Spring 1999
Vol 7 Issue 2

IN THIS ISSUE...

Sharing Identities

"We must not forget"

Addressing Diversity

What Students Wish

Celebrating Diversity

Renewing Our Commitment to Understanding and Faith

Learning Through Community

Developing Instruction that Promotes Diverse Perspectives

SEE ALSO...
The Labyrinth

Assidere

Discussion

Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction

What Students Wish Educators Understood About Disability
Linda Treloar, SCC

Before reading further, stop to 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, nearly one out of every five persons in the United States, 54 million people, have a disability that impairs his/her ability to accomplish activities of daily living (National Organization on Disability/Louis Harris & Associates, 1998).

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 community 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. Further, many faculty lack understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as applied to community college settings. This article focuses on what students with disabilities wish educators understood about them; I write from experience as a parent of a child with disabilities, my conversations with educators, and research in disability studies.

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. (See Table 1)

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.

A person with a disability reflects "person-first" language that places emphasis on the person, rather than on the disability. Peter uses a wheelchair or is a wheelchair user. These differences in choice of language are often subtle and may appear insignificant. However, disability rights advocates emphasize the power of language to shape societal attitudes toward members of social and cultural groups that have been devalued. (See Table 2)

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). Cathy explained: "Sometimes they might be like an obstacle course, but there is a way to get to the other end. Just have to do it a bit differently—not the conventional means. I have speed bumps, doors and windows, all those different types of metaphors." 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. (See Table 3)

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?

In another example, Mr. Brown noted that Ben, a student with very thick eyeglasses, would place his hand around his ear in a cupping motion and turn his body whenever another person began to speak. Ben looked puzzled and apparently had difficulty in understanding the class activity. Finally, he sat with arms folded across his chest, no longer trying to keep up with the teacher's instructions in the dimly lit computer lab. After class, he lingered in the lab. Mr. Brown asked: "Are you having trouble with the computer?" Ben responded: "No, I don't think that's the problem. I can't hear you, and I'm legally blind." Ben self-identified his disability and requested help. Mr. Brown said: "OK. We can make accommodations, but you need to initiate contact with the Disability Resource Center (DRC)." He accompanied Ben to the DRC where staff began an individual assessment. Appropriate documentation (this may be at student expense) that established existence of Ben's disabilities and the need for accommodation were readily obtained. Reasonable accommodations for Ben included use of software that enlarged the print size on the computer monitor screen. Instead of using a "roving" teaching style, Mr. Brown restricted his movements so that Ben could read his lips. Mr. Brown enlarged the font print size on exams and other written materials. In addition, Ben told his peers that he had visual and auditory disabilities. Whoever sat next to Ben would repeat the comments of other students in the room so that Ben didn't miss out on important classroom interaction.

Mr. Brown's interactions with Ben illustrate several important points. People with disabilities are the same, but different from non-disabled persons. While Mr. Brown recognized that Ben was just like any other student, his disabilities created a need for instructional modifications. When students self-identify and request accommodation for disability, faculty must refer students to the DRC for an individualized assessment and valid documentation of disability. Failure to do this could promote charges of discrimination according to the ADA (U.S. Department of Justice, 1996) when faculty members choose to respond differently to a student's need for accommodation.

Summary

Disability, hidden or obvious, changes the packaging of our bodies. People with disabilities are the same, but different from non-disabled persons. Educators who build community in their classrooms begin with a view of each student as a person having value and worth. Effective teachers don't assume they understand disability: they ask the other person to describe his/her world. Disability challenges all of us to capitalize on the differences of each student, anticipating success in learning.

Note: The author is a nursing faculty at Scottsdale Community College. The author received her Ph.D. in Disability Studies and Health Care Ethics at The Union Institute Graduate School.

References

Gartner, A., & Joe, T. (Eds.). Images of the Disabled, Disabling Images. New York: Praeger, 1987.

Longmore, P. K. (1985). Screening Stereotypes: Images of Disabled People. Social Policy. Summer, 31-37. National Organization on Disability/Louis Harris & Associates. (1998).

N.O.D./Harris 1998 Survey of Americans with Disabilities (http://nod.org/presssurvey.html).

U.S. Department of Justice. (1996). A Guide to Disability Rights Laws (U.S.G.P.O.: 1997 417-737/64278; Order #622D). Pueblo, CO: Consumer Information Center.

Table 1

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

Table 2

Sensitivity to Language
Preferred Usage	Instead of This
Boy who is blind Adult with epilepsy People with disabilities Children without disabilities Afflicted by cerebral palsy	The blind boy The epileptic Handicapped people Normal children Has cerebral palsy

Table 3

Do's and Don'ts with Persons Affected by Disability
Do	Don't
Treat them as people; see them as able; accept their differences	Assume anything; treat them as unable to do anything; focus on differences
Accept them for who they are	Pity them; patronize
Let them do what they can; trust their judgement in what they can do	Force your help on them; treat like a baby
Approach them; offer help, but ask first	Ignore them; be over-helpful; avoid them; act like you donŐt hear them
Have fun	Be afraid to joke or talk with them