Students with physical disabilities

Unlike the disabilities described in the previous chapter, the difficulties considered here do not necessarily arise from impaired intellectual functioning. While some students with physical disabilities (particularly moderate to severe cerebral palsy) do have intellectual impairment, many with other forms of physical impairment will be of average or better than average intelligence. Physical disability is a relatively low incidence category of special educational needs. Most of these students can cope well with the mainstream curriculum if specific teaching approaches and assistive technology are used to motivate and support them. In the case of students with physical disabilities, their greatest need may be help in accessing normal learning environments, instructional resources and classroom experiences. The additional problem for severely disabled students who lack speech is to find ways of communicating with others in order to interact socially.