, Jomtien
 1993 The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
 1994 The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education
 1999 ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Article 7
 1999 Salamanca Five Years On Review
 2000 World Education Forum Framework for Action, Dakar
 2000 Millennium Development Goals focusing on Poverty Reduction and Development
 2002 EFA Global Monitoring Report: EFA
 2004 EFA Global Monitoring Report: Gender and Education for All - the leap to quality
 2005 EFA Global Monitoring Report: Education for All - the quality imperative
 2006 EFA Global Monitoring Report: Literacy for Life

107
  2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
 2007 EFA Global Monitoring Report: Strong Foundations - early childhood care and
education
 2008 EFA Global Monitoring Report: Education for All by 2015

The following are some of the major international legal frameworks that support inclusion
of people with disabilities and vulnerabilities.

A) 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Article 26

(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the
elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.
Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and
higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality
and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It
shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or
religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the
maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their
children.

B) The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 Extracts from Articles, 2, 23, 28 and 29
Article 2

States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child
within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or
her parent's or legal guardian's race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.

Article 23

1. States Parties recognize that a mentally or physically disabled child should enjoy a full and
decent life, in conditions which ensure dignity, promote self-reliance, and facilitate the child's
active participation in the community.
2. Recognize the right of the child to special care ..... subject to available resources.
108
3. Recognizing the special needs of a disabled child...taking into account the financial resources
of the parents or others caring for the child... ensure that the disabled child has access to and
receives education, training, health care services, rehabilitation services, pre- parathion for
employment and recreation opportunities in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the
fullest possible social integration and individual development, including his or her cultural and
spiritual development
Article 28

1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to education and with a view to achieving this
right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) Make
primary education compulsory and available free to all; (b) Encourage the development of
different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them
available and accessible to every child;(c) Make higher education accessible to all;(d) Make
educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children; (e)
Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.

Article 29

1. States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: (a) The development of
the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; (b) The
development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; (c) The development of
respect for the child's parents, his or her own cultural identity, language and values, for the
national values of the country in which the child is living, the country from which he or she may
originate, and for civilizations different from his or her own;

120 (d) the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society; (e) The development of
respect for the natural environment." Article 23 focuses specifically on children with disabilities
and positively affirms their right to a "full and decent life". However, it has weaknesses because
it makes the rights of children with disabilities "subject to available resources" and focuses on
"special needs" without defining this. This article needs to be considered in the context of the
underpinning principles of the UNCRC, plus Articles 28 and 29 on education that apply to all
children.

109
C) World Conference on Education for All, Jomtien, and 1990 World Declaration on Education
for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs

It acknowledged that educational disparities existed and that many different particular groups
were vulnerable to discrimination and exclusion. These included girls, the poor, street and
working children, rural and remote populations, minority ethnic groups and other groups, with
particular mention made of people with disabilities. Jomtien also catalyzed a move away from a
rigid, prescriptive education system towards a flexible system that would be tailor- made,
adapted to the needs, cultures and circumstances of learners.

Article III - Universalizing access and promoting equity

1. "Basic education should be provided to all children, youth and adults. To this end, basic
education services of quality should be expanded and consistent measures must be taken to
reduce disparities.
2. For basic education to be equitable, all children, youth and adults must be given the
opportunity to achieve and maintain an acceptable level of learning.
3. The most urgent priority is to ensure access to, and improve the quality of, education for girls
and women, and to remove every obstacle that hampers their active participation. All gender
stereotyping in education should be eliminated.
4. An active commitment must be made to removing educational disparities. Underserved
groups: the poor; street and working children; rural and remote populations; nomads and migrant
workers; indigenous peoples; ethnic, racial, and linguistic minorities; refugees; those displaced
by war; and people under occupation, should not suffer any discrimination in access to learning
opportunities.

5. The learning needs of the disabled demand special attention. Steps need to be taken to provide
equal access to education to every category of disabled persons as an integral part of the
education system."

The World Programmed of Action, 1982 and the Standard Rules, 1993 the World Programmed
of Action Concerning Persons with Disability

This originated from the International Year of Disabled Persons in 1981, a landmark period in
the history of disability rights. The World Program of Action laid the foundations for inclusive
education by stating that:
110
• The education of disabled persons should as far as possible take place in the general school
system.
• Responsibility for their education should be placed upon the educational authorities. (Note,
in many countries the education of disabled children was under the authority of other
ministries such as health or social welfare, or none at all)
• Laws regarding compulsory education should include children with all ranges of disabilities,
including the most severely disabled
• Educational services for disabled children should be individualized, locally accessible and
comprehensive.

