Bahir Dar University

College of education and behavioral sciences

Department of special needs and

inclusive education

Course: inclusiveness
 Chapter 1: Understanding Disabilities and Vulnerabilities

1.1 Definitions of Basic Terms in SNIE (Impairment, Disability and

Handicap)
 Impairment: means a lack/abnormality of an anatomic, physiological

or psychological structure or function on a person.

 It refers to any loss or abnormality of physiological,
psychological or anatomical structure or function of human body.
 Disability: The term disability is ambiguous as there is no single

agreement on the concept (Mitra, 2006) It is not synonymous with

AKAL-GUDATENGA (የአካል ጉዳተኛ) meaning impairment.
 The concept of disability is complex, dynamic, multidimensional, and

challenged.
 Con,t
 Disability means functional limitations due to physical,
intellectual or mental impairment, health or cognitive disorders
on a person (WHO,1996).
 The medical definition views the disabled person as needing to-

fit in rather than thinking about how society itself should change.
 This medical definition does not adequately explain the

interaction between societal conditions or expectations and

unique circumstances of an individual the social definition of
disability:
 Con,t
 Disability is a highly varied and complex condition with
a range of implications for social identity and behavior.
 Disability largely depends on the context and is a
consequence of discrimination, prejudice and exclusion.
Disabilities are a functional limitation of an individual to

perform a task as a normal manner of the communities

life.
It is a result of impairment.
 Handicap
 It means an individual is disadvantaged due to his/her

impairment and disability in the normal manner of the

life of the community.
 It is the result of both impairment and disabilities.

 This leads to underprivileged/poor in social,

psychological, economical and political aspect of life of
the society at large.
Model of disability
 Traditional model of disabilities

Traditional model of disabilities believed that, it is

the result of God punishment, due to, their parents

and ancestors wrong doing.
This model also believes, it is caused by evil,

criminal and sinful.

There is no treatment, b/c it doesn’t focused on the

medical and social aspect of the individuals.

 Cont,t
 Medical model:
 According to medical model disability is caused by, disease.

 This model believed that the disability is the child him/her self.

 it also think, the child is damaged, diagnosis and classification,

 Change the child to fit the system, b/c no attention about external

environment.
 Can be cure through medication

 It characterized by Segregation
 Cont,t
 Social model:

 Social model of disabilities focuse on the external environment rather than the

disabilities of the child.

 The society them selves are the causes of disabilities, due to;

 their attitude towards disabilities,

 knowledge about the causes, nature, type and level of disabilities,

 The norm, custom, culture and their backgrounds

 According to this model, the child is valued, have strengths, barriers identified and

solutions developed.
 It focuses on resources available, diversity welcomed ; child is welcomed, society

changes
 So, it give attention to change the system to fit the child.
Cause of disability
 Genetic Causes
Abnormalities in genes and genetic inheritance can cause intellectual disability in
children.

Diseas
es Causes Illness
of
Drou
ght genetic
and disorder
Malnutriti
deser
on
t
clima Over-exposure to
te x-ray
 Cont,t
 Environmental

 Poverty and malnutrition in pregnant mothers can cause a

deficiency in vital minerals and result in deformation issues in the

unborn child.
 Even after birth, poverty and malnutrition can also cause poor

development of vital organs in the child, which can finally lead to

disability
 The use of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, the exposure to certain toxic

chemicals by a pregnant mother can cause intellectual disability to

the child
 Cont..

 This can cause damage to the brain of the child. Toxic material

such as lead and mercury can damage the brain too.

 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

 Cont..

 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, basically make it impossible for them to take
care of themselves.
 This way, their impairment is made inferior/worse.
1.2 Type of disabilities
A. Visual Impairment
 Visual impairment in general terms has two sub- classifications.

 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.

 Low vision,

 is used for moderately impaired vision.

