There are some groups and organizations like “Abilities,” a Canadian lifestyle magazine for disabled people, have provided some guidelines on the correct terminology to be used for the individuals with disabilities. Most of this information makes sense and is easy for a writer to implement, but sometimes individuals or organizations can go overboard in their demands for political correctness. There are several guiding principles that writers can use to determine which terminology will be acceptable to most people who have or deal with people with disabilities (Fallotz, 2009). Writers should take in concern of the various ethical considerations when writing about learning disabilities and the political correctness. When a writer is uneducated about learning disabilities, problems will arise. People who have a learning disability do not want to see writers or editors allowing bias language, logical fallacies, or too much of a person’s personal information in a document. Writers and editors should be committed to obtaining the facts of unbiased opinions and accurately reporting information based on what he or she found. Writers and editors must avoid falsifying or misinterpreting any information. Language used in documents should demonstrate a critical, open minded approach (Fallotz, 2009). As a writer, a general practice for writing about people who have a learning disability, the writer should refer to the person first and then disability after. When uncertain, the writer can observe and listen to the language used by a person with disabilities, and take cues from what is said. Also, the writer can ask if teachers or persons with disabilities in the area are willing to share their preferences. If all else fails and the ... ... middle of paper ... ...http://www.unh.edu/inclusive/bias-free-language-guide Fallotz, M. (2009). Ethical guidance and research with people with disabilities. National disability authority. 4(23), 31 – 45. Horowitz, S. H. (n.d.). Learning Disabilities: What they are, and are not. National center for learning disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/what-is-ld/learning-disabilities-what-they-are-what-they-are-not Logsdon, A. (n.d.). Focus on the person first is good etiquette. About .com learning disabilities. Retrieved from http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/assessmentandtesting/qt/personfirst.htm Mink, D. (2008). Tips for writing and keeping privacy policies. Harvard Law Review, 126(7), 1904-1933. Wheeler, K. (2009). Logical fallacies hand list. Arguments to avoid when writing. New York: International Debate Education Association.
Take a second and imagine yourself as an elderly 72-year-old person, struggling with a dreadful disease, multiple sclerosis. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, multiple sclerosis is a defined as a disabled disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body (insert citation). With this picture in your head, think about how society may view you. Think about the struggles you would undergo daily. Most importantly, think about how other people would label you. Personally, would you prefer to be characterized as handicapped, disabled, differently abled, or crippled? While these names may sound a bit harsh, Nancy Mairs, the author of an article called “On Being a Cripple, easily chose her preference. Among the several possibilities, she chooses the word and uses it comfortably throughout the passage; however, she refuses to let it define the type of person she is. Diagnosed at the age of 28, Nancy Mairs sorted through the other politically correct synonyms and found something that is meticulously suitable. Mairs hates the world “disabled” considering that it conveys that she is physically or mentally incapacitated. She also refuses to
Alison’s story is the perfect example of what many families must go through when faced with the possibility of having a child diagnosed with a learning disability. Alison was not diagnosed with visual and auditory dyslexia until the summer before entering college. However, while still a toddler, her symptoms had been brought to her mother’s attention by her sister’s teacher. Alison’s mother then noticed her habits in repeating words incorrectly and how Alison would need tactile clues to follow directions. At the recommendation of her kindergarten teacher, Alison was tested for learning disabilities and the results from the school psychologists were that she was acting stubborn or disobedient. Her family did not stop with the school’s diagnosis. They had private testing completed that confirmed Alison did not have a specific learning disability. The final word came from a relative that happened to be a psychologist. He insisted Alison would grow out of her difficulties. So Alison continued on with her entire elementary, middle and high school journey as a student and daughter with an undiagnosed learning disability.
