Working Effectively with Students with BD in a General Education Classroom: The Case for Universal Design for Learning

Abstract

To one degree or another, inclusion is the word of the day in public schools across the country, and as a result many general education teachers find themselves face-to-face in their classrooms with students who have been diagnosed with behavior disorders (BD). While the behavior of these students is frequently (and euphemistically) referred to as “challenging,” sizeable portions of public school teachers see their presence as little more than a painful problem. Perhaps these teachers simply do not feel up to the challenge and reflexively turn to their coping skills rather than their creativity. Their attitudes can be altered, however, and the educational process can be enhanced for everyone concerned, when universal design for learning (UDL) is adopted as the foundational approach in the classroom. This article makes the case for UDL, and provides a specific illustration of a lesson plan that utilizes UDL.

Keywords:

• universal design for learning
• behavior disorders
• instructional design