Growing up, my time in education was permeated by being referred to as having “special educational needs” or “special needs.” Teachers would see my needs as “special” when I requested materials in an accessible format, or whenever I needed reasonable adjustments. One attitude that sprung up time and time again is that they were doing me a favour by giving my teaching assistants work in good time before a lesson so they could make it accessible for me.
Those derogatory comments made me feel like I was asking for people to go above and beyond. All I was doing was trying to access an often broken education system, one that’s not designed for disabled people like me.
By the time I left mainstream education to go to university, the phrasing switched, moving towards “disabled students.” When I hit adulthood, it’s like the idea of me being a speciality was mostly erased, something that was a welcome relief.
Years on, I can’t help wondering why educational settings have to be plagued with such negative language. Disabled young people deserve tons more respect than that.
Hear me out. Why on earth do we need to say “special educational needs”? Why do we need to refer to someone’s reasonable adjustments or accommodations as “special”?
From where I’m standing, it’s simple. We could just fit the mould that disabled people prefer and say “people with disabilities” or “disabled people.” Heck, why can’t we give people a choice and accommodate their own preferences.
It’s not just in educational settings I’ve been subject to hearing my needs being referred to as special. Take events for example. When disabled people request accommodations, it comes across like we’re being offered a top tier package. What’s so special about being able to access something like everyone else?
The workplace can also have similar connotations, seeing reasonable adjustments as a cherry on top of the cake. Hold on for a minute. Reasonable adjustments enable us to do our job in the first place.
Whenever my needs are referred to as being special, I hate it.
I hate how younger Holly accepted that the term “special educational needs” was thrown around like it was a natural part of the rulebook. I wish she knew that she could stand up for herself, letting people know that in fact, her needs aren’t special.
Thankfully, I don’t have my needs referred to as being special as much as I used to. Perhaps it’s because I’m an adult, who isn’t tied to the rhetoric of a poor disabled child. Perhaps it’s because attitudes to disability are slowly shifting.
Can we shift those attitudes even further, and agree that we won’t refer to disabled people’s needs as “special” again? Here’s why.
All we ask is for equal participation and opportunities in society.
The above heading sums it up.
Disabled people don’t want you to feel sorry for us. We want you to show us some respect.
We want you to see accessibility in a positive light. When we ask for support, we always hope that you want to help, rather than feeling like you have to.
When you’re asked to make something accessible, we’d much rather you make said piece of work accessible, than complain that we’re being difficult. Take it from someone who’s felt like she’s being difficult more times than you can count.
It’s not much to ask for the same access as everyone else.
Our needs are human
Disabled people have the same every day needs as anyone, even if they look a little different. We might need adaptions. Nevertheless, that doesn’t take away the fact that these needs are the same as the next person’s.
Something I think people often forget is that disabled people have basic, human needs too. The distinction is that “special needs” implies that we’re receiving things that others don’t get, some sort of upper class treatment.
This idea of specialities fails to recognise that disabled people need adjustments in order to be on a level playing field to everyone else.
We don’t get the VIP treatment, far from it in fact.
Asking for support or reasonable adjustments isn’t a gift
We aren’t using our disability to be a cut above the rest. We aren’t asking for preferential treatment.
On the face of it, it seems quite simple. There’s a reason behind every adjustment or accommodation I ask for. Yet, those requests are sometimes met with resistance. I’m made to feel like an inconvenience.
Having my needs met gives me equal access, freedom, independence and autonomy.
Referring to disabled people’s needs as special is harmful
It perpetuates stereotypes, provoking assumptions that our disability is something to be ashamed of, casting a dark cloud over whether our needs will be met.
Even though I mostly avoid the harmful assumptions now, having my needs viewed as “special” has stuck with me.
I’ve been tangled up in a web of feeling like a burden, resisted from asking for support because I feel guilty, and lost count of the number of times I’ve felt like a problem just for being a disabled person.
I need documents in a format I can access. I might need a sighted guide when going to an event. I need images to have alt text/image descriptions. I might require breaks to manage energy levels. Having those accommodations viewed as extraordinary makes me question why I’m even asking for them in the first place.
It makes disabled people feel like a second class citizen. In some cases, that’s how others might view us.
You don’t need to avoid the word “disability”
There’s really no need to find an alternative. You aren’t being kinder by not using the word disability. You’re actually making it harder for everyone.
If we avoid the word “disability”, then what is that telling the younger generation of disabled people? It tells them that you can’t be proud of being a disabled person. It reinforces harmful stereotypes that they’re viewed differently to everyone else. They might stop asking for support because they don’t want to be seen as being a problem. The worst part is that they’ll avoid the word “disability” themselves, because they think that’s the norm.
If you decide that you don’t like the word “disability” and aren’t disabled yourself, that’s not your call to make. It’s actually quite insulting.
You’re essentially stripping back something that’s a huge part of someone’s identity. All for what?
Let it be disabled people’s choice. Most importantly, respect our choices.
“special needs” sounds like you’re doing us a favour
Let’s get things straight once and for all. By making something accessible or implementing reasonable adjustments, you aren’t doing disabled people a favour. If you didn’t, you’d actually be doing us a disservice.
Accessibility should be standard practice. It benefits everyone after all.
Why are disabled people’s needs seen as being of a different value than others?
We need to seriously shift the discourse of disabled people’s requests being seen as separate from the rest of society. Disabled people don’t make up one slice, and everyone else the other. We’re all one, at least we should be.
We have the same right to have our needs met as any other person. Therefore, our needs aren’t special. They don’t make us inferior to everyone else, and they certainly don’t give us an advantage.
What are your thoughts on your needs being referred to as “special”? Do you have any sassy alternatives? I’d love to hear from you!
Holly x
Khushi says
just now catching up on this and oh i second every single point you mentioned in this post! i hate it when my needs are refered to as “special” and its still pretty common here. and ofc seems like this term is education system’s first love lol i mean get rid of it! loved reading it as always 🙂
Holly says
Thank you for reading as always, Khushi!