Teaching Kids About Disabilities

What did you learn about disabilities as a kid?

I grew up in Louisiana and Arkansas in the 1970’s and 80’s, and I suspect my experience was typical of that place and era. If there were kids with disabilities around in my neighborhood or schools, they were well-hidden and not part of our daily play and studies.

My first real exposure to disability was when I was about nine years old, and a blind girl joined our girl scout troop. Michelle was the older sister of one of my schoolmates. Although Michelle went to a different school than the rest of us, she was fully included in our scout troop for years.

I imagine the adults probably did some things behind the scenes to help support this inclusion, but for us kids, it felt easy. It probably didn’t hurt that Michelle had a fabulous sense of humor and kept us in stitches most of the time. But without someone telling us that disability was a problem, it wasn’t. We understood that she was blind, but it wasn’t any more of an issue than her little sister having a flair for the dramatic. It was just part of who she was.

In the 21st century, inclusion is more the norm than it was in the 80’s, although parents still consistently have to fight deeply entrenched systems to ensure their kids with disabilities have the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers.

Like most biases, ableism is learned over a lifetime of subtle messages we receive about others. Combatting those messages from an early age can help reduce the development of bias.

This makes how we introduce children to disability of vital importance. When kids with disabilities are included in typical childhood activities, it gives all kids the opportunity to see disability as a normal experience.

Most of the time, if adults get out of the way, kids will adapt quickly. But adults can also help shape how children learn about disabilities. Using neutral language is important, including avoiding euphemisms that imply that disability is negative. This includes use of terms like “differently-abled” or “challenged.”

Adults should always assume that kids with disabilities can participate in activities and help find ways to adapt or modify the activity or recruit other children to help provide support. Make sure environments kids use are accessible, safe, healthy, and welcoming for children of all abilities.

Children will always be curious, and adults can support that curiosity. Preferably, the child with a disability or their parents should be the best source of accurate information about the disability and what support or modifications the child might need as a result.

Plus, introducing children to disabilities can be our opportunity as adults to learn more about disability and identify the stereotypes—both negative and positive—that we don’t want to perpetuate. In this way, it can help us address our own biases and unrecognized ableism.

While we can’t keep shifting our societal progress to the next generation, starting children with a healthy perspective on disability makes them more inclusive adults and more likely to create welcoming spaces for the children of the future.