The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities - Rule 6

This consists of rules governing all aspects of the rights of people with disabilities. Rule 6
focuses on education and agrees with Jomtien that people with disabilities should be educated as
"an integral part of the educational system", and that States should have responsibility for the
education of people with disabilities. Too often, education for people with disabilities was
provided by non-government agencies, letting governments 'off the hook'. Key points include:

• The State should take responsibility for the education of people with disabilities, and should
a) have a clear policy b) have a flexible curriculum c) provide quality materials, and on-
going teacher training and support.
• Integration in mainstream schools is promoted with some key conditions; it should be
properly resourced and of high quality - it should not be seen as a cheap option.
• Special attention should be given to very young and pre-school children, and to women with
disabilities
• Community-based program are seen as complementary to 'integrated' education
• Special education is not ruled out where the mainstream system is inadequate, and for deaf
and deaf/blind students
• Rule 6 States should ensure that the education of persons with disabilities is "an integral part
of the educational system"
• Para 1: general education authorities are responsible for the education of people with
disabilities
• Para2: education in mainstream schools presupposes provision of appropriate support
services

111
• Para 6: states the need to a) have a clear policy, b) have a flexible curriculum, c) provide
quality materials, and on-going teacher training and support
• Para 7: community-based programs should be seen as complementary to integrated
education
• Para 8: in cases where the general school system does not adequately meet the needs of all
disabled persons, special education may be considered in some instances special education
may currently be the most appropriate form of education for some students
• Para 9: deaf and deaf/blind students may receive more appropriate education in separate
schools, special classes or units

F) The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education, 1994

The Framework gave rise to the thinking and practice from a different perspective - not
from disabled activists, but from the professionals working in schools, trying to find ways to
enable all children to learn together. A key difference is that, rather than talking about a
particular group (for example children with disabilities or girls) and their rights, in Salamanca
the focus was on diversity of children's characteristics and educational needs. It marked a big
shift away from the dominant paradigm in special needs education, which was strongly
supportive of segregated special schools. It reflected the 'new thinking' in special needs
education and promoted the concept of the fully inclusive school. The Salamanca Statement and
Framework for Action is still a key international document on the principles and practice of
inclusive education. It brings together very eloquently several pioneering and fundamental
principles of inclusion, some of which had not been discussed in earlier documents.

Article 2: "Education systems should take into account the wide diversity of children's
different characteristics and needs regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most
effective means of combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities,
building an inclusive society and achieving education for all; moreover, they provide an
effective education to the majority of children and improve the efficiency and ultimately the
cost-effectiveness of the entire education system."

Article 3: Governments should "adopt as a matter of law or policy the principle of inclusive
education... unless there are compelling reasons for doing otherwise". This Article "The guiding
principle of this Framework is that schools should accommodate all children. This should

112
include disabled and gifted children, street and working children, children from remote or
nomadic populations, children from linguistic, ethnic or cultural minorities and children from
other disadvantaged or marginalized areas or groups. The challenge confronting the inclusive
school is that of developing a child-centered pedagogy capable of educating all children.

Article 4: "human differences are normal and learning must be adapted to the needs of
the child rather than the child fitted to preordained assumptions, a child-centered pedagogy is
beneficial to all students, and as a consequence, to society as a whole... it can substantially
reduce drop-out and repetition while ensuring higher average levels of achievement. Child-
centered schools are, moreover, the training ground for a people-orientated society that respects
both the differences and dignity of all human beings."

Article 6: "Inclusion and participation are essential to human dignity and to the enjoyment and
exercise of human rights."

Article 7: "The fundamental principle of the inclusive school is that all children

should learn together, wherever possible, regardless of any difficulties or differences they

may have. Inclusive schools must recognize and respond to the diverse needs of their

students, accommodating both different styles and rates of learning..."

Article 10: "Experience suggests that inclusive schools, serving all of the children in a

community, are most successful in eliciting community support and in finding imaginative

and innovative ways of using the limited resources that are available."

Article 18: "Educational polices at all levels, from the national to the local, should stipulate

that a child with a disability should attend the neighborhood school that is, the school that

would be attended if the child did not have a disability."

113
G) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006
Article 24 - Education
1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. With a view to
realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, States Parties
shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning directed to:
(a) The full development of human potential and sense of dignity and self- worth, and the
strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity;
(b) The development by persons with disabilities of their personality, talents and creativity, as
well as their mental and physical abilities, to their fullest potential;
(c) Enabling persons with disabilities to participate effectively in a free society.

