1 Labelling and rights Bailey (1998: 173):  ‘students with ADHD must be identified in order to receive the support they need to participate fully in the inclusive school …’

2 ‘If the curriculum and teaching approaches are to be investigated in detail to see how they can accommodate a diverse range of learning styles, this may necessitate an assessment of how different children learn best and what strategies can support their learning. This means recognizing that they have specific problems and confronting these as their individual needs.’ (Corbett, 2000: 164)

3 Hannah Arendt: there is an important difference between 'who' and 'what' we are; between:  'the unique and distinct identity of the agent' on the one hand (Arendt, 1958: 180)  the ‘qualities’ each individual ‘necessarily shares with others’ on the other (Arendt, 1958: 181). But can we maintain the division between ‘who’ and ‘what’ and public and private?

4 A difficulty: Felicity Armstrong: “Labelling is culturally produced and usually 'public' and therein lies its power” (Armstrong, 2000: 27). Iris Murdoch observes: 'The living and radical nature of language is something which we forget at our peril' (Murdoch, 1970/2003: 33).

5 Labelling, stereotyping and identity Black students within American universities are, Steele contends, constantly aware of 'the threat of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype, or the fear of doing something that would inadvertently confirm that stereotype' (Steele, 1999: 46).

6 The threat is constant because, for the black student, there is always:  ‘a jeopardy of double devaluation… that does not apply to whites. Like anyone, blacks risk devaluation for a particular incompetence, such as a failed test or a fumbled pronunciation. But they further risk that such performances will confirm the broader, racial inferiority they are suspected of’. (Steele, 1992: 74)

7 Applying the stereotype threat thesis Person classified as having 'learning difficulties carry a label which affects most of their other social identities, such as gender and social adulthood' (Davies & Jenkins, 1997: 95). Both the black student and the labelled learner can live under 'a jeopardy of double devaluation' (Steele, 1992: 74)

8 Ellison:  I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me … When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination – indeed, everything and anything except me. (Ellison, 1952/1997: 7)

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10 Between public and private space: A place without listening Here is a place of disaffection […] In a dim light: neither daylight Investing form with lucid stillness […] Nor darkness to purify the soul (Eliot, 1944/1979: 17)

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12 An oxymoron in current policy ‘Children and young people with special educational needs have a unique knowledge of their own needs and circumstances … They should feel confident that they will be listened to and that their views are valued’. (DfES, 2001: 27, 3:2)

13 References Arendt, H. (1958) The Human Condition (University of Chicago Press: Chicago) Armstrong, F. (2000) Space, Place and the Production of the Other: A Study of Difference, Disability and Policy Making in Education in England and France (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Sheffield) Bailey, J. (1998) Australia: Inclusion through categorisation? In: T. Booth & M. Ainscow (Eds.) From Them to Us: An international study of inclusion in education (Routledge: London) Corbett, J. (2000) Linking Theory with Practice, in: P. Clough & J. Corbett (Eds.) Theories of Inclusive Education: A Students’ Guide (London: Paul Chapman Publishing)

14 Department for Education and Skills (2001) Special educational needs code of practice (Nottinghamshire, DfES Publications). Eliot, T.S. (1944/1979) Four quartets (London, Faber). Ellison, R. (1952/1997) Invisible man (Harmondsworth, Penguin). Murdoch, I. (1970/2003) The sovereignty of good (London, Routledge).