LANGUAGE: Communicating positively with and about people with disability
Lesson 7: What we say is who we are!
Length of lesson: 60 minutes
Prior knowledge (what should the teacher have already covered)
  • The concept of stereotyping

Resources required
  • Action Plans
  • Electronic white board to project images
/
  • Class handouts for lesson 7
  • Exercise book
  • Pre copied and cut descriptions for activity 1

Key Concepts
  • Language and images can shape positive or negative community perceptions of people with disability
  • Positive language and images can help to break down the stereotypes and dispel the myths that people with disability continue to experience
  • We communicate with respect and good manners with everyone. The only difference with a person with disability is the way in which you communicate (eg. using sign language).
  • Knowing and using positive language when talking about disability will help to make a more inclusive community.

Learning outcomes
LO1: Students describe the way language can influence our perceptions.
LO2: Students recall appropriate language to use when communicating with and about people with disability.
Australian Curriculum Links
HPE Subject Area Years 3 and 4
ACPPS037: Describe how respect, empathy and valuing diversity can positively influence relationships
General Capabilities by the end of year 4 (level 3)
Personal and Social Capability
Recognise emotions: describe the influence that people, situations and events have on their emotions.
Understand relationships: describe factors that contribute to positive relationships, including with people at school and in their community.
Ethical Understanding
Recognise ethical concepts: identify ethical concepts, such as equality, respect and connectedness, and describe some of their attributes.
Consider consequences: examine the links between emotions, dispositions and intended and unintended consequences of their actions on others.
Examine values: identify and describe shared values in familiar and unfamiliar contexts.
Intercultural Understanding
Challenge stereotypes and prejudices: explain the dangers of making generalisations about individuals and groups.
Literacy
Interpret and analyse learning area texts: interpret literal information and make inferences to expand topic knowledge using comprehension strategies.
Use language to interact with others: use pair, group and class discussion about learning area topics as learning tools to explore and represent ideas and relationships, test possibilities and to prepare for creating texts.
Assessable moments: As students undertake the learning experiences described in the lesson, take note of a range of assessable moments to provide information about student achievement. Ongoing assessment will provide evidence of the extent to which students achieve the identified Australian Curriculum links. Assessable moments are linked to learning outcomes and are identified by the following identifier:
LO (insert number)
Format / Lesson plan: suggested sequence of learning experiences
Intro
1 minute / State the learning intention:Today, we are going to explore the L word in incLusion: LANGUAGE. We will be exploring the power of language and the effects the words have on our thoughts and feelings. We will use our comparison skills to determine what positive and respectful language is.
12 mins / ACTIVITY 1: Painting a positive picture!
Refer to 2 sets of information cardson Perception Island for lesson 7.Divide the class in half. Handout Sunshine Island cards to half the class, and Forgotten island cards to the other half. Students are not to look at what the other half of the class were given.
Students read their card.
After 1 minute – have a class discussion.
Ask the question: “Who thinks this is a place worth visiting?”
Teacher’s notes: The idea is that the people who had the Sunshine island cards will put their hands up because their description used positive language and descriptions.
Let them know that they have been reading about the same place. Show the picture of the Island (Vlasoff Island, Great Barrier Reef).
Ask one person from the Sunshine island card group and one person from the Forgotten island group to read out their description to the class.
LO1,Class discussion: Discuss the impact of language on opinions and attitudes.
Main points to highlight:
  • Positive language and descriptions attract positive feelings. Negative language and descriptions attract negative feelings.Therefore, the way language is used influences our thoughts and opinions.
  • If we describe people or groups of people (stereotyping) using negative language, we devalue the person
  • Language is very powerful.

25 mins / ACTIVITY 2: Putting the person first!
Ask students respond to the following question. Record answer in their exercise books. The heading is: Words to describe me!
Question: Write a list of words or phrases that you would like other people to use if they were asked to describe you.
Class discussion: discuss the types of words that they wrote down to describe themselves. Are they positive/respectful or negative/disrespectful words? Why do you think this is so?
Main point to highlight:
  • Everyone would like others to describe them using positive and respectful language
The experience of people with disability is greatly affected by language and images. Language influences the way people with disability are viewed by the community. Negative language, images and stereotyping have created barriers to people with disability participating fully in community life. We are going to think about ways to use language in a positive way that is respectful and inclusive.
Classdiscussion: Refer to handout for lesson 7- list of tips.
Respectful language and communication tips:
  • What is "okay" for some people is not ‘okay’ for others.If you don't know what to say, find out what the person is comfortable with.
  • When communicating with a person with a disability, rely on your common sense. Ask yourself how you would want to be treated.
  • When talking with and about a person with disability, put the person first, not the disability. For example, use the term ‘a person with a disability’ rather than ‘a disabled person’. Or, ‘a person with a vision impairment’ rather than ’a blind person’’
  • Face and talk directly to the person with a disability. Don’t talk to the companion, support worker or sign-language interpreter instead.
  • Never speak about the person as if he or she is invisible, cannot understand what is being said or cannot speak for himself or herself.
  • Don’t assume a person with a disability can’t do things. They might us assistive devices or technology to talk, walk or even drive a car. They might have strengths in many different areas.
  • Don’t talk about “fixing” or “making the person better”. They might feel just fine.
  • Avoid stereotypes or labels, such as “the handicapped’, the ‘blind’ or ‘the disabled’. Remember everyone is unique.
  • If you’re with someone who uses a guide dog or other kind of service animal, do not pat or talk to the animal. These animals are working and shouldn’t be distracted.
  • Don’t assume that a person with a disability also has other disabilities. For example, someone who has a vision disability can still hear you. There is no need to shout.
  • Avoid using words or phrases that can be put downs to people with a disability like ‘crippled’, ‘suffering from’, ‘incapacitated’.
  • Use ‘person without a disability’ instead of ‘normal’.
  • Maintain eye contact when you interact with a person with disability - this shows courtesy and respect.
  • If you think someone with a disability needs help – ask first – don’t just presume they need help. Many people with disability are very capable of taking care of their own needs.
  • People with disability don’t want you to feel sorry for them. This means people pitythem and so don’t value their abilities.
  • We communicate with respect and good manners with everyone. The only difference with a person with disability is the way in which you communicate (eg. using sign language).

