Making society inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities starts with including them right from home and school 

By Caroline Naluwemba, 2024 Social Connectedness Fellow

Caroline is a 2024 Social Connectedness Fellow, working with Harvard Law School Project on Disability. She is a dedicated self-advocate from Inclusion Uganda, championing the rights of peers with intellectual disabilities. She volunteers with the International Rescue Committee and Inclusion International’s “Inclusive and Accountable” project. Caroline holds diplomas in project planning from Makerere University and fashion design from NIAAD. As the CEO of Caroline Fashions, she empowers self-advocates through training in tailoring and crafts. In her blog post, Caroline reflects on the transformative impact of inclusive education, highlighting how it shaped her friendships and career. 

In many places, inclusive education is not a reality, especially for students with intellectual disabilities. In Uganda, children with disabilities are less likely to attend school than their non-disabled peers (81% vs. 91%). Of those who are able to join school, they are generally placed in one of Uganda’s 113 segregated, special needs schools—not inclusive ones. 

Inclusive education means giving all students equal access to quality education and learning. Inclusive education features students of all learning styles and ability levels. For example, an inclusive classroom could have a mix of gifted students, auditory learners, visual learners, as well as students with and without disabilities, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disability, polio and others. Inclusive education is important because it is the way to ensure that people with disabilities are fully included in communities – even after they finish school. 

Inclusive education is a steppingstone for social inclusion outside school. If children with disabilities receive an inclusive education, they are more likely to be included in society as adults. As the UN’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) made clear in its general comment No.4 on the right to inclusive education: “Inclusive education is central to achieving high-quality education for all learners, including those with disabilities, and for the development of inclusive, peaceful and fair societies.”  

I am living proof of this idea. Inclusive education gave me the opportunity to make an important friendship with one of my classmates without disabilities that has lasted beyond the studies. 

In Uganda, children usually start school at the age of three or four years. Because of my disability, I didn’t start school until I was six or seven years old. I started by going to a segregated, special needs school for students with disabilities, where I studied for three to four years. Then, I was transferred to an inclusive classroom in a mainstream school.  

I continued my studies in inclusive settings up to the university level. During my O-levels (in high school), in an inclusive setting, I made some friends like my other classmates. If I didn’t have the chance to go to high school in an inclusive setting, I would never have met Veronica, in particular, or my other friends who do not have disabilities.  

Veronica and I were high school classmates for four years. We became friends in our second year of school together. Although Veronica changed schools for a couple of years, we later reconnected in the same university.   

After university, I struggled to find work. I suspect that it had a lot to do with how employers looked at my disability. I doubt any of them had the opportunity to meet and become friends with classmates with disabilities during their own schooling, because inclusive education in Uganda is so limited. I ultimately followed my passion to design clothes, and I started my own handicraft business. Since I’m my own boss, I don’t have to worry about discriminatory attitudes in my workplace!  

My friendship with Veronica has continued even after we completed our studies. And it has been more than just a friendship. Eight years after we graduated, Veronica invited me to attend Inclusion Uganda trainings at their offices in Bwaise, Uganda. If it wasn’t for Veronica’s friendship, she might not have reached out to me with this opportunity. These trainings were on human rights advocacy for persons with intellectual disabilities. Through these trainings, I was empowered to take up leadership positions. After the training, I went on to volunteer with Inclusion Uganda.  

Veronica is both a friend and support person who believes in me and my working ability. Because of Veronica, I’ve learned about exciting opportunities to get involved in different kinds of projects I would not have found out about otherwise. Last year, she helped me to apply for the position of Vice President for Inclusion International. Although I was not elected, it was an exciting opportunity.  
I have also been volunteering with the International Rescue Committee on the “Inclusive and Accountable” project, where I am helping to research on the needs, risks, and barriers of girls with intellectual disabilities in situations of risk when accessing humanitarian assistance. Veronica also supported and encouraged me to apply for the Samuel Center for Social Connectedness summer research fellowship, where I’m working with the Harvard Law School Project on Disability to research the experiences of self-advocates in shadow reporting to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 

Research shows that it is rare for students with disabilities to have friends who don’t have disabilities. Although it’s not too hard to help students with disabilities become friends with students without disabilities while they are still in school, it’s much harder to help those relationships continue after students’ graduate. My own experience shows how relationships with people without disabilities can help open doors for people with disabilities. It’s no wonder why the CRPD Committee talks about how important inclusive education is for cultivating more inclusive societies.  

