was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law at the University of Melbourne
Australia 2/12/00 partly because of his lifelong interest in education of
deaf students. Are there any other disability activists who have received
honorary doctorates from any university?
In his acceptance speech Pierre made the following points. (I've edited out
extraneous material.)
>
> When you listen to me, some of you may have difficulty at first in
> understanding my speech. Having a profound deafness since birth, I was
therefore unable to learn to speak in the usual manner by listening and
reproducing speech of other people. Instead, I had to be taught by using
other special techniques which involve tactile and visual feedback, a slow
and tedious process. The quality of my speech is therefore somewhat
different from yours. However my English language skills are as good, or
perhaps even better than that of most of you !
> My formal education program as a child was twofold. First, from the age
of two years, I received at home from a teacher of deaf children, special
education in developing skills in language, speech and socialisation for
almost fifteen years. Secondly from the age of six years I attended a
regular school for thirteen years. During that period at school I
experienced a very wide range of societal responses as a person who was
perceived by others to be somewhat 'different'. These responses were both
positive and negative in nature. However, by the time I attended this
University in 1943 to do my BAgrSc I was better prepared in anticipating
such responses in the open community.
>
> Many persons have exercised a significant influence, both directly and
indirectly, on my life activities. Some were for the better, others for the
worse.
>
> When I was a student, there were no general provisions for interpreters,
note takers, teaching aides, or special equipment to assist students with
different forms of disabilities attending regular schools or further
education establishments. Nowadays these provisions are much more readily
available. My parents therefore incurred a financial burden in employing a
part-time teacher of deaf children for me, but they did not begrudge it.
>
> The term disability is a broad one and not easy to define. Essentially it
involves a deficit or an excess of one or more of the emotional,
physical, mental or sensorial functions usually possessed by most
individuals.
>
> An individual may become disabled anytime from before birth up to old
age, through illness, heredity or trauma. Also, a person may become the
parent of a disabled child. though much work has been done in terms of
prevention and cure of certain categories of disabilities, little appears
to be done in improving the societal responses towards persons with
disabilities. A small example: hearing aids are very effective for persons
with partial hearing deficit, but some refuse to wear them, simply because
what they feel is the associated social stigma!
>
> Throughout my life, particularly in the course of my varied academic and
professional career as a 'social scientist', I became increasingly aware of
how attitudes and behaviour of the general community towards the disabled
person could create unnecessary constraints on that person and which often
exceeded the additional constraints resulting directly from the disability
itself.
>
Research on the formation and modification of societal responses towards
disabilities is still a comparatively unexplored area. It is one which
necessarily involves an extensive range of disciplines. The aim of this
research would be to determine how negative attitudes and behaviour towards
disabilities and their owners can be reduced, or better still, eliminated.
Is such a possibility realistic? I think so! Others however may disagree.
>
> Margaret Cooper
> 7/24 Moorhouse Street,
> Armadale 3143
> tel/fax 03 9822 5506
____________________________________________________
Archives for the Disability-Research Discussion List
are now located at
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html
|