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This chapter focuses on the question: How can technology serve as a bridge for teachers and families to engage in the co-creation of activities, lessons, and an environment oriented toward equity and inclusion for all learners? To answer this question, the authors provide context for ways that technology is conceptualized as a bridge, with particular attention paid to two interlocking metaphors: technology as infrastructure and technology as a medium. They describe key conceptual elements and applicable practices of technology in relation to equity and inclusion by presenting examples of technology acting as a bridge in the co-creation of materials used to facilitate learning for K-12 students during a collaborative Summer Institute between community stakeholders (including family members) and educators (including elementary and secondary teachers). Within the context of the Summer Institute, the authors focus on two activities informed by the Summer Institute participants (i.e., stakeholders and educators). Through these activities, the participants contribute their knowledge and insights to enhancing digital platforms (e.g., infrastructures) and accessibility (e.g., medium) leading to important technological breakthroughs that facilitate more equitable and inclusive practices.

Ensuring that young children with severe and multiple disabilities are active participants in all aspects of their lives and that they make meaningful progress toward valued life outcomes can be a daunting endeavor for families and early educators. In this chapter, we describe evidence-based strategies that can be harnessed to ensure that each child is provided with high-quality inclusive education. Initially, we lay the foundation for the chapter by asserting shared assumptions fundamental to early childhood/early childhood special education practices with topics including strengths-based approach, self-determination, all does mean all, and play as a right for all children. Next, components of a high-quality inclusive program for young children designed to support access, participation, and meaningful progress are described. These components include the following: (1) collaborative teaming; (2) family–professional partnerships; (3) authentic assessment linked to meaningful outcomes; (4) discipline-free, functional outcomes or goals; (5) responsive, developmentally appropriate environments; and (6) levels of instructional support (e.g. universal design for learning (UDL), differentiation, and individualization). A vignette is used to further illustrate how to apply the practices discussed.

The United Nation’s Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 declared the need for countries to facilitate the right of individuals with disabilities to their full inclusion and participation within communities across the globe. The community clearly plays a necessary role in the overall preparation and quality of life of students with disabilities and their families. The present chapter will specifically address the role of the community within instructional programming and parent advocacy. First, the chapter discusses the importance of integrating community experiences within inclusive K-12 preparation for students with disabilities for the purpose of enhancing students’ postsecondary outcomes. Second, the chapter reviews the role of community organizations in supporting parental advocacy for effective inclusive programming while highlighting the work of two specific community agencies. These sections are followed by concluding comments emphasizing the role of schools and community-based organizations in supporting inclusive education, community-based instruction, and family advocacy for students with disabilities.

In the United States, the mandate to provide access to general education curriculum standards for all learners is clear. This chapter provides an overview and a framework for making individualized and curriculum choices for learners with low-incidence disabilities and cognitive deficits. Topics covered include reconciling an ecological curriculum model with a standards-based framework and an expanded discussion on embedding individualized learning targets within the ongoing lessons, routines, and activities of inclusive classrooms. Carefully planned and implemented embedded instruction can provide a match between a student’s need for individualized instruction and the everyday practices of inclusive classrooms.

Stay-at-home and lock-down orders issued by the Ontario government at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of many community-based programs for people labelled/with intellectual disabilities. L'Arche Toronto Sol Express, an interdisciplinary arts program located in Toronto, is one example of a program that rapidly changed its program delivery to an online format so that participants could remain engaged and collaborative projects could continue. Similarly, participants had to adapt to new programs with virtual formats, and to accessing programs from their own homes as opposed to gathering with others in the community.

To reflect on these changes, Sol Express members and creative facilitators together conducted a participatory research project which considered the impact of the online format on individual participants and the group as a whole. Following the principles of emancipatory and participatory research, a research team was established and focus groups were held to explore people's experiences.