 People with low vision may have a visual impairment that affects only
B. Hearing Impairment:

 The definitions given to hearing impairment convey different meaning to different people.

 it is the generic term includes two sub-classifications

 Hard of hearing;

 Deaf

C. Specific Learning Disability:

 means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in

understanding or in using language, spoken or written, etc

 The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal

brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

 cont,t

 Types of Specific Learning Disabilities

o Dyscalculia

 is a specific learning disability that affects a person‘s ability to

understand numbers and learn math.

 also have poor comprehension of math symbols, may struggle with

memorizing and organizing numbers etc.

o Dysgraphia:

 is a specific learning disability that affects a person‘s handwriting

ability and fine motor skills.

 It include illegible handwriting, inconsistent spacing, and difficulty

composing writing as well as thinking and writing at the same time

 Cont..
o Dyslexia:

 is a specific learning disability that affects reading and related

language-based processing skills.

 can affect reading fluency; decoding, reading comprehension,

recall, writing, spelling, and sometimes speech and can exist along

with other related disorders.

D. Speech and language impairment
 Speech disorder

 means a communication disorder such as;

 stuttering: rapid-fire repetitions of consonant or vowel sounds,

prolongations,
 fluency disorders: are difficulties with the rhythm and timing of

speech.
 voice disorders: are problems with the vocal quality or abnormal

production.
 Cluttering: excessively fast and jerky speech.

 Articulation: errors in the production of speech sounds.

 Cont,t

 Articulation disorder exist due to anatomical or physiological

limitations in the skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular support for

speech production.
 It characterized by;

 Omissions: (bo for boat); shi for ship

 Substitutions: (wabbit for rabbit); shili for Chili
 Distortions: (shlip for sip) CC
 Language impairments:
 there are Five basic areas of language impairments:

 Phonological disorders:
 abnormal organization of the phonological system, or a significant
deficit in speech production or perception.
 Morphological disorders:
 are 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.
 Cont,t
 Syntactic deficits:
 are characterized by difficulty in acquiring the rules that govern
word order and others aspects of grammar such as subject-verb
agreement.
 Pragmatic difficulties:
 are characterized as problems in understanding and using
language in different social contexts.
E. Autism

 Means a developmental disability significantly affecting

verbal and nonverbal communication and social

interaction.
 generally evident/ occur before age three

 adversely affects a child‘s educational performance.

 It neurodevelopment disorder defined by impairments in

social and communication development.

F. Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
 According to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the term

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders means a condition exhibiting one or more

characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely
affects educational performance.
 Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
Classification of behavioral and emotional disorders
 Conduct disorder: individuals may seek attention, are
disruptive and act out.
 Socialized aggression: individuals join subculture group
of peers who are openly disrespectful to their peers,
teachers, and parents.
 Attention problems: These individuals may have
attention deficit, and have poor concentration.
 Anxiety/Withdrawn: They typically have low self-esteem
and withdraw from immediate activities.
 Motor excess: These students are hyperactive and not
keep their attention focused.
 Two Broad Classifications Con,t
1. Externalizing Behavior: also called under controlled disorder, include;

 disobedience,

 disruptiveness,

 fighting,

 irresponsibility, etc…

2. Internalizing Behavior: also known as over controlled disorders, include;

 anxiety, immaturity,

 social withdrawal, and feeling of inadequacy (inferiority),

 depression and worries a great deal.

G. 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.

 Sub average intellectual functioning

 Generally, an IQ test score of around 70 or as high as 75

indicates a limitation in intellectual functioning .

 Cont..
 Significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skill areas

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.
 Practical skills: activities of daily living (personal care),

occupational skills, healthcare.

H. Physical disability/Orthopedic Impairment and Health
impairment

 Physical disability

 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.
 cont,t

 based on the impact of physical disability on mobility and motor

skills, it is divided into three.

A. Mild physical disability:- individuals are able to walk without

aids and may make normal developmental progress.

B. Moderate physical disability:- individuals can walk with

braces/supports and crutches.

