Developing a Mathematics Module for Students with Intellectual Disability in Higher Education

Students with intellectual disability (ID) have to overcome many barriers and difficulties in order to access all levels of education and partake in college life. Thankfully, educational institutes around the globe are slowly beginning to examine how they can support equal rights of individuals with ID. In Ireland, one university has recently accredited an innovative higher education programme for college students with intellectual disabilities. One of the emergent modules focuses on mathematics and realises the important role that numeracy plays in today's society. Despite the increased emphasis on general mathematics education, the authors found there to be a dearth of research regarding the development of such a module for students with ID. This paper describes the design and development of the mathematics module and also details its piloting and evaluation with a cohort of students with ID who were enrolled in a higher education course in an Irish university.