The Effects of a Label to a Child's Psychological and Learning Disorders

Do you think a child with a disorder wants to be labeled? Countless special needs children are severely ostracized in the public school system because of their disorders and the subsequent prejudice among their peers. All disorders in school are amplified by "put downs". Peers conveniently tease these children as 'retarded', 'crazy", "freak", "stupid" to "learning disabled" to name a few scary sounding names. These labels crush the self-esteem of a child beyond repair.

Is it prudent then to delay the diagnosis of a disorder until further scientific studies improve with concrete long term empirical evidences? Misunderstandings of the many psychological disorders, learning disorders and mental disorders create associations that hinder the chance for a child to have a normal life.

Trips to the nurse's office after breakfast, no matter how discrete, manage to be a common bullying topic spree by insensitive classmates. School nurses, administrators and teachers are ignorant to the stigma attached to any disorder. As soon as a diagnosis is made, the label cannot escape the child for a long time. The child gets traumatized with the peer's and educator's reactions to their disorder even if often times, the behavior is unintentional. Peers laugh at them. Teachers slow down their daily lessons to a boring pace. Children perceived the stress of their parents with the new diagnosis. They feel defective. The label results to trauma instead of helping the child as originally intended.

What positive benefit does the labeling of a disorder have on the child? The parent, the health care community, the insurance, government, judicial system, clamor for a diagnosis confined to more specific parameters so they can respond appropriately to the disorder in terms of discipline interventions, medical treatments, reimbursements, disability laws and equal opportunity rights, and fair outcomes of rules in the court system. The child, who is the major person affected, rejects the label because of the obvious mortifying responses by everyone.

Public school children literally hate being plucked out by their Resource teacher for direct educational interventions specified in their Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) during class time. For these children, the merits and benefits in assisting them with their disorders, does not justify the labels that they have to live with while they are in school. It is emotionally damaging and humiliating for any child to be in Special Education.

It will take them years to shake off this label put on them. The image carries the stigma to old age. It is like recurring nightmares that linger in their memories and turn into clinical depression and hopelessness in their retirement years.