Range of Disabilities

Abstract

As previously discussed in chapter one, there are a range of disabilities that educators may be faced with. Therefore, it is crucial for educators in Africa to understand the different types of disabilities that are there so they may know the best practices to use. This chapter provides an overview of the different types of disabilities that teachers might encounter. The disabilities may be categorized as high incidence disabilities and low incidence disabilities. High incidence disabilities are disabilities that are likely to be seen in regular or mainstream classrooms or those that are common among the student population (i.e., learning disabilities, ADHD, EBD). Conversely, low incidence disabilities are less likely to occur in a student population (i.e., hearing impairments, significant intellectual disabilities, deaf blindness).