C. Severe physical disability:-individuals who are wheel-chair

dependent and may need special help to achieve regular

development
I. Health Impairments

 Heart disease:-

 It is caused by improper circulation of blood by the heart

some of the disorders are congenital

 Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS):-

 is a very severe disease caused by human immune deficiency virus

(HIV) infection and transmitted.

 Con,t
 Asthma:

 is a chronic respiratory condition characterized by

repaired explode (go off) breathing difficulties.

 Vulnerability
 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.

 vulnerability can be generally defined as a complex phenomenon that

refers to the following dimensions:

 Economic difficulties/lack of financial resources

 Social exclusion

 Lack of social support from social networks

 Health difficulties

 Being a victim of crime

 chapter 2
 Concepts of Inclusion

 Inclusion in education/service refers to:-

 An ongoing process education/services for all human being

 Ensure the respecting of diversity and the different needs

and abilities, characteristics and learning expectations of

the students and communities
 Welcoming of all students through addressing and

responding their special educational needs

 Eliminating all forms of discrimination‖ (UNESCO)
 Cont…
 Inclusive, 2008, P.3 services at any level are quality provisions

without discrimination or partiality /bias and meeting the diverse

needs of people.
 Inclusion is a process of increasing all persons participation in

learning, employment, services, cultures and communities, and

reducing exclusion at all social contexts.
 It try to find to enable communities, systems and structures in all

cultures and contexts to combat/struggle discrimination, celebrate

diversity, promote participation and overcome barriers to learning
and participation for all people.
 Cont…
 The above definition has the following components:
 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

 Cont…
 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
 Cont…
 Concepts about diversity and discrimination

 It promotes combating discrimination and

exclusionary pressures at any social sectors

 It enables responding to/acceptance of diversity as a

resource not as a problem

 It prepares learners for an inclusive society that

respects and values difference.

 Cont,t
 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
 Cont…
 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.

 Principles of Inclusion
 The fundamental principle of inclusion is that all persons should

learn, work and live 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.
 Inclusion implies transition/change from separate, segregated
learning and working environments for persons with disabilities to
community based systems.
 Cont…
 Furthermore, UNESCO (2005) has provided four major inclusion
principles that support inclusive practice. These include:
 Inclusion is a process.

 It never-ending

 it is to search to find better ways of responding to diversity.

 Inclusion is concerned with the identification and removal of barriers

that hinders the development of persons with disabilities.

 Inclusion is about the presence, participation and achievement of all

persons.
 Cont…
 Presence‘ concerned with where persons are

provided and how reliably/dependably and

punctually they attend;
 participation‘ must incorporate the views of

learners/and or workers and

 achievement‘ outcomes of learning across the

curriculum, not just test and exam results.

 Cont…
 Inclusion invokes/raises a particular emphasis on those who may be

at risk of marginalization, exclusion or underachievement.

Rationale for Inclusion
 The major ones include: educational, social, legal, economic and

inclusive society building foundations.

 Educational Foundations

o Children do better academically, psychologically and socially in

inclusive settings.
o A more efficient use of education resources.

o Decreases dropouts and repetitions

o Teachers competency( knowledge, skills, collaboration, satisfaction

 Cont…
 Social Foundation

o Segregation teaches individuals to be fearful,

ignorant and breeds/types prejudice.

o All individuals need an education that will help

them develop relationships and prepare them for

life in the wider community.
 Legal Foundations

o All individuals have the right to learn and live together.

o Human being shouldn‘t be devalued or discriminate, excluded or sent

away because of their disability.

o There are no legitimate reasons to separate children for their education
 Cont…
 Economic Foundation

o Inclusive education has economic benefit, both for individual

and for society.

o Inclusive education is more cost-effective than the creation of

special schools across the country.

o Children with disabilities go to local schools

o Better employment and job creation opportunities for people

with disabilities
 Cont…
 Foundations for Building Inclusive Society

o Formation of mutual understanding and appreciation of

diversity
o Building up empathy/understanding, tolerance and
cooperation
o Promotion of sustainable development
 Origin of inclusiveness
 Inclusiveness 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.
 Positive Factors to Facilitate IE
Quality
education Activists Special Involvement
communit and school and educational s of
y improveme advocat needs internationa
nt ors movement l agencies
movement

