Fostering Disabled Students’ Sense of Belonging

School is a place where everyone should feel that they belong. However, for students with disabilities, this has not always been the case—the education system has a long history of exclusion and segregation when it comes to disabled students. It wasn’t that long ago that there was no expectation that children with disabilities should or could attend public schools. However, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act changed that by mandating that children with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate public education alongside their peers with and without disabilities in the general education setting or least restrictive environment to the greatest extent possible. This is often easier said than done within education systems that do not prioritize inclusion and a sense of belonging for disabled students.

Moving From Exclusion Toward Inclusion and Belonging for Disabled Students

Children with disabilities have been brought into the public school setting amid their same-age peers without disabilities. However, the lives of students with and without disabilities still rarely intersect. In the absence of shared activities, strong social connections and a sense of belonging for disabled students are unlikely to form. Integration falls short of fostering true belonging for students with disabilities within their school communities.

While situations have greatly improved, it has been a long journey from exclusion to segregation to integration to inclusion. The journey won’t be complete until we all embrace the next step, a sense of belonging. Belonging comes when each person in the school community feels valued and accepted by their peers and teachers. It is when everyone strives to create connections among students that reciprocal relationships can form and all parties can feel like true members of their school.