One in five students has a disability

Nearly one in five students in Government schools in Australia is classified as disabled. According to confidential data picked up by the media, half a million school children have a disability or learning difficulty. These children need extra help in class and while some schools get assistance through government grants, others find that either the funds are not sufficient or not able to find money to arrange for additional assistance.

An increase in the number of disabled students has been noticed and it has been revealed that the increase is due to a surge in cases of autism and Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Autism has been described as a lifelong developmental condition that affects, among other things, the way an individual relates to his or her environment and their interaction with other people. FAS is caused by exposure to alcohol during pregnancy. 

Disability also includes learning disorders like dyslexia where the student struggles with reading and spelling, and life threatening allergies and even diabetes. Disabilities among students result in class work being disrupted since they need extra attention. 

The need for ‘professional back-up’ for the teachers from child psychologists, speech therapists and counsellors whenever they are needed has been identified by the Disability Discrimination Commission to tackle the issue of disability among primary school children.

While teachers are more than happy to have these children in their mainstream classes, it has been seen that they need assistance to manage such children. Most principals are siphoning money from the school’s general budget to spend on children with disabilities in order to ensure that normal classroom work is not disrupted. 

It has been found that one in 50 students requires ‘extensive assistance ‘in class where they need special equipment, psychologists, health therapists or attention from a teacher every one to three minutes. Two students in a typical classroom need ‘substantial assistance’ including allied health therapists or psychologists, or help going to the toilet. A further two students in every class require supplementary assistance, meaning they have a healthcare plan to treat life-threatening allergies or asthma, need extra time to finish their work or are given less work in class. 

One in 20 children has a mild disability or learning disorder that is dealt with through “quality differentiated teaching practise” where they might sit at the front of the class or require an Epi-Pen (auto injector) if they eat nuts or gluten. 

Education authorities – both at federal and state levels – are concerned about these trends and are trying to find ways and means of handling the issue.  

Federal Educations Minister has said that federal funding for students with disability had grown by $ 100 million every year since 2014, to $ 1.3 billion this year and $ 1.4 billion next year. He has also said the federal government has forced universities to start training all student teachers “to engage and teach” students with a disability.

In addition to federal funding, each state administration also pays special attention to the problem. In Western Australia, for example, the Education Minister has pointed out that 17.3 students of WA students with a defined disability received a direct per-student allocation while schools received extra funding for students with foetal alcohol syndrome or dyslexia. 

In South Australia spending on students with disability had risen by 41% since 2010. The department employed one school support officer per 2.3 teachers. Victoria has an estimated 24,000 students with moderate to high levels of need and the Victoria Education Department spent $659m a year to support them. In New South Wales $102 m has been allocated for this year to support more than 6,900 students with disability in regular classes, plus $545m for 21,000 students in special schools or specialist classes.