What are some draw backs to using the classification systems in developmental disabilities?

Question

What are some draw backs to using the classification systems in developmental disabilities?

Answer 1

The positive thing is a label can help you access more funding.

The negative is that a label can put a ceiling on what that person will be pushed to do. If they were tested and it was decided that they were at a grade 6 level and would probably never go beyond that, then they will never be challenged to strive for a higher level.

Answer 2

Labels do not give significant information, children with the same label do not have the same learning difficulties, learning styles and there are "stigmas" placed on the labels.

As a special education teacher who also taught regular education, I found that many of the teachers that have students with disabilities look at the label and make pre-conceived judgements about the students.

My son is an LD student and at every meeting I attend I get the same line, "he is not your typical LD student".  What the heck does that mean?  Is there such a thing ??

The label does not tell a teacher how to teach any student it is just a way to determine qualifications for special education.

Answer 3

a label closes the mind - it depersonalises the child and categorises the supposed condition. It may be a diagnosis close to the problem but not the real condition.

Answer 4

Labels work in both positive and negative ways.

It can also set back the label-less kid who is having problems. I somehow got through school without a label, but just barely. I always had problems understanding things (I need visual, not just auditory), but I was only said to not work up to my potential. In 4th grade I was placed in a self contained class, which was great, and I got the help I needed. Unfortunatly no one saw my issues, it was assumed I was "acting out" because I had been abused. We moved when i was in 5th grade, and I was dumped back into a regular ed class, and left to fend for myself. I would try to get extra help, but when I told the teacher I didn't understand something, they asked which part. To this day I still can't answer that question. If I didn't get something, go back to the beginning, but no one did. I always excelled in reading (scored perfect on my college entrance exam for reading comp and vocab), but never "understood" social studies, and until college, no math teacher ever explained things well enough for me.

My daughter (6.5 years) was recently diagnosed with autism, but I don't really see that as a downfall. As she goes through school, she'll be able to get extra help, and because autism includes expressive language problems, "I don't get it" will have to be enough for someone (including me) to figure out how to help her.

I think the label of ADHD, or general LD places restriction on the child. A child with ADHD is taught (maybe not directly), that their behavior can be excused because they forget their meds. IEPs don't contain many strengths. In one child's IEP, it stated "no visual prompting when giving a request." So if the teacher wanted the child to give her a toy, she could only speak to him. That's not fair. If the child needs a visual prompt to understand better, what's wrong with that? Some kids are never challanged because they're learning or developmentally slower than peers. Again with my daughter, being developmentally delayed doesn't excuse her from working to her highest potential. She may need a different environment, or different prompts, but she will do well in school, and so far still loves it.

Like I said, it works both ways.

Answer 5

It will sometimes create limitations, and labels that are perceived as restraining. It gives other kids a means to be cruel