Whatever you’re doing at this moment, please stop and ask
yourself this question: “When I think of a person with a disability, I usually
think of someone who………What comes to mind? Quickly picture these images,
thoughts, and feelings. If you're typical, disability probably evokes a mixture
of feelings and thoughts influenced by centuries old beliefs involving
stereotype, stigma, and devaluation (Gartner & Joe, 1987; Longmore, 1985).
Most of us prefer to think that disability happens to "THE OTHER GUY."
Yet, according to Statistics Institute of Turkey (www.tuik.gov.tr) figures, 8.5
million people – 13 % of the total population- have a disability (physical and
mental).
Disability is a common experience that we view as uncommon.
Similar to culturally diverse populations based on race, ethnicity, and gender,
many students hide their disabilities because of fear and prejudice—theirs and
ours. Students bring a variety of physical, cognitive, emotional, sensory, and
learning disabilities into the classroom; hidden and obvious, recognized and
unrecognized. Few teachers in colleges have any didactic or significant prior
exposure to disability. Unfortunately, even faculty educated to teach students
with disabilities may lack experiential preparedness. As a result, disabled
persons may feel misunderstood in educational settings and be negatively
affected by teacher perceptions about disability.
Viewing each student as a person begins with self-awareness
of personal biases and assumptions about disability. Historically, our language
and media images surrounding disability have evoked sympathy, pity, or horror.
How do we view others? Do they have value and worth? Are they capable, equal,
responsible for self, and able to make decisions? We see a person using a
wheelchair and assume cognitive impairment in addition to physical disability.
What do my perceptions and expectations mean for me as a teacher and for
students, disabled or non-disabled? Our response to someone who moves, speaks,
hears, sees, thinks or learns differently from the expected has powerful
ramifications for that student's relationships with us and his/her peers.
Myths Surrounding People with Disabilities
Physically disabled = mentally disabled
Wheelchair = hard of hearing, blind, or stupid
Learning disabled = ignorant or mentally disabled
People with disabilities want to be pitied
You can always tell if a person has a disability by looking at them
People with mental disabilities don't know when you make fun of them
While we attempt to create classroom environments that honor
the diversity of all persons, we remain largely unaware of disability bias in
language (Blaska, 1993). Stereotypical language promotes exclusion,
devaluation, and notions of incompetence. "Cripple, handicapped, or
confined to a wheelchair" convey negative images of disability.
............
Don't assume that you understand disability. You may never
understand--unless you become disabled yourself. College students with
disabilities have learned to compensate for differences; ask how you can work
with them. One young adult described difficulties related to physical
disability as "challenges" rather than as "burdens"
(Treloar, 1998).
...........
Disability promotes
thinking "outside the box." Do we allow students the freedom to use
different methods to learn? Believe that the student can achieve the desired
results, but recognize that the path in reaching the goal may vary;
Effective teachers must create learning environments that
anticipate success and assist students to move toward this prize. This becomes
increasingly important when students have cultural backgrounds or other
differences which vary from the usual.
Jenny, user of a motorized wheelchair, repeatedly received
both direct and indirect messages that she would never become a teacher. Her
teachers' reasons focused on her physical limitations: She could not physically
quell an altercation by students, were it to arise. Because Jenny could not use
her hands to develop audio-visual materials for classroom assignments, she
instructed others to prepare the requisite materials. Her physical inability to
directly accomplish these assignments promoted the concern that using others as
her hands was "cheating." What does this imply about our attitudes
toward reasonable accommodations?
Jenny, now a teacher, capitalizes on the
limitations that drew concern of her teachers. Every student in her class is
responsible for a task usually performed by the teacher. Each student's
activity is essential for the whole: the teacher facilitates learning.
The principal who hired Jenny took a risk: He saw beyond the
body that uses a motorized wheelchair. He focused on the teacher as a person;
he chose to see what "could be," rather than "what isn't."
Shouldn't that be our perspective when a student with disabilities enters our
class?
Treloar, L. L. (1998). Perceptions of Spiritual Beliefs, Response to
Disability, and the Church. Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, The Union
Institute, Cincinnati, OH.
