When we think about children with disabilities, two questions often guide how we support them: What do they have in common with every other child? And what do they need that is different? Both questions matter equally. Focusing only on similarities can lead to a one-size-fits-all approach that overlooks critical individual needs. Focusing only on differences can lead to unnecessary segregation and low expectations. The most effective support for any child with a disability comes from holding both perspectives at once – recognising their shared humanity while responding precisely to their unique needs.
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The shared foundation: children with disabilities are children first
It is easy to get so focused on a child’s diagnosis that we overlook the most obvious truth: children with disabilities are, first and foremost, children. Research in early childhood development consistently shows that children with disabilities or other special needs share the same curiosity, desire to play, and need to communicate as their peers. They spend most of their time doing what other children do – learning, forming friendships, exploring, and growing.
This matters deeply for how educators, caregivers, and families approach support. When we start from a position of shared humanity, we avoid the trap of treating a child’s disability as the most defining thing about them. The philosophy of inclusive education is grounded precisely in this recognition – that students with disabilities are just as capable of growth, connection, and achievement as students without disabilities. Keeping this at the centre of our planning ensures that children with disabilities are included in the life of their school and community, not merely accommodated on the edges of it.
Recognising similarities also has practical benefits. Educators who already use developmentally appropriate, child-centred approaches are better placed than they might think to support children with disabilities. Many of the skills involved in good early childhood practice – individualising routines, adapting activities, observing each child carefully – are directly transferable to inclusive settings.
Why differences cannot be ignored
Acknowledging what children share does not mean pretending that all children have the same needs. Differences must be identified and responded to clearly – because ignoring them does not make them disappear. It simply means the child goes without the specific support they need to participate fully.
Disability is one of the most overlooked factors in inclusion efforts, despite children with disabilities representing a significant portion of the student population. Not all disabilities are visible, which makes deliberate attention to individual differences even more important – assumptions based on appearances often lead to students’ needs being missed entirely.
Acknowledging a child’s specific differences is what allows educators and caregivers to put the right support in place. Specially designed instruction, as defined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), involves adapting the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to address the unique needs that result from a child’s disability, while ensuring they can still access the general curriculum. This kind of targeted, individualised response is only possible when differences are seen clearly – not minimised or avoided.
The goal of acknowledging differences is not to label or limit a child. It is to identify and provide the specific support, environmental adaptations, and instructional approaches that give each child genuine equal opportunity – in play, in learning, and in communication.
Disability is context-dependent
One of the most important insights in disability studies is that disability is not a fixed characteristic of a person – it is an interaction between the person and their environment. The World Health Organization’s biopsychosocial model describes disability as “always an interaction between features of the person and features of the overall context in which the person lives.” Change the environment, and the degree of disability can change significantly.
This is not abstract. The social model of disability asserts that the most significant barrier for individuals with disabilities is often not the impairment itself – it is the environment in which they must function. A child who uses a wheelchair is not disabled by their physical condition in a building with ramps and lifts. They are disabled by a building designed only with stairs. Remove the stairs, and the disability is – in practical terms – removed with them.
The same principle applies in schools. A child with a visual impairment who attends a school where textbooks are only available in standard print faces a significant disability. The same child at a school equipped with Braille materials, screen readers, and adaptive communication tools may face far fewer barriers. The impairment has not changed. The environment has – and with it, the extent to which that impairment becomes a disabling experience.
This context-dependence has direct implications for how we plan support. It is not enough to assess a child’s individual abilities in isolation. Environmental barriers – physical, attitudinal, and informational – must be assessed and addressed alongside the child’s specific needs. A child may thrive in one setting and struggle in another, not because their ability has changed, but because the surrounding environment has. Effective support means designing environments that work for the child, not waiting for the child to adapt to an environment that was never designed for them.
Guiding support through unique needs
Recognising differences clearly is the starting point for providing effective, targeted support. No two children with disabilities have identical needs, even when they share the same diagnosis. A placement or strategy that works well for one child may not be appropriate for another. This is why education systems in many countries have moved toward formal individualised planning – tools such as the Individualized Education Program (IEP) in the United States, or the Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan in the United Kingdom, which document each child’s specific goals, accommodations, and support services.
