#SayTheWordDisability

In the last few years this hashtag has come to represent a movement that is gaining traction from people with disabilities across the globe. #ThingsDisabledPeopleKnow or #SayTheWordDisabled are becoming hallmarks of pride and unity for people with disabilities. Social networks offer a platform for people to share their experiences of living with a disability. This one in particular represents annoyances people with disabilities experience which might never occur to other people. The #SayTheWordDisabled movement has helped people break the barrier and challenge stereotypes instead of hiding behind euphuisms like “special needs” that often mask unconscious biases created by people who don’t have disabilities.

If we are to be successful in serving all of students with equity, we must actively build excellent instruction within a culture where all of our children cherish their differences. Where students getting what they need is the norm. Where rigor is defined by differentiation for multiple modalities and we look at IEP goals to drive instruction.

If we are not there yet, what is one practice we can to maintain to honor neurodiversity for ourselves and our students?

Will it be teaching students about people with disabilities who have achieved great things? Will it be by teaching students about their own thinking (metacognition)? Will it be by nurturing relationships with families of students with disabilities to acknowledge the resilience, self-advocacy, or compassion of that individual? Will it be to teach our students with disabilities that they are not alone; they are part of a critical mass of disabled people who, like them, just want to be seen for who they are - disability and all.