Ableism

For the group differences forum, my group read an article entitled Confronting Ableism. Throughout the article, the author was urging that people need to accept people who have disabilities as they are instead of trying to change them. The author uses examples and testimonies from individuals who have disabilities to argue that society spends too much time trying to make these individuals ignore their disabilities. For example, the author urges that instead of attempting to teach a child who has visual impairments to read, braille should be instructed. Instead of forcing people who have disabilities to adapt to how people without disabilities live, we should instead focus on how to best educate the children in reference to their disabilities.  The argument for me was a little shaky. The author urges that children with disabilities should have individualized educations that focus on their needs and build upon their abilities; however, in the same argument he is urging that these students need to learn in the least restrictive environment, which he deems a general education classroom. It seems to me that if the education system focuses on providing what these students need to succeed that placement in learning environments outside of the general education classroom will be necessary. However despite this misunderstanding of motives, I do agree that people who have disabilities should not be educated solely based on making them the same as people who do not have disabilities. It is important to take a student's disability into consideration when providing them with their educations. What comes to mind when I am thinking about this issue is assistive technology. People with disabilities are provided with these accommodations so they can access the curriculum. Their individual needs are being considered; however, they are participating in the same instructional activities as their peers. This article did surprise me because I had never heard of this issue before in any of my special education courses. To me, it just seems like common sense that a child's disability is considered when educating them. However, after reading this article it seems like my assumption was incorrect. Reading this article has made me realize that in my future career I may have to urge teachers and parents to accept the disability instead of ignoring it. Children who have disability deserve a better chance at an education, and expecting them to learn the same way as children who do not have disabilities is cheating them out of a proper education and future life.