Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Learners with Severe Support Needs
1 Lasell College
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Elizabeth S. Hartmann, Ph.D., Lasell College, 1844 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA 02466. E-mail: ehartmann@lasell.edu; Telephone: 617 243-2177.
The author would like to acknowledge the contribution to this article made by Peggy Coyne, Susan Bruce and Janet Sauer. Elizabeth S. Hartmann is an Assistant Professor at Lasell College in Newton, MA. Her research interests include Universal Design for Learning (UDL), teachers' collaborative practice in general education and special education, and the development of symbolic understanding in early communicators.
Abstract
This article presents the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework as one way to understand how to support learners with severe disabilities and how to support their access to authentic and appropriate curricula that improves their quality of life. Two key ideas from the UDL framework, (a) understanding learner variability and (b) supporting the expert learner, are reviewed and used to address the education of learners with severe disabilities. By using the UDL framework to better understand how to support this population teachers can reform curricula in ways that will create greater and more inclusive options for all students. The article shows how UDL can be used to support reform for this population and how this will improve education for all learners.
Keywords
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
- severe disabilities
- intellectual and developmental disabilities
- access to general education curriculum
- curriculum planning and instruction
- inclusive classrooms
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