m1 Act2 Perceptions of Disability
m1 Act2 Perceptions of Disability
m1 Act2 Perceptions of Disability
Jean Kang
Meet with a small group of classmates or colleagues. Take turns sharing your
responses to the questions above, including the impact of cultural beliefs.
• Are your cultural beliefs and experiences similar to or different from the
others in your group? In what ways?
• What else did you learn from your classmates or colleagues that could be
beneficial to you as a teacher working with students with disabilities? When
working with parents?
Jody Barnes’ perception of disability is based on her own unique culture. Native
Americans tend to think that a child born with a disability is a design and a gift of
God. The person is unique and there is a purpose that he is given to the family. Jody
thinks her child is a mysterious gift from God with all stars laying out a certain way
as a symbol of God for a purpose when he was born. He is special. Teachers and
doctors’ perceptions are that the person with disability is unusual and needs to be
Now with education such as our course, we know people with disabilities are just like
and intellectual work. In general, most Chinese people view people with disabilities
as weaker than general mass and need assistance to accomplish daily tasks. It
views them completely from a perspective of the physical appearance and with
traits, talents, abilities, etc. So, I think it is biased. I think my culture background
a disability as someone who always needed others’ help to perform daily tasks. Now
with reading of Chapter 1 and this website, I know it was biased due to cultural
background. People with disabilities are just like everyone else, they can most time
I did not have a group since our class is an online class. But I believe some
people in our group if we had one would share similar views, and others may hold
unique views about a child with disabilities influenced by their cultures. Jody Baren
tells us that each person’s view about people with disabilities is different, with a lot of
views influenced by their own culture background. For example, Jody views her child
as a special design of the universe when the stars positioned in a unique way, or,
her child is a purposeful design of the God, and a purposeful gift to her family, and
the child is very precious. Her view is a perspective of native Americans’ view about
Though we did not have a group, I could learn from the media and textbook. I
learned that treating students with disabilities and their parents with no bias is
important. They deserve respect and deserve to feel the same just as everyone
else. Also, it is important to notice the difference of cultural background, and respect
parents who hold their belief and view about the uniqueness about their child based
• Identify a character who has a disability in the film or book you selected.
• Was that person portrayed in a positive or negative light?
• How did you feel about the way the character(s) was depicted? Explain.
• After viewing the film or reading the book, do you believe audiences or
readers come away with an accurate understanding of the disability and the
challenges it presents? Why or why not?
In the movie The Piano, Ada lost speech ability when she was 6. So, she couldn’t
talk for a lifetime. She communicated through piano playing and sign language that
her daughter translated for her. Ada was portrayed in a positive light. Although she
could not talk, she played the piano well and she could not live without playing the
piano as it was the way how she expressed feelings and communicated. And she
was brave and persistent in pursuing her passion music and the person that she
loved. Character of Ada was depicted in an attractive way that the audience
completely forgot that she was mute. The audience was attracted to her piano, her
music and her passionate and brave spirit. Actually because of her muteness, the
audience have a stronger feeling about Ada in her talent and spirit.
muteness of Ada and the challenges she faced. The movie evidently used the piano
playing as a way of communication for Ada, that is a special language and demands
high intelligence to understand. And once a person, Baines in the movie understood
her piano playing, she felt so passionate about Baines, and fell in love with him. On
the contrary, her own newly married husband Stewart, did not care about the piano,
no mention to understand the piano. Ada just could not have any feeling about him.
So it conveyed the message that people with disabilities have their unique way to
express themselves and if we try to understand them, we can receive their message
as clear as, or even stronger than the way that the regular people express them.
And once they are understood, they are happy, appreciative, and encouraged. So,
we need to treat them all equal as people without disabilities and seek to understand
• Someone you know casually uses the word retarded to refer to a friend who
does not have a disability.
• Someone you know uses the word retarded in a derogatory fashion to refer to
someone who has a disability.
How would you approach these situations? Would you handle them
differently? Why or why not? Discuss this situation with others in your class.
Can you think of several different ways to respond?
I would handle them in the same way. In theory, nobody wants to be addressed
as retarded no matter whether they have disabilities or not. It is insulting and hostile.
It causes anger and conflict. So anytime when I hear this, I would say to the person
who uses the word, please stop using the word “retarded” because it is disrespectful
and rude. I can think of a few other ways to respond besides the one mentioned
above.
disrespectful. I need you apologize and correct yourself if you did not realize it
3. The word “retarded” is offensive. It has a negative meaning. Nobody should use
5. Please don’t call others “retarded” if you do not want others call you “retarded”.
Assessment
Yes, I do think people’s perceptions of children with disabilities play a role in their
many ways and exchange feelings and emotions. When a negative perception is
perceived by children with disabilities, these children feel hurt, disrespected, and
child’s success.
I feel it is a normal scenario to have children with disabilities in my classroom.
accommodations, I know once I understand them, they can communicate and act as
much as a child without any disability. They deserve all the respect, help and equal
treatment as others. And these children have their strengths just like others as well.
If I were put in charge of a movie about a person who is blind, I want to make
sure that my movie portrayed the perceptions of love, passion, and strengths of the
person who is blind. I want to project out his strong spirit and passionate heart with
the directions he/she is pursuing or wants to pursue. Audiences want to see these
strong passion, warm hearts, and the amazing pursuits the person has. After all,
they are just like everyone else who has a life and a dream. What they do is to
pursue their dreams just like everyone else. And they can use all kinds of assistance
to reach their goals. And they deserve all the equal treatment.