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For years it has been assumed that disabled children cannot attend school with regular children. Although they have much to offer a classroom, disabled children have been viewed as inferior to regular children because they require special attention during the school day. Whereas regular children can function on an ordinary day without physical therapy and psychological sessions, some disabled children need help with physical and mental needs. Until recently, eliminating the barriers between disabled and non-disabled children has appeared impossible.

In a recent experiment, children without disabilities were placed in the same classroom as children with special needs. While combining special education courses with regular classes was assumed to be a recipe for disaster by many, placing special needs children with regular students proved successful. Contrary to some predictions, special needs children excelled and even became leaders of their class. Also capacity size was relatively small, approximately fifteen students per class, so disabled children were able to thrive in the environment. Even those children thought to have low self esteem accomplished goals in the mixed classroom. While the rumor is that regular children will mimic disabled students, individuals without disabilities were found helping persons with special needs.

One challenge to the new method of combining classrooms was found in balancing lesson plans. While teachers endeavored to create a plan that challenged regular students, they did not want to make the lesson too difficult for disabled children. In such instances, educators were probably forced to develop two lesson plans; one for non-disabled children and the other for disabled students.