Intellectual Disability: A New Vision

A false assumption that students with intellectual disabilities cannot acquire academic skills or benefit

from access to general education curricula. This false assumption was formed because intellectual disability has traditionally been understood

from a deficit-based impression. Accordingly, many misconceptions were formed that have significantly affected

the education of students with intellectual disabilities. IQ tests contributed to this through lowered expectations

regarding their achievement ceiling and the educational opportunities available to them. In reality, however, IQ test scores represent only

(40 to 50%) of students' expected achievement. Consequently, (50 to 60%) of academic performance is associated with other variables

that go beyond intelligence.

The focus was on teaching students with intellectual disabilities basic skills associated with early childhood

learning stages, such as naming colors and body parts, and learning self-care skills. Meanwhile, the school environment

for today's students with intellectual disabilities includes the expectation that they learn content at the

grade level aligned with the general education curriculum.

Over the past two decades, opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities to participate in core academic

curricula have increased significantly. In addition, there is a greater emphasis on individual strengths and promoting independence in

the presence of high expectations for students with intellectual disabilities.

Numerous recent studies have confirmed that students with intellectual disabilities can learn mathematics, reading,

writing, and science, just like all other students. The curriculum that students with intellectual

disabilities receive must lead to the development of new knowledge and skills. However, teachers need strong foundations in how to teach

and instruct them, including deep knowledge of general education and expertise in adapting general curricula to deliver

effective instruction. This is because students with intellectual disabilities learn using the same basic cognitive processes

as other students. Therefore, the methods used to teach them should be similar to those used

with their typically developing peers.

Students with intellectual disabilities often face a gap between the learning demands of general education content, instructional

curricula, and achievement expectations associated with general education classrooms. To bridge that gap, students with

intellectual disabilities need support to adapt the curriculum (while maintaining the core of the content being taught),

and they are taught the same curriculum, though content may vary quantitatively or qualitatively through modified strategies and instructional options

to demonstrate learning and achievement.

Originally published in Arabic. This English version was produced with AI-assisted translation; the Arabic original remains the reference.