Attitude, Legislation and Litigation towards Students with Disabilities
Attitude, Legislation and Litigation towards Students with Disabilities
Grand Canyon University: SPE-226
September 15, 2013
Attitude, Legislation and Litigation towards Students with Disabilities Understanding of children and adults with learning disabilities has come full circle but has a long way to do to fully reach every individual. In the 4th century the great philosopher Aristotle wrote,” As to the exposure and rearing of children, let there be a law that no deformed child shall live…” (Hardman, Drew, & Egar, 2011) While this seems brutal, for the times it was quite common. Even modern era societal groups like the Nazis in the 1940s had “cleansing programs,” were thousands of people with various disabilities were deemed useless and simply put to death like dogs and cats. (Friedlander, 2012) Today we as a society try to better understand the trials of people with disabilites and help them to succeed in schools. Federal groups like Individuals with disabilities Education Act(IDEA) and the Americans with Disablilites Act(ADA) have pushed our thinking and laws to the future. Although there is a lot more that needs to be done we are moving in the right direction.
A Sad Beginning
As mentioned above there was not just a prejudice and fear but a man hunt for people who suffered any kind of discernible disability. In ancient Rome and Greece children with disabilities were viewed as signs of weakness and shame. These children were put to death or abandoned, considered a burden on society and humanity. There were ancient societies that did not believe in this process but they were not the majority. The 20th century saw an increase in help for students with disabilities but there was a contradiction in the approach to this help. There was blame placed on the parents for breeding a genetically inferior human and putting the financial burden on the government for their mistake. Fear of these deficiencies spreading lead to a restriction on
Grand Canyon University: SPE-226
September 15, 2013
Attitude, Legislation and Litigation towards Students with Disabilities Understanding of children and adults with learning disabilities has come full circle but has a long way to do to fully reach every individual. In the 4th century the great philosopher Aristotle wrote,” As to the exposure and rearing of children, let there be a law that no deformed child shall live…” (Hardman, Drew, & Egar, 2011) While this seems brutal, for the times it was quite common. Even modern era societal groups like the Nazis in the 1940s had “cleansing programs,” were thousands of people with various disabilities were deemed useless and simply put to death like dogs and cats. (Friedlander, 2012) Today we as a society try to better understand the trials of people with disabilites and help them to succeed in schools. Federal groups like Individuals with disabilities Education Act(IDEA) and the Americans with Disablilites Act(ADA) have pushed our thinking and laws to the future. Although there is a lot more that needs to be done we are moving in the right direction.
A Sad Beginning
As mentioned above there was not just a prejudice and fear but a man hunt for people who suffered any kind of discernible disability. In ancient Rome and Greece children with disabilities were viewed as signs of weakness and shame. These children were put to death or abandoned, considered a burden on society and humanity. There were ancient societies that did not believe in this process but they were not the majority. The 20th century saw an increase in help for students with disabilities but there was a contradiction in the approach to this help. There was blame placed on the parents for breeding a genetically inferior human and putting the financial burden on the government for their mistake. Fear of these deficiencies spreading lead to a restriction on
References: Friedlander, H. (2012, September). The Origins of Nazi Genocide: From Euthonasia to the final solution. Retrieved from Holocaust;Non-Jewsih Victims: http://www.holocaustforgotten.com/NewsDisabled.htm (2011). Understanding Exceptionalities in the 21st Century. In M. Hardman, C. J. Drew, & M. W. Egar, Human Exceptionality School, Comunity ad Family (p. 4-6). Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning .