Supporting students with Intellectual Disabilities through UDL

I read through the article “UDL and Intellectual Disabilities: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go?” (Rao et.al, 2017) . It talks about how students of all abilities can benefit from the UDL design in the classroom. The article states, “UDL supports inclusion that is meaningful, whereby all students are engaged in the academic, social, and behavioral demands of the general education setting” (Rao et.al, 2017). The article focuses specifically on intellectual disabilities and the research that is available to support to use of UDL in the general education classroom.  The studies were done in several different student placements including full time inclusion and special education classroom full time. One study compared the progress of students with intellectual disabilities who were placed in an intervention group that taught with the components of UDL and those who were placed in the general classroom (Rao et.al, 2017). Those in the intervention group made significant gains. All the studies found that the students with ID made progress when using the UDL method. 

There are a lot of ways to implement the UDL design in your classroom. One option that I am using in my lesson plan is Engaging students by sustaining efforts and persistence through optimizing challenge and support (CAST, 2024). Which means you challenge students to meet goals in their own ways. In my lesson plan I can emphasize the process, effort, and progress through setting goals for each student and celebrating those goals that are met. Since my students are behind and learning goals that are two grade levels behind in conjunction with learning grade level standards in their classroom it is important to keep the emphasis on the progress (CAST, 2024). The students must stay motivated to continue meeting their goals and seeking new skills. As teachers we must help these students see the value in progress not perfection. In my lesson plan I also foster collaboration, interdependence, and collective learning by creating teams with clear roles, where one student may be better at the task and can help teach/guide the other student through the process of coding open syllable words. By pairing students up and switching roles they will learn to collaborate with others and work collectively through their roles. Most importantly in this task they will learn interdepended as they learn to help and encourage each other in tasks. Switching roles between words will help them experience but the instruction and the learning role within a team. 

One thing I feel is so important for kids is closing the digital design divide. The NETP (2024) talks about how we have access to all this information online but have no idea how to use it or that it even exists. As teachers we need to find the training available to use these tools, learn to use them then train our students. Students will need to know how to use technology to advance in their careers, attend college, and gain correct information. Implementing technology in our classroom correctly isn’t just a suggestion but a standard we must all meet. 

 

 

References 

CAST. (2024). UDL guidelines 3.0. https://udlguidelines.cast.org

Office of Educational Technology. (2024). A Call to Action to Close the Technology Access, Design, and Use Divides: National Educational Technology Plan. Department of Education. NETP2024.pdf

Rao, K., Smith, S. J., & Lowrey, K. A. (2017). UDL and Intellectual Disability: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go?. Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, 55(1), 37. doi:10.1352/1934-9556-55.1.37 

Comments

  1. Darby BallardJune 11, 2026 at 5:18 PM

    Your blog is short and sweet . . . but goes over the topics in a direct approachable way. I am honestly loving all the UDL articles. It is very clearly stating objectives and goals of mine that I have had for decades! I am thankful more and more educators AND their administrators are opening their eyes to how we are not meeting the needs of several students and things need to change. Thanks for your thoughts and explantions!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elissa AllenJune 12, 2026 at 8:39 AM

    I enjoyed reading about how you use a UDL design in your classroom. I like how you emphasize the process of learning while helping your students set goals and celebrating them when the achieve those goals. Your level of intention is evident, and I really enjoyed learning from you in this post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tudor SabieJune 12, 2026 at 10:24 AM

    Hi Chelsie, I liked how you connected UDL to supporting students with intellectual disabilities in a meaningful and practical way. Your point about focusing on progress rather than perfection was strong because it shows how UDL can help students stay motivated. Your connection to the Digital Design Divide was also important because it reminds us that access to technology is not enough; students also need guidance in how to use it effectively.

    ReplyDelete

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