Dp. Hallahan et Jm. Kauffman, TOWARD A CULTURE OF DISABILITY IN THE AFTERMATH OF DENO AND DUNN, The Journal of special education, 27(4), 1994, pp. 496-508
The articles by Deno (1970) and Dunn (1968) spoke forcefully to the is
sues and conditions of their era, and both contained much wisdom. Both
articles, however, contained ideas that have been exploited by today'
s critics of special education and now threaten to demolish the field.
Deno questioned the need for a separate system of special education a
nd called for an ecological approach, setting the stage for proposals
to merge special and general education and for the tendency to blame a
student's failure to learn solely on the teacher. Dunn questioned the
efficacy of special classes and described the apparent damage done by
labeling, providing proponents of inclusion and nonlabeling with a co
nvenient rationale. We consider the possibility of developing a cultur
e of disability that uses the distinctive characteristics of persons w
ith disabilities as a basis for developing a positive identity through
congregation, teaching, and support.