In these times of COVID- 19, issues of access to digital learning for primary school learners in low and middle income countries (LMICs) has gained much attention. Primary school learners with disabilities in LMICs are most likely to face barriers to accessing digital learning or least likely to benefit from it. These barriers to education contribute to the increased risk of poverty for people with disabilities. Digital learning (Educational technology) offers the potential to enable continuing education generally for LMICs in the response to school closures and beyond it. Some LMICs have put in place measures to ensure learning continues by introducing virtual learning platforms and e-learning resources across all the levels of education, and as well organising lessons on television and radio. As LMICs work to make digital learning more accessible to all, this brief reports on evidence based approaches to promoting the inclusion of primary school learners with disabilities.

To improve educational outcomes for children and youth with disabilities, barriers to inclusion need to be addressed. Experiences of stigma represent a significant and common barrier facing children and youth with disabilities and this may vary by type and severity of disability. Stigmatisation is a societal process found within communities at individual, interpersonal, organisational, social and institutional levels. Information on approaches to, as well as impact of interventions that address stigma in the context of children and youth with disability in LMIC is generally lacking. The widespread detrimental consequences of stigma related to disability highlight the need for interventions aimed at reducing this stigma. This brief aims to summarise the stigma-reduction interventions (that either reduce or prevent stigma) relating to disability that improve educational outcomes for children and youth with disabilities in LMIC.

Promoting inclusive education, underpinned by the acknowledgement that every child has the right to a quality education - is a challenge globally, but even more so in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) where many schools struggle with clashing priorities due to limited funds and resources. Flexible and adaptive curricula, often referred to as curriculum modification strategies, are one of the key components of including and engaging students with disabilities in the educational systems. These modifications make regular curricula more responsive to the diverse needs of children with special educational needs by including targeted content and methods for teaching. There are a variety of challenges facing students, parents, teachers and schools when attempting to achieve and benefit from adapted curricula as well as accessing, the evidence for which will be presented and outlined below including recommendations to overcome these challenges.

Classroom assistance can be defined as reasonable accommodations designed to give all students equal access to learning in a regular classroom setting. Classroom assistance enables learners with disabilities to continue 'access to learning’ and 'learning to access' education on a regular basis. Consequently, in addition to enabling access to learning, classroom assistance should support learners with disabilities to take ownership of their learning and self-advocate during the learning process. While there is a lack of consensus on what classroom assistance comprises, there are three core dimensions: a) people (e.g. pupils, teaching staff, and administrators or non-teaching staff), b) classroom teaching and learning media (e.g. assistive technologies, gaming, etc) and c) the support structure (e.g. family, friends, peers, and cohorts). This brief summarises how to implement classroom assistance to promote effective teaching and learning for pupils with disabilities in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Due to negative societal attitudes and ableist norms, young people with disabilities may be at risk of low self-esteem. Low self-esteem, aside from being unpleasant to experience, is associated with social isolation, low mood, and poor educational outcomes. Building positive self-esteem is critical for young people to reach their full developmental potential, and so identifying interventions that work to improve self-esteem among young people with disabilities is important. However, information on programmes that work to improve self-esteem, especially in low-and-middle income counties (LMICs), is lacking. There is a need for programming to improve self-esteem and build confidence which takes into account disability as well as personal and environmental factors of young people.