Still Lost in Translation

Abstract

Interdisciplinary dialogue can help progress and improve professional fields. Progress and improvement may be impeded by barriers within an interdisciplinary dialogue, two of which are false dichotomies and faulty generalizations. It is our opinion that this particular interdisciplinary dialogue will advance productively by avoiding: false dichotomies about the medical model and Disability Studies in Education (DSE) framework; false dichotomies about using a normality approach to establish goals; and faulty generalizations about practitioners within and outside the field in which we are trained. Most helping professionals care passionately about improving the quality of lives of the people with whom they work. Centering interdisciplinary conversations on this shared value can help avoid false dichotomies and faulty generalizations.