\u201cSpecial needs\u201d, \u201cspecial education\u201d, \u201cexceptionality\u201d, or just \u201cspecial\u201d are words we in education use and hear a lot, and for good reason. They\u2019re entrenched in Manitoba curricular documents, philosophy of inclusion, and are integral to education funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter your role as an educator, you\u2019ve most likely encountered, used, and engaged in this terminology. However, as teachers working toward the creation of a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive school community and society, we need to reconsider carefully what we\u2019re saying when we use these words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As educators who work for and with students with disabilities, we want to support and engage students to the best of our ability and encourage exploration and wonderment about all aspects of our global village. After all, a student\u2019s experience in school will have a considerable impact on their world view and relationships to those around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when it comes to the terminology we use, we need to ask ourselves two important questions: What does the disability community say about terms like \u201cspecial needs\u201d? And what does the research say about these terms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Identity, Community, and Pride<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anjali Forber-Pratt, assistant professor at Vanderbilt University, is one of six authors of a paper that outlines the rationale behind and importance of the broader #SaytheWord movement. She says alternate wording for disability diminishes the identity and reality of disabled persons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDisabled people are reclaiming (their) our identities, our community, and our pride. We will no longer accept euphemisms that fracture our sense of unity as a culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
K-12 Canadian education has a long history of perpetuating stigma and marginalization of people with disabilities. With a shift away from the medical model, educators need to make a shift in the way disability is viewed, treated, and understood in our schools. \u201cDecisions about language have important sociocultural meanings in the disability community, and erasure of the term \u2018disability\u2019 can evoke fear and frustration among those who claim a disabled identity and align with disability culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around 15 per cent of the world\u2019s population, or estimated 1 billion people, live with disabilities, comprising the world\u2019s largest minority. It\u2019s clearly time to listen to what people with disabilities are saying, and if we are serious about inclusion, equity, and diversity, we as educators need to stop using \u201cspecial needs\u201d, \u201cexceptionality\u201d, \u201cspecial\u201d, and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What the Research Says<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Euphemisms are expressions used in place of words or phrases that otherwise might be considered harsh or unpleasant. \u201cSpecial Needs\u201d is an ineffective euphemism\u201d is the title of a study published in the Journal of Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, in 2016. It sought to explore the effects of the term \u201cspecial needs\u201d and its connotations when compared to the term \u201cdisability\u201d. Researchers observed that persons are viewed more negatively when described as \u201cspecial needs\u201d than when described as having a \u201cdisability\u201d. Even for members of the general population who have a person connected to disability (e.g., as parents of children with disabilities), the euphemism \u201cspecial needs\u201d is no more effective than non-euphemized term \u201cdisability\u201d. The study also collected free associations to the terms \u201cspecial needs\u201d and \u201cdisability\u201d and found that \u201cspecial needs\u201d is associated more negatively: \u201cspecial needs\u201d conjures up more associations with negative stereotypes and stigma, whereas \u201cdisability\u201d is associated with notions of inclusivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, history has shown that many contemporary slurs for members of racial, ethnic, or sexual minority groups began as euphemisms and became dysphemisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Confronting your \u2018isms\u2019 \u2013 racism, sexism, ableism \u2013 starts with watching what you say and do. Use \u2018disabled\u2019, it\u2019s not a dirty or bad word, it\u2019s an accurate descriptor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lifelong Learning: It\u2019s What We Do<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Educators are leaders. We are also learners in all that we do. Finding space for inclusion means listening and learning from the communities we serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Nancy Hansen is an Associate Professor and Director of the Interdisciplinary Master\u2019s Program in Disability Studies at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Hansen urges educators to understand the implications of alternate terminology for disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not hurt by or ashamed of the word,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is a source of pride and dignity for myself and many others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word disabled connects people to each other, a common disability history, and to the lineage of all those who fought, protested, and persisted so that one day we could be proud of disability history, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The language we use mirrors the way we think. Embracing the word disabled, fighting the urge and conditioning that demands we distance ourselves from it, is a powerful illustration of self-determination in action. It epitomizes how far the disability community has come. Let\u2019s make terms like \u201cspecial needs\u201d, \u201cexceptionality\u201d, and \u201cspecial education\u201d a thing of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s demonstrate our commitment to lifelong learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n