Reading Response

A section in Chapter 13 of "Educational Equality for Students with Disablilities" by William L. Heward and Rodney A Cavanaugh discusses the term disablility and what makes a child disabled. They first compare higher skilled students with the lower ones and use the term "exponential", saying that it would be for either gifted students or lower level students.

Disability is said to be the loss of function in parts of one's body or organ. It is the impairment in these parts of a human that make them disabled. Many confuse a disability with a handicap but it is only considered a handicap if it has to do with educational or social purposes. The example Heward and Cavanaugh use is if a student has one arm and can still function well with their studies in school without support, they are not considered handicap.

On the other hand, handicap does refer to the the challenges these disabled students face in everyday situations. The example of the student with one arm shows that they may be handicap in an outside game but not necessarily in the classroom with their studies. Some students also experience these handicaps because of distractions in the classroom with other students. This prevents them from being able to accomplish their goals in school.

It is also explained that some children may be "at risk" of becoming handicap. This happens because of bad experiences with birth or the home environment. Doctors have been able to determine whether a mother is going to have a disabled child and labels it either "at risk" or "high risk". Not only does this happen with younger children but can happen as students get older and begin having a difficult time learning in school. The handicap placed on these students requires them to take special education classes to help get them to skill level necessary for their age group.

Whether a student is disabled or not, if they are getting the appropriate education they will be able to progress in the world with their studies. This handicap can be helped as long as the education is taught properly.