Microaggression is a term coined by Derald Wing Sue, a Columbia University professor, to describe intentional or unintentional behaviors, insults, and indignities which demean, shame, marginalize, or outright intimidate individual groups of people (ADL, 1).
Traditionally, aggressions have been associated with school age children bullying peers that may not fall into what is considered the mainstream. Aggression associated with children generally escalate into more physical forms of abuse which is more blatant and easily detected. However, more subtle forms of degradation have become more pervasive in all levels of our society.
“…unintentional microaggressions repeated frequently by well-meaning friends and family can erode one’s self-esteem and potential to thrive.”
Adults and children affected by developmental conditions fall prey to microaggression at school, work, community settings and within their own social groups and families. Premeditated aggression as well as misguided actions that marginalize individuals can be devastating. In fact, unintentional microaggressions repeated frequently by well-meaning friends and family can erode one’s self-esteem and potential to thrive.
Identifying Microaggression
Trust your instincts to identify elements of microaggression in social settings. Every person has a built-in thermostat that gauges the temperature of their environment. The human spirt has the natural ability to embrace genuine acceptance and to reject anything that feels uncomfortable. Individuals with developmental conditions must navigate their way through situations where, for no other reason than having a condition, they are marginalized. For those who are unable to advocate for themselves, caregivers are charged with the task of decerning ways to guard loved ones from being demeaned and marginalized.
“Individuals with developmental conditions must navigate their way through situations where, for no other reason than having a condition, they are marginalized.”
During initial interactions, much information can be gathered by simply looking and listening to what is going on in our surrounding. Non-verbal and verbal communication are filled with hints as to how one may feel about individuals with conditions such as autism, Down syndrome, Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Tourette syndrome, or someone with a visual impairment.
Non-verbal cues of microaggression directed toward individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions can include:
1. Facial expressions (i.e. staring, smirking, eye rolling, dismay)
2. Hand gestures (i.e. pointing, dismissive waves, obscene gestures)
3. Body posture (i.e. turning ones back on or looking away from an individual as they speak)
4. Avoidance (i.e. moving away from someone after they have joined a group)
5. Exclusion from events (i.e. lack of reasonable accommodations for individuals with conditions at social events, not extending invitations to social event to individuals with impairments)
6. Lack of opportunity for professional growth in work settings (i.e. being excluded from conferences and workshops needed for advancement, placing workers with a condition in dead end jobs, failure to provide reasonable accommodations to individual related with visible conditions)
Verbal cues of Microaggression directed toward individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions can include:
1. A person’s tone of voice that causes anxiety to someone with a condition (i.e. impatient, dismissive, condescending, angry, demeaning)
2. Derogatory comments (i.e. “your kind doesn’t belong here”, “why don’t you just go out on disability”)
3. Speaking on behalf of someone who can express their thoughts (i.e. failing to get input prior to making a decision about a person with a developmental condition, overriding the stated wishes of individuals with a condition to get a different result)
4. Inappropriate jokes (i.e. peers laughing at distasteful comments regarding individuals with developmental conditions)
5. Workplace bullying (i.e. an environment where workers with developmental conditions are consistently verbally harassed and intimidated without repercussions by designated supervisors)
