Design and adjust supports to enhance the learning experiences of students with disabilities.
Explore how supports (not students’ characteristics) promote or inhibit learning opportunities and experiences.
Enhance learning experiences by supporting location, accessibility, participation, affirmation, and agency.
5 Features of Supports = Student Success
This practical guide for educators, paraprofessionals, related service providers, and administrators will help you improve access, participation, and learning by students with disabilities in general education. The guide is structured in five, easily-digestible sections. The first three sections provide a foundational understanding of the nature of supports, key features of them, and how they result in a continuum of students' learning experiences. The last two sections help you apply the features and continuum of supports with a collection of student examples that bring it all to life.
Who are these authors?
The five of us (Michael, Jessica, Debbie, Mary, and Kate) have worked in disability and education throughout our careers, with a focus on inclusive education. Collectively, we have worked with thousands of students, families, educators, and administrators in over a thousand schools and districts across the United States. When facilitating students’ membership, participation, and learning in general education, we have seen what works and what doesn’t. The Features and Continuum is not derived from a literature review or a theory, per se. It grew from our experiences in classrooms: a product of direct service collaborating with students, families, educators, service providers, and administrators. We hope it helps you get closer to your vision of inclusive education for students with disabilities.
Support Student Success, Now!
Download the Five Features of Student Experience and Continuum of Supports for Inclusive Education. This simple change in classroom supports could improve the educational experiences of students with disabilities, their classmates, and their educators.
Get your free download now