esp 701 students w disabilities

Running head: HOW WE CAN CHANGE NEGATIVE SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Kylie Gempler

How We Can Change Negative Societal Perception of Students With Disabilities

ESP: 701

Professor Higgins

Due: July 3, 2018

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Running head: HOW WE CAN CHANGE NEGATIVE SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Gempler 1 (A)Current Educational Outcomes of Students with Disabilities (e.g., graduat graduation, ion, independence, employment)

There is extreme importance of educational interventions for the outcomes of individuals with disabilities. Without educational interventions, the likelihood of success decreases exponentially when there isn't support from parents, administration, teachers (A.K.A stakeholders). Students with disabilities need to be supported and shouldn’t be labeled as different or lesser than. In the novel, The The Short Bus, the Bus, the author, Jonathan Mooney, discusses his personal experience and others like him who have been labeled “disabled” and the repugnant way the education system and society views individuals who are labeled and seen only as “disabled”. For both Mooney and an individual named Bobby Glass, who Mooney met in the fall of 2000, both graduated from a University, but they both dropped out of sixth grade for some period of time (Mooney, 2018, p 2, 5). Students with disabilities have the potential to succeed and thrive, but when the support is not there, then graduation rates and employment drops because these students with disabilities believe they cannot succeed in society. Legal Mandates

The individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 1975 was developed so students with disabilities were protected and allowed to be educated in a public school setting (Mooney, 2008, p.17). According to the law under IDEA, “ (a) General . (1) Child with a disability means a child evaluated in accordance with §§300.304 through 300.311 as having mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this part as ‘‘emotional



Running head: HOW WE CAN CHANGE NEGATIVE SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Gempler 2 impairment, a specific learning disability, deaf-blindness, or multiple disabilities, and who, by reason thereof, needs special education” (NICHCY, 2011 p. 12A). However, Mooney elaborates how the education system still fails students with disabilities because segregated programs of special education were created, “Thrown together under the rubric of special education, these passengers [on the short bus] included kids with physical disabilities, disabilities, Down syndrome, learning disabilities, autism, as well as emotional problems. Special education and the short bus grouped together all these different students, expanding our culture’s definition of disabled” of disabled” (2008, p. 17). This displays how even though students with disabilities are protected by various laws, especially IDEA, it does not help the academic or social structure of how individuals with disabilities are perceived and treated. If students with disabilities are still put into a classroom setting, but are segregated by special education classes and transportation, students will be even more ostracized and lesser than. Even though laws protects students with disabilities, Mooney asks the question, but does it truly protect all aspects of the child, psychologically and emotionally? Or is it hurting students who are labeled as “disabled”? (B) Assessme Assessment nt and Instructional Practices Practices

When Mooney was in school, he felt major anxiety in school, which ultimately led him to drop out of school for a while in the sixth grade (Mooney, 2008, p. 2). Mooney also heard of similar stories about other students who were labeled “disabled” an d how they felt scared, embarrassed, and even helpless in school. An individual named Bobby Glass told Mooney about his experience with his disability and how he decided to give up on life because of the pressure



Running head: HOW WE CAN CHANGE NEGATIVE SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Gempler 3 anymore. This proves that when students are ostracized and labeled disabled, they feel hopeless and as if they do not matter. It is important that assessment and instructional practices meet the needs of students with disabilities, but in a way where they do not feel targeted or an outcast. Differentiated instruction, universal design for learning (UDL), and explicit instruction, are proven methods and resources in which teachers can create and implement lessons and curriculum where students feel safe and not pressured. Th e website for UDL, CAST, has free learning tools on their website to “help educators, e ducators, parents, and students experience the power of flexible learning environments” (UDL, 2018). All students, especially students with disabilities should be emerged in a safe space and never feel dumb or less than. Another method for creating a successful and safe student environment is through a foundational approach called explicit instruction; which is “a structured, systematic, and effective method of teaching academic skills. It is called explicit because it is an unambiguous and direct approach to teaching that includes both instructional design and delivery procedures…. Through a series of supports or scaffolds (Archer and Hughes, 2011, p.1). p .1). Students with disabilities, and all students for that matter, need to feel supported and be able to achieve their own standards and goals and not feel pressured to achieve unrealistic standards. (C)Collabor (C) Collaboration ation of Stakehol Stakeholders ders

Positive collaboration of stakeholders is imperative in student success; especially for students with disabilities. Mooney and Glass both did not feel supported when they were in school. They both felt ostracized and felt ashamed and it made them feel as if they did not



Running head: HOW WE CAN CHANGE NEGATIVE SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Gempler 4 Impact Work, discusses the importance of stakeholders coming together and collaborating through a “collective impact approach” in order to establish a positive and whole community where they can solve large-scale social problems. The article states that school organizations should follow 5 essential key conditions in order to achieve a successful collective impact approach, “Common Agenda, Shared Measurement, Mutually Reinforcing Activities, Continuous Communication, and Backbone Support Creating” (Hanleybrown, (Hanleybrown, Kania, & Kramer, 2012, p. 1). This article displays proven ways in which to truly achieve collaborative change. By instilling a positive collaboration of stakeholders, it will allow to change the dichotomy of the way the general public and school community sees sees and views students with with disabilities. It is imperative to have a school community who synergizes and works together to destigmatize the term “disabled” and to make sure students with disabilities are advocated for.

(D)Perspect (D) Perspectives ives of Individu Individuals als with Disabilit Disabilities ies

In the novel The Short Bus, the author illuminates about his personal experience about being labeled “disabled” and how there is a negative connotation with the word. The author had an extremely difficult time in school. During his time in school, he would hide in the bathroom during read aloud because he was afraid individuals would make fun of him (Mooney, 2008, p. 2). He also didn’t have support from various individuals in the school system; such as when his guidance counselor told him “people like me ended up flipping burgers” (2018, p. 2). Even with individuals not believing in him, he graduated from Brown University with an honors degree in literature and published a book. In order to change the social stigma of the word “disabled”, it is



Running head: HOW WE CAN CHANGE NEGATIVE SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Gempler 5 how students with disabilities are able to do any thing; for their ability does not define who they are. True change and a shift in societal views can be done by action through through laws, instructional practices, stakeholder support, and advocates of students who have a disability to show society that they are able and can accomplish anything!

Sources

Archer, A. L., & Hughes, C. A. (2011). Exploring the foundations of ex plicit instruction. Explicit Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching , 1-22. Retrieved from Webcampus: Module 4. (2018).

CAST. Principles of Universal Design for Learning (2018). Retrieved from Webcampus: Module 4. (2018).

Hanleybrown, F., Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2012).Channeling Change: Making collective impact work.

Mooney, J. (2008). The short bus: A journey beyond normal . Macmillan.

NICHCY. Key Changes in the Law and Regulations. Regulations. (2011). Retrieved from Webcampus: Module 2. (2018) http://nichcy.org/laws/idea/legacy/module2

esp 701 students w disabilities

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