03/02/2001

Disability: Is It Fashionable?

A reader recently sent me the following letter:

"For the past fifteen years or so, most every American seems to be rushing forward to claim he or she is suffering from the effects of abuse, dyslexia, poverty, a tough neighborhood, a dysfunctional family, drug or alcohol addiction, ad nauseam. Can anyone name a modern movie star who has not claimed one of these 'badges of honor?' It seems that in order to make people feel really good about themselves, they have to have overcome some alleged handicap.

"A lot of the stories about the handicaps suffered by movie stars or famous historical figures are pure conjecture. For example, there is no evidence that Leonardo De Vinci was Learning Disabled. The most often cited proof of this is his mirror writing. Actually, he purposely wrote in mirror writing so others could not copy his work.

"I feel," continued the reader, "that we diminish the true valor of people like Helen Keller and the handicaps she overcame, when we give everybody some kind of label or alleged handicapping condition. Ray Charles, too, had a true disability. Let's not ascribe disabilities to people we know nothing about simply because it makes them look more heroic. Yes, it is important to provide role models for our youth. But we need to keep a grip on it. One or two solid role models are much more important than diluting the field with almost every famous person. Just as behaviorism has made us give out a sticker for every tiny superficial thing a child does, we now make everyone since Adam and Eve the victim of some disability."

This letter is one of many I have received from people who think that too many children are being identified as handicapped and in need of special services in school. I have, in fact, met parents who fight for a specific diagnosis, such as Learning Disabled or Speech Impaired or even Autistic, if it means that their child will receive intensive one-on-one services from specialists. Such parents fear that their child will get lost in the pack and fall further behind peers, without such specialized intervention, even if evaluation results do not support the diagnosis they seek.

From my perspective, however, such parents are definitely in the minority. Our system of delivery of services to children with special needs has taken quantum leaps forward since the mid-1970s when federal legislation was passed that guarantees every child the right to a free and appropriate education within the least restrictive environment. Subsequent legislation has refined and defined terminology and specifications for identification of students with disabilities and delivery of appropriate services to them.

I worked for seven years with special needs preschoolers (infancy to age five), and I witnessed the remarkable gains most of them made when developmental disabilities were identified early and addressed through intensive services from speech, occupational or physical therapists, or from a child psychologist or special education teacher. Had such services been unavailable, these children would most likely have arrived at the schoolhouse door for kindergarten with severe disabilities, much more difficult to remedy after years of "wait and see" or "nothing can be done" messages to their parents during the preschool years.

One part of the message from the reader quoted above, however, is a poignant one. He makes a sad statement about our present culture if it is true that many children (or their parents) feel so invisible, so unrecognized, that they "put on" or claim some sort of disability, just to get noticed! Children want and need positive attention from adults and peers. But if they don't receive it, they prefer negative attention to no attention at all. Love me or hate me, but whatever you do, don't ignore me. Nothing feels worse than indifference.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.