One of the most important factors when it comes to students’ success — especially those who may need extra assistance or attention — is creating an environment of acceptance. When students feel seen, well-supported, and have their particular needs met within the classroom, they are more likely to grasp better the material being taught, grow socially, and ultimately succeed in the long term.
Joshua Fields, co-founder and CEO of The Next Step Program, has established solutions that provide opportunities for students with disabilities to grow and learn because he is aware of how academic environments can affect these students.
“The school environment can significantly impact students with disabilities,” Fields explains. “Often, students with disabilities face significant barriers in accessing the education and resources they need to succeed. This can lead to feelings of isolation, exclusion, and discrimination, which can ultimately impact their mental and emotional well-being.”
Creating an environment that encourages acceptance for students with disabilities or learning differences can look different for each child and each environment. However, there are some common factors that link encouraging environments together.
Building a supportive and accepting environment
In order to cultivate a classroom environment that is accepting, supportive, and encouraging for each child, there needs to be a focus on inclusivity and accessibility. After all, different disabilities require different needs. Those in charge of classrooms need to assess those needs and ensure that the student will have the same access to learning tools and instruction that non-disabled or neurotypical students may have.
“Schools must work to create a culture of inclusivity and accessibility,” says Fields. “This includes providing accessible facilities, resources, and technology, as well as training staff and students on disability awareness and inclusion.”
Unfortunately, there still exists a stigma with neurodivergent students in many learning spaces, with some schools believing they cannot be successfully integrated into “traditional” classroom environments. However, the inclusion and integration of students with disabilities into typical classrooms has increased in recent years. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 66% of students with disabilities were spending 80% or more of their time in traditional classrooms in 2020.
Truly inclusive classrooms value each student for what they bring as individuals and provide ways for those students to achieve success by being included in classroom activities and considered for their strengths while remaining mindful of their personalized needs. “By actively promoting a culture of acceptance, we can help to reduce stigma and increase support for students with disabilities,” says Fields.
Eliminating isolation
The typical classroom culture of decades past primarily saw students with disabilities isolated from their peers. Even as IDEA emerged and mandated inclusive measures, many students were still separated from their peers for large portions of their day. Thankfully, the numbers are improving, with studies showing that students with disabilities perform better when they are learning with other non-disabled students.
“To avoid isolating the disability community in education, we must ensure that students with disabilities have access to the same educational opportunities and resources as their classmates,” Fields explains.
These opportunities include students learning in the same physical space and having the same teachers as other students, as well as assistive learning technology and plans such as Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504s. “Teachers and administrators must be involved in the educational planning and implementation of individual plans for each student and follow through on what the plans dictate,” Fields adds.
Under Fields’s leadership, The Next Step Program is committed to empowering individuals with disabilities in the classroom and beyond. “Through our employment and training programs, we work to provide individuals with disabilities with the skills and resources they need to succeed in the workforce and become active members of their communities,” says Fields.
The scars from an environment of exclusionary treatment and isolation can last a lifetime. Today’s approach, however, focuses on inclusive and accepting classrooms for all students and seeks to undo the generations of harm that students with disabilities have experienced. Eliminating isolation from the onset of their educational experience allows students with disabilities to learn not only how to thrive in school, but within their community as they grow into adulthood.
Everyone deserves inclusivity and acceptance
It’s crucial that we, as a society, continue supporting the inclusivity and acceptance of those with disabilities in the classroom. Though the country has made great strides in the past few decades with integration, assistive technology in classrooms, and better-trained teachers and staff, there are still improvements that could be made to create truly accepting environments.
IDEA has, in and of itself, helped further the idea of acceptance and inclusivity in education, leading to brighter futures for students with disabilities of all kinds. To Fields, it is important that the educational system at large remembers that all people deserve to feel as if they are a part of the community.
“Everyone deserves the opportunity and has the right to live an everyday life,” he says. “By providing access to education, employment, and community resources, we can help to break down barriers and create a more inclusive and equitable society for all.”
