Speech : A Child With Autism

In order to share my personal philosophy of special education, the first priority is to explain the definition of disability that I am working from. In their book, Exceptional Learners, authors Hallahan, Kaufman, and Pullen define disability as an inability to do something, a diminished capacity to perform in a specific way; an impairment (2015, p.4). This definition is important because of the objective nature it presents for those with disabilities. Nowhere in the definition does it say how to treat people with disabilities, whether it is rude to stare, or to what degree a person should be pitied. The definition explains how a disability simply is an inability to do something. People with disabilities are people. They are normal. They simply have challenges

“There's nothing more debilitating about a disability than the way people treat you over it.”( Solange Nicole) In today's God abandoning society there are many people voicing about equality. There are feminists, those against racism, those against homophobia, and those opposed to everything. Each group seems to have people standing up for them. Although when it comes to a group of cripples there's not many that can do the standing. Ableism: Discrimination in favor of able-bodied people. While many people don't know that word, or do not believe such a thing exists, there are many things proving that it does. It is easy to get caught up in life and not realize the difficulties people have, especially ones that could be easily fixed, just by

I have personally used labels when referring to students with a disability, and know that is something we, as educators, should be at the forefront to dissipate. Many of us have used phrases like “the girl with Down syndrome,” or “the autistic boy,” but when we do that we are labeling that person has something wrong with them, or that they are largely different that other people. Jennie Fenton likened that thinking process as asking someone “When did you find out you were bald? What is is like being bald? Do you have problems getting a job? Do you live at your parents’ house, or do you live in a home for the bald?” (TEDTalks, 2014). This thought process resonated greatly within me. I would never think to ask these questions or even feel the need to ask them to a person whom has less hair than someone else. So, why would I think or treat someone with a disability differently, or even believe they should be segregated or excluded from every aspect life has to

People with disabilities have not been treated fairly in the past. I believe that that those with disabilities have been treated worse than the elderly. They were not allowed to go to school with the normal kids; they were not allowed to work at most jobs. They were teased and made fun of, sometimes there were rejected by their own families. When they were in the mental hospitals they were treated very harsh, they sometimes had to go through shock therapy. Even though they are different types of disabilities, if was something that was noticeable you were treated different, as if you did not belong.

Before doing the research on autism spectrum disorder I thought it was a disease, but not I know it’s a disorder. Autism has actually become a very common disorder and has also became well known. After my speech I hope to have given you guys a better understanding about this disorder so when you guys see the puzzled ribbon you have a clue of what it is.

Today’s society is different in its thinking when dealing with people with disabilities. There had to be many changes made in its labeling, and approach when dealing with people who may have physical/mental differences. The ostracize behavior that people were known to disturb in society has changed a great deal, due to the many federal laws that have been put in place to insure the well-being of people that have disabilities. In 1972, one very well-known case is Mill vs Board of Education of the District of Columbia this case address how the constituted rights of students were not being meet by not providing them with a public education.” Many disabled children had been excluded from public education prior to 1975,24 Congress, through the Act, sought initially to set up a process by which states would find children in need of educational services and bring them into the system”(Kotler, p.491,2014).

Individuals with disability have had a long history of maltreatment in America. From being thought of as possessed individuals in need of exorcism, targeted for heinous experiments, unknowingly sterilized, being labeled imbecile, feeble minded, and retarded, to being shipped off to state schools or mental asylums, those with disabilities were given no consideration as a valuable and able to contribute member of society. In a speech to congress, Frank Bowe, a highly educated deaf-man highlighted this claim by stating, “we are not even second-class citizens, we are third-class citizens” (Bowe, F. 1977--need citation), and Jim Cherry (2001) furthered the ideal in his words, that prior to “1970 we [disabled citizens] had no right to education, to employment, to transportation, to housing, or to voting. There were no civil rights laws for us, no federal advocacy grants. Few people looked beyond our medical needs” (Cherry, J.L, 2001 http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/0701/0701cov.htm). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 attempted to fundamentally change how disabled people were reguarded.

“Language Impairments in Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder” from the Journal of population therapeutics and clinical pharmacology

Nancy Mairs brings up points that are truly amazing to look back on from a perspective from 2016. Her entire essay boils down to one common statement: "Acheiving this integration, for disable and able-bodied people alike, requires that we insert disability daily into our field of vision: quietly, naturally, in the small and common scenes of our ordinary lives" (15). During this time, anyone who was different, was not even looked down upon, they were simply not looked at at all. Mairs talks about physical disabilities but this was a common theme from anyone who was different, whether you were homosexual, transender, or any other way one can be labeled "different." In today's world, being "different" is not only becoming more and more common, it is becoming appluaded through social media and the fear of being politically incorrect.

It is human nature to categorize and label people based on his or her own identity. In today’s society, people are generally labeled on a daily basis. Sometimes this can cause someone to feel superior or in some cases inferior to another individual. This can have lasting impacts on someone’s self esteem, personal identity, and ability to accept other’s differences. People with disabilities often tend to feel a sense of isolation from society due to their differences.

To eliminate bias and hatred against autistic or differently abled children and individuals, it is important to educate the masses about the endless possibilities autistic people are born with.

When discussed what, it means to be a discriminated or oppressed as an individual, especially a person with an intellectual disability, we must first look at the terminology and how it will be relatable for their circumstances. For discrimination, it is described as people or groups of people, which include race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, who are and continued to be defined as “other,” when they are perceived through “dominant” group values. These groups are treated in exclusionary ways, and subjected to all kinds of social injustice and economic inequality, (Anderson & Collins, 2013). In other words, persons with intellectual disabilities tend to be treated less favorable, or not given

It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, but our society today lacks to understand that. In today’s time different is not accepted, people that are different are discriminated, looked down upon and usually picked on. People with disabilities are seen as different creatures by most people, the disabled don’t choose to be the way they are, but still our society alienates them. There are different types of disabilities, some type of disabilities are; mental disability, physical disability, learning disability and socializing disability. These disabilities are seen as weakness in our society that hence contribute to the stereotype that leads to the discrimination against the disabled.

Over the years, perceptions towards disability have been significantly changing as result of the long pathway the disable community has taken fighting for Civil Rights, inclusion and against discrimination. Unfortunately, this last one has not been totally accomplished yet. Barriers to social integration still exist in the society. Perhaps the greatest barrier is not the disability itself; is the attitude of people.

Approximately 15% of the world’s population is, in a way, disabled. Whether it is a physical disability or a serious chronic disease, we have about one billion people in the world that live with a disability every day of their lives. It often occurs that these people are seen as an outcast of society; people that cannot live normal lives. It is important to realize that this is not true at all. People with disabilities are completely able to be part of the world. It is just the world’s duty to accept them.