2. In realizing this right, States Parties shall ensure that:

(a) Persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the
basis of disability, and that children with disabilities are not excluded from free and
compulsory primary education, or from secondary education, on the basis of disability;
(b) Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary
education and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in
which they live;
(c) Reasonable accommodation of the individual's requirements is provided;
(d)Persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education
system, to facilitate their effective education;
(e) Effective individualized support measures are provided in environments that maximize
academic and social development, consistent with the goal of full inclusion.

3. States Parties shall enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social development skills
to facilitate their full and equal participation in education and as members of the community. To
this end, States Parties shall take appropriate measures, including:

(a) Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternative script, augmentative and

alternative modes, means and formats of communication and orientation and
mobility skills, and facilitating peer support and mentoring;
(b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic
identity of the deaf community;

114
 (c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are
blind, deaf or deaf blind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of
communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social
development. 4. In order to help ensure the realization of this right, States Parties shall take
appropriate measures to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified
in sign language and/or Braille, and to train professionals and staff who work at all levels of
education. Such training shall incorporate disability awareness and the use of appropriate
augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational
techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities. 5. States Parties shall ensure that
persons with disabilities are able to access general tertiary education, vocational training, adult
education and lifelong learning without discrimination and on an equal basis with others. To this
end, States Parties shall ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with
disabilities

H) World Education Forum, Dakar, 2000

In April 2000, more than 1,100 participants from 164 countries gathered in Dakar, Senegal, for
the World Education Forum. Ranging from teachers to prime ministers, academics to policy-
makers, non-governmental bodies to the heads of major international organizations, they
adopted the 2,000-word Dakar Framework for Action - Education for All: Meeting Our
Collective Commitments.

Education For All: Meeting Our Collective Commitments-this was the text adopted by the
World Education Forum Dakar, Senegal, 26-28 April 2000 7. "We hereby collectively commit
ourselves to the attainment of the following goals:

i) expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education,

especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children;
ii) ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult
circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and
complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality;
iii) ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through
equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programs;

115
 iv) achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015,
especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for
all adults;
v) eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005,
and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring
girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good
quality; and
vi) improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of
all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all,
especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills."

I) 1960 UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education - Articles 1, 3 and 4

Article 1
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term 'discrimination' includes any distinction,
exclusion, limitation or preference which, being based on race, color, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic condition or birth,
has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality of treatment in education and
in particular:
a. Of depriving any person or group of persons of access to education of any type or at any
level;
b. Of limiting any person or group of persons to education of an inferior standard;
c. Subject to the provisions of Article 2 of this Convention, of establishing or maintaining
separate educational systems or institutions for persons or groups of persons; or
d. Of inflicting on any person or group of persons conditions which are in-compatible
with the dignity of man.
2. For the purposes of this Convention, the term 'education' refers to all types and levels of
education, and includes access to education, the standard and quality of education, and the
conditions under which it is given.
Article 3

In order to eliminate and prevent discrimination within the meaning of this Convention, the
States Parties thereto undertake:

116
(a) To abrogate any statutory provisions and any administrative instructions and to
discontinue any administrative practices which involve discrimination in education;
(b) To ensure, by legislation where necessary, that there is no discrimination in the admission
of pupils to educational institutions;
(c) Not to allow any differences of treatment by the public authorities between nationals,

except on the basis of merit or need, in the matter of school fees and the grant of scholarships
or other forms of assistance to pupils and necessary permits and facilities for the pursuit of
studies in foreign countries ;

(d) Not to allow, in any form of assistance granted by the public authorities to educational
institutions, any restrictions or preference based solely on the ground that pupils belong to
a particular group;
(e) To give foreign nationals resident within their territory the same access to education as
that given to their own nationals.
Article 4

The States Parties to this Convention undertake furthermore to formulate, develop and
apply a national policy which, by methods appropriate to the circumstances and to national
usage, will tend to promote equality of opportunity and of treatment in the matter of
education and in particular:

(a) To make primary education free and compulsory; make secondary education in its
different forms generally available and accessible to all; make higher education
equally accessible to all on the basis of individual capacity; assure compliance by all
with the obligation to attend school prescribed by law;
(b) To ensure that the standards of education are equivalent in all public educational
institutions of the same level, and that the conditions relating to the quality of the education
provided are also equivalent;
(c) To encourage and intensify by appropriate methods the education of persons who have
not received any primary education or who have not completed the entire primary
education course and the continuation of their education on the basis of individual
capacity;
(d) To provide training for the teaching profession without discrimination.

