The Negatives

• Stereotyping. A label can give people a false sense of knowing all about a child. Most special needs are heterogeneous within categories; that is, they encompass a broad range of symptoms and behaviors. For example, three children with AD/HD may present with three very different profiles of strengths and weaknesses and vary widely in the types of support and management they need at school and home. However, a teacher told that Terry has AD/HD may think he knows all he needs to about the child. For this reason, Dr. Mel Levine, author of Educational Care, prefers to use what he calls a phenomenological approach, outlining a child’s strengths and weaknesses and then formulating educational and home strategies to support the child.

• Hopelessness. Parents may fear that once their child has a label, those who work with her will give up on her, lowering their expectations to match their (possibly erroneous) ideas of the severity, pervasiveness, and permanence of the child’s limitations.

• Stigma. Although there has been progress in the past few decades, a stigma is still associated with most special needs. Parents may fear that their special needs child will be viewed as "dumb" or "crazy."

The Positives

Despite all of these negatives, there are also positives to using labels, as long as the labels are correct for that child. These include:

• Seal of Authenticity. When teachers and other adults in a child’s life are apprised of a child’s diagnosis, it tells them that there’s a reason for the child’s behaviors that might otherwise be attributed to bad parenting, naughtiness, or not trying. It also gives them information on more productive ways to manage the child’s behaviors in the classroom and at home.

• Validation. Children already know they’re different from their classmates. Very often, they interpret that difference as meaning that they’re "stupid" or "weird." It can help children who are demoralized to learn the reason for their struggles, such as: "It’s hard for you to pay attention in the classroom because you have more trouble than most people hearing when there’s background noise"; or "The reason you have trouble reading is because you have dyslexia; and now that we know, we can get you reading instruction that fits the way you learn." Providing this type of explanation also lets children know that we believe them when they say they can’t (rather than won’t) do something – often after years of being berated for not trying.

• Understanding. For all the risks of stereotyping, knowing a label can help the people around a child better understand her challenges and strengths. Teachers can be more patient with a child who needs directions repeated due to a hearing problem rather than lack of attention. Once the school knows that a child has Asperger Syndrome, behavior seen as "sassy" can now be seen as the result of not understanding what is being requested or not knowing how to act appropriately.

• Education. If we give in to the fear of stigma, we lose the chance to educate the community about the true nature of special needs. I am not suggesting sacrificing our kids’ well-being in order to teach others. However, showing that we are not embarrassed by our child’s special needs teaches people around us that it’s not something shameful.

• Services. Having a diagnostic label is important for getting services in the schools. Children not identified as having special learning needs will not receive the accommodations and remediation they need to succeed.

• Family Interactions. Siblings need to know about the special needs in order to understand what’s going on in the family. Not only does it help them be more patient and sympathetic, it can also be crucial for dealing with any teasing they may encounter at school. If classmates say "Your brother is a weirdo," it makes a big difference to know that he isn’t that way by choice but because he has Asperger Syndrome. A lot is asked of siblings of special needs children, and they are better able to rise to the challenge if they aren’t kept in the dark. (For more on this, see the article at http://uniquelygifted.org/siblings.htm.)

Meredith Warshaw, M.S.S., M.A., is a special needs educational advisor, writer, lecturer, and contributing editor for 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter. She may be reached for comment and response to this column at MW@2eNewsletter.com.