Among these, teacher's assumptions appear to be the most significant. Additional research is recommended to explore these assumptions as they often result in an unwarranted diagnosis of disability and special education placement, especially among male African-American students. 4. Walther-Thomas, C. & Brownell, M. (1999). An interview with...Mara Sapon-Shevin: Implications for students and teachers of labeling students as learning disabled/gifted. Intervention in School and Clinic, 34(4), 244. Retrieved October 4, 2009, from Academic Research Library. (Document ID: 39366792).

Sapon-Shevin, an expert in special and gifted education, talks about the implications of labeling in children. Labels in schools affect both the opportunities for children...

Instead of labeling, she suggests to describe students as being "good at some things" and "having difficulty with others." Noteworthy is a brainstorming activity she usually conducts during trainings for pre-service and in-service teachers: to think of the many different ways in which children differ. As the teachers come up with 40-50 differences including race, religion, language, physical size, skills, etc., she reminds them that that the presence of a disability represents only one dimension of who a student is.
PARENTAL CONCERNS and SPECIAL EDUCATORS

1. Greene, R. Beszterczey, S., Katzenstein, T. & et al. (2002). Are students with ADHD more stressful to teach? Patterns of teacher stress in an elementary school sample. J. Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 10(2), 79-89. Retrieved Oct. 3, 2009, from Academic Research Library. (Document ID: 121853427).

The authors report that general education teachers in elementary schools find students with ADHD more stressful to teach compared to their classmates without ADHD. Their findings have implications on teacher training, seeking viable options for pursuing