{"id":16050,"date":"2024-04-04T09:04:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T16:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/?p=16050"},"modified":"2025-03-04T09:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T17:02:09","slug":"dos-and-donts-for-talking-about-students-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/2024\/dos-and-donts-for-talking-about-students-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Dos and don\u2019ts for talking about students with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It was my first year teaching, and I was getting my classroom ready for school when my new principal dropped off my name tag. \u201cPlease wear this every day,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd good luck this year!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked down at the tag he had placed on my desk. It read Special Education Teacher, with my name below. I gasped. \u201cOh, no, no, no! I cannot<\/em> wear this!\u201d I picked up the name tag and ran after him. I explained that I needed a new one, that \u201cspecial education\u201d needed to change because it\u2019s a loaded, vague term that can do more harm than good. He didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never did wear my name tag that year. It never got changed either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why the term \u201cspecial education\u201d falls short\u2014and what to say instead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kids have been taught that it\u2019s not a good thing to be in \u201cspecial education,\u201d that they\u2019re somehow less than, inferior to their peers. \u201cSpecial\u201d has come to mean \u201cnot good enough\u201d for many of them, and they\u2019re not alone; the negative connotation of the word \u201cspecial\u201d has been growing for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A disability is a mismatch between a person and their environment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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It isn\u2019t exactly clear when \u201cspecial needs\u201d or \u201cspecial education\u201d became popular. It may have been as far back as the 1960s when the Special Olympics began. Or it may have happened when the term \u201chandicapped\u201d started getting eliminated from legal language with changes to laws such as Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act<\/a> of 1975, which changed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)<\/a> in 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language used to describe people with disabilities has continued to evolve this century, too. In October of 2010, President Obama signed legislation requiring the federal government to replace the term \u201cmental retardation\u201d with \u201cintellectual disability.\u201d The measure is known as Rosa\u2019s Law<\/a> and is named after Rosa Marcellino, a Maryland girl with Down syndrome who championed the change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updates in language at the federal level are critical for justice for people with disabilities. Language changes\u2014and the reasons behind them\u2014can take a long time to trickle down, however, and changing the connotation of a term can be especially challenging. A 2016 study by Morton Ann Gernsbacher et al. proves this point. In their article \u201c\u2018Special needs\u2019 is an ineffective euphemism,\u201d<\/a> they document their research of the term \u201cspecial needs\u201d and explain that \u201cpersons are viewed more negatively when described as having special needs<\/em> than when described as having a disability.\u201d They also say that \u201cspecial needs<\/em> conjures up more associations with developmental disabilities (such as intellectual disability) whereas disability<\/em> is associated with a more inclusive set of disabilities.\u201d An association with developmental disabilities shouldn\u2019t be a problem in and of itself, but data shows bias against people with developmental disabilities is grossly prevalent<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I agree with Gernsbacher et al. that \u201cspecial needs\u201d is ineffective. It is imprecise. A disability is a mismatch between a person and their environment, so the term \u201cdisability\u201d is not just much more accurate, but it also helps us understand how to reach a student better. \u201cDisability\u201d helps us see that a student and their environment simply aren\u2019t compatible, and once we know that, it\u2019s easier to focus on a productive approach: how to alter the environment. That is what accessibility is all about. Accessibility is the correction of that mismatch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be kind, get curious, and focus on the facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Words matter, and it is important to use respectful language when communicating about people with disabilities. Just because two people have the same disability does not mean they will feel the same way about their disability or how their disability should be described. Here are some things to strive for as you consider the language you use when talking about students with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to show kindness<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For many people, the term \u201cspecial needs\u201d feels offensive. As someone with a learning disability<\/a> who went through school in \u201cspecial education\u201d and on an individualized education plan (IEP), I prefer and believe in owning the term \u201cdisability.\u201d Therefore, when I describe my disability, I use the terms \u201clearning disability\u201d and \u201cdyslexia.\u201d Maybe someone else with dyslexia prefers different language, however. Disabilities cross cultures, genders, age, race, and beliefs, so the language can never be one-size-fits-all. Preferences will vary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[L]isten to how your students identify and would like to be addressed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Conventions will change, too. When I started my career in academics, for example, I was taught to always use person-first language<\/a>. This approach conveys that a person is not defined by their disability. However, as I quickly learned in my more real-world application of accessibility, the use of person-first language is debated within the disability community. Some people prefer the use of \u201cidentity-first language.