All Means All:
Presuming Every
Students’ Competence
and Ability to Benefit
from Inclusive
Education
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Jack’s Story
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“Included” in grades 1 - 3
Passionate about flying
machines – will spend hours
looking out the window trying
to spot a plane or helicopter
Experiences autism
Communication system:
 gestures (2 finger pt.)
 some signs
 vocalizations
 no speech
Gets very anxious during
transitions
Described by latest evaluation
as “functioning at 2 yr. Level”
Jack’s Communication Device
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WHEN I FIRST VISITED 4TH GRADE
Jack with Assistant
JACK: CASTS
General
Education
Teacher
Jack’s Desk
Jack #1
 What
 How
 The
do you see?
might you explain Jack’s
behavior?
paraprofessional’s behavior?
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Jack #2
 What
 What
do you see?
do you think the classroom
teacher is thinking?
 What do you think Jack’s team
members were thinking that led them
to plan this lesson, this way?
Jack #3
 What
do you see?
 What
do you think was in the
classroom teacher’s mind?
 What do you think Jack’s team
members were thinking this time?
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What Changed?
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New communication device
Weekly common planning time
Push-in services
Training for the team
And…We asked Jack’s team to make the
“least dangerous assumption” about his
learning and communication potential.
“Glass half empty”
assumptions about students’
competence can lead to
debates about who should be
included and who shouldn’t.
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What We Sometimes Hear
“She’ll never need that stuff.”
“He doesn’t have the pre-requisite skills.”
“He has an I.Q. of minus 30…He’s just too
disabled.”
“She’ll be bored.”
“He needs to learn life skills.”
“Her developmental level is 1 month.”
Thaysa
Has autism
Developmental
age of 18 months
 Fine and gross motor skill deficits
 No conventional communication
 Runs away and sometimes hits
 Short attention span
 “Stims” on lights, objects, her fingers
 Plays the piano
 Does not appear able to read
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In many schools Thaysa…
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Would be considered to have a significant
intellectual disability
Would be in a life skills class or special school
for students with autism
Would be taught sign language or provided with
PCS for requesting familiar items
Would be taught functional academics like telling
time, counting, and recognizing common signs
in her environment rather than the rules for long
division, how to write a 3 paragraph essay, or
the properties of matter.
The least dangerous
assumption principle
suggests that we take a
very different approach to
Thaysa’s educational
program, based on the
presumption of her
competence.
Least Dangerous Assumption
(Anne Donnellan, 1984)
“The criterion of least dangerous assumption holds that in
the absence of conclusive data, educational decisions
ought to be based on assumptions which, if incorrect, will
have the least dangerous effect on the likelihood that
students will be able to functional independently as adults.”
Furthermore, “we should assume that poor performance is
due to instructional inadequacy rather than
to student deficits.” We need to “try another way” to support
all students to demonstrate their competence.
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How might we use the Least
Dangerous Assumption
Principle to guide decisions
about Thaysa’s educational
program?
Scenario #1
“Presume Thaysa is
competent…”
What decisions might we make about
Thaysa’s educational program and supports?
Influence of Assumptions on
Educational Decisions
Scenario #1 Decisions:
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We teach her the general education curriculum
in the general education class.
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Thaysa’s IEP goals reflect general education
curriculum content AND learning functional skills
within typical routines.
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Her communication system has age-appropriate
social and subject-matter vocabulary.
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Influence of Assumptions on
Educational Decisions
Scenario #1 Decisions:
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Classroom materials reflect same learning goals
as students without disabilities.
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We talk to Thaysa about current events, ageappropriate subjects.
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Thaysa is supported to engage with her
classmates in typical social activities.
Influence of Assumptions on
Educational Decisions
Scenario #1 Decisions:
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During high school, she participates in activities
to prepare her for employment such as summer
jobs, internships, participation in extracurricular
activities, and “Girl’s State”
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Towards the end of her senior year, plans are
made for her to take a community college class,
to do an internship at an property management
company, and for her to volunteer with Habitat
for Humanity.
How do we know if our
assumptions were correct?
Let’s apply the least dangerous
assumption principle by “imagining”
that we can look into the brain to tell
how competent a person is.
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The “Imaginary” Brain Scan
Reveals...
Thaysa IS competent…she does NOT experience “mental
retardation” as it is traditionally defined.
Thaysa DID learn general education curriculum content.
WHAT HAS BEEN LOST? WHAT HAVE BEEN
THE CONSEQUENCES TO THAYSA OF
OUR ORIGINAL ASSUMPTION BEING CORRECT?
