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COUNSELING AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR ENCOURAGING THE 

HANDICAPPED TO BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION IN REGULAR 

SCHOOLS 

 

DR. P.S.E. EZEH 

Department of Educational Foundations  

Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu 

And 

DR. EZE H.O 

Department of Foundations of Education IMT Enugu 

 

ABSTRACT  

Right from the time of introduction of guidance and counseling as a school service it 

was assumedthat the functions of school counselors limit them to offering services to 

normal students with normal problems. Handicapped students with their peculiar 

problems were catered for by special teachers an special schools. As time passed, the 

segregation of the handicapped came under severe criticism. It was considered more 

socially acceptable to educate the handicapped in regular schools since they are part 

and parcel of the society. Following this development, the handicapped became 

integrated into regular schools. However, available evidence shows that these 

handicapped who are generally stigmatized find it difficult to adjust in these regular 

schools. Thus it becomes the added responsibility of counselors to serve this special 

population since in the regular schools there are no special educators to cater for 

them. This paper has therefore highlighted some of the problems of the 

handicapped and the counseling procedures for encouraging them to benefit from 

education in regular schools. 

Keywords: Counseling, Instrument, Encouraging, Handicapped Benefits.  

 

 

INTRODUCTION 

The general view of school counselors in Nigeria is that their role limits them to 

counseling normal people with normal problems. Consequently, they regard 

handicapped people as a special group that requires special treatment by those who 

have been specifically trained to serve such a population. 

 

However, with the increasing emphasis on equal educational opportunities for all 

children as well as on integrating the handicapped into regular schools, counselors 

are therefore obliged to provide services not only for the so called normal people 

with normal problems but also to the handicapped. 

 



 

 

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Strategies for counseling the handicapped to benefit from education in regular 

schools and live happier lives should be sought. Counselors must be concerned with 

developing techniques and procedures that will facilitate counseling for both the 

normal and handicapped students in our schools. This is necessary because the 

educational and psychological needs of normal and handicapped children must all be 

catered for in order to attain the objectives of equal educational opportunities for 

all children. 

 

WHO ARE THE HANDICAPPED? 
The handicapped in our society include a wide range of people with various forms of 

impairments which prevent them from participating in various activities in life just 

as other normal people without such impairments. These include the physically 

handicapped (speech, visual auditory and orthopedic), mentally retarded, the 

learning disabled, and the socially maladjusted. Meanwhile no specialist definition 

of the handicapped has been given so that the non-specialist readers might equally 

benefit. 

 

For the purpose of this paper, the handicapped will comprise those handicapped 

persons that can be successfully integrated into regular schools. These include the 

physically handicapped such as the hard of hearing, partially sighted, speech 

impaired and orthopedically impaired. Others are the educable (mildly or 

moderately) mentally retarded, the learning disabled and the socially maladjusted. 

This category of people can, with some extra assistance benefit from education in 

our regular schools. 

 

THE PLIGHT OF THE HANDICAPPED  

 The attitudes and feelings which normal people have towards handicapped people 

are quite of negative. The handicapped are easily stigmatized and slighted. Goffman 

(1963) describes a stigmatize person as a person who might have been received 

easily in ordinary intercourse, but who possesses trait that obtrudes itself upon 

attention, and turns those he meets away from him. This clearly indicates that the 

society generally views the handicapped in a negative light.  

 

In a study Denga (1982a) found that the labels of stigma which fellow students, 

teachers, school administrators and the general public place on handicapped students 

serve as the basic source frustration, anger, negative self concept, low motivation, 

dependency, hostility to others and a source of futility among handicapped students. 

In another study Denga (1982b) observed that fellow students, teachers and 

administrators do not perceive handicapped students as being intelligent as their 

normal counterparts. There was a general feeling that the handicapped should not 

have equal education opportunities as their normal counterparts. Furthermore, they 



 

 

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should neither be allowed to marry a handicapped person nor have equal chances of 

being employed with the non-handicapped.  

