After this week’s lecture and the article concerning labeling individuals with disabilities, I was curious about perspectives regarding this topic, and the possible harm labels could inflict on children. In the article “What’s in a Name?” Bernard Rimland, the father of a child with autism, states that taking away labels “deprives the handicapped of their most valuable asset, the recognition of their disability by the rest of us.” He clearly feels that the abandonment of labels would not benefit children with disabilities, and may in fact harm them. I am sure that not every parent holds this same view, and was interested to gain greater perspective on the effects labeling in general. In the article, “The Effects of Disability Labels on Special Education and General Education Teachers’ Referrals for Gifted Programs” they outline a study that investigated the result of the labels learning disabilities (LD) and emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) on teachers’ inclination to send children to gifted programs. Finding that teachers were considerably less inclined to send children with LD and EBD labels to gifted programs. Children with identical descriptions, but without the disability label were much more likely to be sent to gifted programs. This article highlights an additional problem and stigma associated with labeling. Not only may it carry a social stigma, but also it has the power to stunt students capable of greater things. This was revealing for me, having not considered the possibility that students were being further held back by labels. In the article, “To Be Labeled, or Not to be Labeled: That is the Question,” they weight the pros and cons of the labeling process for individuals with disabilities. They state “a commitment to inclusion and equality requires an acknowledgement of various categorization problems, and a realization that various contexts may contribute to people's different learning patterns.” Although I believe, having read these articles, that labling only serves to further hurt children with disabilities, it seems the jury is still out and the heated debate will continue.
Bianco, Margarita. "The effects of disability labels on special education and general education teachers' referrals for gifted programs." Learning Disability Quarterly 28.4 (2005): 285-293.
Ho, Anita. "To be labelled, or not to be labelled: that is the question." British Journal of Learning Disabilities 32.2 (2004): 86-92.
Bianco, Margarita. "The effects of disability labels on special education and general education teachers' referrals for gifted programs." Learning Disability Quarterly 28.4 (2005): 285-293.
Ho, Anita. "To be labelled, or not to be labelled: that is the question." British Journal of Learning Disabilities 32.2 (2004): 86-92.