A Label is a short word or phrase used to describe a person, group, intellectual, ownership or destination (Dictionary.com). Labeling has been a part of human existence since the inception of civilization. People found labeling to provide ease in communication and relations among groups and categories. This as with most things has both a positive and negative side to it. Prior to the nineteenth century people with disabilities were labeled as “dummies”, “idiots”, and “fools”. Labeling in the disabled community has been a means of controversy as many specialists in the area of are indecisive as to whether labeling is necessary or not. Over the years the general attitude towards individuals with exceptionalities has changed. People are more …show more content…
Children with disabilities were placed in almshouses and locked away in hospitals where they were treated with much disdain. As education became more open and wide spread, the American society saw the need to label and characterize the special education as such. This did not sanitize the disabled or make it normal or invisible for them but it identified them as different. This identification was an avenue for them to be treated differently and special provisions and training could be made for them. (Winzer, 2002). Fung (2013) posits that, while the pro and anti labeling arguments both have strong points, labeling will benefit both specialist and the child. For a child to be enrolled in a special education institution this child must first be tested and identified as having a disability, that is labeled, and in most cases must be further classified into one of the states categories, such as mental retardation or learning disability …show more content…
Boyle (2013) in his position paper posed the question “Does label allow focus on the ability of the individual or do they become categorized and thus de-individualized?”. Some theorists believe that the word “disability” in and of its self sounds very degrading and demeaning and that this person is different in a negative way. Laing,(1963) as cited by Boyle, (2013) postulates that the problem with labeling, especially in Special Education, is that it highlights the folly of relating to people as a labeled category and inevitably ignores the important characteristic of their personality. Job (2011) purports that the theory of special education labels helping students to achieve the best possible education is a myth. She further states that once the labels are applied to students, studies show that focusing on them can sometimes do more harm than