Integrating students with disabilities with their peers has shown to have a number of positive benefits and effects on both parties involved, including developing a positive self-worth and advancing communication skills. Integration is not simply exposing students with disabilities into a mainstream classroom; it involves intentional planning to use a larger group setting of peers to help your students achieve their goals.
When we think of learners with cognitive disabilities, we often see physical movement as a strength. For this reason, Physical Education is usually the starting point for integrating students with disabilities. This is a great intention, however there is a lot more that goes into a quality integration program beyond the surface idea of merging students into a classroom. Here are our stepping stones to success.
Step 1: Know Your Learners
In order to choose an appropriate integration setting for your students, you need to know your learners:
- What do they like? What are they interested in?
- What are some possible challenges that you might encounter?
- What are they motivated by?
- What kinds of personalities do they connect to?
- What types of students will they work best with?
Knowing these answers will help you to define your goals (Step 2), choose an appropriate integration setting and implement your program. Think about in what capacity your students will be able to participate in a class of neurotypical peers, and what accommodations and modifications are required for them to be successful. Consider staffing supports and individualized equipment that would need to travel with them and work on replicating essential classroom visuals in the physical activity setting. For example, if your students require picture symbols to communicate in the classroom, they will also require this augmented communication system in Physical Education.
Using visuals as instructional tools is most commonly linked to Special Education, but they are beneficial for all learners. Used together as a system, the Physical Education Picture Schedule Symbols, First Then Board, Token Board and Choice Board will provide your students with visuals and behaviour supports necessary to be successful in the integration classroom.
Step 2: Define Your Goals
Having an end goal in mind when beginning an integration program helps to keep educators and students focused on the “WHY”. Your goals will differ greatly from student to student based on grade and instructional level, and also whether or not they are being taught modified or accommodated expectations of the curriculum or program. Complete diagnostic assessments, speak with former teachers and check previous Individual Education Plans (IEP's), and report cards if they are available to you. Here are some examples of Physical Education program goals:
- Following basic 2-step instructions.
- Sending and receiving equipment with and without implements.
- Completing a series of tasks from a list that demonstrates locomotion and object manipulation skills.
- Participating in cooperative play activities with peers.
- Performing a variety of locomotor movements and balances when asked and given a model by staff.
Your student’s IEP will help you to frame the skills you want to work on. For example, we have a student who is working on a modified grade 5 Physical Education curriculum. One of their goals on the Physical Education program page of the IEP is sending and receiving with a peer, but also working on initiating play opportunities as a social skill. A Physical Education classroom is a great environment to practice both of those skills. Having these goals visible for everyone in the physical activity space keeps the whole group accountable and on task. Use the IEP Goal Template to help you develop an IEP goal from start to finish, with a sample provided.
Step 3: Choose a Class
When we begin a new school year, we take a look at the classes available for integration and take the following points into consideration:
- What grade do we want? We try to maintain appropriate, grade-level relationships when possible, although it isn’t always. Sometimes your student’s instructional level may be a better fit and sometimes an age match is the way to go regardless of skill level.
- What personality types work best with our students? We like to choose classes with strong leaders who take initiative and are outgoing. Good communication skills and maturity also help, but these can and will be developed throughout your integration journey, just wait and see! We’ve been surprised when quiet, shy students take the opportunity to build a relationship with those with disabilities. English Language Learners also have a great way with non-verbal communication skills.
- What teaching style are we looking for? While we can’t always choose our teachers, we might take preference to those who have taught our learners in the past, are knowledgeable about teaching students with exceptional needs, or those excited to learn! The integration class is an opportunity to generalize skills and learn to listen and work under different teaching styles, so it's OK if the integration teacher's style doesn't match yours.
- Other things to consider: Do our students have previous relationships (positive or negative) with any of the students in the class? Are there any challenging behaviours that may occur? Are there siblings in the class? Is the class at an opportune time of day for the student?
To help you bridge knowledge between teachers, use the Advocacy Card Template as a tool to share strengths, needs and strategies for learning.
Step 4: Educate & Build Capacity
Every year, we come to a point in our integration journey when the work really pays off. We are able to take a step or two back from our learners and watch the students work cooperatively using the tools we have provided. To get to this point, the work needs to be put in at the beginning. After we have chosen the class to work with, we gather as a large group to educate the greater class to develop the knowledge and understanding of integration. In student-friendly language. We call this “The Buddy System”. Here are some key topics that we embed within our lessons:
- Defining the autism spectrum disorder.
- Defining what it means to have a disability.
- Similarities and differences in everyone.
- Ways of communication (i.e. verbal and non verbal, augmentative devices).
- Ways to provide support (i.e. prompting hierarchy).
- Tools for success (i.e. adapted equipment, using visuals).
Introduce the idea of integration and labels to your class by completing the Similarities and Differences Activity.
Step 5: Review
The needs of the integration class may change over time and you may find yourself making adaptations along your journey. New learners arrive, behaviours change and skills are hopefully mastered and renewed. Reviewing progress frequently will benefit your classroom and can happen in a number of ways:
- Ongoing collaboration and check-ins with the classroom teacher, physical education teacher and support staff.
- Creating a form for data tracking to assess student’s participation and skills in each integration period.
- Seeking assistance from school board resources as appropriate (i.e. speech and language therapist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist).
- Reaching out to community partnerships that the student may be connected with, such as behaviour programs (Intensive Behavioural Intervention), social skills programs, social worker.
- Checking in with students or have them complete a self-assessment.
- Data tracking to target IEP goals.
To build your stepping stones, we have created a Stepping Stones Integration Program Graphic Organizer which you can download for free! We've also created an Integration Starter Pack Resource that will include print and digital resources mentioned in this post that will be helpful in reaching the needs of your group. This starter package includes visuals for your students and your learning space, planning and assessment templates and sample activities that can be purchased from our Resources section.