Globally, there are about a billion people living with disability. As the years advance, the prevalence of disability is bound to rise. This will be as a result of various factors such as ageing. As people age the risk of acquiring chronic health conditions such as diabetes, osteoporosis, mental health disorders, cancer and cardiovascular disease rises. Therefore, it is extremely vital for people to understand disability and what it entails. Disability Introduction The term disability is used to describe individuals who have a condition that impedes them from completing everyday tasks. These conditions can manifest as either physical or mental impairments. Not all disabled people are born with this condition; there are those who acquire the condition in the course of their life. Currently, some of the rights groups have taken up the acronym TAB, drolly to describe people with disabilities. It stands for “temporary able-bodied”. At one point of life, almost everyone will experience either temporary or permanent impairment. The chances of this happening increases with old age as the functioning of the body starts to deteriorate. Body The global responses to disability have changed over the years. The acceptance and understanding of this condition has played a significant role in embracing disability into the society. Since the 1970s, there have been campaigns to sensitize the public about disability. This has led to the empowerment and has prompted large self-organizations by persons with disabilities. Historically, persons with disabilities have often been provided for through the same solutions that have led to their segregation. These include special schools or special residential institutions. Policies have now shifted from the ... ... middle of paper ... ...the disability culture, this form of exploitation can be expunged. Policies that have a provision for exploitation can be purged from the system (Longmore, 1995). Conclusion The definition of disability should not remain the basis for which people identify people with disabilities. Just like the rest of the able-bodied humans, persons with disabilities are human beings too and they deserve to be treated equally. Opportunities available for able-bodied persons should also be made available to people with disabilities. Although they may require extra support system to enable them cater for their everyday routines, this should not be an avenue for exploitation. The definition of disability also varies and depends on the perspective from which and individual chooses to view it. Its definition can vary according to subject or period of time in which it has been described.
Disability is a ‘complex issue’ (Alperstein, M., Atkins, S., Bately, K., Coetzee, D., Duncan, M., Ferguson, G., Geiger, M. Hewett, G., et al.., 2009: 239) which affects a large percentage of the world’s population. Due to it being complex, one can say that disability depends on one’s perspective (Alperstein et al., 2009: 239). In this essay, I will draw on Dylan Alcott’s disability and use his story to further explain the four models of disability being The Traditional Model, The Medical Model, The Social Model and The Integrated Model of Disability. Through this, I will reflect on my thoughts and feelings in response to Dylan’s story as well as to draw on this task and my new found knowledge of disability in aiding me to become
Thomas and Smith (2009), examine definitions of disability, they put definitions of disability into two board categories: medical or social. The medical definitions are also called personal tragedy category definitions. The medical definitions of disability domi¬nated understanding about disability for most of the twentieth century, particularly in Western countries. It suggests that disability is an impairment that is owned by an individual and which results in a loss or limitation of function or some other 'defect '. In 1980, the definitions of impairment, handicap and disability ware introduced by World Health Organization (WHO), which came to be widely used to apply much social and welfare policy and professional practice.
Everybody wants a fair chance to succeed in life, but discrimination means that some people are denied opportunities or are treated badly because of their disability. This treatment is unjust, unnecessary and against the law. We all should be aware of how and where disability discrimination
The Medical Model of disability has been the dominant paradigm of conceptualization disability: “For over a hundred years, disability has been defined in predominantly medical terms as a chronic functional incapacity whose consequence was functional limitations assumed to result from physical or mental impairment.” This approach to understanding disability tends to be more descriptive and normative by seeking out to define what is normal and what is not. Consequently, strict normative categories abound, namely the “disabled” and “abled” dichotomy. This model views the physiological difference itself as the problem, where the individual is the focus of that said disability.
If a disabled individual can perform the essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation, that person cannot be discriminated against based on their
"Disability the facts." New Internationalist Nov. 2013: 20+. Advanced Placement Government and Social Studies Collection. Web. 27 May 2014.
Historically, we have been taught that people with disabilities are different and do not belong among us, because they are incompetent, cannot contribute to society or that they are dangerous. We’re still living with the legacy of people with disabilities being segregated, made invisible, and devalued. The messages about people with disabilities need to be changed. There needs to be more integration of people with disabilities into our culture to balance out the message. Because of our history of abandonment and initialization, fear and stigma impact our choices more than they would if acceptance, community integration, and resources were a bigger part of our history.
The social model defines disability as a social construct that creates unwanted barriers for individuals, and a public concern, (Smart & Smart, 2006). Examples of these barriers include “inaccessible education systems, working environments, inadequate disability benefits, discriminatory health and social support services, inaccessible transport, houses and public buildings and amenities, and the devaluing of disabled people through negative images in the media, (Thomas, 2007, p. 13). Swain, et al (1993), states that “disability is not a condition of the individual. The experiences of disabled people are of social restrictions in the world around them, not being a person with a ‘disabling condition,’” (as cited by Lutz & Bowers, 2003).
It could be said that in modern industrial society, Disability is still widely regarded as tragic individual failing, in which its “victims” require care, sympathy and medical diagnosis. Whilst medical science has served to improve and enhance the quality of life for many it could be argued that it has also led to further segregation and separation of many individuals. This could be caused by its insistence on labelling one as “sick”, “abnormal” or “mental”. Consequently, what this act of labelling and diagnosing has done, is enforce the societal view that a disability is an abnormality that requires treatment and that any of its “victims” should do what is required to be able to function in society as an able bodied individual.
The World Health Organisation, WHO, (1980) defines disability in the medical model as a physical or mental impairment that restricts participation in an activity that a ‘normal’ human being would partake, due to a lack of ability to perform the task . Michigan Disability Rights Coalition (n.d.) states that the medical model emphasizes that there is a problem regarding the abilities of the individual. They argue that the condition of the disabled persons is solely ‘medical’ and as a result the focus is to cure and provide treatment to disabled people (Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, 2014). In the medical model, issues of disability are dealt with according to defined government structures and policies and are seen as a separate issue from ordinary communal concerns (Emmet, 2005: 69). According to Enabling Teachers and Trainers to Improve the Accessibility of Adult Education (2008) people with disabilities largely disa...
Disability: Any person who has a mental or physical deterioration that initially limits one or more major everyday life activities. Millions of people all over the world, are faced with discrimination, the con of being unprotected by the law, and are not able to participate in the human rights everyone is meant to have. For hundreds of years, humans with disabilities are constantly referred to as different, retarded, or weird. They have been stripped of their basic human rights; born free and are equal in dignity and rights, have the right to life, shall not be a victim of torture or cruelty, right to own property, free in opinion and expression, freedom of taking part in government, right in general education, and right of employment opportunities. Once the 20th century
The issue of the rights of patients with disabilities is of great importance and has been addressed many times by specialists who are engaged with it. In the context of protecting these rights, committee on the rights of persons with disabilities was established and a Convention was written.
French, S. & Swain, J. 2008. Understanding Disability: A Guide for Health Professionals. Philadelphia: Churchilll Livingstone Elsevier: 4
People with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination in society. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, persons with disabilities are generally excluded from education, employment, and community life, which deprives them of opportunities essential to their social development, health and well-being (Stefan). It is such barriers and discrimination that actually set people apart from society, in many cases making them a burden to the community. The ideas and concepts of equality and full participation for persons with disabilities have been developed very far on paper, but not in reality (Wallace). The government can make numerous laws against discrimination, but this does not change the way that people with disabilities are judged in society.
“For purposes of nondiscrimination laws (e.g. the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act), a person with a disability is generally defined as someone who (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more "major life activities," (2) has a record of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment.