Barriers Both Visible and Invisible

As I searched the web for scholarly articles and blogs related to the topic of Special Education I immediately found two that seemed to be tremendously different in audience and in purpose. The scholarly article that I read was named "Disability and Society" which focused mainly on the audience of those who have had experiences in a Special Education classroom or situation. "Alongside this there has been a desire to enhance the opportunities young people have to access physical education (PE) and school sport. Previous research has shown that children with SEN (special education needs) often have fewer opportunities to access physical activity due to physical, social and emotional barriers to participation.” (“Disability and Society” 1.). This statement to me seems like the author is trying to target those who have experience and have been in situations when a Special Education student is denied the rights to participate in physical activity. The purpose of this is to raise awareness of this injustice and bring it to the people who are creating the injustice.

Finally, I found a blog online named “Special Education Strategies and More”, this writing was done by a high school student who has encountered a blind student and describes it as something eye-opening. “What I didn't fully recognize until this charming, engaging, delightful girl who happens to be blind was in my class was how heavily I use and rely on facial expressions and gestures.” (“First Week of School” 4.). This girl is trying to target an audience that is just starting to experiment with Special Needs and does not have much experience with different situations regarding various disabilities and handicaps. The purpose of this was to show other teenagers her age that not everyone is the same as us, that there are those who have it much worse and still celebrate their life.