Special Education programs are designed to help disabled students learn in a comfortable and niche environment. However, there are many problems that arise with them. The very first problem with these program lies in the name itself, specifically the term “special”. This term creates negative implications for the disabled population. The word “special” is commonly used to sugar-coat segregation and societal exclusion.” In fact, it is non-inclusive, discriminatory language that is based on the medical model of disability. It considers disabled students as needing “special” education. In doing so, it aggregates disabled persons into one group, despite the differences and diversity that they may possess. It is clear to me that segregation creates many divides rather than creating collective efforts to achieve collective liberation, a key principle of disability justice. Rather than people coming together and collaboratively moving forward, language like “special” categorizes the disabled population as separate and exotic. Thus, segregation creates a misrepresentation of who these people actually are, and this plagues their lives and even the lives of those around them.

Segregation is an extreme problem; however, there is a solution that can overcome these issues. Inclusion can help accelerate the path towards disability justice by emphasizing the importance of intersectionality and diversity. People often believe that Special Education is a form of inclusion, but it falls short. Instead, it is a form of integration. The difference can be explained in the behaviors of schools. In schools, special education programs are within school systems, but the kids are still grouped together and isolated from their nondisabled peers. Inclusion means that all students work and learn together regardless of their ability status. Until full inclusivity can be established, special education programs are exacerbating these challenges even more. In the near future, it is imperative that educators redesign these programs and school systems overall to be more inclusive to students of all identities.

When most people hear the word “Disability,” they likely think about it in a medical context. They might see it as a medical disorder, illness, or impairment. While these things are technically true (in their naming), disability often goes overlooked by many institutions, particularly schools. Schools generally have different resources for disabled students, but these often are problematic as well. Disabled students are thus often put at a disadvantage in school settings.

This paragraph is how disability is commonly viewed and expressed as. It is one that relies on the medical model of disability. That is, the impairments and disorders of these individuals create disadvantages for them. However, a contrasting view – social model of disability – states that it is often society that creates disadvantages for persons regardless of their (dis)ability. In talking about the social model of disability, I will be explaining various examples of disability can actually be created for those without disabilities. As a student without a disability, I typically go about my day without facing any noticeable restrictions on my ability to learn. However, when I dive deeper into this idea, I think about various moments where my ability to learn was severely impacted. For example, sitting in the back of a classroom with a professor who speaks faintly and quickly makes it harder for me to hear than those sitting up in the front. This difference in perceiving audio created disability for me. Another example is sitting in a super bright classroom when I’m having a severe migraine. In this instance, I am unable to concentrate and do not pick up on important information. In these cases, it was design components of classes and instructors that hindered my ability to learn. Likewise, these issues exist for disabled students as well.

A physically disabled student might experience a similar hearing issue as me. A neurodivergent student might experience a similar lighting issue as me. Again, in these cases, the design is creating disability. In fact, it is increasingly common that the design of classrooms and components of instruction exacerbate disability for all students. This is partly due to the fact that many people still adopt the medical model of disability, resulting in solutions that focusing on fixing a specific impairment. Using a social model, we might create more inclusive solutions that focus on multiple parts and intersectionality of different abilities. This means perhaps providing a variety of solutions to various challenges – providing a recording with subtitles of presentations for those struggling to hear, having different lightings in classrooms, etc. Ultimately, educators need to begin considering all forms of disability and access in order to create equal opportunities for all.

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