 

In like manner, Uba (1982) observes that handicapped persons in Nigeria are 

charactreised failures, inhibitions, fears, distrust, isolation, lack of self confidence, 

anxiety, inability to grow in esteem in a rejecting, labeling society like ours and 

consequently lack of full social adjustment predominates. Even parents of 

handicapped children often develop unhealthy attitudes towards handicap of their 

children. They often manifest guilt feelings and sometimes an overt rejection of 

children no matter how well disguised.  

 

So far evidences have shown that handicapped persons are perceived in a negative 

light. But handicapped children should perceive themselves as objects of 

stigmatization and ridicule, they likely to develop negative self concept, frustration, 

anger and dejection which will adversely affect their academic attainment and retard 

their social and psychological growth. School counselors, therefore have significant 

roles to play in order to improve the lot of the handicapped.  

 

SCHOOL COUNSELORS ROLE IN ENCOURAGING THE 

HANDICAPPED TO BENEFIT FROM EDUCATION IN REGULAR 

SCHOOLS.  

Bearing in mind the problems of the handicapped and the emphasis on integrating 

them regular schools where special education experts are generally absent, it now 

becomes the responsibility of school counselors who now bear the role function of 

all the special education consultancy teachers offer necessary assistance to ensure 

that this category of students benefit from such schools. That before the case; the 

following areas need the counselor’s involvement to ensure they benefits maximally 

for their integration into regular schools. 

1. Counseling Intervention:  

School counselors should assist the handicapped to explore their 

handicapping conditions accept the reality of their disability so as to reduce 

their frustrations, anger, fear, and self desire. 

The basic goal of this effort is to enable the handicapped students to integrate 

their disability, their self concept. Koln and Woldt (1976) suggest the 

following strategies which councilors employ to enable the handicapped deal 

with their body image.  

A. Enabling the client to contact their physique through fantasy, self exploration, 

psychodrama modified body movement patterns. These can be achieved by 

focusing on areas where season is blocked and where it is capable of being 

perceived. Exercise in body awareness will help client to analyses each part 

of the body and point out strengths and weaknesses of each part how each 



 

 

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part could be used to enhance behaviour. Physical education exercises 

designed for purpose could prove very useful.        

B. Cognitively – Based approaches like Albert Ellis rational emotive therapy can 

also be used to help the handicapped to become rational and behave more 

rational toward their condition and their interaction with others as well. A 

rational self analysis will prove useful in helping clients to accept themselves 

and what they are Counseling intervention, therefore, should be high 

emphasis in order to help the handicap develop positive self concept and high 

achievement motivation.  

2. Placement In Appropriate Schools:  

The secondary school into which the handicapped student is integrated and his 

academic and vocational programmes should not he left to chance or factors like 

persuasion, proximity to home etc. Academic and psychological assessment of 

the student's academic and non-academic spheres provides invaluable 

information for determining appropriate placement and academic and 

vocational programming at the post-primary level. Appropriate academic and 

psychological assessment should be performed by guidance and counseling 

personnel. 

3. Facilitating the Acceptance of the Handicapped In the Mainstream: 

After the appropriate placement of the handicapped, the counselor should facilitate 

his acceptance in the mainstream in order to minimize the stigmatization or his 

being labelled as handicapped, retarded etc. The social acceptance of the 

handicapped within the mainstream, as well as his more appropriate placement 

and meaningful academic and vocational programming, will increase the 

probability of the student's feeling of self worth and his ability to succeed and 

to become a productive member of society (Denga 1982, M.S.S.B. Reports 

1982). 

4. Facilitating The Cultivation of Positive Self Image: 

It is well known that positive self image is at least as important in determining 

academic success and vocational productivity as is intellectual potential (M.S.S.B. 

