Early Childhood Development & Education for Intellectual Disability

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A Framework for Inclusive Education

Last updated on:

January 4, 2026

Walk into most classrooms, and you’ll notice something immediately: not every child learns the same way. Some children absorb information quickly when they hear it read aloud, while others need to hold an object in their hands before a concept clicks. Some thrive when given the freedom to draw their ideas, while others prefer writing them down. This diversity in learning is completely natural – and it’s exactly what Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is designed to address. UDL is a curriculum framework that starts from a simple premise: if we design learning experiences to work for all children from the very beginning, no child needs to be left out or “fixed” to fit in.

Understanding how we learn differently
UDL removes learning barriers
The three principles of UDL
Principle 1: Multiple means of representation (the “what” of learning)
Principle 2: Multiple means of action and expression (the “how” of learning)
Principle 3: Multiple means of engagement (the “why” of learning)
Why UDL matters for children with intellectual disabilities
The goal of UDL: an inclusive learning environment

Understanding how we learn differently

Children take in and process information in different ways. Some are visual learners who understand concepts best through images, charts, and demonstrations. Others are auditory learners who benefit from listening – to a story, an explanation, or a discussion. Some children prefer reading and writing as their primary mode of making sense of things. And then there are kinesthetic and tactile learners, who need to physically interact with materials – touching, moving, and doing – to truly understand.

These differences are not deficiencies. They reflect the natural variability of the human brain. Research from the IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University confirms that rather than limiting students to one fixed “learning style,” effective teaching must address learner variability by ensuring all students have access to multiple ways of engaging, representing, and expressing information. The moment we accept that no single teaching approach will work for every child, we are ready to understand why UDL matters.

UDL removes learning barriers

Consider a child with low vision. In a classroom where information is delivered entirely through printed text and visual charts, this child faces an immediate and unnecessary barrier – not because of their disability, but because of how the curriculum is designed. As Perkins School for the Blind explains, in a typical classroom, concepts are most often represented through print or the teacher presenting visually to the class – an approach that immediately excludes learners with visual impairments and multiple disabilities. That same child, however, may excel when information is delivered through audio descriptions, tactile materials, or real objects they can feel and interact with.

This is precisely the problem UDL sets out to solve. According to Understood.org, when educators apply UDL, they assume that barriers to learning lie in the design of the environment – not in the student. The goal is to proactively redesign the learning environment so that every child, regardless of their ability or learning preference, has a genuine opportunity to access and engage with content.

Research cited by the National Institutes of Health reinforces this point: when curriculum is designed to meet the needs of “average” students, it fails to address the natural diversity that exists in all classrooms. UDL directly challenges this one-size-fits-all model by offering a flexible framework built on three core principles.

The three principles of UDL

The UDL framework was first defined by David H. Rose of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) in the 1990s. It is built on three principles that together address the what, the how, and the why of learning.

Principle 1: Multiple means of representation (the “what” of learning)

This principle is about how information is presented to learners. The University of Illinois Chicago’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence explains that this principle focuses on presenting information and content in different ways – through options for perception, language, symbols, and comprehension. In short, it is about making sure that every child can access the content in a format that works for them.

In a practical classroom setting, this means teaching the same concept through multiple formats. If a teacher is introducing a mango to young children, the concept is not just shown through a picture on a board. The teacher might describe it verbally, show a real mango for children to see and smell, allow children to touch and feel its skin, and use a simple written label alongside. Each child, regardless of whether they learn visually, auditorily, or tactilely, gets to access the same learning through a format that suits them best.

The Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Florida notes that learning happens when information is available in ways that children can access, understand, and connect to prior experience – meaning representation must be thoughtfully adjusted based on each child’s language, cultural background, or disability.

Principle 2: Multiple means of action and expression (the “how” of learning)

Once children have accessed information, they need ways to show what they have understood. This second principle is about how learners demonstrate their knowledge. CAST’s UDL Guidelines make clear that learners differ in the ways they navigate a learning environment and express what they know – and that there is no single means of action and expression that will be optimal for every learner.

