General labels tend to obscure objective realities upon which disability rights are based and can deny individuals with disabilities their educational and civil rights. Undoubtedly, stigma can come from labels unnecessarily categorizing people into separate groups. However, stigma does not reside primarily in disability categories/terms but in…

One prominent change in the amendment to the Special Education Law in the State of Israel (2018) concerns the dissolution of placement committees and their transformation into characterization and eligibility committees. These characterization and eligibility committees determine children's eligibility for special education, whereas parents decide…

Even with increased efforts to close the academic gap by providing appropriate services to students with disabilities, there is still a gap in outcomes that requires identification of possible contributing factors. One often hypothesized mechanism for these continued disparities is the stigma associated with disability categorization or…

American Indian or Alaska Native children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at later ages than Non-Hispanic White children. Other than being included in prevalence studies, in the last thirty years, there has been less than a handful of studies that have looked specifically at Autism Spectrum Disorder within the AI/AN community. No…

Many individuals who experience psychological, interpersonal, and social distress do not seek help. Deaf and hard of hearing individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary language face additional barriers, such as communication inaccessibility, stigma, and prejudice, which can further impede help-seeking. The purpose of this…

Black parents of young adults with high incidence disabilities provide salient support to their children during and after postsecondary planning processes in high school. These parents serve a vital role concerning their child with high incidence disabilities' postsecondary planning processes. School counselors are well-positioned as social…

The present contribution discusses the legislation referring to persons diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). From international documents (The Charter for Persons with Autism, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), to national legislation (The Law on Autism, The Methodological Norms for Applying the Law on…

Through the juxtaposition of 2 recent Supreme Court actions--"Allston v. Lower Merion County School District" (2015) and "Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District" (2017)--this article argues that special education is a neoliberal property that works to recruit disability through scientific-juridical qualifications of…

Athletes with learning disabilities have had a difficult time being included in the Paralympics. They have faced a lot of discrimination, including from other disabled athletes, and just when they were finally included (at the Sydney games in 2000), the Spanish Basketball team cheated by having players on their team who did not have learning…

This paper attempts to illuminate a central concept and idea in special education discourse, namely, "special needs". It analyses philosophically what needs are and on what grounds they are defined as "special" or "exceptional". It also discusses whether sorting needs into ordinary and special is discriminatory. It is argued that individualistic…

Drawing on the insights of critical disability studies, this article addresses anxieties frequently articulated by academic staff around the implementation of the United Kingdom's Disability Discrimination Act: how to accommodate the needs of students with "hidden" impairments. Following the social model of disability, it argues that…

Presents the results of a study of English and Nigerian adolescents' conceptions of the causes, effects, rehabilitation, and interaction of handicaps. Cognitive maturity (related to age) proved to be the greatest factor influencing accuracy of perception. Samples of questions and anecdotes are included. (JDH)

Investigates how disability is discovered, constructed, and performed in a certain type of cultural practice, that is, in a postmodern, undergraduate college classroom. Argues that the implementation of an autobiographical pedagogy must extend beyond the dimensions of race, gender, and sexuality and must include disabled persons in these…

Prior to the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 (PL 94-142), the educational experience of disabled children and youth was varied and uncertain. Many children and youth with sensory, physical or cognitive impairments received minimal skill development training in institutions, separate day classes, church basements…

Examines how variables of age, sex, nationality, and attitude toward the disabled affected the understanding level of 306 British and Nigerian adolescents concerning disability effects. Indicates age is the most important factor for comprehensive understanding, with girls achieving a more mature understanding level; neither nationality or attitude…