Reflections on Growing up Disabled. INSTITUTION ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children, Reston, Va
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 228 794 EC 151 648 AUTHOR Jones, Reginald.L., Ed. TITLE Reflections on Growing Up Disabled. INSTITUTION ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children, Reston, Va. SPONS.AGENCY National Inst. of Education (ED), Washington, DC. iiEPORT NO ISBN-0T86586-134-X PUB DATE 83 CONTRACT 400-81-0031 NOTE 112p. AVAILABLE FROMThe Council for Exceptional Children, Publication Sales, 1920 Associatfon Dr., Reston, VA (Publication No. 258-, $7.50). P6 TYPE Collected Works General (020) -- Books (010) Viewpoints (120) EDRS PRICE' MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCMPTORS *Attitudes; *Disabilities; Parent Attitudes; Perscinal Narratives; Student Attitudes ABSTRACT The book offers firsthared accounts of the experiences and perceptions of disabled per?,ons,, as well as the views of parents of disabled children. Entries include the following titles: "Reflections of Disabled Children" (J. Umbreit and D. Baker); "The Handicap That Had No Name" (D. Brown); "Orthopedically Disabled: Determination on Wheels" (D. Lattin); "I'm a Person, got a Wheelchair! Problems of Disabled Adolescents" (M- Winterand D. DeSimone); "Plunged,into the Mainstream" (S. Hofmann). "Loss of Hearing: Coping with a New,Reality" (Z. Coleman);Wile Deaf: *Handicapped by Public Ignorance"(id. Jacobs); "Blindness; Disability or Nuisance?" (K. Jernigan); "Parents and Professionals: Irrational Assumptions in Their Communications" (B.- Greer arid B. Galtelli); abd "Parents, Practices; and Attitudes: The Distance Traveled" (K. Morton).(SW) ************************************************************************ 7Reproductions'supplied by-EDRS are the best that can be. made . * from the original document. **************i*****************i************************************** Reflections on Growing Up Disabled Edited by Reginald L. Jones US. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER, LERICI relhis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have bean made to improve rrproduction quality Points of view,or opiroons stated in this docu ment do not necessanly represent officialNIE position or polrcy '` s, ,e A product of the ,EitHe Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children ERIC The Council for Exceptional Children Libratt-of çonveu Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry. derAtitle: Refleclions onrowing up disabled. Bibliography: p. 1. Handkappeti childrenAddresses, essays, lectures. 2. Handicapped childrenBiographYAddresses, essays, lectures. I. Jones, Reginald L. 11. ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children. HV888,R43 1983 362.4'092'2 [131 8249823 ISBN 0-86586-134-X A product of the ERIC Cleatinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children. Published in 1983 by The Council forExceptional Children, 1920 AsSociation Drive, Reston, Virginia =091-1589 Development of this publication was supported by the National Support Systems Project, under a grant from the Division of Personnel Preparation, Bureau of Education for the Handicapped. US Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The points of view expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the US Office of Education, and no official endorsement by the US Office of Education should be inferred. The material in this publication was prepared pursuant to contract no. 400.81-0031 with the Nationid lastitute of Education, U.S. Department of Education. Contractors undertaking such projects under Government.sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgment in professional and technical matters. Prior to publication, the manuscript was critically reviewed for determination of professional quality. Points of vieiv or opinions, however, do not necessarily represent the official view or opinions of either the clearinghouse's parent organization or the National Institute of Education. Printed in the United States of Arnotlica Contents Contributors vi Foreword - Maynard C. Reynolds - vii Preface Reginald L. Jones 1. Reflections of Disabled Children 1 John Umbreit and Dixie BrannerBaker, 2. The Handicap That Had No Name 5 Dale Brown 3. Orthopedically Disabled: Determination on Wheels 17 Diane Lattin 4. I'm A Person, Not A Wheelchair! Problems of - DisabledAdolescents 27 Michael Winter and Dorothy DeSimone 5. Plunged into the Mainstream Stephen,Hofmann 6. Loss of Hearing: Coping with a New Reality, 42 Zannet Coleman The Deaf: Handicapped by Public Ignorance 50 Leo M. Jacobs' 8. Blindness: Disability or Nuisance? 