Lavoie’s workshop provokes an emotional response. After viewing life through the eyes of a child with special needs, I cannot help but have a more significant understanding of what people, especially children with disabilities, must deal with every day, everywhere. During the many years that I have worked with children with various disabilities, I have encountered each of the topics discussed in Lavoie’s workshop and agree with the points he makes regarding children with disabilities. Particularly impacting the way I interact with my students are the topics concerning: anxiety, reading comprehension, and fairness.
The classroom is a diverse place where learners from all different genres of life meet. Included in these learners are those that display learning disabilities. According to the British Columbia School Superintendent’s Association, ‘learning disabilities refer to a number of conditions that might affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning’. They also posit that ‘learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to language processing,
In the video presentation of How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop, Richard Lavoie is able to simulate several of the difficulties that a student with a learning disability has to face at school. Some of the difficulties experienced by the students are intrinsic to the disability itself, but many other difficulties are directly related with the emotions that the student experiences when attending a class, and as a result of his or her interactions with teachers and classmates. Both the United States law and the education system, have the opportunity to make a huge difference in the learning experience of every student with disability. Students with disabilities need to be guided to a path to education that is both feasible and accessible for them; with achievable goals, and by being provided what they need in order to succeed, and to be able to overcome any obstacles.
People with learning disabilities are the largest segment of the disability population, and growing numbers of col...
Gresham, F.M. (2002). Responsiveness to intervention: An Alternative Approach to the identification of learning disabilities. In R. Bradley, L. Danielson, & D. P. Hallahan (Eds). Identification of learning disabilities: Research to practice. (p. 467-519).
Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, by Dillenburger, K., and Keenan M., published in 2009, summarized Nov 19, 2009
specific learning disabilities in the United States of America. The Journal of International Association of Special Education, 10(1), 21-26.
Goldstein, S. and Mather, N. (2001). Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
While these three authors have different reasons to write their essays, be it media unfairness, ignorance, or ethical disputes, they all share a basic principle: The disabled are not viewed by the public as “normal people,” and they are unfairly cast away from the public eye. The disabled have the same capacity to love, desire and hurt as any other human being, and deserve all of the rights and privileges that we can offer them. They should be able to enter the same buildings, have representation in the media, and certainly be allowed the right to live.
Dating back to the 1800s and earlier, society’s perspectives of people with disabilities were misunderstood. This “lack of understanding” consequently led to ridicule, rejection, labelling and stigmatisation of not only people with disabilities but people who were different to the ‘norm’ of society (Duke, 2009, p. 3). Over the years there has been a significant shift in social attitude, particularly in how students with disabilities should be educated. These social attitudes of the past and the contemporary attitudes of society today have ultimately steered the development of a more inclusive society. According to Konza (2008) ‘nominalisation’ is a significant factor to the changing attitudes of society. Nominalisation encompasses the notion that people with disabilities are entitled to “...
Every day in America, a woman loses a job to a man, a homosexual high school student suffers from harassment, and someone with a physical or mental disability is looked down upon. People with disabilities make up the world’s largest and most disadvantaged minority, with about 56.7 million people living with disabilities in the United States today (Barlow). In every region of the country, people with disabilities often live on the margins of society, deprived from some of life’s fundamental experiences. They have little hope of inclusion within education, getting a job, or having their own home (Cox). Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed in life, but discrimination is limiting opportunities and treating people badly because of their disability. Whether born from ignorance, fear, misunderstanding, or hate, society’s attitudes limit people from experiencing and appreciating the full potential a person with a disability can achieve. This treatment is unfair, unnecessary, and against the law (Purdie). Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in the country today. Essential changes are needed in society’s basic outlook in order for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to succeed in life.
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.
In society today, there are many children and parents who face the diagnosis of having a developmental disability that would qualify them for special education and needs. This time can come with many questions for the parents when they realize the specialized care and education their child will need. Most often, questions arise about their schooling and how they will be included with other children, as well as what services are available to their child. How their disability impacts their life is a very valid concern because their education will be impacted. When a disability is discovered, it effects trickle down from the child to the parents, to the teachers and finally the medical and educational specialists.