A Different Approach

Special education has been constantly evolving and it will continue to do so as we move from a one-to-one setting to an inclusive classroom

- Rubini Kamalakaran

Special education has come a long way since it was first recorded in Europe in the 18th century when special schools were established to teach visually impaired students. Today, it encompasses a great range of programmes, methodologies, tools, and services that is used to accommodate the unique learning abilities of children with special needs, aimed at facilitating self-sufficiency and the means for them to grow up to lead meaningful lives.

While the common practice today is to have children with special needs evaluated to determine their learning disabilities, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to teaching them. One reason is it’s not uncommon for a child to have mixed disabilities, for example, one child could be autistic with ADHD and another, autistic with dyslexia. “There are always children with a mix of categories in a classroom; it is more effective to consider their strengths and needs such as whether they have sensory issues or difficulty with social communication. Even if two children have the same learning disability, they have different ways of perceiving the world and expressing themselves. So, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to a certain special need. The emphasis should be on their strengths, what the child can do, to maximise his or her potential,” explains Grace Koh, a special education lecturer at Dika College.