‘장애’ 레이블링에 대한 특수교육학적 담론

Discussion on Special Education for ‘Disability’ Labelling

Labelling refers to meaning-building activity of deviating an object by putting a negative tag on a person, action, or event. Labeling in special education is a diagnosis name to select persons with special education needs and has the advantage of briefly explaining the same characteristics in the administrative aspect. However, it is worried that the term, ‘intellectual disability’ or ‘persons with disabilities’ may be perceived as ‘labelling’ or ‘stigma’. This study analyzed a case of ‘intellectual disability’ labelling in AAIDD and the meaning of disability labelling written in ‘World(世界)’, Japanese magazine, ‘Pinocchio’, a novel for children, and ‘Unmanned Police’, SF novel. For the case of ‘intellectual disability’ labelling in AAIDD, this study examined twelve-time changes of the term, ‘intellectual disability’ for 100 years from the first edition of 1912 to the 12th edition of 2021 and the meaning of special education in ‘intellectual disability’ labelling inherent in the other side of changes in the definition of intellectual disability. For the case of ‘disability’ labelling case in Japan, debate on ‘disability’ labelling of ‘World’ and the meaning of ‘visible discrimination’ and ‘invisible discrimination’ of ‘disability’ labelling inherent in ‘Pinocchio’, a novel for children, and ‘Unmanned Police’, SF novel was analyzed in the view of special education. These two cases suggest that discrimination caused by disability labelling begins with a failure to perceive in our society that does not treat different things differently. It means that the cause for discrimination is not in individual’s ‘disability’ but in all kinds of regulations and cultural limitations. It is because ‘disability’ is not a simple phenomenon that can be viewed accurately and clearly. The ‘classification’, ‘categorization’, and ‘typicalization’ of disability without sufficient reflection can be unfair and careless behavior.