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Child Labeling

Decent Essays

Labeling is essentially giving an individual a diagnosis. These diagnosis include developmental delays, autism, and emotional disturbance, among others. Once an individual receives a diagnosis, they have the option to apply for resources that were otherwise unavailable. Although labeling is necessary to procure additional funding for school districts, this additional funding is not always used to benefit the individual needs of a child, but rather the needs as labeled by the disability. A label is only useful when it can procure specific intervention to enable a person to navigate in an environment effectively where the disability has otherwise made it difficult or impossible. When an individual is labeled as having a disability, they are …show more content…

This is detrimental to a person’s self-worth. When a student is removed from a class for special services, all who are present receive the message that a particular child is different. This child is not what society perceives as normal. Once a student’s peers receive this message, the student is often excluded from some activity or another among their peers. Lalvani (2015) states that “Some parents had negative views about labelling per se, articulating beliefs that the identification of a child with a disability alters perceptions of the child” (p.383). While most members of society have an internal knowledge that this is wrong, many are unable to move past the disability to truly get to know a child and welcome them into their lives. Often, people wrongly perceive that a disability defines a person instead of understanding that a disability is just one small part of a person’s characteristics. Especially in young children, a lack of education about a disability can often lead to exclusion of others. Understandably, some children are excluded simply because they do not behave according to societal norms, but many others are excluded beyond that due to the label that has been attached to …show more content…

When students are labeled as special ed, these individuals believe they are different in some way. As a whole, society follows the belief that any deviance from the norm is unacceptable. This belief causes students who are identified as needing special education services to believe there is something wrong with who they are as a person. Boyle and Lauchlan (2007) argue that people take comfort in labels because it confirms that nothing an individual has done change the outcome of the offenses committed by the individual. This in turn gives the individual, as well as educators, parents, and others the notion that it is acceptable to continue to exhibit the behaviors they are currently executing. When a person receives a diagnosis, or label, of any kind, expectations are often also received. These expectations can include characteristics of behavior, ability, and appearance. Simply put, when people are labeled, people are limited, both by oneself and

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