• IRIS Center
COVID-19 RESOURCES
Careers at IRIS
  • Resources
    • IRIS Resource Locator
      Modules, case studies, activities, & more
    • Evidence-Based Practice Summaries
      Research annotations
    • High-Leverage Practices
      IRIS resources on HLPs
    • IRIS Alignment Tools
      HLPs, SiMRs, & CEEDAR ICs
    • Films
      Portrayals of people with disabilities
    • Children's Books
      Portrayals of people with disabilities
    • For Faculty
      Sample syllabi, curriculum matrices, & more
    • For PD Providers
      Sample PD activities, planning forms, & more
    • For Independent Learners
      Resources & tools for independent learners
    • Website Navigation Videos
      Getting around our Website & modules
    • New & Coming Soon
      Latest modules & resources
    • Glossary
      Disability related terms
  • PD Options
    • PD Certificates for Educators
      Our certificate, your PD hours
    • School & District Platform
      A powerful tool for school leaders
    • Log in to Your IRIS PD
  • Articles & Reports
    • Articles
      Articles about IRIS use & efficacy
    • Internal IRIS Reports
      Reports on IRIS use & accomplishments
    • External Evaluation Reports
      Evaluations of the IRIS Center
    • Learner Outcomes
      Summaries of module effectiveness
    • Consumer Satisfaction
      Feedback and testimonials from IRIS users
    • IRIS Stories
      Our resources, your stories
    • News & Events
      What, when, & where it's happening
  • About
    • Who We Are
      Our team, experts, & advisors
    • What We Do
      Our resources & process
    • Contact Us
      Get in touch with IRIS
  • Help
    • Help & Support
      Get the full benefit from our resources
    • Website Navigation Videos
      Getting around our Website & modules
  • Module
  • Challenge
  • Initial Thoughts
  • Perspectives & Resources
  • Wrap Up
  • Assessment
Challenge
Initial Thoughts
Perspectives & Resources

Why should students with significant cognitive disabilities be included in general education classrooms?

  • Page 1: Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities
  • Page 2: Inclusion in Policy and Practice
  • Page 3: Access to General Education Curriculum

How can teachers best plan for and teach students with significant cognitive disabilities in inclusive classrooms?

  • Page 4: Goals, Services, and Supports
  • Page 5: Collaborative Practices
  • Page 6: Addressing Instructional Needs
  • Page 7: Addressing Communication Needs

Resources

  • Page 8: References & Additional Resources
  • Page 9: Credits
Wrap Up
Assessment
We want to hear from you. Please complete our brief Module Feedback Form.

Inclusion of Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Supports in the General Education Classroom

Challenge

View the movie below and then proceed to the Initial Thoughts section (time: 1:42).

/wp-content/uploads/module_media/scd_media/movies/scd_chall.mp4

View Transcript | View Transcript with Images (PDF)

Transcript: Challenge

Meet Ethan. Ethan is a third-grade student with a significant cognitive disability. Ethan knows some letters and numbers, speaks using one or two words at a time, and loves anything involving trains. Since kindergarten, Ethan has received instruction in a separate classroom for students with significant cognitive disabilities. However, this year, his family and teachers have decided that he should be included in Ms. O’Connor’s third-grade classroom with his peers.

Ms. O’Connor has been teaching for five years, but she has never had a student with a significant cognitive disability in her classroom before. When Ms. O’Connor meets with Ethan’s special education teacher, Mr. Diego, at the beginning of the year, he reiterates what a great kid Ethan is and how much Ms. O’Connor is going to enjoy having him as a part of her class. While she believes inclusion is important and is looking forward to having Ethan in her classroom, she is concerned that she won’t be able to adapt her teaching practices to meet Ethan’s needs. More specifically, she wonders how to include him when the other students are working on third-grade content and if she will have to create different lessons for him. She worries that she will have to spend a lot of individual time with him, and questions whether that’s fair to the rest of her students.

Here’s your challenge:

  1. Why should students with significant cognitive disabilities be included in general education classrooms?
  2. How can teachers best plan for and teach students with significant cognitive disabilities in inclusive classrooms?
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Back Next
Join Our E-Newsletter Sign Up
  • Home
  • About IRIS
  • Our Values
  • Sitemap
  • Web Accessibility
  • Glossary
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us
Join Our E-Newsletter Sign Up

The IRIS Center Peabody College Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 37203 [email protected] The IRIS Center is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Grant #H325E220001. The contents of this Website do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Sarah Allen.

Copyright 2023 Vanderbilt University. All rights reserved.

* For refund and privacy policy information visit our Help & Support page.

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

  • Vanderbilt Peabody College