Putting people first By Traci Ratliff

Training objective Learners today will acquire knowledge and skills to treat people with disabilities in a more ethical and valued manner.

Make your own list Take a moment and write out a list of your physical and mental features. Put the qualities and features about yourself that you like and that you don’t like. Example: Red hair, freckles, near sighted, arthritic, fast typist, quick learner, asthmatic, fast talker, bad knees, blue eyes

Now ask yourself . . . Which physical and/or mental feature is the worst? Put a star by it. Example: Red hair Freckles Near sighted Arthritic Fast typist Quick learner Asthmatic Fast talker Bad knees Blue eyes

Fill in the Blank I’m not one to use fill in the blank much in the classroom; however, here it seems to fit. Using the word you starred in your list to fill in the blank, complete the sentence below: “She’s the new ______________ teacher on campus.” Example: “She’s the new asthmatic teacher on campus.”

How did that feel? Being known for our physical or mental features isn’t the best way to truly describe who you are. And yet, this happens to students in our schools every day. And I’m not talking by other students. I’m referring to adults. Too often I’ve heard references in schools such as: the autistic kid, the OHI’s (Other Health Impairment), the blind girl, the Down’s boy, the quadriplegic and other similar statements. Well – that’s what’s wrong with them, so isn’t that ok?

And if you haven’t heard those. . . Have you ever heard someone say, “Ugh, these special ed kids!” Would you appreciate having that label? Would you appreciate your child having that label?

More than just a few students . . . In the US and Puerto Rico, there are 5.4 million children with disabilities, ages three to twenty-one years, being served by federal programs. This is a breakdown of those children’s specific needs: Kraus, Stoddard, & Gilmartin (1996)

It starts with what we think Thoughts are things that grow and define. Our attitude develops and starts with what we think and what we say. If we continue to identify people by a diagnosis, then we are perpetuating inappropriate stereotypes and attitudes towards a group of people who have been and continue to be disparaged in society. And these simple sounding words can ruin human lives. Snow (2006)

Thoughts are things Mahatma Gandhi said, “Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.”

Sticks and Stones The first form of diminishing the value of another human being is with words. Especially when those words are used to make a person feel unaccepted, different, and not normal. This opens the door to discrimination and prejudiced. Our attitudes are shaped by our language and our language is a maker of our actions and values. Snow (2009) Will your words break bones?

In The News Do you think the news affects us in this arena? In November, the headlines on NBC US News from an article by Viongrad and Connor (2014) reads: Jillian McCabe Accused of Throwing Autistic Son Off Oregon Bridge. Think about it. What picture did that paint in your mind? Did you think of an unruly, screaming boy and a poor mother who could no longer take dealing with autism? What about the boy? Do you think if the phrase had been boy with autism that you would’ve perceived it differently? What if they left out the word altogether? How would that change the picture this headline brings to your brain?

We’re Being Fed a biased viewpoint News reporters are there to sell to the viewers. That’s the number one priority of their company. As a society, much of what we understand about our world and our community comes from our nightly news. And unfortunately, treating people with respect does not sell. So, we have children hearing terms such as handicapped, disabled, and even retarded. Thus, promoting this bias and these negative words, which become actions. Tobin (2011)

Has this really had any effect? Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Centers (2013) says children with developmental disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied than their peers who lack disabilities. According to the National Autistic Society, 40% of children with autism and 60% of children with Asperger’s syndrome have experienced bullying. These high numbers are from decades of people with disabilities as less than people.

What do you think this does to them? “Children and youth with LD report more symptoms of depression and anxiety and greater loneliness.” Mishna (2003) How can our self esteem build or our confidence grow if we always hear ourselves described as our disability?

So? What do we say? Are there better words that some people know about but don’t share? How do we think differently about this? These questions are the first step to realization that there’s a problem when good people with good intentions are using the wrong phrases to describe the children that they teach. As for the answer – that’s simple . . .

People first language! In your speaking patterns, put the person first! Make sure you refer to people the way they wish to be referred to and not how you observe their physical disabilities. It makes all the difference! I know I don’t want to be called the asthmatic teacher!”

Snow (2006) recommends these:

Turning it around When I first started this journey almost ten years ago, I thought it seemed silly just to rephrase the words. People knew what I meant and I wasn’t a bad or even negative person, so why should it matter – right? And then a change began…

The change When I first started using people first language, the change I noticed wasn’t in my students or my colleagues, but in me. My personal experience is that it felt like I could connect better to my students with special needs. I could see them and not their diagnosis. For indeed, they are so much more than that. I even reached a point where I cringed (and still do) when I hear disability first language. I try to gently educate where I can and politely help others see the difference without pushing it on them. This has brought my awareness of the easy harm we can cause when we are not thinking. This practice (and it does take practice!) gave me new eyes to see those I know and those I teach with disabilities. I now see amazing people.

Thank You # 1 And the best part of all – I received a thank you from my brother. He informed me that he didn’t even know he had quadriplegia. He didn’t realize that was a word. He had become the quad or quadriplegic. He thanked me and grinned a huge grin. That alone made my behavioral change worth it.

A student’s new eyes I then found a student who had never heard autism before. He knew he was the autistic in his family and at school. When we were discussing his autism one day at his behest, he asked me why I never called him, “the autistic.” I smiled and replied, “You have autism. It doesn’t have you.” His eyes lit up as he stood straight up a little straighter and repeated me. I heard him say it several times after that. Always with a huge grin and standing what looked like a little taller.

Did We meet our objective? Learners today will acquire knowledge and skills to treat people with disabilities in a more ethical and valued manner. I hope you will practice using the words and phrases shared. Making people feel valued can be as simple as starting with their name.

References Kraus, L., Stoddard, S., & Gilmartin, D. (1996). Access to Disability Data: Chartbook on Disability in the U.S. Retrieved from National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research website: http://www.infouse.com/disabilitydata/disability/4_5.php Mahatma Gandhi Quotes. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/50584- your-beliefs-become-your-thoughts-your-thoughts-become-your-words Mishna, F. (2003). Learning Disabilities and Bullying: Double Jeopardy. Journal of Learning Disabilities. doi:10.1177/00222194030360040501 Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center. (2013). Media Kit - Bullying Statistics - National Bullying Prevention Center. Retrieved from http://www.pacer.org/bullying/about/media-kit/stats.asp

rEFERENCES Snow, K. (2002). Disability is natural. Retrieved from http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/images/PDF/specneed.pdf Snow, K. (2006). A few words about people first language. Retrieved from http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/images/PDF/pfl-sh09.pdf Snow, K. (2009). Disability is natural. Retrieved from www.disabilityisnatural.com/explore/people-first- language Tobin, M. (2011, May 23). Put me first: The importance of person-first language | Virginia Commonwealth University Training and Technical Assistance Center Newsletter. Retrieved from http://www.ttacnews.vcu.edu/2011/05/put-me-first-the-importance-of-person-first-language/ Vinograd, C., & Connor, T. (2014, November 4). Jillian McCabe Accused of Throwing Autistic Son Off Oregon Bridge - NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jillian-mccabe-accused-throwing-autistic- son-oregon-bridge-n240606