What is Ableism

There is a dominant discourse surrounding special education in the province of Ontario based on ableist attitudes and the medical model of disability. There has been a significant increase in ableist attitudes and the medical model of disability ingrained in publicly funded schools in Ontario. The notion that disability is an anomaly to “normal” and the idea that we need to “fix” or “change” these differences have guided both provincial policy and the actions, reactions, and ideologies of this educator. In this chapter, the author confronts her conceptions of special education, learning, and teaching. Through an autoethnographic approach, her practices as an educator and her positionality connected to critical disability theory, decolonization, and the education of children with special education needs are reframed.