In the absence of “hard disabilities” such as blindness or deafness, teachers are often responsible for marking students for possible “soft disabilities”, like learning disabilities. This is often done by comparing individual student performance to the normal distribution curve of academic performance within their classrooms. Teachers will refer students performing significantly below their peers by learning and behavioral standards to be evaluated for potential disabilities. 


Teachers’ Roles in Determining Disabilities in Students

In the United States, the white middle class is used as the educational reference point for which all students are compared. This inherently disadvantages students who are POC or of low socioeconomic status, as cultural differences may “mark” these students as having academic and behavioral problems that go against the accepted norm — therefore making them more likely to be placed in special education. 


The Normative Frame of the White Middle Class

Students of color with disabilities are disproportionately more likely to end up in the American prison system. 

The School-to-Prison Pipeline

Minority overrepresentation in special education has been a topic of debate since the 1960s, when sociologists estimated that 60-80% of students identified with disabilities were of low socioeconomic status or were of an ethnic minority. 

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

The study of the impact disability has on individual's wealth.

Economic Impacts of Disability

Hibel, J., Farkas, G., & Morgan, P. L. (2010). Who Is Placed into Special Education? Sociology of Education, 83(4), 312–332. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25746206

Who Is Placed into Special Education?

Economic Impact of Cancer

Data on the cost and impact disability has on an individual, the people supporting that individual and/or a country's wealth.

Statistics on the Cost of Disability

- Indirect costs: $742,326
- Direct Medical Costs: $93,942
- Direct Nonmedical Costs: $84,732
- Total:  Approximately $921,000
*Data taken from 2004 MMWR report, so prices are expected to be greater now.

Economic Impacts of Cerebral Palsy

Many people with disabilities experience stress and low mental health at much higher rates than people without disabilities, especially as a result of unemployment. Research has turned to investigating how those might be combated so that people with disabilities can lower stress and improve mental health. 

Using Recreation Activities to Cope with Stress and Mental Health Associated with Unemployment

The Links Between Socioeconomic Status, Race, and Special Education

In the U.S., the disability insurance program is a social welfare program that offers income and healthcare provisions for those with work-impeding disabilities.

Disability Insurance

The SSDI program is the largest disability program in the United States with projected provisions for the 2020-2029 term being roughly $1.8 trillion. Provisions are given those qualified for social security due to their jobs and who are considered disabled under the Social Security Act.

Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) Program

While there are disability policies put in place to accommodate for disabilities in the workplace, many people with disabilities are still experiencing challenges in their occupational opportunities due to others' misconceptions. 

Disability in the Workplace

In an interview study conducted with nine participants ranging from 29 to 65 years old in Townsville, Australia, it was found that employment, income, housing, and transport were all impacted in an “undesirable” way following the acquisition of physical disability.

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