Our findings suggest that while there were many difficult aspects to the pandemic, people also experienced situations of learning and growth. However, our project also points to issues of inequity in the pandemic's effects, such as the inability for technology to incorporate diverse communication methods, and concerns regarding members of the extended community who remain disengaged or ‘lost’ due to a lack of technological and personal support.

Although our research focused on an arts group for people labelled/with intellectual disabilities, our findings can be applied to the broader community, especially regarding the benefits of in-person gathering and what is lost when programs are held exclusively online.

This chapter describes the influences that are fundamental to facilitating a system of support for inclusive education for students with low-incidence disabilities. Some of the major factors are values and beliefs, rights, relationships and a sense of belonging, policy, and effective practices (Smith, 2006; Walther-Thomas, Korinek, McLaughlin, & Williams, 2000). Within each of the features, collaboration is inherent and essential. A summary of literature on each feature is provided with examples to support the importance for students with low-incidence disabilities. The effective practices of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), co-teaching, peer supports, and school-based teams are highlighted. In order to move forward, educators and administrators need to take responsibility for all children. Effective leadership models are characterized by collaborative efforts that foster a shared responsibility of the team, emphasize thoughtful planning, and identify and allocate the necessary resources and supports.

Purpose: We critically examine the idea of neurodiversity, or the uniqueness of all brains, as the foundation for the neurodiversity movement, which began as an autism rights movement. We explore the neurodiversity movement's potential to support cross-disability alliances that can transform cultures.

Methods/Approach: A neurodiverse team reviewed literature about the history of the neurodiversity movement and associated participatory research methodologies and drew from our experiences guiding programs led, to varying degrees, by neurodivergent people. We highlight two programs for autistic university students, one started by and for autistics and one developed in collaboration with autistic and nonautistic students. These programs are contrasted with a national self-help group started by and for stutterers that is inclusive of “neurotypicals.”

Findings: Neurodiversity-aligned practices have emerged in diverse communities. Similar benefits and challenges of alliance building within versus across neurotypes were apparent in communities that had not been in close contact. Neurodiversity provides a framework that people with diverse conditions can use to identify and work together to challenge shared forms of oppression. However, people interpret the neurodiversity movement in diverse ways. By honing in on core aspects of the neurodiversity paradigm, we can foster alliances across diverse perspectives.

Implications/ Values: Becoming aware of power imbalances and working to rectify them is essential for building effective alliances across neurotypes. Sufficient space and time are needed to create healthy alliances. Participatory approaches, and approaches solely led by neurodivergent people, can begin to address concerns about power and representation within the neurodiversity movement while shifting public understanding.

The purpose of this chapter is to focus on increasing the participation of students with language-based learning disabilities (LLD) in postsecondary transition planning and how the interprofessional teams that include a speech-language pathologist may work together to integrate and apply language, literacy, and related self-determinism goals in the secondary school curriculum. As students with LLD enter secondary school, the provision of needed language-literacy intervention services drastically declines, although these students often require these services to facilitate their postsecondary success. Secondary students are expected to read, write, and think at more complex levels than ever before to meet postgraduation workforce demands. The inclusion of self-determination strategies is found to be related to positive post-school outcomes and can be readily integrated into transition planning. The integration of SLPs into the interprofessional team may ideally support secondary school student language-literacy needs in transition planning by using self-determination strategies to help access the curriculum and experience postsecondary success.

The Ghana chapter on special education begins with the history of service provisions for persons with disabilities. It includes information on educational and rehabilitation services, special schools and integrated education. Detailed data is related concerning prevalence and incidence rates and special needs among the Ghana population. This is followed by a comprehensive section on regular and special education teacher roles, expectations, and training. An important aspect of Ghana’s special education is its movement towards inclusive education. The support for this movement comes from the Ministry of Education’s policy, namely, The Education Strategic Plan (ESP), which adopts inclusive education and promotes it as the future special education direction for the country. The chapter provides detailed information on the issues related to the implementation of the ESP plan, four models that have been developed for inclusive education, the progress and effort that Ghana has made towards inclusive education as well as significant challenges that are present.