3/3/09 continued

What inequities can occur because of a disability label?

When students are labeled a certain term because of their disability it is very confining. They can't escape the label, people dont see much past that. It is especially bad when the label comes before the child. For instance, that "ADHD student" versus "a student that has ADHD." When we put labels before our students we are saying that their disability defines who they are. I don't think this should be how we look at our students.
When students are labeled with a disability they get thrown into the special education program and usually don't get back out. This is not to say that special education is bad or undesirable, but that students aren't included with the general education.
Labeling can be helpful in telling teachers how to accomodate for certain disabilities. We as teachers should know what our students are up against. It is up to us to use labels appropriately.