Negative Self Esteem

People with a disability are in many ways othered within our society. Othering was expressed by Canales (2010) as, power within relationships for domination and subordination, with the potential consequences of being alienated, marginalized, decreased opportunities, internalized oppression, and excluded. Canales (2010) also suggested that “exclusionary othering is often influenced by the visibility of one's otherness and that these stigmatizing features that are immediately apparent, construct one's identity as other (p.19)… Their otherness is signified by their relational differences; when compared to the ‘ordinary’ and ‘natural’ attributes of persons perceived as socially acceptable (p.19)”.

In public schools across the United States, students with special needs are placed in self-contained and resource classrooms in an attempt to facilitate effective teaching and learning practices. However, for some students, the physical placement of self-contained classrooms in and of itself is cause for concern and can impede the learning process (Jones & Hensley, 2012). When students feel isolated or stigmatized by their school environment, their confidence and self-determination levels can be negatively impacted, thereby, diminishing academic progress.

Most people face self esteem problems at different levels. At some point in life people face this problem without realizing it. In the essay The Trouble with Self-Esteem written by Lauren Slater starts of by demonstrating a test. Self esteem test that determines whether you have a high self-esteem or low self-esteem. The question to be answered however is; what is the value and meaning of self-esteem? The trouble with self-esteem is that not everyone approaches it properly, taking a test or doing research based of a certain group of people is not the way to do so.

Starting as children, people are inclined to strive to be socially accepted. With social standards being very difficult to fit into, many people feel as though they do not belong to a set group of people; therefore, they tend to have a lower self esteem which causes them to act out. Being isolated causes one to feel a lack of confidence within themselves because him or her can feel as though they are not wanted and do not belong. This low sense of self esteem affects a person’s motivation and mental health. Social norms can cause people to feel alone and as though they have no one there for them. On the other hand, belonging to a community or a specific group can allow people to feel as though they have a support system, making them feel more confident in themselves and becoming better in their overall life. Feeling accepted and supported by people can increase intellectual activity and boost a person’s self esteem tremendously. Belonging and acceptance increase and decrease self esteem thus dictating a person’s behavior.

Over the course of this semester, I have come to the realization that above all, students with disabilities need to be treated with the respect and dignity that one would give any other child. This is why it is important to talk to and about people that have disabilities with “people first” language (Evans, Civil Rights Final Day, 9.17.16). This stems from the idea that a perceived disability is just one of a person’s many attributes. Students with disabilities are people that have individual abilities, interests, and needs. By using “people first” language, one emphasizes the importance of the individual over their diagnosed disability. According to The Arc, an organization that advocates for people with disabilities, “the language in a society used to refer to persons with disabilities shapes its beliefs and ideas about them” (The Arc, 2016). Using “people first” language not only ensures the person in question knows that they are valued, but it also helps set a precedent for the perception of people with disabilities in one’s environment. It also gives the student the opportunity to define his/herself, instead of being identified solely with their disability (The Arc, 2016).

I believe that people’s perception does play a role in the success of students with disabilities. It is human nature to stare, fear or ridicule people who appear or act different from what we consider to be normal. For students with physical handicaps or limitations, their self-image is very important to them. They get upset and sometimes depress because they can’t do certain things as other children can because

One major benefit that students can gain from being in an inclusion classroom is a heightened self-concept. “It is generally agreed that children who have learning problems and/or those who are behaviorally impaired often develop a poor self-concept.”(Dunn, 1963:113; Frostig and Horne, 1962: 11-12; Special Education in the Regular Classroom, 1969) One way that students can gain a better

If a group of disabled teenagers were at a youth centre and were having a group discussion, there may be one or a few who suffer from low self esteem due to their disability. They may feel they have

Because of a disability, a child may struggle to establish friendships leading them to feel isolated from their peers, this results in the child’s self-confidence being affected and the child struggling to manage their own feelings. As a result this can lead to feelings of depression, self-harm and mental health problems. By not managing their own emotions a child can then lack empathy and be pushed further aside from their peers. A child with a disability may be at a higher risk of being bullied.

The teacher can encourage this inclusion by teaching the students, parents, and other community members about negative stereotypical attitudes about students with disabilities by avoiding negative words, such as “disabled”, or “crippled”, or “handicapped” and to promote positive ideas about disabilities into class work, the student’s play time and other activities. To further ensure that the classroom is promoting equality for the child with the disability, the teacher should incorporate an inclusive curriculum mindset, by adapting the lessons, learning materials and classroom to suit the needs of all the different types of learners including the child with the disability within the classroom.

Society creates stigmas surrounding disability, for most disability is a binary compared to the normal. Cooper in her narrative struggles with self-worth as she tries to identify where her and her disability fit into the environment, which surrounds her. As Cooper states, “…I felt ashamed of my dyslexia. It was something that I would never tell my friends” (Cooper 3). Cooper does not garner any affirmation of her disability from those that surround her; therefore, she struggles with her self-worth.

Family members overwhelmingly expressed very positive views of their children with intellectual disabilities. Parents also reflected on the challenges of raising a child with a disability, however even when discussing the challenges that both they and their children had faced, parents also recognized that others may not view their children the same way that they do but what should be noticed regardless of their child's functional level, parents are proud and described a variety of

Students at a young age can have poor attitudes towards other students who are diagnosed with a learning disability or mental illness. This can end up causing problems with peer relationships, depression, low self-teem and others. In a recent study by Bellanca and Pote (2013) they did a study that focuses on children’s attitude towards ADHD, depression and learning disability. The children were exposed to vignettes describing another child who is either diagnosed with ADHD, depression, learning disability, or a child with no disability. After that they were asked to rate the amount of contact they have had with the child they chose. The children then had to complete a set of activities, answering questions to assess the cognitive perspective.

This paper explores the messages given by family members about persons with disabilities (PWDs) and how those messages impacted and shaped the author’s current views on disability. Some solutions are proposed by the author to move away from the aspects of stigma and towards positive self-awareness.

Individuals with low self-esteem often suffer from feelings of inferiority and depression. In these cases, academic success is certainly challenging. I reinforce this notion by paralleling with the social and emotional well-being of students with learning disabilities. Those that have had positive experiences both at school and at home do not necessarily suffer from low self-esteem. Support and guidance are key issues in maintaining good self-concept in these individuals. Focusing on skills other than those measured through academic evaluations allows students with learning disabilities to recognize their value and self-worth as a whole not just through academic performance. Justifiably, most do have a negative self-perception of their academic competencies, but still prove to have good self-esteem.