Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman is the Founder and Executive Director of the School for Language and Communication Development (SLCD) in Glen Cove and Professor Emeritus at the Derner Institute for Advanced Psychology Studies at Adelphi University. She can be reached at 516-609-2000 and www.slcd.org.
There are a number of misconceptions concerning children with disabilities that need to be addressed. Firstly, children with developmental disabilities are not all the same; this is not a homogenous population. There is as much diversity within the disability population as there is within the typical community of learners. Secondly, just because a child does not understand you does not mean that there is “nothing going on” in his head. Thirdly, children with disabilities are different not deviant. They experience the world in a different way and therefore, have a different perspective. Finally, let us not project a value to this difference which results in a judgment of good, bad, normal, and/or abnormal.
The fact that children have disabilities does not mean that they cannot interact with and/or think about their environment. If you watch children with disabilities closely, you will observe not only their differences but all of the things that they can do. The reality is that they can do a lot. It is just that society has a very narrow perspective on how social behaviors are defined (i.e., appropriate or inappropriate). So if a child cannot give a specific answer to a specific question, then the score on the test is zero. There is very little time spent giving children credit for their social differences. Inside of every child is a person with an unique personality. There is no reason why we should all be the same, act the same, speak the same or think the same. Just as we give a tremendous amount of credit to artistic or gifted adults, we should do the same for children. We even provide interesting explanations about adults who are gifted and talented by making comments such as: “Well, he’s a math genius so he’s thinking about astrophysics and not paying attention to the rest of us.”
The point here is that individuals with disabilities have a great deal to offer society. You might ask: “Do individuals with disabilities have gifts and talents?” My answer to you would be: “Have you looked?” Yes, individuals with disabilities, even children, have special gifts and talents. We need to spend time in schools and at home searching for these skills and developing avenues for these abilities to flourish. Many people assume that individuals with disabilities “cannot do anything.” Society needs to realize that individuals with disabilities can contribute much more than they are being asked to do. As an employer, if you have the opportunity to work with a special education school that educates students with disabilities, I encourage you to do so. You will learn a great deal about yourself, you will provide your employees with an altruistic experience, and you will do a great deal to expand the philanthropic profile of your business within the community.
So, when you look at the four-year-old who has a disability, do not walk away – observe the child. There is somebody in there who will come out with the right intervention and the right teacher. Our schools provide comprehensive special education services which seek to develop and maximize the potential of every child, but even with this, we need to set aside existing prejudices about individuals with disabilities. They are not all the same. They have skills and abilities as well as special talents just like the rest of us.