117
 ?
Exercise
1. Have you read the above legal frameworks carefully? Well, most of them have overlapping
concepts. Please find out the main overlapping ideas tell them to one of your course mates.
2. Which of the international legal frameworks are directly related to inclusive education of
persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities? Discuss them with your classmates.

National Laws and Policy Frameworks Brain storming questions

1. Why do you think countries enact national laws and policy frameworks regarding issues o
the persons with disability and vulnerability?
2. What national laws and policy frameworks do you know? List and discuss in relation to
how they protect rights of persons with disabilities in various areas of life.

If we talk about Ethiopia's legal and policy documents, he/she finds no disability related
instrument until 1971 of the imperial order to provide for the establishment the rehabilitation
agency. Hence, it is possible to speak confidently that 'disability was not a matter of law and
policy before 1991'. This is because of the fact that Ethiopia's serious policy and legal regard
towards the right of PWDS had begun after the introduction of a new constitutional order in
the country.

Ethiopia has signed most of the international conventions and declarations protecting the rights
of persons with disabilities. There are also national policies on the rights of persons with
disabilities. These different national and international policies, conventions and declarations
are presented in various international and local policy documents. The table below is about
major national legal frameworks that are related with protecting persons with disabilities rights
in participating different areas of life.

4.5 National Laws and Policy Frameworks

Related With Rights of People with Disabilities Equal Participation in Education, Social,
Economic, Apolitical and Other Aspect of Life 1. Constitution of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia-1995: Article 41(5) of the Constitution sets out the State's responsibility

118
 for the provision of necessary rehabilitation and support services for people with disabilities.
This provision, which is found in the socioeconomic rights of citizens, does not ensure the
equal employment opportunity of PWDs. Rather, it conveys a message that PWDs are among
those who deserve assistance since they are incapable of engaging in productive life.

2. Labor Proclamation, No. 377/2003, amended by Labor Proclamation No. 494/2006: It states
that it

is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against workers on the basis of nationality,

sex, religion, political outlook or on any other conditions.

3. The Federal Civil Servant Proclamation- No. 515/2007: It offers for special preference in the

recruitment, promotion, and deployment, among others, of qualified candidates with

disabilities. This provision is applicable to government offices only.

4. Proclamation concerning the Rights to Employment for Persons with Disabilities- No.
568/2008:

The proclamation makes null and void any law, practice, custom, attitude and other
discriminatory situations that limit equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. It
also requires employers to provide appropriate working and training conditions; take
all reasonable accommodation measures and affirm active actions, particularly when

employing women with disabilities; and assign an assistant to enable a person with
disability to perform their work or follow training.

