Attitude, Legislation, and Litigation
Attitude, Legislation, and Litigation
Attitude, Legislation, and Litigation Since the beginning of time, people with disabilities were shunned, killed, considered an embarrassment, lock away, hidden away, and sometimes even worse. This attitude slowly started changing in the past 60 years. With these changes, came groups and acts to help inform the public and support the disabled and their families. The writer is going to describe how perception has changed, how legislation and litigation have influenced the education of special needs students, a prediction of what changes may occur in special education in the future, the writer’s initial response to an individual with disability, and how the writer’s response is different now.
Perception Changes Over Time With only the basic understanding of human biology, historically people with disabilities and their families were generally treated horribly. People with disabilities in the western world were considered to inferior or weak. However, some of this perception was also dependent on the type of disability. There was a time when Autism was thought to be the fault of the Mom, often referred to as refrigerator Moms. These Moms were believed to be cold and unloving to their children, causing the children to become reserved and introspective. Although the reason for Autism is not fully known at this moment, it is known that it is not due to “refrigerator Moms.” As society has grown, it has gained a better understanding of human biology, and with the help of advocates, the thinking and perception towards in the disabled the western world, is changing. These changes were also occurring in the education of students with disabilities as well, starting with schools for solely the blind and deaf, moving to special education becoming a privilege and not a right, and where only separate buildings or areas of a school were dedicated to students with disabilities, now inclusion is becoming a
Attitude, Legislation, and Litigation Since the beginning of time, people with disabilities were shunned, killed, considered an embarrassment, lock away, hidden away, and sometimes even worse. This attitude slowly started changing in the past 60 years. With these changes, came groups and acts to help inform the public and support the disabled and their families. The writer is going to describe how perception has changed, how legislation and litigation have influenced the education of special needs students, a prediction of what changes may occur in special education in the future, the writer’s initial response to an individual with disability, and how the writer’s response is different now.
Perception Changes Over Time With only the basic understanding of human biology, historically people with disabilities and their families were generally treated horribly. People with disabilities in the western world were considered to inferior or weak. However, some of this perception was also dependent on the type of disability. There was a time when Autism was thought to be the fault of the Mom, often referred to as refrigerator Moms. These Moms were believed to be cold and unloving to their children, causing the children to become reserved and introspective. Although the reason for Autism is not fully known at this moment, it is known that it is not due to “refrigerator Moms.” As society has grown, it has gained a better understanding of human biology, and with the help of advocates, the thinking and perception towards in the disabled the western world, is changing. These changes were also occurring in the education of students with disabilities as well, starting with schools for solely the blind and deaf, moving to special education becoming a privilege and not a right, and where only separate buildings or areas of a school were dedicated to students with disabilities, now inclusion is becoming a
References: Hardman, Michael L., Drew, Clifford J., Egan, M. Winston, (2011). Human Exceptionality: School, Community, and Family (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Martin, Edwin W., Martin, Reed, and Terman, Donna L. (1996). The Legislative and Litigation History of Special Education. The Future of Children: Special Education for Students with Disabilities, Volume 6(1).