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Inclusion International is often asked what we mean by “inclusive education”. Here are the most common questions from our members together with our responses. The responses are based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and General Comment 4 issued by the UN CRPD committee, which outlines the implications of the CRPD for inclusive education.

Questions:

• What is inclusive education?
• What are the differences between exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion?
• What are the key ingredients of an inclusive education system?
• What are some of the steps toward achieving inclusive education?
• What is the difference between an inclusive education system, an inclusive school and inclusive classroom/practices?
• What is meant by the “twin–track” approach to funding inclusive education?
• What is the difference between accessibility and reasonable accommodation?
• How can teachers provide equal opportunities for all students within their allocated classrooms?
• Is transforming special schools into resource centres a good strategy for moving towards an inclusive system?
• What is sometimes called “inclusive education” but is not?
• What are the benefits of inclusive education for students with disabilities?
• Is inclusive education good only for students with disabilities?
• Is inclusive education more expensive than segregation?

This report from Inclusion International analyzes data available through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC)’s Creditor Reporting System (CRS), which reveals that mainstream development projects fail to include people with intellectual disabilities, and in many cases use project methodologies that promote segregation and other human rights violations.

Analysis of ODA data from 2014 to 2018 found that 99.98% of ODA funding did not include people with intellectual disabilities, that 36% of the ODA projects that did include people with intellectual disabilities were not CRPD-compliant, and that only 2% of aid relevant to people with intellectual disabilities and their families was delivered through OPDs.

This report urges action from donors to ensure that the commitment to disability-inclusive development under Article 32 of the CRPD is also fulfilled for people with intellectual disabilities, and sets out recommendations for funders to ensure CRPD-compliance and inclusion in the projects they support.

This one-page factsheet presents key data from Inclusion International's 2020 report "Excluded from the Excluded," which revealed that people with intellectual disabilities are excluded from 99.98% of Official Development Assistance (ODA)-funded programmes. The factsheet also shares key recommendations for funders to ensure that no one is left behind by ODA funding.

Some strategies for dealing with COVID-19 employed by contributing self-advocacy organisations are discussed. Five panellists talk about work in their own countries, presenting and sharing knowledge, experiences and resources for all self-advocates everywhere.

This guide is part of a project on the right to vote and how people with intellectual disabilities can have their voice heard by the people who make laws and policies that affect us. 

This toolkit has been developed as part of an Inclusion International project, Accessing the Ballot Box, funded by the UN Democracy Fund. The project was designed to address the limited political participation of people with intellectual disabilities in Kenya, Zanzibar and Lebanon.

It sought to identify and challenge the barriers people with intellectual disabilities face in exercising their right to civic engagement and political participation and increase the awareness and knowledge of project stakeholders (people with intellectual disabilities, their families and representative organizations, service providers and governments) on building inclusive democratic processes.

This report presents the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities and their families on the right to decide, in line with Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Over the past two years, over 600 self-advocates, family members, disability advocates, and professionals participated in discussions motivated by Inclusion International’s Global Campaign on the Right to Decide. Additionally, Inclusion International heard from over 80 organisations from more than 40 countries. The report presents a series of recommendations and conclusions in order to advance the right to decide

This report presents the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities and their families on living and being included in the community. The study shares experiences of inclusion in the community, of exclusion and isolation from the community and the impact that these experiences have had on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. It details findings on the experience of exclusion and isolation, the progress made since the implementation of the CRPD, and what the new and emerging challenges are that threaten inclusion.  The report also outlines a vision of inclusion and makes recommendations for directions for the future. This comprehensive report will be useful to those studying and working with disability issues, inclusion in particular

“This cross national analysis is based on national studies made by research teams in India, Kenya, Romania and South Africa. It aims to draw out the lessons learnt from successful social development processes in these countries. In each country, studies have been made of projects identified as interesting, successful and/or outstanding in the way they have improved the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. This comparative report briefly describes the national studies, from which the respective teams made their own national conclusions and continues with across national analysis attempting to identify circumstances or factors that are common to these successful projects. Finally, the report summarises the conclusions and their implications”