MACROSOCIAL VALIDATION - REFERENCING OUTCOMES IN BEHAVIORAL-DISORDERSTO SOCIETAL ISSUES AND PROBLEMS

During the past two decades, the field of special education has become politicized and fragmented as a result of internal strife and turf ba ttles among professionals. Special education often is perceived by pro fessionals in other fields as strife ridden, expensive, litigious, con sumed with legislative mandates and court orders, and ineffective. The se perceptions have damaged special education's status and hindered it s ability to pursue its agenda. By association, the field of behaviora l disorders also has suffered from these perceptions. We need to reded icate ourselves to empirical inquiry and use our collective expertise to find solutions to problems that are of great concern to children an d families as well as the larger society. In so doing, we may achieve a degree of macrosocial validation for our efforts. The term macrosoci al validation, as used herein, refers to recognition, approval, and va luing of a field's professional activities by the larger constituencie s affected by them, such as the general public, the U.S. Congress, and policymakers.