International Journal Special Education

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION Vol 26, No: 3, 2011meetings, psychological educational assessments, conversations with teachers, professionals and parentsvaried in each participant’s case. None of the participants participated in their IPRC meetings and therewas limited memory as to participating in the development of the Individual Education Plans (IEP) withthe Special Education professionals. Three of the four participants described how their parents spoke forthem throughout the IPRC process and how their parents asked the participants questions about theirexperiences and feelings. The fourth, Rita had no recollection of any conversations regarding herlearning disability until much later in life, stating They were all talking about me and writing papers andI didn’t know. The fact that there was limited participation is indicative of the current practice in Ontariospecial education. It is also interesting to note that the participation that did occur generally related tochildren being given knowledge.Table 1. Primary and secondary themesPrimary Secondary Tertiary Total CountConstruction of Internal Truth of Self Awareness of53Identity Concept About Disability Difference(Internal) Effects on Behaviours Evolution of SelfConcept as anIndividual with aDisabilityExternal Truth of Self- Discourses of Disability 42Concept About Disability Education system(External) Health Care System Peers Teachers ParentsKnowledge as Knowledge of Disability Lack of Knowledge 37participation (Knowledge) Desire for MoreKnowledge Acquired KnowledgeParticipation in theConstruction of the Labelof Disability(Participation)YesNoNo Memory52Three of the four subjects spoke about participating more in the construction of their disability labels, asthey got older. These three participants all had psychological educational assessments after theygraduated from high school at which time they were active participants in the process.Erika felt that the experience of participation was beneficial to her overall self-concept and that herparent’s more direct involvement was very useful when she was younger. However, she had some ideasabout how the process of participation could be better.I would probably do the same approach as my parents, but I would probably advocate for mychild to be a part of their diagnosis, and to talk about it: Talk about how they’re feeling andwhat’s going on in class, and constantly be in touch with the teacher, and be aware that theteacher knows what the disability is and what the teacher’s assumptions and views are ondisabilities. Because if the teacher is against children - like I’ve had a bad experience withteachers - so I don’t want my child in that classroom. I don’t want my child to lack confidencelike I had, or that shyness and that feeling of guilt that you have something like a disease orsomething (Erika).Erika was not involved in the construction of her learning disability until much later in life.Retrospectively, she thinks life would have been different if she had received the information about herlearning disability earlier and had participated more actively at an earlier age.98