ABSTRACT
National and international attention to disability has provided some ways to conceptualize and defi ne disability in a broad sense. Th e ADAAA, for example, distinguishes impairment from disability to defi ne which persons are covered by its policies. Th e UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defi nes persons with disabilities in order to appropriately direct a human rights agenda. In education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) provides the vocabulary used to defi ne disability. Greatly infl uenced by the medical model of disability, 13 categories of impairment are defi ned, which describe the students who may receive special education services. Th e previous chapter provided discussion of many ways that disability language and labels are contested and perceived diff erently by various stakeholders. Language and labels used in education are similarly subject to the same variety of perspectives. Th is chapter off ers an overview of the defi nitions of disability described in IDEIA. In addition, it provides discussion on aspects of the labels that have been contested, especially in the Disability Studies in Education fi eld. Th e aim is to provide candid information about the infl uential educational policy, IDEIA, while also off ering critical examination of the language practices contained in it.