58 Kenneth Jernigan 9. Parents and Professionals: Irrational Assumptions in Their Communications 68 Bobby G: Greer and Barbara Galtelli 10. Parent:4, Practices, and Attitudes: The Distance Traveled 79 Kathryn A. (Gorham) Morton Bibliography 90 The Council for Exceptional Children Founded in 1922, The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is a professional association committed to advancing the education of exceptional children and youth, both gifted and handicapped. ('EC, with 50,000 members, supports every child's right to an appropriate education and seeks to influence local, state, and federal legislation relating to handicapped and gifted children. CEC conducts conventions.and conferences and maintains an information center with computer search services and an outstanding collection of special education literature. In addition to its membership periodicals,Exceptional Childrenand TEACHING Exceptional Children, CEChas a publications list of 75 titles including, monographs, texts, workshop kits, films, and filmstrips. Council Headquarters are at 1920 Association Drive, Reston, Virginia '22091. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children The ERI(' Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children (ERIC-EC) is one of 16 clearinghouses in a national information system funded by the National Institute of Education, U.S. Department of Education. Since 1966, ERIC-EC has been housed with The Council for Exceptional Children. ERIC-EC collects, abstracts, and indexes special education documents and journals for the central ERIC database as well as for its own computer file and publications. Other activities include computer searches, search re- prints, and publications. Address inquiries to the ERIC Clearinghouse at 1920 Association Drive, Reston, Virginia 22091.. Iv Contributors Dixie Branner Baker,at the time of writing, Was Assistant Director of State Education Agency Relations, National Information Center for Special Education Materials, C:niversity of Southern California, Los Angeles. 1/ale Brownis Public Information Specialist, President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, andfounder, National Network of Learning Disabled Adults. Zannet Coleman iInstructional (7ounselor,talifornia School foi the .Deaf at Fremont. Don't/1y DeSimoneis a retired rehabilitation counselor and paralegal advocate, ('enter for. Independent Living, Berkeley, California. Barbara B. Galtelliis Special Education Supervisor, Crittenden County Special Education Cooperative, Marion, Arkansas. Bobby G. Greeris Professor, Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Memphis State University, .Tennessee. Stephen Hofmann,at the time of writing, was educational consultant to parents of disabled children,Berkeley, California. Leo'M. JacobsiA a retired coordinator of continuing and community klucation for the deaf in the San Francisco Bay Metropolitan area and instructor at the California School for the Deaf at Berkeley. Kenneth Jerniganis Executive Director, American Brotherhood for 'the. Blind, and Director, Natinnal Center for the Blind,Baltimore, Maryland. Reginald L. Jonesis Professor,' Department of Afro-American Stud- ies, University of California, Berkeley Dia,ne Lattinis a retired member.of the President's (7ommittee on EMployment of the Handicapped, and editor,Disabled, USA. alvelateKathryn A. (Gorham) Mortonwas Director, Family .and ('ommunity Services, Montgomery County, Maryland, Association for Retarded Citizens, Ink'. , John Umbreitis Professor, Department of Special Education, College nf Education, University of Arizona, 'Meson. Michael Winteris Executive Director, ('enter for IndependentLiv- ing, Inc., Berkeley, California. Foreword An argument once occurred over hAto implement the United States' "Good Neighbor" policy toward Latin America. Should we send to our southern neighbors people with correct attitudes whman articulate our intentions? Or would it be better to have emissaries who know how to dig wells, improve agriculture, and control infectious diseases? Would it be better to express neighborliness through attitudes.or prac- tical means? The answer, probably, is both; that is, we should be aware of our attitudes and able to articulate them and (if the same time, we should be able to express them directly in all forms of behavior. An attit'ude is a general predisposition that characterizes the way we approach or avoid situations or people. Attitudes can be problems or intportant assets; they can be helpful or hurtful; they,can be rigid or changeable. Often, when a major change takes place in social policy, people's attitudes must be changed or the policy cannot succeed. In 1975, the year Public Law 94-142 (the 1975 Education for All HandicaPped ('hildren Act) was passed by the U.S. Congress, Dr. Edwin W. Martin, then Deputy Commissioner of Education and Direc- tor of thy Bureau of Education for the Handicapped in the U.S. Office of Education, stressedthe importance of attitudes toward handicapped