5. Framework Document- 2009: provides for Special Needs Education (SNE) in Technical and
Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
6. Building Proclamation- No. 624/2009: provides for accessibility in the design and
construction of any building to ensure suitability for physically impaired persons.
7. Proclamation on Definition of Powers of Duties of the Executive Organs of the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, No. 691/2010: This provides for conditions of equal
opportunities and full participation of persons with disabilities and those living with HIV/AIDS.
8. Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) 2010-2015: It focuses on establishing disability as a
cross cutting sector of development where focus is given to preventing disability and to
119
providing education and training, rehabilitation and equal access and opportunities to persons
with disabilities.
9. National Plan of Action of Persons with Disabilities -(2012-2021): The documents aim at
making Ethiopia an inclusive society. It addresses the needs of persons with disabilities in
Ethiopia for comprehensive Rehabilitation services, equal opportunities for education, skills
training and work, as well as full participation in the life of their families, communities and the
nation.
10. Proclamation concerning the Rights of Disabled Persons to Employment-No.101/1994: This
document was the only legislation in Ethiopia which specifically provides for the employment
of disabled persons. The Proclamation aims to protect and promote the rights of disabled
persons to appropriate training, employment opportunities and salary, and to prevent any
workplace discrimination. Sections 3 and 4 refer to the promotion of employment opportunities
for disabled persons in the open labor market
11. The Federal Civil Servant Proclamation (Proclamation -No 1064/2017: Article 13/2 of
proclamation no 1064/2017 recognizes that:' There shall be no discrimination among job seekers
or civil servants in filling vacancies because of their ethnic origin, sex, religion, political
outlook, disability, HIV/AIDS or any other ground.' Therefore, there can be no discrimination
against persons with disabilities during job recruitment on the basis of their disability.
Moreover, Article 49 of the same proclamation provides for the applicable conditions of work
for workers with disabilities as follows: 1) Persons with disabilities shall be entitled to
affirmative action in recruitment, promotion, transfer, redeployment, education and training; 2)
Any government institution shall ensure that its working environment is conducive to civil
servants with disabilities, provide them with the necessary tools and materials and train them
how to use such tools and materials; 3) Any government institution shall have the responsibility
to assign a person who shall provide proper assistant for those civil servants with disability that
requires assistance; and 4) Privileges prescribed by other laws to persons with disabilities shall
be applicable for the implementation of this Proclamation.
12. Labor Proclamation-1156/2019: This proclamation controls the private sector employment
relationship. Article 15 of the proclamation outlaws discrimination on the basis of disablement.
It provides: discrimination any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of nation,
race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, HIV/AIDS status,
disablement and others which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or
treatment in employment or occupation.
120
13. Organization of Civil Society Proclamation -No. 1113/2019: This proclamation is a newly
enacted legislation replacing its predecessor proclamation 621/2009. It regulates issues
concerning formation, registration, activities and dissolution of civil society organization.
Agency for civil society organization has been also established to facilitate and monitor the
activities of civil society organization. Article 11 of this proclamation expressly provides that
persons with disabilities should be included as a member to enhance and strengthen benefit and
involvement of part of the society with disability. Furthermore, article 62/9 of the same
proclamation orders those civil society organizations working on the benefit of the general
public to take into account the issue of persons with disabilities. It is established for the benefit
of the general public or third parties shall ensure that its activities take into account the interests
of women, Children, persons with disabilities, the elderly and others exposed to threat or
vulnerable groups of the society.
14. The Revised higher institutions proclamation- No. 1152/2019: This proclamation has been
enacted in replacement of its predecessor proclamation 650/2009. This proclamation has
incorporated some rights entitling students with disabilities. According to article 51 of such
proclamation. accordingly the institutions shall: make, to the extent possible, their facilities and
programs amenable to use with relative ease for students with physical disabilities; shall, to the
extent that situations and resources permit, relocate classes, develop alternative testing
procedures, and provide different educational auxiliary aids in the interest of students with
physical disabilities and learning disabilities; consider building designs, campus physical
landscape, computers and other infrastructures of institutions shall take into account the interests
of physically disabled students; shall ensure that students with physical challenges get academic
assistance, including tutorial sessions, exam time and submission date deadline extensions; shall
provide additional resources, as necessary, to maintain the speed and need of education, the
allocation of additional resources, is necessary. The details shall be determined by a directive
15. Advertisement Proclamation -No. 759/2012: It focuses on regulating commercial
advertisement are made. According to article 7/4 of this proclamation, advertisement which
undermines the dignity and emotional feeling of a physically disabled person is immoral.
According to Article 7 advertisements shall be deemed to be as having unlawful or immoral
content or presentation when they undermine the dignity or emotional feeling of physically
disabled person or a person living with HIV/AIDS or suffering from other disease.
16. The Ethiopian Building proclamation -No 624/2009: Its focuses on buildings and
construction- it says that all public building to have a means to access by physical disabled
121
persons. Moreover, it dictates that toilet on such buildings must be accessible. Article 36 states
that any public building shall have a means of access suitable for use by physically impaired
persons, including those who are obliged to use wheelchairs and those who are able to walk but
unable to negotiate steps. Additionally, toilet facilities are required in any building, as adequate
number of such facilities shall be made suitable for use by physically impaired persons and shall
be assessable to them
17. Definition of Powers and Duties of the Executive Organs of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia Proclamation -No. 1097/2018: It mainly focuses on addressing common
responsibility of ministries in general and the specific duty for ministry of labor and social affair
in Creating conditions whereby persons with disabilities, the elderly, and segments of society
vulnerable to social and economic problems benefit from equal opportunities and full
participation (article10/4). Moreover, it obliges the mistress work in cooperation with concerned
bodies (Article 29/11 A).
18. Developmental Social Welfare Policy 1997: It specifically targets people with disabilities
and sets out to safeguard their rights and to promote opportunities for vocational rehabilitation.
full participation in education, health, political, economic and social activities and other
activities
19. The FDRE Education and Training Policy of 1994: This document recognizes that special
attention must be provided for those with special needs. However, it does not have any clear
recognition for reasonable accommodation
20. The FDRE special needs/inclusive education strategy 2012: This document focuses on
inclusive education policy, strategies and responsibilities of stakeholders.

Activities
o List down at least six national policies and laws and discuss their impact on equal
participation of people with disabilities participation in education, socio-economic and
other activities.
o What factors do you think affect implementation of international and national legal
frameworks to promote inclusive education in Ethiopia?
o Did you see any gap in implementations of the laws?
?

122
Chapter Summary

Legal frameworks are one of the drivers for the rights of persons with disabilities and
vulnerabilities. They have influence on especially educational rights of these people
with their peers.

