Diagnosis - Helpful or Hurtful?

Why do professionals feel it is necessary to dictate the competencies of people with disabilities?  Too often children are diagnosed with a disability by a medical professional and their competence and abilities are already predicted for their future.  This does not offer much help the parents and it surely does not set the child up for success.  Instead, the child is recognized by a diagnosis and characteristics of the condition.  

I am saddened for children who enter the school system with a special needs diagnosis.  Unfortunately their education is almost always decided for them as a result of what is written on paper.  Students with disabilities are often put directly into special education and segregated from their peers in one form or another.

A former student of mine, Amy, was diagnosed at birth with Turner Syndrome in 1990.  Amy’s mother was informed that her daughter would never be able to perform at the same academic level as her peers.  She would be unable to proficiently comprehend material and would be limited in what type of work she could do as an adult.  Upon entering school, Amy was put directly into the special education classroom.  She received language arts and math instruction in a separate classroom and never had the opportunity to learn in the regular classroom.  After all, she had a disability.  Doctors already informed her family what she was capable of.  By the time Amy came to my classroom in 8^th grade, her academic skills had fallen far behind most of her class.  Amy has since received a certificate of completion from high school, did not seek higher education, and remains unemployed.

Tanya and I grew up together and graduated high school the same year.  We are still close friends today.  Tanya was 16 when she was diagnosed with Turner Syndrome.  Clearly this was not something that was diagnosed at birth in 1979.  Tanya had some difficulties with learning and received few special education services throughout her elementary school years.  However, she was not labeled with a diagnosis until high school.  Tanya received her education with her peers from the regular classroom teacher.  Medical and educational professionals never had the opportunity to determine her capabilities.  Gasp!  In the end, Tanya attended college, graduated, and currently works as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.

It is clear just by comparing Amy and Tanya how much power a diagnosis has and how much damage it can do to individuals with disabilities.