\u201d Identity-first language, as defined in \u201cAsk a self-advocate: The pros and cons of person-first and identity-first language,\u201d<\/a> \u201cleads with a person\u2019s diagnosis, such as being a disabled person.\u201d I have also learned that person-first language was originally promoted mainly by the non-disabled community. As well-intentioned as this may have been, we were not given ownership of ourselves, our disability, and how we describe ourselves. Ownership is important. So is agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a teacher, I encourage you to listen to how your students identify and would like to be addressed. While some may be too young to express this information, know that most disabled persons, myself included, do not want to be referred to as having \u201cspecial needs,\u201d and they definitely don\u2019t want it announced that they are in \u201cspecial education.\u201d I never felt I learned differently from my classmates, and I certainly didn\u2019t feel \u201cspecial\u201d (nor did I want to).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please know that it\u2019s ok to say \u201cdisability\u201d or \u201cdisabled,\u201d but even better is asking the person you\u2019re referring to what they prefer. Honoring someone\u2019s personal preference is a simple way to show a great deal of kindness. Before I speak at an event where I\u2019ll be discussing disabilities and accessibility, I often identify the language I will use and why. That makes it easier for people to understand not just my personal preferences, but the fact that everyone will have their own personal preferences. Not sure what someone prefers? Cue the curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ways to be curious<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If a person feels comfortable with you and they disclose their disability to you, ask them how they prefer you to refer to their disability (or, potentially, not refer to it). Do they prefer person-first or identify-first language?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another way to get curious, which takes the burden off the disabled person, is to read materials by people with disabilities, like the self-advocacy article<\/a> I mentioned earlier. Find out what you don\u2019t know, and if you\u2019re reading a personal narrative, notice the way the author references themselves in their writing. Not every person with a disability will want to talk about their disability. It has taken me a long time to talk openly about my disability because of painful past experiences; for a long time, I was very selective about whom I shared my story with. Disabilities are deeply personal and deserve respect, no matter the type. Using the internet to your advantage so you can learn more will help you educate yourself without pushing a friend, colleague, or student to say more than they feel comfortable with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why facts matter<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As humans, we want to do the right thing and sometimes our well-intended choice to use terms such as \u201cphysically or mentally challenged,\u201d \u201cexceptional,\u201d \u201clearning difference,\u201d or \u201cspecial needs\u201d comes across as condescending and offensive. Why? Because these terms seem to be tiptoeing around what is a daily reality for some of us. So name the disability: Blind. Deaf. Learning disabled. Or use generic terms that don\u2019t try so hard to flatter, like \u201cphysical or cognitive disability.\u201d There\u2019s nothing wrong with people with disabilities, and trying to mask reality with flowery language can make it seem like there is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language for describing people without disabilities can be just as challenging. For example, \u201cable bodied\u201d is sometimes used to describe people without a disability, but for some in the disability community, this implies we lack use of our bodies. The preferred terms and phrases are \u201cnot disabled,\u201d \u201cnon-disabled,\u201d \u201cdoes not have a disability,\u201d or \u201cpeople without disabilities.\u201d Avoid terms such as \u201cnormal,\u201d too, that imply people with disabilities are strange or abnormal. We\u2019re not. With 26% of adults in the US living with a disability<\/a>, we\u2019re hardly unusual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allies are amazing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I understand language is difficult at times. Trust me. I\u2019m dyslexic. But even just trying to do the right thing can go a long way. If you mess up, that\u2019s okay. Learn and move forward. We\u2019re all just human, and we all want to feel seen, heard, and respected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was my first year teaching, and I was getting my classroom ready for school when my new principal dropped off my name tag. \u201cPlease wear this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":19165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Kids have been taught it\u2019s not a good thing to be in \u201cspecial education.\u201d Here are some things to consider when talking about students with disabilities.","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[634],"grade_level":[],"product":[],"theme":[],"coauthors":[{"id":79,"name":"Elizabeth Barker, NWEA","link":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/author\/ebarker\/","avatar_urls":{"24":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","48":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif","96":"https:\/\/www.nwea.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-includes\/images\/blank.gif"}}],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDos and don\u2019ts for talking about students with disabilities - Teach. 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