Legal frameworks are supposed to serve people with disabilities needs by keeping equal
rights and creating equal opportunity of learning for all such as children and youth in the
mainstreamed classrooms. Moreover, it is believed to create academic and social inclusion,
and maintain friendship among persons with and without disabilities and vulnerabilities.
Besides, legal frameworks are thought to help the persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities
to exploit their potential to the optimum possible level. International national legal
frameworks are written in the form of public laws and acts, declarations, conventions and
frameworks. These legal frameworks focus on various issues (social, educational,
occupational, vocational etc) of children, youth and adults with disabilities.

The Ethiopian government has endorsed almost all of the conventions and declarations. But
studies showed that various challenges are facing their implementations. As a result, there is
mismatch between practice and these frameworks implantation.

There also national legal frameworks mainly in the form of laws and policies that
promote persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities equal participation in education,
social welfare, economy and other areas of life. Although Ethiopia has lots of laws,
polices and others international legal frameworks ratified by the country, there is gap in
implementation and practices that promote equality of people with disabilities and
vulnerabilities equal participation in social, educational, occupational, vocational and
other aspects of life.

123
 Chapter Five
5. Collaborative Partnerships with stakeholders
Chapter Overview
An individual or an institute cannot do everything they want for the success of
inclusiveness. They require collaboration and partnership. Collaborative is
becoming an effective team player for the intended success.
Collaboration referred to as collaborative consultation, cooperative planning, implementation,
assessment, co-teaching and any kind of team-based services or community of practice. It has
potential to create synergy - where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It has the
potential to provide opportunities for you to learn new ways of addressing barriers to learning,
working, living and for colleagues to learn from each other. Collaboration should be with all
human being for the success of inclusiveness. Collaboration should be based on avoiding
stereotype thinking that discriminate or undermine the capacities of human being, demands
equality, equity and creating mutual respect. Besides collaboration, cooperation is also vital for
human being to meet life goal. Chapter objectives
Dear students at the end of this unit you will be able to:
 Define collaboration, partnership and stakeholder
 Identify key elements of successful collaboration
 Describe the benefits and challenges of collaboration for various stakeholders for
the success of inclusion
 Discus the strategies for effective co-planning and team working
 Identify characteristics of successful partnerships
 Design strategies for community involvement

Activities

1. What is collaboration from your own understanding?

2. Have you every create collaboration with people? For what purpose? What
have you achieved?
3. What was the successful of your collaborations?
4. What will be your future collaboration?

124
5.1 Definition of collaboration, partnership and stakeholder

Collaboration is defined as "the act of working together to produce or create

something according to the capacities and abilities of individuals. Each
individual's collaboration is based on his knowledge and skills. A person should
not be discriminated due to mismatch with other people's abilities; because he has
his own quality in other perspectives.

Collaboration means 'to work with another person or group in order to achieve accomplish
intended goals. Collaboration provides every team member with equal opportunities to
participate and communicate their ideas. Collaboration in the workplace is when two or more
people (often groups) work together through idea sharing and thinking to accomplish a common
goal. It is simply teamwork taken to a higher level. The phrase 'putting our heads together'
would be a good example of this important element of collaboration.

Collaboration enables individuals to work together to achieve a defined and common

business purpose. It exists in two forms:

• Synchronous, where everyone interacts in real time, as in through telephone, email,

online meetings, through instant texts messages, or via Viber, and
• The team sees value in working together as the common goal gives them a meaningful
reason to work together, along with receiving mutual benefits for the institution as
well as the team.

The advantages of collaboration can also be seen in terms of individual output. Creating a
sense of teamwork and building bonds encourages team members to work for the collective
rather than just themselves.

Activities ?
1. Mention some important experiences of collaboration in your community?
2. What are the important elements of collaboration in your community?
3. What is your intention to create collaboration with people in your life?

125
5.2 Key elements of successful collaboration

The relationship includes a commitment to: mutual relationships and goals; a jointly developed
structure and shared responsibility; mutual authority and accountability for success; and sharing
of resources and rewards. A Collaboration Checklist What factors are helping or hindering
your collaboration efforts?

We've got the four most important elements of teamwork to help you build a team that will lead
your company to success.

• Respect. This one should be a no-brainer. ...

• Communication. While respect is probably the most important element of teamwork,
communication is the tool that will generate that respect. ...
• Delegation. ...

• Support.

To kick off our All about collaboration series, we consider the nature of successful
collaboration, its benefits and what is needed within an organization for it to flourish.
Collaboration in the workplace is when two or more people work together through idea sharing
and thinking to achieve a common goal.