Most People Say…
Nothing has been lost.
We avoided any negative consequences by
designing Thaysa’s educational program and
supports based on the assumption that she was
competent.
Scenario #2
“Presume Thaysa is
competent…”
What decisions might we make about
Thaysa’s educational program and supports?
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Influence of Assumptions on
Educational Decisions
Decisions are the same as Scenario #1
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Educational goals
Where Thaysa learns
How we talk to Thaysa
The support we provide for her communication
Thaysa’s social life
Our vision for her future
Here’s
intelligence
Over
here is
learning
The Brain Scan Reveals...
Thaysa IS NOT competent…she DOES
experience “mental retardation” as it is
traditionally defined.
Thaysa DID NOT learn as much general education
curriculum content as we had hoped.
WHAT HAS BEEN LOST? WHAT HAVE BEEN
THE CONSEQUENCES TO THAYSA OF
OUR ORIGINAL ASSUMPTION BEING INCORRECT?
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Most People Say…
Little has been lost.
Even though Thaysa did not learn as much of the general
education curriculum as we hoped, remember that we
also focused on Thaysa learning functional skills which
will help her in her adult life. She was exposed to a rich
curriculum that may have helped her to develop lifelong
interests. She went to school alongside classmates who
did not have disabilities…who will become her future
neighbors and employers. She had a typical school
experience.
Scenario #3
“Presume Thaysa isn’t
competent…”
What decisions might we make about Thaysa’s
educational program and supports?
Influence of Assumptions on
Educational Decisions
Scenario #3 Decisions:
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Thaysa is not included in general education or if
she is it is for the purpose of socialization.
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IEP goals focus on communication, movement,
self-regulation, self-determination, ADLs, and
work skills, not academics.
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Her communication system has vocabulary
related to her perceived developmental level or
measured I.Q.
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Influence of Assumptions on
Educational Decisions
Scenario #3 Decisions:

Materials reflect different learning goals than
those of students without disabilities.
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We talk to Thaysa in a way that might be
appropriate for a younger student at the same
developmental level as the reports indicate.
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Thaysa is not supported to engage with her
classmates in social activities because we
believe she is too immature, too naïve, or isn’t
interested in those kinds of activities.
Influence of Assumptions on
Educational Decisions
Scenario #3 Decisions:
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We plan for her to go into a sheltered work
situation
We plan for her to live in a congregate facility
with other people who have autism
Here’s
intelligence
Over
here is
learning
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The Brain Scan Reveals...
Thaysa IS competent…she does NOT experience “mental
retardation” as it is traditionally defined.
Thaysa COULD HAVE learned general education
curriculum content.
WHAT HAS BEEN LOST? WHAT HAVE BEEN
THE CONSEQUENCES TO THAYSA OF
OUR ORIGINAL ASSUMPTION BEING INCORRECT?
Most People Say...
We lost an opportunity to teach Thaysa things she could have learned.
We didn’t include her as much as we could have and she did not
develop a wide network of social relationships.
We gave the impression to non-disabled students that people who are
different from us do not belong with us.
She missed out on the typical school experience.
We might have negatively influenced her self-esteem by treating her as
if she were not smart.
We narrowed the possibilities for her future career or postsecondary
education.
Thaysa’s mom and her team chose to
presume Thaysa’s competence to learn the
general education curriculum in the general
education classroom.
And they actively constructed her
competence with their choices of
communication, sensory, behavioral, and
academic supports.
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#1 Why Presume Competence
"Simply put, when teachers
expect students to do well
and show intellectual growth,
they do; when teachers do
not have such expectations,
performance and growth are
not so encouraged and may
in fact be discouraged in a
variety of ways."
James Rhem on the “Pygmalion effect.”
#2 Why Presume Competence
Traditional assessments of people with
disabilities are seriously flawed. Those
that purport to measure students’
intelligence and adaptive
behavior usually measure what
they can’t do, rather than what
they might be able to do with
the right supports.
#3 Why Presume Competence
Research shows that a
growing number of children
labeled “retarded”
show they are competent
when they have a means
to communicate.
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How Competent Would You
Appear If This Were Your
Communication Device?
YES
BREAK
BATHROOM
NO
HELLO
GOODBYE
DRINK
HUNGRY
#4 Why Presume Competence
To presume incompetence could result in
harm to our students if we are wrong.
#5 Why Presume Competence
Even if we are wrong about students’
capacities to learn general education
curriculum content, the consequences to
students of that incorrect presumption are
not as dangerous as the
alternative.
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What is Your Least Dangerous
Assumption?
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