Reports, J982). Counselors should create environments that maximize individual 

needs and styles and that foster acceptance and positive interpersonal 

relationships. Because of the limited intellectual potential of the majority of the 

handicapped and also because of their physical, emotional and behavioral 

handicaps, their academic achievement are often limited. Feeling of success and 

self worth based only on academic competence are therefore inappropriate and 

defeating. Counselors should help to develop for handicapped students 

meaningful academic and vocational programmes that would include the 

development of self care, life skills, assertiveness training, social and 

recreational skills as well as the vocational training for occupations that are 

personally meaningful and socially relevant. 



 

 

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5. Facilitating Social Acceptance of the Handicapped: 

The social acceptance of the handicapped by peers, teachers, administrators 

should be facilitated by the counselor's efforts to sensitize others to the needsof 

special students and to encourage them to assume responsibility in 

meetingthese. Positive attitudes of acceptance of the handicapped by their 

normal peers can be fostered by prepared exposure as well as by a variety of 

activities such as role playing, values clarification, group problem solving and 

guidance and through audio visual programmes that focus on attitude change and 

that present the handicapped as sharing basic human needs, feelings and 

experiences as productive members of the society. Knowledge and shared 

experiences facilitate the removal of stigmatization preconceptions. 

6. Ensuring That The Handicapped Is Not Lost In The Mainstream: 

Just placing the handicapped in the mainstream is not enough. In order to ensure 

that the handicapped is not forgotten or lost in the mainstream, the counselor 

should maintain an on-going contact with him through continuous assessment, 

curriculum planning and programme modification as well as through on-going 

vocational and personal social counseling. 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:  

In view of the importance attached to the issue of integrating some categories of 

handicapped children into the regula schools, the following recommendation s are made:  

1. Counselor training programmes in Nigeria should be broadened to include 

courses in counseling services for the disabled since the need and demand for 

counselors who will provide counseling services for both normal and 

handicapped children has increased.  

2. Counselors should assist the handicapped to combat the psychological battle in 

which they are engaged by acting as friends and surrogate parents to these less 

fortunate individuals.  

3. School counselors should be actively involved in the following aforementioned 

strategies aimed at the successful integration of the handicapped into our regular 

schools.  

a. Counseling intervention for the handicapped.  

b. Placement of the handicapped in appropriate schools.  

c. Facilitating the acceptance of the handicapped in the mainstream and  

d. Ensuring that the handicapped are not lost in the mainstream.  

 

CONCLUSION:  

In conclusion, therefore, the school counselor has an important role to play in the 

development of an educational system that programmes for all students including the 

handicapped. All students, particularly the handicapped should be exposed to experience 

would encourage the development of such values as feelings of self worth, respect for 



 

 

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self and others, an appreciation and acceptance of individual differences and an 

awareness of individual responsibility for their own learning, for productivity and 

independent living. In the education of the handicapped, particular care must be taken to 

nurture positive attitudes which would ensure the development of meaningful and quality 

education.  

 

 

REFERENCES  

Denga, D.I (1982a) Student counseling: A major solution to campus unrest, Lagos: Erit 

Egwu.  

Denga, D.I (1982b) An approach towards reducing stigma among physically 

handicapped students the Counselor, 4 (1), 31 – 36. 

Goffman, E. (1963) Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Englewood 

Cliffs, N.J. Prentice Hall.  

Kolb, C.L. & Woldt, A.L. (1976) The rehabilitative potential of a gestalt approach to 

counseling severely impaired clients. In W.A. McWell, S.A Meadows, R. 

Crabtree, and R. Sakata (eds) Rehabilitation counseling with persons who are 

severely disabled. Huntington: W.Va Marshal University Press. 

Metropolitan Separate School Board, Toronto, Onataria (1982) Draft Copy of report of 

the needs assessment sub-committee for the multi-handicapped student.  

Uba, A. (1982) Integrating the disabled persons into the regular schools in Nigeria: 

Implications for Counselors the counselor, 4, (1), 65 – 68. 

 

 


