"Well, stupid is as stupid does..."
Up until the 1970's there wasn't much funding for special education. Then the flood gates of SpEd funding opened up. But to get funded for services you had to get labeled. Funding is attached to labeling. Most of the older special ed teachers say the label is farely useless otherwise, worse than useless, it is a negative for the human being who has to wear it.
There are general categories of mental disability that have meaning like very low intelligence, or behavioral/emotional or processing disorders. But there are people who have gone through years of labeling and relabeling as the brilliant professionals have been figuring it out. Some people have been Mentally Retarded, then Mentally disabled, then Significantly Limited Intellectual Capacity, then Behaviorally disturbed, then Learning Handicapped, then Learning Disabled, then Person with a Learning Disability, then ADD then ADHD, then Autistic.
That seems like a pretty stupid way to treat a kid, to me. The third grade teacher told me my youngest daughter was probably ADD and was a below average achiever. I began to tutor my kid at home and by the start of fourth grade she was tested by the Head of Denver University Educational Testing department... her math score was at the 9th grade 7th month achievement level by then. She had not missed out on any play time or extracurriculars during the time I was working with her. She is now a few years older and in all advanced placement classes. Is there a category called 'Teacher Disability'?
"Well, stupid is as stupid does..."
I have seen lots of kids labeled with Autism. The severe cases, unquestionably need services. Suddenly, they are everywhere. I've observed the family structure and Savage is right about some of those kids identified with mild autism. They use it as an excuse to act out, and their parents use it as a cover for neglect. |