In a UDL classroom, a child is not forced to demonstrate understanding in only one prescribed way. One child might draw a picture to show what they learned about fruits. Another might narrate their response to the teacher or a classmate. A child who enjoys movement might act out a concept through role play. Another might choose to write a short sentence. As Brightwheel explains in its early childhood education guide, this principle gives children various ways to interact with material, express their thoughts, and reflect on new information – options such as drawing a picture or talking about information to show what they’ve learned.

Critically, this principle shifts the idea of “assessment” away from a single rigid format. Rather than measuring a child’s knowledge only through a written test – which may disadvantage a child with a motor disability or a language barrier – the teacher creates multiple, equally valid pathways for demonstrating competence. Choice in expression is not just accommodating; it is genuinely fairer.

Principle 3: Multiple means of engagement (the “why” of learning)

The third principle addresses motivation – the often-overlooked heart of learning. Even if information is presented well and expression is flexible, a child who is not engaged will not learn effectively. The IRIS Center explains that the affective networks in the brain process information and regulate emotions, directly influencing why we feel motivated and engaged in learning – making this principle the “why” of the UDL framework.

In practice, this means teachers need to actively vary how they spark and sustain interest. Rather than delivering every lesson in the same format, a UDL-informed teacher uses storytelling to bring a concept to life, invites children into group discussions, sets up role play scenarios, introduces hands-on activities, or connects lessons to children’s real experiences and interests. According to Brightwheel, offering children options gives them a sense of autonomy, relevance, and accomplishment – which in turn supports their overall development and motivates them to keep participating.

Engagement is not just about making lessons “fun.” It is about helping every child find personal relevance and meaning in what they are learning, and building the persistence to work through challenges. Texthelp’s UDL Guidelines resource describes it well: the engagement principle focuses on providing learners with multiple ways to find relevance in their learning, to persist when things are challenging, and to develop the capacity for self-regulation and self-reflection.

Why UDL matters for children with intellectual disabilities

UDL is particularly significant in settings that include children with intellectual disabilities. A systematic review published in the International Journal of Developmental Disabilities analyzed studies on UDL interventions for students with intellectual disabilities and found that UDL-based approaches – including digital environments, e-books, shared stories, videos, and classroom management systems built on UDL principles – were consistently effective in supporting academic and behavioral outcomes for these learners.

The review also highlights an important insight from neuroscience: human minds, though they may appear similar, are in fact as different and highly differentiated as fingerprints. This natural cognitive diversity means that a rigid, uniform curriculum will always disadvantage some learners – particularly those with intellectual disabilities, who may need more time, different formats, or alternative modes of expression to demonstrate what they truly know. UDL builds this flexibility into the curriculum itself, removing the need for constant individual retrofitting.

The goal of UDL: an inclusive learning environment

When all three principles of UDL work together – representation, action and expression, and engagement – they create something powerful: a learning environment that is flexible by design, not one that accommodates diversity as an afterthought. Cornell University’s Center for Teaching Innovation puts it plainly: the purpose of UDL is not to make learning easier or less rigorous, but to remove unnecessary obstacles so that all learners can fully engage with challenging material and meet the same learning goals.

A UDL classroom does not lower expectations for any child. Instead, it opens multiple doors to meet the same high standard. The child with low vision gets audio descriptions and tactile materials. The child who struggles to write can narrate their understanding. The child who is disengaged finds connection through storytelling or role play. Every child is given an equal opportunity to learn – and that is the central promise of UDL.

The THRIVE Project captures this broader vision well: inclusive classrooms built on UDL principles promote empathy and mutual respect, creating a culture where differences are recognised and valued rather than treated as problems to be solved. When educators commit to UDL, they are not just changing how they teach – they are changing what every child believes is possible for themselves.

What do you think? If you were designing a lesson for a group of children with different learning preferences and abilities, which of the three UDL principles would you find most challenging to implement in practice – and why? And how might consistently applying all three principles change the way children with disabilities experience school?

References

PDF 📄

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A Framework for Inclusive Education

Table of Contents

Understanding how we learn differently 🔗

UDL removes learning barriers 🔗

The three principles of UDL 🔗

Principle 1: Multiple means of representation (the “what” of learning) 🔗

Principle 2: Multiple means of action and expression (the “how” of learning) 🔗

Principle 3: Multiple means of engagement (the “why” of learning) 🔗

Why UDL matters for children with intellectual disabilities 🔗

The goal of UDL: an inclusive learning environment 🔗