Special Education Needs and Disabilities

This report discusses and evaluates the laws, policies, and support needed for enhancing special education needs and disabilities. It explores the evolution of special education needs provision, current laws and policies, and the differences between inclusive and discreet provisions. The report also highlights the support needed by teachers and children with special needs, focusing on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It emphasizes the importance of positive encouragement, cognitive theories of learning, and the play and learn through the arts method. Overall, the report aims to create awareness and suggest improvements in the legal arrangements for disabled children.

Running head: SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS AND DISABILITIES
SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS AND DISABILITIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS AND DISABILITIES
Table of Contents
1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Research Question................................................................................................................2
1.2 Key Stages in the Research....................................................................................................2
2 Laws and Policies for the Special Education Needs and Disabilities...........................................3
2.1 Evolution of Special Education Needs provision over the period of time............................3
2.2 Current Situation....................................................................................................................5
2.2.1 Equality Act....................................................................................................................5
2.2.2 Differences between Inclusive and Discreet provisions.................................................6
3 Support needed for enhancing the Special Education Needs and Disabilities.............................7
3.1 Support needed by the teachers and the children with special needs....................................7
3.2 Extent to which the Special Education needs can be supported in Inclusive Education.......9
4 Methodology...............................................................................................................................10
4.1 Justification of the Methodology.........................................................................................10
4.2 Validity and Reliability of the Research..............................................................................10
5 Implications in the Primary Setting............................................................................................10
6 Conclusion..................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

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1 Introduction
In today’s generation there has been enough effort on part of the researchers and
educationists who have evolved the pedagogical practices to make it even more inclusive. The
focus of the pedagogical approach in today’s generation stresses upon generating an equalizing
effect on the students. It is done to ensure that the students having no disability and students
having disability could be brought on a level ground. The pedagogical approach which stresses
on teaching students having disability separately is becoming redundant as it has been found out
that by means of alienating the students having disability from the ones not having it is not
upholding the principle of inclusivity (Armstrong, Armstrong and Barton 2016).
1.1 Research Question
The purpose of this report is thus to discuss and evaluate the policies and legal provisions
that aim at bettering the life of the students with disability and make things easier to ensure that
the aim is successful. In the following sections, the discussion shall be focusing upon the acts
and legislations that have been passed with the intention to champion the cause of being
inclusive towards the children with special needs. There are quite a lot of forms of special needs
that can affect the children, but in this particular report the discussion shall be focusing upon the
Special Education Need of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
1.2 Key Stages in the Research
Having devoted attention on the aspect of legal arrangements, their evolution and the
present scenario, the discussion shall be focusing upon the specific needs that the children
suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder needs and what are their implications in
the primary education setting, which shall be the scope of the report.

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This particular report is important as it makes people aware of the arrangements that the
government of UK has done for the disabled people so far. It shall not only make people aware
but shall also be helpful in finding the lacunas in the legal arrangements and can also encourage
people to articulate their interests and suggest what more needs to be done to ensure that the
disabled ones benefit.
2 Laws and Policies for the Special Education Needs and Disabilities
2.1 Evolution of Special Education Needs provision over the period of time
The legal provision that currently caters to the interests of the children with disability is
the Equality Act of 2010, which is a compendium of several legal acts and pronouncements. To
be more specific, the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 deals exclusively with the aspect of
safeguarding the interests of the children with disability. By disability the act means any form of
mental and physical impairment which inhibits an individual from taking up the regular course of
activities as a person who is healthy and without having any physical or mental problems (Clark
et al., 2018).
The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 provided for four forms of protections. The act
had made it illegal to discriminate or deny any person with disability the privileges, services and
opportunities which a healthy free from any form of impairment is entitled to. That implied
methods of direct discrimination like rejecting a person employment solely on the basis of the
fact that he or she is disabled without having any solid ground to do so. Other forms of
discrimination which are disability related can include instances like public transport refusing to
let in the guard dog of a visually impaired person, and thereby jeopardizing the chances of the
individual to avail of the public transport facility as well. Hence organizations who fail to make

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reasonable adjustments to accommodate a physically or mentally challenged person can also be
prosecuted. Apart from that any form of victimization or harassment of a person with some form
of impairment can incur legal penalty. These are the ways in which the Disability Discrimination
Act of 1995 had sought to respect and uphold the rights of a person with disability (Galloway
2018).
The Special Education Needs and Disability Act of 2001 is the legal provision which
specifically caters to the educational requirements of the disabled students. This particular act
specifically harps upon the removal of all forms of discrimination against disabled children in the
field of education. Students having disability cannot be discriminated against in terms of access
to training, in higher study courses and sixth form colleges. This act specifies alteration in the
structure of the building, in the method of dissemination of instruction, amendments in the
course requirements, employment of care givers specialized in dealing children with disability as
methods to be taken up by institutions to accommodate the needs of the children with special
needs who are at the pre 16 level of education (Hardy and Woodcock 2015).
The Equality Act of 2006. The act had sought to broaden the definition of disability. The
first premise of definition of disability has been explained in terms of differentiating the
condition of disability with particular reference to an individual who is free from all sorts of
physical and mental disabilities. Thereby the condition of disability shall be testified against a
person who is mentally and physically stable, and disability shall be determined likewise (Hardy
and Woodcock 2015).

