In a humane and highly functional society, students with physical and intellectual disabilities should be allowed to function independently and enjoy their personal and academic life to the fullest. Knowledge and education are necessary in order to maintain oneself and ensure a high quality of life and personal care. Government institutions, educational facilities, and non-government organizations are to lead the effort of making students with learning disabilities become fully-fledged members of our society (Alsuhaibani, 2018).
In the past ten years, special education services in Saudi Arabia have undergone a significant transformation (Alnahdi, 2013). The kingdom pays great attention to education, dedicating over 25% of its annual budgets on making its citizens aspire to greater professional and academic achievements (Al-Mousa, 2010). Nevertheless, there is still much to be done in order to achieve the goal of complete or even partial independence for intellectually-disabled individuals and students.
Alrusaiyes (2014) reports that female students have significantly fewer opportunities for education and employment. Almutairi (2018) supports these claims by stating that social services for intellectually-challenged individuals are still lacking and that many teachers do not have the proper training to educate handicapped students.
This situation presents a plethora of risks and consequences for students with intellectual disabilities. Deppisch (2013) states that without appropriate training and services, disadvantaged students will not be able to conduct an independent life once the school is over.
As a result, they would encounter significant social and personal difficulties fitting into the society (Klepp, 2017). As Wynkoop (2016) stated, these disabilities are determined as such solely by the society, and the inability to fit and perform as the rest is a severe handicap to success. Developing better facilities, providing training to teachers, and increasing the understanding of the issue in the society will help promoting independence in disability students (Hausman, Ingwarsson, and Kahng, 2014).
References
Al-Mousa, N. A. (2010). The experience of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in mainstreaming students with special educational needs in public schools. Web.
Almutairi, R. A. (2018). Teachers and practitioners’ perceptions of transition services for females with intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia. Web.
Alnahdi, G. (2013). Transition services for students with mild intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 48(4), 531-544.
Alrusaiyes, R. F. (2014). Perspectives toward transition program for females with intellectual disability in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Web.
Alsuhaibani, A. (2018). Arabic version of the Arc’s self-determination scale for female adolescents with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and multiple disabilities in Saudi Arabia: Validation study. Web.
Deppisch, M. J. (2013). Increasing independence in individuals with severe intellectual disabilities: Investigating visual supports for decreasing prompt dependence. Web.
Hausman, N. L., Ingwarsson, E. T., & Kahng, S. W. (2014). A comparison of reinforcement schedules to increase independent responding in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 47, 155-159.
Klepp, K. (2017). Teachers’ perceptions of addressing leisure in curriculum for students with severe disabilities. Web.
Wynkoop, K. (2016). The effects of two video modeling interventions on the independent living skills of students with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Web.