WHAT IS A DISABILITY?

1. WHAT IS A DISABILITY?

2. What is a disability? • Give your definition of a disability • List some difficulties that you think a student with a disability might face. • List some things you think a student with a disability might need. • List some jobs that a person with a disability might succeed at. • Tell about one thing that you feel you can’t do as well as most other people that you know. Do you consider this a disability?

3. Match the following personal descriptions to the names below: • Albert Einstein • Walt Disney • Jack Kerouac • Howie Mandel • Tiger Woods • Howard Hughes • Tom Cruise • John Cougar Mellancamp • An American novelist, poet, writer and artist. Inspired many other artists such as the Beatles and Bob Dylan. He had schizophrenia

4. Match the following personal descriptions to the names below: • Albert Einstein • Walt Disney • Jack Kerouac • Howie Mandel • Tiger Woods • Howard Hughes • Tom Cruise • John Cougar Mellancamp • An American golfer, thought to be among the most successful of all time. Had stuttering problems in childhood; has admitted to doing everything possible to conquer it, including talking to his dog until he fell asleep

5. Match the following personal descriptions to the names below: • Albert Einstein • Walt Disney • Jack Kerouac • Howie Mandel • Tiger Woods • Howard Hughes • Tom Cruise • John Cougar Mellancamp 3. This boy could not talk until the age of four. He did not learn to read until he was nine. His teachers considered him to be mentally slow, unsociable and a dreamer. He failed the entrance exam for college. In retrospect, it is thought that he had Asperger’s Syndrome. Ultimately, he discovered the theory of relativity and his name is often equated with genius

6. Match the following personal descriptions to the names below: • Albert Einstein • Walt Disney • Jack Kerouac • Howie Mandel • Tiger Woods • Howard Hughes • Tom Cruise • John Cougar Mellancamp • A Canadian comedian and actor, host of Deal or No Deal. Cannot shake hands with anyone and shaved his head due to mysophobia—a fear of germs

7. Match the following personal descriptions to the names below: • Albert Einstein • Walt Disney • Jack Kerouac • Howie Mandel • Tiger Woods • Howard Hughes • Tom Cruise • John Cougar Mellancamp • He is a famous movie star. He learns his lines by listening to a tape because of his dyslexia

8. Match the following personal descriptions to the names below: • Albert Einstein • Walt Disney • Jack Kerouac • Howie Mandel • Tiger Woods • Howard Hughes • Tom Cruise • John Cougar Mellancamp • He was slow in school work and did not have a successful school experience, but later became a well known movie producer and cartoonist

9. Match the following personal descriptions to the names below: • Albert Einstein • Walt Disney • Jack Kerouac • Howie Mandel • Tiger Woods • Howard Hughes • Tom Cruise • John Cougar Mellancamp 7. One of the richest men in history. Was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome

10. Match the following personal descriptions to the names below: • Albert Einstein • Walt Disney • Jack Kerouac • Howie Mandel • Tiger Woods • Howard Hughes • Tom Cruise • John Cougar Mellancamp 8. An American rock singer/songwriter. Born with Spina Bifida that necessitated lengthy hospitalizations as a child

11. MYTH OR FACT? A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY IS SICK.

12. MYTH OR FACT? PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES HAVE A POOR QUALITY OF LIFE.

13. MYTH OR FACT? • PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ARE INSPIRATIONAL, BRAVE AND COURAGEOUS FOR LIVING WITH THEIR DISABILITY.

14. MYTH OR FACT? • PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES NEED EXPENSIVE HIGH TECH ASSISTIVE DEVICES OR SERVICES

15. MYTH OR FACT? • PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES NEED TO LIVE IN NURSING HOMES OR REHABILITATION HOSPITALS

16. TALKING ABOUT DISABILITYA guide to using appropriate language • Do not refer to a person’s disability unless it is relevant • When referring to a person’s disability, try to use “people first” language. In other words, it is better to say “person with a disability” rather than “disabled person”. • Avoid referring to people as “the disabled”, “the blind”, etc. Descriptive terms should be used as adjectives, not nouns.

17. TALKING ABOUT DISABILITY • Avoid negative or sensational descriptions of a person’s disability. Don’t say “suffers from”, “a victim of” or “afflicted with”. • Don’t use “normal” to describe persons who do not have disabilities. Instead use “people without disabilities” or “typical” • Never say “wheelchair bound” or “confined to a wheelchair”. Adaptive equipment gives individuals mobility and freedom.

18. TALKING ABOUT DISABILITY • Never assume that a person with a communication disorder (speech, hearing) also has a cognitive disability • Use the term “person with Down Syndrome”, never Mongoloid • Use the term “people who have mental illness”. Avoid “the mentally ill”, crazy, psycho or mental case

19. THINGS I WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT ASPERGER’S AND ME • It is not contagious. • Sometimes information that I like sticks with me and I think about it a lot (like cartoons) • I have an interest in technology and my computer • I like to use my imagination whenever I can • I hope no one will make fun of me because I am different. That hurts my feelings.