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2.2 Current Situation
Currently, the Equality Act of 2010 is at place which caters to a wide range of interests
which specifically targets the well being of the several marginalized communities of the nation.
The thrust of the Equality Act of 2010 is on removal of discrimination and that supplants within
itself all the acts and legislations that have been passed before 2010 (Fulcher 2015).
The latest act that caters to the children with special educational needs is the Children and
Families Act 2014. It is aimed at securing the best interests of the children and necessitates
devoting special provisions for the children with disabilities. Apart from education, the health
care shall also be covered. The age limit for the provision of statutory protection has been raised
from 16 to 25. The autistic children shall be specially benefitted as their parents can buy a
personal budget plan to support their children. Apart from that, all children having Special
Education Needs can avail of the benefits they are entitled to from the local authorities under the
SEN support scheme (Fulcher 2015).
2.2.1 Equality Act
The United Kingdom has a long legacy of upholding the human rights of the minorities
and the oppressed sections of the society. With the passage of time, the legal set up of the nation
has incorporated additional elements to ensure that the human rights of several other sections of
the society who are marginalized and are in need of help are upheld. The Equality Act of 2010 is
the act which seeks to be a ray of hope for the disabled children. It is an all embracing legal
arrangement that has acquired its current shape by means of evolution and amendments over the
passage of time. The Equality Act of 2010 includes the provisions that are a part of Disability
Discrimination Act of 1995 and the Equality Act of 2006 (Buckingham 2017).

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2.2.2 Differences between Inclusive and Discreet provisions
The inclusive provisions in this particular regard of fulfilling of the educational needs
with disability are the ones which explicitly mention of the provisions targeting the children with
special needs. In this regard the Children and Families Act 2014, the Special Education Needs
and Disability Act of 2001 and the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 can be cited as
examples. These acts not only mention of the term disability but are basically oriented towards
extending the benefits to the disabled children. These legal pronouncements are very much
focused and have been specifically designed to cater to the requirements of the children suffering
from disability (Kauffman et al 2018).
The discreet provisions can be found in the Equality Acts of 2006 and 2010. These acts
do not cater to the specific needs of the disabled children but they tend to take a very generalized
approach in terms of safeguarding the rights of the children with disability. The basic emphasis
of these acts are to safeguard the interests of the ones with disability and they have supplanted
the children with disability into the fold of marginalized community who face discrimination.
These acts do not serve the sectional interests of the ones suffering from disability but they aim
at safeguarding the basic fundamental rights of the children suffering from disability as a human
right. Hence these are the discreet provisions and are thus different from the inclusive provisions.
It is not being implied that the discreet provisions tend to exclude the children suffering from
disability, just that they are not as explicit or detailed as the inclusive provisions (Kauffman et al
2018).

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3 Support needed for enhancing the Special Education Needs and Disabilities
In the previous section the discussion had focused on the legal provisions and in this
section, the pedagogical approach related issues shall be discussed.
3.1 Support needed by the teachers and the children with special needs
The well being of the children with special needs is heavily dependent upon the approach
to be taken by the teacher. At the same time the teachers should also be provided with the
logistical support and proper training in order to ensure that they are successful in catering to the
needs of the students with special needs. In the present context the issue of children with
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder shall be taken up for discussion (Kauffman et al 2017).
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children is marked by an acute degree of
distraction and can continue to even adulthood if not taken care of properly at the earliest.
Children having the mental problem are easily distracted and they find it difficult to finish their
work or follow instructions. They tend to prefer spending their days ignoring their daily activities
and spending time in day dreaming and idling about. Naturally, their grades tend to falter. Their
lack of interest to study is something which is not something which they do deliberately, but they
are bound by the ailment they suffer from (Kauffman et al 2017).
The children suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder must receive
special support from their teachers. The behaviourist theory of cognitive development proposed
by Pavlov is very much beneficial in this regard and can provide for the steps to be taken by the
teachers to facilitate their process of learning. He had said that that repetitive occurrence of a
phenomenon facilitates and expedites the process of learning. The pattern of behaviour that is
imbibed by human beings are a result of repetitive experiencing of a particular sequence of

