Peter is a 23 year old man who, though he has a learning disability, has always attended mainstream school. He missed a great deal of schooling due to poor health. He tends to learn more slowly than his non disabled peers, and he has needed additional support to develop the necessary knowledge and understanding to progress through school system. Peter has recently enrolled on an adult literacy course at his local college to try to improve his reading and communication skills.

The teachers on his course have adapted their practice in a variety of ways in order to help Peter with his studies. For example, some have differentiated the content of the lessons, reducing the amount of information given to him by providing only the most important elements; they also give him one to one support whilst the rest of the class are working on a set task.  The teachers provide him with exercises that are simpler and less complex than his peers, and the topics focus on information that relates directly to his living needs and personal interests. In order to integrate him within the class, he is actively encouraged to engage in simple discussions with the other students.

Sometimes Peter has difficulty understanding the teachers’ instructions or questions so they are careful to use simple sentence structure and vocabulary when speaking with him; this has shown Peter’s classmates that it is quite easy to communicate with him and they have felt encouraged to include him in their group. Though Peter does not earn the same grades as his classmates, he is well accepted by them.

The most significant actions that have enabled Peter to adapt to mainstream education are:

• Peter’s classmates have been welcoming and understanding of Peter’s difficulties and needs;
• His mother has worked closely with his teachers in order to better help her son prepare his lessons and homework;
• The teachers have adopted a positive attitude and flexible approaches in adapting the tasks and the course material to Peter’s individual needs.

Peter is enjoying the course, has made some new friends, and is making good progress towards developing the skills which will allow him to live independently.

Two people with the same disability can experience different effects. Furthermore, the effects of one disability can be similar to the effects of another (for example, deaf learners and learners who have autistic spectrum disorders may both experience difficulties in using abstract language).