ACTIVITY 3: Using respectful language
Refer to the handout for lesson 7 titled “This or that?”
LO2 Students use comparative strategies to decide whether a word or phrase is hurtful/negative, or respectful/positive.Refer to list of tips to make decisions.
Main point to highlight:
  • The use of positive language and images - focusing on the person, rather than the disability - can help to improve both the public image and the self-image of people with disability.
LO1, LO2 Alternative activity (instead of or as well as “This or That?”)
Student brainstorm all the words they can think of that relate to disability. Record on board. Go through each word and discuss whether it is respectful or disrespectful and reasons why.
Conclusion and reflection
7mins / LO1, LO2 Check for understanding: (can use reflection circle with tokens if time permits)
What did we learn today?
Why is it important?
What questions do you have?
Teacher’s notes

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Vlasoff Island, Great Barrier Reef

Forgotten island is a small isolated island that has no trees or plants of any description. It’s in a location that is very hot – temperatures climb as high as a scorching 40 degrees - and there is no fresh water or shade. The tiny Island is constantly exposed to the elements of the weather – wind, rain, heat and ocean currents. The island itself has no colour, and all you see when you look out from the island is a vast emptiness. There is no electricity, no entertainment and very little to do on the island. The silence and the ‘nothingness’ is haunting and unnerving.

Sunshine Island is a small, secluded island, shrouded in white, sparkling sand. Visitors wanting to escape the cold can relax in temperatures as warm as high thirties, all year round. This makes it ideal for water activities such as swimming, diving, and snorkeling. This private oasis is a unique and interesting landscape, with visitors having the opportunity to experience a variety of weather conditions, unimpeded by vegetation or buildings. The island itself radiates brilliant white, and when you look out at the turquoise ocean from the island you feel overwhelmed by the beauty in nature. The silence on the island is calming, and the atmosphere is peaceful.

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Everyone, Everyday! This or that? /

Below is a list of words and phrases that have been used to describe people with disability. This list includes respectful words which should be used to describe disability.This list also includes hurtful, disrespectful and outdated terms and phrases that should not be used. Sometimes these words are used to put someone down, whether they have a disability or not.

Your task: for each disability, compare the words and phrases used to describe the person. Make a decision on which words and phrases are respectful and positive. Refer to the language tips previously discussed.

Disability / TICK THE BOX THAT CONTAINS WORDS AND PHRASES THAT ARE RESPECTFUL AND POSITIVE. CROSS OUT THE WORDS THAT ARE DISRESPECTFUL, HURTFUL AND OUTDATED
Blind or Vision Impairment / Blind Freddy, abnormal, useless / Person who is blind; Person with a vision impairment
Deaf or Hearing Impairment / Person who is deaf; Person with hearing impairment / Deaf-and-Dumb, Deaf-Mute
Speech/Communication Impairment / Person with a speech / communication impairment / Dumb, "One who talks bad", stupid, loser
Autism / Person with Autism, interesting / Weird, rude, naughty
Learning Disability / Retarded, Slow, Dopey / Person with a learning or cognitive disability
Mental Illness / Psycho, Crazy, Insane, Wacko, Nuts, Mad, Loser / Person with mental illness
Mobility/Physical Disability / Handicapped, Physically Challenged, "Special," Deformed, Cripple, Spastic, Spaz, Wheelchair-bound, Lame, Unco / Person with mobility or physical disability, Person who uses a wheelchair
Describing a person with a disability / A person with a disability / Poor unfortunate, deformed, suffers from, helpless, hopeless, loser

Respectful language and communication tips

What is "okay" for some people is not ‘okay’ for others. If you do not know what to say, find out what the person is comfortable with.

When communicating with a person with a disability, rely on your common sense. Ask yourself how you would want to be treated.

When talking with and about a person with disability, put the person first, not the disability. For example, use the term ‘a person with a disability’ rather than ‘a disabled person’. Or, ‘a person with a vision impairment’ rather than ’a blind person’’

Face and talk directly to the person with a disability. Don’t talk to the companion, support worker or sign-language interpreter instead.

Never speak about the person as if he or she is invisible, cannot understand what is being said or cannot speak for himself or herself.

Don’t assume a person with a disability can’t do things. They might us assistive devices or technology to talk, walk or even drive a car. They might have strengths in many different areas.

Don’t talk about “fixing” or “making the person better”. They might feel just fine.

Avoid stereotypes or labels, such as “the handicapped’, the ‘blind’ or ‘the disabled’. Remember everyone is unique.

If you’re with someone who uses a guide dog or other kind of service animal, do not pat or talk to the animal. These animals are working and shouldn’t be distracted.

Don’t assume that a person with a disability also has other disabilities. For example, someone who has a vision disability can still hear you. There is no need to shout.

Avoid using words or phrases that can be put downs to people with a disability like ‘crippled’, ‘suffering from’, ‘incapacitated’.

Use ‘person without a disability’ instead of ‘normal’.

Maintain eye contact when you interact with a person with disability - this shows courtesy and respect.

If you think someone with a disability needs help – ask first – don’t just presume they need help. Many people with disability are very capable of taking care of their own needs.

People with disability don’t want you to feel sorry for them. This means people pity them and so don’t value their abilities.

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