Eliminating Ableism in Education

Definitions of ableism: 

-Thomas Hehir defines ableism as "the devaluation of disability". This quote made me look differently at ableism and gave it more of a meaning. Ableism is not about the person who is being ableist, it is about the person who has a disability and feels the devaluation of the effects of ableism. 

-Rauscher and McClintock define ableism as "a pervasive system of discrimination and exclusion that oppresses people who have mental, emotional and physical disabliities...Deeply rooted beliefs about health, productivity, beauty, and the value of human life, perpetuated by the public and private media, combine to create an enviornment that is often hostile to those whose physical, mental, cognitive, and sensory abilities...fall out of the scope of what is currently defined as socially acceptable". 

Ableist Assumptions:

As an able bodied person navigating this world, I often take for grated what privileges come with being able-bodied. I found this able-bodied privilege checklist online and I checked almost every box. https://projecthumanities.asu.edu/able-bodied-privilege-checklist This list is a great way to check in with yourself and keep in mind the things able-bodied people take for granted daily. 

A thought I had while reading this article was where Hehir introduces Joe, who was born with disabilities and his able-bodied mom, Penny. Penny enrolled Joe into a preschool program for children with disabilities and quickly was discouraged when people around her insinuated that Joe would never be employed. This made me think about the show on Netflix, "Love on the Spectrum", where so many times parents of children with autism spectrum disorder were told their children would never be employed, talk, communicate effectively etc. and they defied those odds! The ableist assumption that people with disabilities can't achieve things that able-bodied people can is outrageous. It seems as though the send someone with a disability is born, we as a society have put them in a box and have said they have to stay in that box. 

Judy Heumann who was mentioned on page 2, was actually a member of the same sorority as me. Judy was a notable advocate and leader of the disabled community because of the experiences she faced as a wheelchair user at a very early age. She had contracted polio before the age of 5 and was ever denied the right to attend school as she was labeled "a fire hazard". I cannot imagine denying a child the right to an education just because they are a wheelchair user but this is real, it happened and I'm sure that it still happens in some capacity today. Penny wanted the same opportunities for her son who was disabled just like any other parent would wnat for their children who are not disabled. Education was important to Penny and she fought for her son and his rights to an "appropriate education". The school system was trying to put Joe in a box and Penny was not going to let that happen. 

I am sometimes guilty for ableist assumptions but I have a voice in my heads that lets me check my privilege and I am thankful for that.