of knowledge hinder its effectiveness for students. Many educators in special
and general education have never experienced inclusive education and may
question how they would provide quality instruction.
Once all educators become comfortable in their ability to make the curriculum
meaningful to all students, regardless of ability, students once considered
unable to benefit from general education will have more opportunities to realize
their potential. Although we have made considerable gains in the education
of students with severe disabilities as described in the following section, there
is much to learn and improve upon. However, the original and false presumption
of students with severe disabilities being unable to learn has been replaced
with the knowledge that these students can and do learn. Instead of blaming
the student for lack of progress, the need to change learning environments and
instructional strategies has received greater attention. Teachers can learn and
grow in their instructional ability and in turn, students will reflect that increase
in competence to help them learn. We need to learn from our past efforts and
continue to push boundaries to discover new and more effective techniques