Here are a few qualities that a successful team possesses.

1. They communicate well with each other. ...
2. They focus on goals and results. ...
3. Everyone contributes their fair share. ...
4. They offer each other support. ...
5. Team members are diverse. ...
6. Good leadership. ...
7. They're organized. ...
8. They have fun.

General principles of collaboration

• Establish clear common goals for the collaboration.

126
 • Define your respective roles and who is accountable for what, but accept joint
responsibility for the decisions and their outcomes
• Take a problem-solving approach - with a sense that all those in the collaborative
arrangement share ownership of the problem and its solution.
• Establish an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect for each others' expertise.
• Aim for consensus decision-making.
• Ask for and give immediate and objective feedback to others in a nonthreatening and
non-judgmental manner.
• Give credit to others for their ideas and accomplishments
• Develop procedures for resolving conflicts and manage these processes skillfully.
• Better still, anticipate possible conflicts and take steps to avoid them as far as possible.
This is not to say that disagreements can, or even should, be avoided.

• Arrange periodic meetings to review progress in the collaborative arrangements.

What are the advantages of collaboration?

• Higher employee productivity
• The advantages of collaboration can also be seen in terms of individual output.
• Creating a sense of teamwork and building bonds encourages team members to work for
the collective rather than just themselves
Benefits of collaboration
• Greater efficiency and less duplicated effort.
• Access to additional resources or lower costs through sharing resources such as office
space, administration or other aspects of an organization's operation.
• Improved service coordination across agencies, with better pathways or referral systems
for service users.
Challenges to Team Collaboration
• Indecisive decision-makers. Ironic, isn't it? ...
• "E-fail" This is a little term used for when email straight up fails. ...
• Mis (sing) communication. When collaborating, there is always room for
misinterpretation and miscommunication.
• Process sinking vs. process syncing.
• Too many cooks.
127
 • Negative Nancy.

5.3 Cooperativeness

Cooperation is one of the components of collaboration. As an adjective, cooperative describes

working together agreeably for a common purpose or goal as in cooperative play or
cooperative employee. As a noun, a cooperative is a jointly- owned business or enterprise
where members pool their resources to purchase, do work, and/or distribute things.
Cooperativeness helps individuals to willing learn from each other. Learners work together in
small groups, helping each other to carry out individual and group tasks. Interdependence: all
group members seek to achieve a group goal and help each others' achievement; Individual
accountability: each member of the group is held responsible for his or her own learning, which
in turn contributes to the group goal; Cooperation: the learners discuss, problem-solve and
collaborate with each other; Face to face interaction and establish consensus; and Evaluation:
members of the group review and evaluate how they worked together and make changes as
needed. It requires interdependence, which can take one or more forms that help to create
inclusiveness:

1. Goal interdependence: the group has a single goal.

2. Reward interdependence: the whole group receives acknowledgement for achieving

the goal
3. Resource interdependence: each group member has different resources (knowledge
or materials) that must be combined to complete a task
4. Role interdependence: each group member is assigned a different role (e.g, leader,
reporter, time-keeper)

In cooperative learning and works, the strategies for effective co-planning and team working
are very important. The following steps will help you and your group to work effectively
together.

1. Have clear objectives

2. At each stage you should try to agree on goals
3. Set ground rules
4. Communicate efficiently
128
 5. Build consensus
6. Define roles
7. Clarify your plans, process and achievements all the time
8. Keep good records
9. Stick to the plan

Reflection

Do you think collaboration and cooperation move us towards inclusive life? How?

Activities
1. Do people have stakeholders in their daily business? Please describe from your
communities perspective
2. Do these stakeholders meet their goals? How?
3. Do you have stakeholders in your university experiences? Who are they?
?
4. Explain the benefits and challenges of collaboration for various stakeholders for the
success of inclusive life

5.4 Roles of Stakeholders in a Project

S takeholders are usually parties who have a stake in a project and have a great influence
on its success or failure. They may be equity or preference shareholders, employees, the
government agencies, contractors, financial institutions, competitors, suppliers and the
general public

What are the benefits of stakeholder participation?

• Provide all stakeholders with full opportunities to share their views, needs and
knowledge on flood management.
• Build consensus through bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders to share
needs, information, ideas and knowledge and harmonize the objectives of individual
groups to reach common societal goals.

