Hi,
What both Gill and Johnson say about IEPs resonates with my
experience; but there was also an attitude that got to me, and which
might very well be termed 'the individualization of disability.'
The Scene: teachers, principal, PT, OT, and social worker, lined up
on one side of a long conference table; facing highly intimidated
single parent across the table, slowly slinking into a catatonic
slump, with each 'expert's' accusation that her child is deficient, a
'classic' example of some 4-syllable Latinate disease, a 'textbook
case' of desperate need of 'fix.'
Yeah, these shooting squads did individualize us (my son, who was not
invited, and myself, as parent who had failed) as having disabilities
that needed cure. Sure, the 'experts' were 'only thinking of what is
best for the child,' and were genuinely caring and kind as they set
out 'goals' to be achieved in the next six months. But there was no
getting 'round the fact that Lynn's disabilities were presented as
*his individual deficiencies*, and that it was *his responsibility*
(and mine and the teachers/therapists) to fix *his problem*.
As much as the Dis. Movement might argue against generalizations, and
demand that disabled persons be seen as unique individuals, here is
an instance where I would have preferred less personal (or at least
less damning) treatment.
In some ways, it was a good thing that Lynn was not included in these
IEP sessions. No one needs to listen to a litany of their 'problems'
presented in such a lopsided scene of power relations.
Dona M. Avery
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-0302
www.public.asu.edu/~donam
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