Professionals and families working together must identify the individual supports each child needs to ensure that children with disabilities are active participants in all aspects of their lives. This collaborative approach matters because no single professional can fully understand every dimension of a child’s needs. Families, educators, therapists, and specialists each bring different knowledge – and together, they can build a plan that is genuinely responsive to the child as a whole person.
The key areas where individual differences shape support include communication, mobility, sensory processing, learning styles, and social interaction. Assistive technologies – from communication devices and speech-generating apps to hearing aids and screen readers – play a significant role in enabling children to participate more fully. Physical adjustments to the classroom, such as accessible seating, sensory-friendly spaces, and adjustable furniture, can reduce barriers before they arise. These are not accommodations that set children apart; they are adaptations that bring children in.
Planning for the present and the future
Effective planning does not only address a child’s current needs – it anticipates how those needs may change over time, and how future environments may help or hinder them. A child’s impairment may remain constant, but whether it becomes a significant disability often depends on what resources and supports are available at each stage of life.
Consider a child who is blind. If they have access to Braille education from an early age, they develop a literacy tool that opens doors to independent reading, formal education, and broader participation in society. Without that access, the same child faces compounding barriers as they move through school and into adulthood. The visually impaired person is not disabled by lack of sight, but by the absence of Braille and large print, and by environments that fail to accommodate their needs. Early access to the right tools can prevent an impairment from becoming a life-limiting disability.
The same logic applies to assistive technology more broadly. Schools and universities can adopt inclusive teaching methods and provide accommodations that support all learners – but the planning for this needs to begin early, accounting for what a child will need not just today, but at the next stage of their education, and beyond. Forward-thinking, inclusive planning means asking not only “What does this child need now?” but “What will they need to thrive as they grow – and are we putting those foundations in place?”
Individualising for children with disabilities or other special needs enables all children to access, participate, and thrive in early learning settings. Specialised supports may include specific teaching practices, adaptations to daily schedules, and changes to the learning environment – all of which need to be thought through with both present circumstances and future possibilities in mind.
The balance that makes inclusion real
True inclusion is not achieved by treating all children identically, nor by treating children with disabilities as fundamentally separate from their peers. It is achieved by holding both truths simultaneously: that every child deserves to belong, and that belonging for each child may require different support. Inclusive systems value the unique contributions students of all backgrounds bring to the classroom and allow diverse groups to grow side by side – to the benefit of everyone.
When we focus only on similarities, we risk under-supporting children who genuinely need specific, targeted help. When we focus only on differences, we risk over-medicalising children and losing sight of their full personhood. The purpose of focusing on both is to give every child what they actually need – not what we assume they need, and not a watered-down version of what their peers receive, but the specific, thoughtful, well-planned support that allows them to participate fully in learning, in play, and in life.
What do you think? When planning support for a child with a disability, how do you ensure you are responding to their specific needs without reducing their identity to their diagnosis? And how often do we consider whether it is the child who needs to change – or the environment around them?
References
- https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/infanttoddlerdev/chapter/chapter-15-families-of-children-with-special-needs/
- https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/inclusive-classrooms-special-needs/
- https://changingperspectivesnow.org/2024/07/10/disability-inclusion-in-education-the-benefits-importance-for-all-students/
- https://exceptionalchildren.org/topics/specially-designed-instruction
- https://www.camcoulter.com/2021/04/26/models-of-disability/
- https://itss.d.umn.edu/articles/a11y-social-model-disability
- https://www.nursenextdoor.com.au/blog/understanding-the-social-model-of-disability
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/social-model-of-disability
- https://www.parentcenterhub.org/pa12/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3932659/
- https://www.heartwisesupport.org/post/creating-personalized-support-plans-for-children-with-special-needs
- https://www.thrivingwellnesscenter.com/blog/socialmodel
- https://headstart.gov/curriculum/consumer-report/criteria/individualization-children-disabilities-suspected-delays-or-other-special-needs
- https://www.unicef.org/education/inclusive-education
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