Literature Review

Literature Review

Future Reflections March/April/May 1984, Vol. 3 No. 2
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LITERATURE REVIEW
REFLECTIONS ON GROWING UP DISABLED AND "PROFESSIONAL' LITERATURE -- AN EPITHET SLIGHTLY MODIFIED
by Duane Gerstenberger
Reprinted from the August/September, 1983 BRAILLE MONITOR
"Professional" literature. Federationists respond
to this phrase with the emotions reserved
for the most noxious of epithets. We often laugh
and loathe in the same breath when we hear it.
As the Federation's energy, commitment, and
resources have multiplied over the years, so
has our reputation as a source of accurate,
tested, and intelligible information about blindness.
We have recognized the damage done by
so-called "professional" literature so we have
written, edited, published, and distributed
materials which reflect the real problems of
blindness. Now the blind and those who touch
their lives study our books, speeches, brochures,
and articles. The Braille Monitor -- always a
source of information and inspiration for Federationists -- has expanded its circulation significantly
in recent years, and it is read regularly
and enthusiastically throughout the field of
work with the blind. The Federation has raised
its voice, set it in type, and the blind of the
nation have responded affirmatively.
Reflections On Growing Up Disabled, edited by
Reginald. I. Jones, was published in early 1983
by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). It was prepared by the ERIC Clearinghouse on
Handicapped and Gifted Children pursuant to
a contract with the National Institute of Education,
U.S. Department of Education. CEC is a
"professional association committed to advancing
the education of exceptional children, both
gifted and handicapped." It was founded in
1922. With a membership of 50,000, it supports
and influences programs and legislation affecting
gifted children. It houses the ERIC Clearinghouse
on Handicapped and Gifted Children,
which is one of sixteen such centers in a
nationwide information system supported by
the National Institute of Education, U.S.
Department of Education.
Reflections On Growing Up Disabled is
"designed to fill a void in the [education and
rehabilitation] attitudinal literature by presenting
firsthand accounts of the experiences
and perceptions of disabled persons themselves,
as well as the views of parents of
disabled children," according to Mr. Jones,
Professor, Afro-American Studies, University
of California, Berkley. To accomplish this
purpose, Mr. Jones uses material from fourteen
contributors -- seven individually written
accounts and three co-authored accounts.
Seven of the ten chapters are written by disabled
persons from their own experiences and
perspective. The other three chapters are the
dual author pieces; one is intended as a general,
introductory chapter and the other two present
parent's views. The complete text is eighty
nine pages, and there are fourteen pages of
bibliography.
Federationists will be pleased to know that Dr.
Jernigan wrote the only chapter of this book
dealing with blindness: "Blindness: Disability
or Nuisance?" Five other specific disabilities
are represented: learning disabled, orthopedically
handicapped, cerebral palsy, deafness,
and mental retardation. Federationists will be
surprised at the general tone and style of the
other chapters. We are not accustomed to the
kind of precision, directness, and intelligibility
from "professional" literature which this book
exhibits. Its substance is valid, logical, and
tested; but for one exception (Chapter 9,
"Parents and Professionals: Irrational Assumptions
in Their Communications"), its style,
vocabulary, and tone are not the standard
educational journal ilk. (Only in Chapter 9 do
we read the ubiquitous "it must be pointed out
here ..." phrase, which permeates the standard
"professional" books and magazines. And
only here do we see the standard call for
research and demonstration: "In a much larger
sense, attitudes of all types are most clearly
seen in the study of nonverbal communications.
Research and demonstration projects are
vitally needed in this area not only to pinpoint
specific behaviors impeding rapport and communication
but, also, to identify ways of
changing such behaviors and their underlying
attitudes. That is the next frontier for attitudinal
research." Even with these stylistic
blemishes, Chapter 9 is a valuable addition to
the book.) The book's style is primarily
anecdotal and conversational. It surveys a
diversity of disabilities without the "lumping"
effect so often apparent in literature that
attempts to deal with the disabled. This one
small volume provides a great deal of information
about several disabilities in a readable
fashion.
A significant weakness of the book is Chapter
1, "Reflections of Disabled Children." It is an
excerpt from another article or paper and only
serves to get m the way of the succeeding
chapters. It does not excite the reader or render
anticipation for the material which follows. If
used at all, it would have been better used in an
even more abridged fashion as part of the
preface. Unlike the text itself, the bibliography
is standard "professional" journal fare. Skip it.
Also, the very brief lines about the contributors
probably would have been better placed at the
start of each chapter rather than as a list at the
beginning of the book.
Reflections On Growing Up Disabled is a good
book. It accomplishes its purpose, and that
purpose serves the needs of disabled persons.
Blind persons are well served by Dr. Jernigan's
contribution of this volume. The National Federation
of the Blind is well served by being
represented in the book. This term "professional"
literature takes on a slightly less tainted
connotation because of this book.
Print copies of Reflections On Growing Up
Disabled may be purchased from the Council
for Exceptional Children, 1920 Association
Drive, Reston, Virginia 22091 at a cost of $6.38
for members and $7.50 for nonmembers.
Neither CEC nor the National Library Service
for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
have yet produced a Braille or recorded version
of this book. Both indicated that they would
consider recording it as a result of our inquiry
as to its availability.
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