Eight Myths about Special Education.

Abstract

Myths about disabilities and about special education are common in the public mind (Hallahan & Kauffman, 1994). Too often, myths find their way into the perceptions and professional practices of special educators as well. Myths are alluring beliefs; they express something of our fears and hopes. Nevertheless, replacing myths with facts is important, as perceptions and practices based on fictions can have s.,ri<'''" r~gative consequences. Understanding the attraction of myths is important, too, for myths si, 1. 1 , remind us of the realities we need to address. A myth typically grows out of the observation of a significant problem and a desire to address it, and the fraction of truth from which the myth grows is a fragment that must not be lost in our attempt to correct a misunderstanding. The partial truth of a myth makes it hard to combat. A myth is distinguished from reality by its overgeneralization, distortion, or misapplication of fact. The fragment of truth embedded in a myth is much harder to discount than pure fantasy or a full-blown lie. For this reason, in a court of law we may be asked to swear to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." We recognize that partial truths are as damaging as complete untruths, if not more so. For purposes of our discussion, we define a myth as a partial truth that is accepted uncritically, especially in the support of existing or proposed practices. The number of myths influencing special education practice and policy greatly exceeds the number we can discuss in this article. We have chosen only eight that we think are particularly important. For each of these, we first discuss the origins of the partial truth of the myth. Then we describe some of the negative consequences of maintaining the myth and present what we believe to be the whole truth that should replace the myth. We end our discussion of each myth with statements about what the myth should remind us to do, a call to be mindful of the problem or concern that gave rise to the myth, which must be recognized in any attempt to replace the myth with the whole truth. For the first six myths we provide anecdotes, drawn from our own professional experiences, that run counter to the myths. For the last two myths we provide illustrative quotations from the professional literature. We caution that our anecdotes alone do not provide sufficient evidence to refute the myths. They serve primarily to connect our discussion of the myths to actual teaching experience. Myths themselves often arise from and are perpetuated by anecdotes, and we must be aware that anecdotes alone can be seriously misleading. Ultimately, correcting a myth requires accumulating reliable empirical data and careful logical analysis.