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events and that is how according to Pavlov human beings get accustomed to behaving in a
particular way. This phenomenon has been termed as Classical Conditioning (Kauffman et al
2018).
Building upon his theorization, Skinner had said that positive encouragement must be
provided. Constant discouragement and demoralization tends to make the feeling of
worthlessness in the student who becomes incapable of performing well in due course of time.
Hence, even if a student is incapable of showing any positive signs, the goal should be imbibe
positivity in the student to encourage him or her to perform better (Kauffman et al 2018).
As per the cognitive theory of Bloom, learning necessitates both cognition and the
emotions in the process. He had associated the faculty of memory with the cognitive domain of
the process of learning, and the emotional quotient with the affective domain. Hence the
emotional touch of the teachers is extremely necessary. The multimodal form of dissemination of
education is very beneficial in this context, whereby different methods of teaching are employed
to ensure that the course material is imbibed by the child. In this regard the the Play and Learn
through the Arts method is apt for dealing with children having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder. It is called as the play way method of teaching, and is more appropriate for children
who are at the pre-school, nursery or kindergarten level (Kauffman et al 2018).
The method of teaching involves the creation of an environment of joy and positivity by
the teacher using various activities. It is an activity oriented process of teaching and learning.
The guiding philosophy behind the application of this particular method in teaching is to nurture
the intellectual and cognitive growth and development of the learners by imbibing emotions in to
the process of teaching (Kauffman et al 2017).

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With regard to the requirement of the teachers, it can be said that they shall be needing
extra help from support staff, hence the institution must employ support staff who shall act as
ancillaries to the teacher of the class. It is not possible for a single teacher to control an entire
class having a mixed batch of students. The teachers must also be provided with the necessary
time to ensure that they get enough scope to help the children suffering from Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder. The method of teaching to be employed for a child having the disorder is
quite unique and different from the method of teaching to be employed for other students who do
not have that ailment. Apart from that it has to be kept in mind that the mental disorder is a
complex issue and that needs the intervention and presence of psychologists in the school
environment who can act as one of the supporting agents (Kauffman et al 2017).
3.2 Extent to which the Special Education needs can be supported in Inclusive Education
The legal setting of the nation has already stipulated the necessary requirements that the
educational institutions are supposed to take up in order to cater to the requirements of the
children with special needs. Hence, accommodating the necessary conditions for ensuring the
benefit of the students with special needs is something which is a legal responsibility of the
educational institutions very promptly. The requirements for dealing with students having
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are very basic and they comprise of a greater degree of
inclusivity in the process of teaching and learning and the inculcation of more staff in order to
ensure that the teachers find it easier to deal with such students. These requirements thus are a
basic necessity and must be met (Ainscow 2018).

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4 Methodology
Qualitative approach has been followed in the conducting of the research and the data
gathered has been from secondary sources. The credibility of the report lies in the fact that
adequate attention has been devoted to ensure that the relevant sources have been cited and no
attempt to plagiarise content has been made.
4.1 Justification of the Methodology
The chosen methodology has been qualitative and the reason behind it has been to make
people aware of the scenario that is prevailing in the current scenario and make it possible for
people to know what facilities they can avail of. The survey method has not been attempted due
to the time constraint.
4.2 Validity and Reliability of the Research
This particular research is valid as no attempt has been made to plagiarise content and the
sources which have been cited has been cited thereby giving the credit to the original author of
the work.
5 Implications in the Primary Setting
The implications in the primary setting shall be seen in terms of an enhancement of the
performance of the students suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a holistic
manner right from the childhood and that shall ensure that the issue does not get magnified at the
level of adulthood. The methods of teaching students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder if employed can have profound impact in the way their lives later on (Ball 2016).

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6 Conclusion
Thus at the concluding section it can be said that through this report the aim of bringing
about a holistic change in the pedagogical process shall be effected and that shall be enhancing
the learning and teaching experience of all students. The aim of ushering in of a holistic and
inclusive study environment and its fulfillment can be realized through it.

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References
Ainscow, M., 2018. Special needs through school improvement; school improvement through
special needs. In Towards inclusive schools? (pp. 63-77). Routledge.
Armstrong, F., Armstrong, D. and Barton, L., 2016. Inclusive education: policy, contexts and
comparative perspectives. Routledge.
Ball, S.J., 2016. Education, justice and democracy: The struggle over ignorance and opportunity.
In Reimagining the purpose of schools and educational organisations (pp. 189-205). Springer,
Cham.
Buckingham, C., 2017. Education. In HLM50+ Towards a Social Architecture (pp. 226-253).
Routledge.
Clark, C., Dyson, A., Millward, A. and Skidmore, D., 2018. Dialectical analysis, special needs
and schools as organisations. In Towards inclusive schools? (pp. 78-95). Routledge.
Fulcher, G., 2015. Disabling policies?: A comparative approach to education policy and
disability. Routledge.
Galloway, D., 2018. Schools, pupils and special educational needs. Routledge.
Hardy, I. and Woodcock, S., 2015. Inclusive education policies: Discourses of difference,
diversity and deficit. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 19(2), pp.141-164.
Kauffman, J.M., Hallahan, D.P. and Pullen, P.C., 2017. Handbook of special education.
Routledge.

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Kauffman, J.M., Hallahan, D.P., Pullen, P.C. and Badar, J., 2018. Special education: What it is
and why we need it. Routledge.