Inclusive education will not happen by itself, however. Parents, teachers, students without disabilities, and education administrators and policymakers all have important roles to play. Here are a few recommendations based on my experience that I want all teachers, education policymakers, and the families of people with disabilities to know, in order to make sure that more students with disabilities in Uganda have meaningful opportunities to access inclusive education and to foster relationships that can last well beyond the end of their studies.

 
Parents.  
Parents, in this case, my mum, together with her brothers, really did a lot to make my education possible. Mum paid my school fees in time and also, she provided me with all the necessities for my studies. It might not have been possible for me to take on the challenge of an inclusive education without my family’s support. 
 
Teachers.  
Teachers should welcome and support all students as part of a respectful, vibrant learning community. In my experience, the teachers were supportive in such a way that they were there whenever I needed help. They gave me extra time during exam periods and would also help in the revision of my work. Teachers also gave me their attention in my studies. Students with disabilities need to be well-supported in the classroom if they are going to have a chance to have positive interactions with their classmates. 
 
Classmates. 
At school, classmates became my friends and helped in my studies, from checking my work, to getting class notes and much more. For example, my classmates were kind enough to always lend me their notes to photocopy since I was a very slow writer. Without supportive classmates, I would have had trouble making friendships like the one I have with Veronica.  
 
The Curriculum. 
Learning resources and activities should reflect the diversity of the wider community that includes learners with disabilities. The curriculum should be designed to enable students to gain knowledge and develop skills in multiple and flexible ways. 
 
The Environment. 
Provide accessible and usable learning resources and environments.  All teaching materials, learning activities and learning spaces should be accessible and usable by all students (with or without disabilities) so that no one is disadvantaged. 
 
Inclusive education creates equal opportunities for students with disabilities not only to access a quality education but also to develop the necessary skills to thrive and connect with a wider community. My experience with inclusive education created a space where I felt like I belonged, and through this opportunity, I was able to create strong social connections with people such as Veronica and with organizations such as Inclusion Uganda and the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness. 
 
References 
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2023, March 28). Combined second to fourth  
reports submitted by Uganda under article 35 of the Convention, due in 2022. Retrieved from https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx? symbolno=CRPD%2FC%2FUGA%2F2-4&Lang=en 
 
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. (2016, November 25). General comment No. 4  
on Article 24 – the right to inclusive education. OHCHR. Retrieved from  
https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general- comment-no-4-article-24-right-inclusive 
 
International Rescue Commitee. (2024, May 9). Inclusive and Accountable: Participatory  
accountability mechanisms for children and accessible humanitarian action for adolescent girls with intellectual disabilities in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia. The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action.  
https://alliancecpha.org/sites/default/files/news/attachments/IAA%20Project%20Update%20may%202024.pdf 
 
Smith, H. (2021, April 14). CRDP Shadow Reporting: Opportunities for Self-Advocacy. Harvard Law  
School Project on Disability. Retrieved from  
https://hpod.law.harvard.edu/events/event/crpd-shadow-reporting 
 
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (2018, July). Uganda Functional Difficulties Survey 2017. UNICEF.  
https://www.unicef.org/uganda/media/4601/file/Uganda%20Functional%20Difficulties%20 Survey%202017.pdf 
 
UNICEF. (n.d.). Inclusive Education. UNICEF. Retrieved from  
https://www.unicef.org/education/inclusive-education