Ronald Anderson's participation in these issues did not include the type
of epiphany that Clay experienced. As a veteran educator with a disability
with more than twenty years of experience at the elementary, secondary,
and higher education levels, Ron considers himself to be an advocate of
individuals with disabilities as well as a reasonably effective and
successful self-advocate. During his years in graduate school and as a
professor he encountered both professors and colleagues who had little
understanding and tolerance of advocacy for people with disabilities. He
could understand the attitudes of some of his professors and colleagues
because they had never had contact with individuals with disabilities, as
either students or peers. Ron was surprised and greatly dismayed to learn
that some of my special education colleagues and professors expressed
intolerance toward students with disabilities who wanted to become
educators. He also learned later that special education administrators
were especially defensive and sometimes hostile toward professional
educators with disabilities. The defensiveness was particularly noticeable
when educators with disabilities questioned the rationale for the use of a
strategy or a particular placement for a student with a disability.
Special education administrators and some teachers appeared to have a
great desire to exercise control. They suggested that their experiences
better equipped them for determining the best course of action.
Ron has found that this paternalistic attitude and need for control has been observed among other professionals who work with people who have disabilities. For instance, Shapiro (1993) noted similar responses as political relationships between individuals with disabilities and professionals who work with them were being developed to achieve passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
Some disabled people complained that these health-care workers, particularly nondisabled ones, were controlling and paternalistic. Too often, therapists and social workers assumed they knew best instead of trusting the wishes of their clients. Many professionals felt threatened by the new group consciousness of disabled people. They were afraid or reluctant to share decision making or give up power that, in some cases, might even threaten their own jobs. (127)Educators with disabilities apparently threatened those educators, especially special educators, who have held power and have been paternalistic in their approach with students who have disabilities. Instead of perceiving educators with disabilities as a resource, Ron observed that often teacher-educators and administrators saw them as obstacles and a source of extra work.
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