Positive factors to facilitate

IE
 Benefits of Inclusion

 It is now understood that inclusion benefits for:

 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.
 Cont…
 Benefits for Students with Special Needs Education

In inclusive settings people will develop:

o Observe and imitate socially acceptable behaviors of the students without special

needs

o Improved friendships with the social environment and Increased social

initiations, interactions, relationships and networks

o Increased achievement of individualized educational program (IEP) goals

o Enhanced skill acquisition, generalization in their learning and the probability

that students with SEN will continue to participate in a variety of integrated

settings
 Cont…
Benefits for persons without Special Needs Education

o Have a variety of opportunities for interacting with their age

peers who experience SEN in inclusive school settings.

o Gain knowledge of a good deal about tolerance, individual

difference, and human exceptionality.

o Learn that students with SEN have many positive characteristics

and abilities.

o Have increased appreciation, acceptance and respect of

individual differences among human beings that leads to

increased understanding and acceptance of diversity

 Cont…
Benefits for Teachers
o They gain new knowledge and have more opportunities to
learn new ways to teach different kinds of students.
o They develop more positive attitudes and approaches towards

different people with diverse needs.

o They have greater opportunities to explore new ideas by

communicating more often with others from within and outside

their school, such as in school clusters or teacher networks, or
with parents and community members.
 Cont…
 Benefits for Parents/Family
They:

o Learn more about how their children are being educated in schools

with their peers in an inclusive environment.

o Become personally involved and feel a greater sense of

accomplishment in helping their children to learn.

o Feel valued and consider themselves as equal partners in providing

quality learning opportunities for children.

o Find out ways to interact with others in the community, as well as

to understand and the problems.

o Experience positive attitude about themselves and their children.
 Cont…
 Benefits for society

o Introduction of students with disabilities and vulnerabilities in to

mainstream schools bring in the students int o local communities and

neighborhoods and helps break down barriers and prejudice that
prevail in the society towards persons with disability.
o Communities become more accepting of difference, and everyone

benefits from a friendlier, open environment that values and

appreciates differences in human beings.
o 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.
 Cont…
Ultimate Goal of Inclusion
 The goal of inclusive education is including:-

 To create schools where everyone belongs, by creating inclusive

schools.
 To ensure that respect and acceptances of difference and diversity in

school.
 To create an inclusive school culture

 Creates better long-term outcomes for all students

 To create inclusive society

 To ensure well coming of all learners

 Features of Inclusive Environment
 An inclusive environment means:-

 Members feel respected by and connected to one another.

 Welcomes all people, regardless of their disability and other

vulnerabilities.
 It recognizes/identify and uses their skills and strengthens their

abilities.
 It includes individuals with disabilities and vulnerabilities at all

levels from first time participants to board members

 An inclusive service environment is respectful, supportive, and

equalizing.
 Inclusive environment
 An inclusive environment is a place that is adjusted to individuals‘

needs and not that individuals are adjusted to the environmental

needs.
 It acknowledges that individual differences among individuals are a

source of richness and not a problem, and can be met successfully

with a wide range of flexible approaches
 Successful environment has the following characteristics:

 It develops whole-school/environment to promote inclusiveness

and quality provisions and practice that are responsive to the

individual needs and diversities

 Cont…
 It recognizes and responds to the diverse needs of individuals and

ensuring quality provisions for all through:

 appropriate accommodations,

 organizational arrangements,

 restructuring environment, culture, policy, and practice

 resource use and partnerships with their community.

 provides services and facilities equally accessible to all people

 It is committed to serve all individuals together regardless of

differences.

 It promoting pro-social activities

 Barriers of inclusion

Gaps of legislation Inaccessible

and policies social and
practices physical
env’t

Societ Lack of
al knowledge
attitud Barriers and skills
of
e inclusion

Rigid
curricula
and
teaching
Inadequate
methods resources