Shaping the faces of the prism: Rights, supports, and quality of life for enhancing inclusive education opportunities in students with intellectual disability

Although inclusive education has evolved from a general principle to a recognized right, a quality inclusive education is still not a reality for students with intellectual disability. In this article, we discuss three approaches that can bridge the gap between “what is” current education of these students and “what should be”. First, we address the underpinnings of Article 24 of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities a nd its i mplication for educational systems concerning placement and goals to achieve in these students. Second, we provide a general overview of the supports paradigm and its conceptual and practical implications regarding inclusive education. Third, we present a quality of life model as a value-based and evidence-driven framework to enhance inclusive opportunities in students with intellectual disability and to support decision-making in education from a “whole child approach”. Finally, we provide a comprehensive, systematic framework that brings these three approaches together to improve students’ outcomes linked to the goals of access, participation, learning, and development.