Free Articles from Interaction 28 Issue 2 Perceptions can not control reality ...

v28/2/’14 : interaction

Perceptions Control Reality
Our family’s journey to embracing an
inclusionary vision
Cátia Malaquias
I read some time ago that the new brain science suggests that our perceptions, in a
sense, create our reality. The same author suggests that another of the realities of
human development is the need to be “included”.8 “Being included” is what creates
“belonging” and, as a parent, I have come to understand the importance of
“belonging” particularly for children; beyond the basic necessities of life, I consider
it to be at the top of the hierarchy of human need. For children with disability, that
need is perhaps even greater.
However, I have not always seen things that way and in the five years since my son
Julius was born I have begun to appreciate the impact of our cultural and historical
perceptions of disability and how they shape the realities of those who experience
disability. In particular, I have come to realise that our previous generations’ cultural
upbringing did not acknowledge “belonging” as a universal human need and did not
recognise “being included” as a universal human right9. It has been through this
reflection that I have come to understand why and how our contemporary cultural
perceptions of disability became so distorted.
When Julius was born, we welcomed him into the world as the precious child that
he is. But when the words “Down syndrome” were first spoken the next day, it
seemed to us as if everything had changed; I felt as if I was no longer holding the
same child. There were many emotions, fear and confusion. We didn’t know what
future we could hope for Julius and what path he would follow but we assumed it
wasn’t going to be the same path as his older sister, Laura. What I have come to
know as historically-biased perceptions flooded my responses. As I cradled my daysold child, I turned to one of the maternity ward nurses and asked, “Do you know
which are the best 'special schools’ around?”

Wills, D. (2010) Our brains are hardwired to be inclusive. (wwwpledg.com/what/)
Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Right of Persons With Disabilities, to
which Australia is a signatory, calls for “full and effective participation and inclusion in
society” and article 19 calls for recognition of the “equal right of all persons with disabilities
to (…) full inclusion and participation in the community”. Notably, article 24 sets out rights
in relation to education and requires State parties to ensure “an inclusive education system at
all levels” directed to “full development of human potential” and that people with disability
are “not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability”.
8
9

Australian Institute on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

!25