Handicapped, disabled, or exceptional: Terminological issues
โ Scribed by Marcia D. Horne
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1988
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 224 KB
- Volume
- 25
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0033-3085
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
โฆ Synopsis
Westfield State College
Often the terms "disabled," "handicapped," and "exceptional" are used interchangeably to describe individuals eligible for special education services. The term "exceptional" is the most preferable of the three because the other two can lead to negative attitudes toward individuals so labeled.
Various generic terms are used by parents, teachers, teacher-educators, researchers, psychologists, and other professionals to describe traditional categories of individuals (e.g., mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, visually impaired, learning disabled) eligible for special education services. The most widely used of these terms are "disabled," "handicapped," and "exceptional." But even though these three terms often are used interchangeably, they denote and connote different meanings. Terminology must be considered carefully because labels may affect the attitudes of parents, professionals, and peers toward labeled individuals. Furthermore, persons labeled with these terms may feel personally devalued by virtue of the potentially lesser status conveyed by a particular label. At times it is necessary to label individuals (e.g., to obtain special services or funding), but care should be exercised lest the terms convey unintended, and perhaps even potentially damaging, meanings. If "disabled" and "handicapped" are used, they should be used appropriately.
DISA~ILITY vs. HANDICAP
The terms "disability" and "handicap" were defined by Kelly and Vergason (1 978)
๐ SIMILAR VOLUMES