Toward a Culture of Disability in the Aftermath of Deno and Dunn

Abstract

The articles by Deno (1970) and Dunn (1968) spoke forcefully to the issues 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 and 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 convenient rationale. We consider the possibility of developing a culture of disability that uses the distinctive characteristics of persons with disabilities as a basis for developing a positive identity through congregation, teaching, and support.