People look different, act different and like different things. Everyone is different. Different does not mean better or worse. It just means different. Some differences are easy to see, and some are not. Children notice differences between people from a young age. Human DNA is more than 99.9% the same from person to person; the 0.1% that differs comes from variations among about 3 billion DNA “letters.” Even within one family, people can have different blood groups and eye colors, because their DNA differs a little. Fingerprint ridges on every finger of every human being are unique and do not change as a person grows or ages. Each brain has billions of interconnected neurons that form unique pathways, so, like fingerprints, no two brains are alike.
Eye color is different from person to person, from very light blue to dark brown. Eye color is directly related to the amount of melanin in the front layers of the iris: brown eyes have a large amount, and blue eyes have much less. Most people are right-handed, but about 1 in 10 people (10.6%) is left-handed. People differ considerably in the activities for which they prefer a given hand, and in how much better one hand is than the other. Families come in all different shapes and sizes. Some families have stepparents, one parent, or parents who found their children through adoption. In 2023, 75% of U.S. children under 6 lived with two parents, compared with 68% of children ages 12 to 17, as of November 2023.
Braille is a system of raised dots that people who are blind or have low vision read with their fingers. Louis Braille, who was blinded at the age of three, invented the braille system in 1824 as a student at a school for blind children in Paris. American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, natural language with the same linguistic properties as spoken languages, and its grammar differs from English. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions; there is no universal sign language. In ASL, a question is asked by raising the eyebrows, widening the eyes and tilting the body forward, while English speakers raise the pitch of their voices and change word order. In 1944 Dr. Ludwig Guttmann opened a spinal injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Great Britain. Rehabilitation sport there grew into recreational and then competitive sport. The first competition for wheelchair athletes, the Stoke Mandeville Games, was organized on 29 July 1948 by Dr. Ludwig Guttmann. It included 16 injured servicemen and women in archery.
The first Paralympic Games took place in Rome, Italy, in 1960, with 400 athletes from 23 countries. They have been held every four years since. In 1975, U.S. public schools accommodated only 1 out of 5 children with disabilities. Many states had laws that explicitly excluded some of them, such as children who were deaf or blind. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 forbade organizations that accepted federal funds from discriminating against people with disabilities. Staring, pointing and leaving someone out are unkind. A respectful question is fine.
On November 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142). It requires a “free, appropriate public education” tailored to each child with a disability. The 1975 law aimed to protect the rights of children with disabilities and their parents, and to make sure states and localities educate all children with disabilities. The 1975 law required schools to serve all children with disabilities. It also required an individualized education program (IEP) for each child, and education to the maximum extent appropriate alongside peers without disabilities. In 1990 Congress renamed the 1975 law the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and it was reauthorized again in 2004. IDEA says students with disabilities should learn in the least restrictive environment, meaning in settings with peers without disabilities as much as possible.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to work, buy goods and services, and take part in state and local government programs. The ADA was signed on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. It prohibits disability-based discrimination and required changes to the built environment, including curb cuts. Congress found in the ADA that physical or mental disabilities in no way diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all aspects of society. In 1972 the city of Berkeley, California, installed its first official “curb cut” at an intersection on Telegraph Avenue after disabled activists pressed for it. The “curb-cut effect” is that ramps built for wheelchair users were also used by parents with strollers, workers with carts, travelers with luggage, runners and skateboarders. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for designing learning so that it elevates strengths and removes barriers for all learners.
Peer pressure to conform, to do what others are doing, can be powerful and hard to resist. People may feel pressure to conform so they fit in or are accepted, or so they do not feel awkward or uncomfortable. People respond to peer pressure differently: some people are more likely to give in, and others are better able to resist and stand their ground. Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. When teasing becomes hurtful, unkind and constant, it crosses the line into bullying. Leaving someone out on purpose can be a kind of bullying. Kids who bully sometimes pick on someone who looks or acts different. This is never okay.
No single factor puts a child at risk of being bullied. Kids perceived as different, such as for wearing glasses or different clothing or for being new to a school, are more often targeted. Treating someone badly because they are different is not okay. People who act mean and put others down often do so because they lack self-confidence and try to cover it up by staying in control. Empathy is the ability to sense other people’s emotions and to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. Empathy has deep roots in our brains and bodies: elementary forms of empathy have been seen in primates, dogs and even rats. Playing and working with people who are different from you helps you practice kindness and empathy.
Contact helps: getting to know people who are different from yourself leads to reduced prejudice and increased understanding. Harvard researcher Richard Weissbourd says almost all kids are kind to somebody, and that the real work is getting kids to be kind to people outside their immediate circle of concern. Bystanders can become upstanders: an upstander sees what is happening and steps in, interrupts or speaks up to stop bullying. Even one person’s support can make a big difference for someone who is being bullied. Bystanders can act as a group: there is strength in numbers when several people show they do not agree with bullying. A smile and an invitation to play is a kind way to meet someone new. A kind way to include someone is to invite a child who is sitting alone to join in. A grown-up you trust can help when someone is being unkind or when being different feels hard.
Words to know
- ramps: for wheelchairs
- braille: raised dot writing
- empathy: sensing feelings
- upstander: steps in
