Aaate Ableism

A-Albrecht-4690.qxd 4/28/2005 7:30 PM Page 1 A ᨘ AAATE In religious and scientific paradigms, disability is an individual characteristic. The disabled individual See Association for the Advancement of bears primary responsibility for enduring or remedy- Assistive Technology. ing the disability through prayer in the religious paradigm or through medical intervention in the scientific paradigm. Although disabled persons are sometimes isolated from nondisabled persons, the dominant theme ᨘ ABLEISM in both religious and scientific traditions is that nondisabled persons should behave compassionately Ableism describes prejudicial attitudes and discri- toward disabled persons. From the civil rights perspec- minatory behaviors toward persons with a disability. tive, often called a minority oppression model, society Definitions of ableism hinge on one’s understanding creates disability by creating physical and social envi- of normal ability and the rights and benefits afforded ronments hostile to persons different from the majority to persons deemed normal. Some persons believe it is or “abled” culture. Ableism has become a term used ableism that prevents disabled people from partici- to describe “the set of assumptions and practices that pating in the social fabric of their communities, rather promote unequal treatment of people because of appar- than impairments in physical, mental, or emotional ent or assumed physical, mental, or behavioral differ- ability. Ableism includes attitudes and behaviors ema- ences” (Terry 1996:4–5). nating from individuals, communities, and institutions as well as from physical and social environments. MANIFESTATIONS OF ABLEISM HISTORY Discriminatory attitudes and practices that promote unequal treatment of disabled persons share many The term ableism evolved from the civil rights move- similarities with the discrimination against other minor- ments in the United States and Britain during the ity groups. Discrimination may be direct or indirect, 1960s and 1970s, but prejudice and discrimination legally or culturally encoded, based on scientific norms against persons with a disability has existed across the or based on false assumptions. Stereotyped notions globe and throughout history. During the civil rights era, of the minority group, whether chosen by an individual disability activists transformed religious and scientific or ascribed to an individual by others, may prevent understandings of disability into a political paradigm. members of the majority group from even perceiving 1 A-Albrecht-4690.qxd 4/28/2005 7:30 PM Page 2 2———Ableism individual characteristics. Common components of of these and similar acts in other nations is that they ableism include lowered expectations, normalization as cannot adequately protect persons from unspoken beneficence, limitations in self-determination, labeling, judgments of inadequacy that follow a person and eugenics. throughout childhood and adulthood. Ableism manifested by lowered expectations in Lowered Expectations education may be remedied in several ways. Hehir (2002) wrote at length about policies to reduce ableism Expectations refer to beliefs about probable future in schools. He asserted that children with learning dis- occurrences based on current observations. Expecta- abilities should have access to the rest of the curriculum tions of parents, teachers, employers, and others often even if evidence suggests that reading and writing will influence one’s self-concept and one’s achievement. always be weak. He proposes the elimination of poli- Research demonstrates correlations between high cies in which schools are allowed to a priori exclude the expectation and high achievement among students performance of children with disabilities from overall in elementary through higher educational settings, as school performance. Laws with this type of exclusion well as correlations between low expectation and low reinforce lower expectations, and consequently lower achievement. Moreover, research demonstrates that achievement, of children with disability. the younger the person, the stronger the influence of Ableism causing lowered expectation in employ- expectations held by others. The consequences of low ment is also pervasive across cultures. Especially in expectation are particularly pernicious when those capitalist economies, persons with disability are viewed forming expectations erroneously evaluate ability and as expensive labor or not suited for labor at all. The when they assume that low achievement in one perfor- inordinate focus on the characteristics of the disability mance domain automatically transfers to low achieve- to the exclusion of that which a person can do exacer- ment in other performance domains. For example, bates lower expectations and produces discrimination. children with speaking impairments are often erroneously assumed to have more difficulty learning than those who are easily understood. Normalization as Beneficence Two areas of lowered expectations receive spe- Ableism is manifest whenever people assume cial attention in the disability literature and in public that normal physical, mental, and emotional behavior policy: education and employment. Across continents, is beneficial regardless of a person’s actual physical, many nations prohibit certain forms of discrimina- mental, and emotional attributes. Especially when tion in educational and employment opportunity. In strong research evidence supports alternate conclu- the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities sions, the equating of normal with desirable may be Education Act (1975, 1997) requires schools to pro- harmful to disabled persons. For example, educators vide “free and appropriate education” for all students, and parents may assume that deaf children will better and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA; 1990) negotiate the hearing world with oral language than provides employment protections for qualifying with manual language (e.g., sign language). A large persons with disability. In Australia, the Disability body of research, however, demonstrates that deaf Discrimination Act (1992) supports nondiscrimination children make greater educational achievements when in education and training and the Disability Services manual, rather than verbal, language skills are empha- Act (1986) provides that a person with disability sized. Language provides organization for the acqui- has a right to achieve his or her individual capacity for sition and utilization of knowledge. It is therefore physical, social, emotional, and intellectual develop- logical that an emphasis of oral language over manual ment. In the United Kingdom, the Disability Discrim- language would be detrimental to most deaf children. ination Bill (1995) prohibits employer discrimination Normalization may be particularly noxious when per- against disabled persons in recruitment, employment sons without disability assume positions of power over conditions, training, and promotion. One limitation persons with disability. A-Albrecht-4690.qxd 4/28/2005 7:30 PM Page 3 Ableism———3 Limitations in Self-Determination implies inadequacy as a person. The social meaning of a classification often more strongly influences the Self-determination describes the right and the daily life of a labeled person than the characteristics responsibility of people to make decisions for them- that cause the person to meet the classification criteria. selves. Self-determination includes freedom to associ- When a label carries positive social meaning, the ate with whomever one chooses, authority to control labeled individual may experience expanded opportu- money owned by or used to purchase services for nities. When the label carries negative social meaning, oneself, autonomy to be the boss of one’s own life, opportunities often contract. The label “disabled” car- and assuming responsibility for the consequences of ries negative social meaning. In the United States, one’s decisions. Self-determination is an internationally the authors of the ADA recognized the seriousness endorsed value. The United Nations General Assembly of the negative consequences of being thought of as adopted the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” “disabled.” The ADA protects persons thought of as in 1948. This document affirms that the “recognition of “disabled” equally to persons who otherwise meet the the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable criteria for disability under the act. Few other countries rights of all members of the human family is the foun- have enacted laws to address disadvantage that results dation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” A from simply being called “disabled.” problem is that these inalienable rights have often been denied to disabled person. Ableism occurs whenever a Eugenics group of persons endorse self-determination among most group members but restrict or inhibit disabled Eugenics may be defined as development and persons from making basic life choices. Even when improvement of the human race. Eugenic methods legal codes establish the rights of disabled persons to include preventing persons deemed deviant and defec- exercise the same rights of self determination that are tive from being born, preventing persons born deviant afforded to abled persons, disabled persons often are or defective from reproducing, and isolating persons not able to exercise their rights to self-determination in deemed deviant and defective through institutionaliza- education, employment, transportation, housing,

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