129
Characteristics of successful stockholders partnerships

• Existence of an agreement: Partnership is the outcome of an agreement between two or

more persons to carry on business or offer services for the community
• Sharing of profits or stratification for the services offered to the community
• Establishing equal and equitable relationship
• Membership without discrimination
• Nature of liability
• Fusion of ownership and control
• Non-transferability of interest
• Trust. Without trust there can be no productive conflict, commitment, or
accountability
• Common values. I believe that having common values is the very foundation of the
successful partnership
• Defined expectations
• Mutual respect
• Synergy
• Great two-way communications What makes a good strategic alliance partner?
• They have a similar audience
• They are not your competitors
• They can give you access to new customers and prospects
• They want to work with you
• They want something you can offer What qualities make for a great business partner?
• Passion
• Reliability
• Compatibility
• The Ability to Build Strong Relationships
• Fiscal Responsibility
• Creativity
• Open-Mindedness
• Comfort with Risk.

130
What are the main features of a partnership? ?
Participants described the right partnership behaviors principally as being effective coordination
and chairing, and a set of personal skills and qualities including good listening, clear
communication, honesty, patience, enthusiasm, acceptance and love.

A strategic alliance implies that: the success of the alliance impacts one or more major business
or service goals. The success of the alliance develops or reinforces a core competency,
especially one which provides a competitive advantage and / or blocks a competitive threat

Strategies for community involvement inclusive development

• Commit to participation of all persons with diversities

• Establish non-discriminative effective communication with all people with divers back
ground
• Expect to do most of the work yourself following the inclusive principle
• Tap into local networks, culture and indigenous experiences of inclusiveness
• Use all possible communication channel including sign language for deaf people

Community development is about the inclusive involvement of all people, regardless of their
diversities, enhancing equality, respecting their full right in terms of educational opportunities
and employability. The creation of opportunities to enable all members of a community to
actively contribute to and influence the development process and to share equitably in the fruits
of any development endeavors. Participation has an intrinsic value for participants and a catalyst
for further development; encourages a sense of responsibility; guarantees that a felt need is
involved; ensures things are done the right way; uses valuable indigenous knowledge; frees
people from dependence on others' skills; and makes people more independent and productive

131
References
Alemayehu Teklemariam and Temsegen Fereja (2011). Special Need Education in Ethiopia:
Practice of Special Needs Education around the World. Washington: Gallaudet
University Press.
David F. &, Jenifer L. (2016). A Teacher's Guide to Special Education. Association for
Supervision & Curriculum Development
Hallahan D. and Kauffman J. (2018). Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special
Education (14th ed).Pearson
Hemlata (2014). Technology for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. Kaniska publication
Heward, L.W. (2006). Exceptional Children: An introduction to special education (8th ed).USA:
Pearson Education, Inc.
Heward,L.H.(2006). Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education. New Jersey;
Pearson prentice Hall.
Salisbury, R. (2008). Teaching pupils with visual impairment: a guide to making the school
curriculum accessible. Bell & Bain ltd, Glasgow.
Smart J. (2019). Disability, Society and the Individual (3rd). Pro Ed
Tirussew T. (2002). Human Disabilities: Developmental, Educational and psychological
Implications. Department of Educational Psychology, Addis Ababa University.
Toby J. (2017). Building on the Strengths of Students with Special Needs: How to Move Beyond
Disability Labels in the Classroom : ASCD
Yeseldyka, J.E. and Algozzine, B. (2011). The Fundamentals of Special Education A Practical
Guide for Every Teacher New Delhi:
Yeseldyka, J.E. and Algozzine, B. (2014). Effective Assessment for Students With Special
Needs New Delhi
YsseldykeYeseldyka, J.E. and Algozzine, B. (2007). Teaching Students With Sensory
Disabilities A Practical Guide for Every Teacher New Delhi:

132
 Assignments (30%)

From your experiences (or visit some institutions, schools, and service offerings),
how do you evaluate the inclusiveness of (school, business institutions say Banks,
hospital, municipality office, (any other office you know) in your nearby town?
Are they inclusive for students/customers having disabilities?

What are the main challenges customers with physical disability (people who use
wheelchair or crutches, sticks) face while they get service?

What are the main challenges customers who are blind face while they get service?

What are the main challenges customers who are deaf face while they get service?

Write about ten pages (computer typed)

Include the following

 Name of the town/area
 General conditions of the life persons with disability you know well, as well as whether
they use assistive technology/device or not, etc
 Name of the service providing agent
 Describe the location (ways leading to the service providing agent, availability of ramp,
stairs, number of flour, etc)
 About the service provision
 barriers (social, physical, legal, communication, institutional barriers, etc)
 Did you observe any violations of rights of persons with disability? If yes, in what way?
 favorable conditions
 the overall service rendered to persons with disabilities
 your suggestion to improve the situation
 conclusion

133