The challenges of multiple disabilities - A look at a Specialized Unit for students with multiple disabilities

Abstract

The creation of Specialized Units for students with multiple disabilities and congenital deafness-blindness in schools has been one of the implemented measures during the last past years to promote inclusive education. To understand the problem of multiple disabilities and inclusive education for students with multiple disabilities which must ascertain the views of Regular Education teachers who have students with multiple disabilities included in their classes and Special Education teachers about the presence of a Supporting Unit in grouping multiple disabilities they are teaching. To achieve this goal the methodology that seemed most appropriate was the case study and the instruments that have been used to collect data were participant observation and questionnaire. During the investigation it was observed how the Special Unit for Students with Multiple Disabilities was working and it was analyzed the opinions of 24 teachers participating in the samples selected for this study. The results obtained in the empirical component of this study support the conclusion that the teachers surveyed for the Special Unit are the best educational response for children with multiple disabilities to perform both learning and their socialization. We conclude that Special Education teachers feel more prepared to work with this type of audience than teachers from Regular Teaching; and opinions on these issues do not differ substantially between teachers of Special Education and Regular Education teachers .