Confronting Ableism - Individual Response

In the article "Confronting Ableism" by Thomas Hehir, much discussion is given as to how equal access for students with disabilities should function within education. Should deaf students be instructed solely through visual means? Should those with dyslexia not be given extra time to take tests? Clearly, these situations seem a little bit paradoxically, and luckily, with IDEA and other such legislation, the American Education system has made some progress in this regard by allowing students with disabilities to have appropriate accommodations. However, the author points out some problems, particularly one with family. If a student has a disability, they may not be able to receive appropriate services in their regional area, and to get appropriate services, they must be sent to a residential school, thereby disrupting normal family functioning. This doesn't seem quite fair, and to do something about it, perhaps something in legislation should change.

But more important these things, is how we not only confront, but approach out perspectives for children/students with disabilities. If a student is blind, we should accept this as a fact, not try to fix it. If a student has residual vision, then we should utilize that as best as possible to teach them to read. However, if their vision is diagnosed as getting progressively worse, then we should teach this student Braille as soon as possible so they can cope. In essence, don't try to make students with disabilities function the exact same as normally developing peers, sometimes it's more important to accommodate.