1. The voices of people with disability has been heard as the Canadian government is slowly creating a space that is inclusive for people with or without a disability by creating modified washrooms, elevators, easier access to facilities, etc. There are also plans such as the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) which helps people with disabilities with any financial expenses and helps the person find or maintain their jobs. Canada is headed towards the right direction to ensure that everyone has the same opportunity at life. however, Canada has not always been like this, in fact, It was only up until the 20th century, 1970 to be exact, that people with disabilities were recognized by the government, this raises many questions to Canada’s …show more content…
These institutions gave homes to many individuals with various disabilities such as mental, physical, intellectual, etc. Since the government did not contribute to the growth of these institutions, “Social reformers appealed to the dominant Christian ethic at the time by encouraging Canadians to support various charitable programs & services for disabled people.” (Galler, 2015) This led people to the conclusion that people with disabilities were dependent on others and as a result, they did not have access to the same rights as people without disabilities. After the second world war, many war veterans would come back with various impairments such as “visual, mobility, and psychological disturbances such as “shell-shock” “(Galler, 2015) which is now referred to as now as post-traumatic stress disorder. Around that time when the veterans returned to Canada, many social groups were created to fight against the stigma surrounding people with disabilities “Activists argued that disabled people had a right to participate in main stream society and should enjoy equal access to services that helped them live and work in the …show more content…
In relation to class discussions, the approach that is most evident here is the residual approach; we can see that because the disability community was not the upmost importance of the Canadian government, the institutions were created by what the community had left to offer. Power imbalance was also another reason to as why many individuals with disabilities were not given the same rights as any other person without disabilities, “Widespread trust in medical authority and the growth of industrialization created a set of social, political and economic conditions during the early 19th and 20th century in Canada that fostered the segregation of disabled people in Canada.” (Galler, 2015) After WWII, medical professionals received a lot of respect & dominance over the lives of the individuals with
The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 set out to end the discrimination people with disabilities encounter. The Act gave disabled people the right to employment, access to goods, facilities, and services and the right to buy and rent land and property. These rights came into force in December 1996, making treating a disabled person less favorably than an able-bodied person unlawful. Further rights came into force in October 1999, including the idea that service providers should consider making reasonable adjustments to the way they deliver their services so that people with a disability can use them. (The DDA...) However, despite these
Behiling, Laura L. "The Necessity of Disability in 'Good Country People' and 'The Lame Shall Enter First'." Flannery O'Connor Review 4 (2006): 88-89. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Baynton, Douglas. "Disability and Justification of Inequality in American History." The New Disability History. New York: New York University Press, 2001. 285-294. Print.
Shakespeare, T. (1993) Disabled people's self-organisation: a new social movement?, Disability, Handicap & Society, 8, pp. 249-264 .
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.
In Douglas Baynton’s Disability and the Justification of Inequality in America, he draws attention to the fact that, historically, people used disabilities as a justification for the discrimination of minority groups in America. He uses examples of certain societal groups who faced discrimination not simply because they were disabled, but because they did not pass for “normal.” Noting that being abnormal has been historically categorized as being disabled, he details how the mere “concept of disability had been used to justify discrimination against other groups by attributing disability to them” (Baynton 33). Utilizing historical references of such phenomenon within the social context of racism, sexism, and immigration status, Baynton emphasizes his point that if we are ever to better the way our society treats these groups we must first come forth with a much improved historical understanding of how disability was used to justify such discrimination. Spoken of defective individuals and defective races, “both were placed in hierarchies constructed on the basis of whether they were seen as ‘improvable’ or not capable of being educated, cured, or civilized. Whether it was individual atavism or a group’s lack of evolutionary development, the common element in all was the presence or attribution of disability” (Baynton 35). In other words, historically speaking, our society has chosen to categorize and label people using preconceived notions of disability to justify discrimination of persons due to their race, gender, or being that of a minority group.
Approximately twenty years ago there weren’t many improvements made to assist disabled people in the workforce. Ableism was recognized but not much was done. But that has changed significantly. People are much more aware of it and are trying to fix the mistakes of the past to create a better future. One major effect ableism has is that Canadians with disabilities are very likely to live in poverty. 56% of disabled people are unemployed (Council of Canadians with Disabilities , n.d.). Another effect of Ableism is that disabled Canadians are more susceptible to violence and abuse, and are even turning to suicide (Council of Canadians with Disabilities , n.d.). This topic effects cross culture communication because people with disabilities feel that they have only others (with similar disabilities) so turn to for guiding, comfort, and strength. They experience all the negativity towards them for something that they cannot control. One way we can change this is to get involved with the community is to volunteer our time and skills to the organizations who employ disabled people, or institutions that are dedicated to taking care of
...discussion and as Baynton argues, the concept of disability plays a key role in justifying inequality in treatment. This has been shown throughout American history as reflected in the discriminatory practices that has denied women of suffrage, deprived African Americans of freedom and civil rights and prohibited immigrants from entry to the Land of Milk and Honey. Disabilities emanating from race and gender that had since been proven to be untrue or socially construed constitute a case of discrimination. Meanwhile, disabilities in lieu of diversity justify issues of exclusion or differences in treatment in order to accommodate the specific special needs of people with true disabilities.
"Disability the facts." New Internationalist Nov. 2013: 20+. Advanced Placement Government and Social Studies Collection. Web. 27 May 2014.
After spending about a year volunteering at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and completing two field placements at local hospitals, I’ve found that my best work is done with the elderly population. These experiences have molded my personal goal to crusade for the civil rights of individuals with disabilities, especially those in the older generation. Additionally, I now have a better understanding of treatments and services that are provided to individuals with disabilities. Many patients at these hospitals were admitted due to an injury or life-threatening illness. There are millions of Americans with disabilities, yet feelings of helplessness, vulnerability, and depression are often evident, as if having a disability isn’t a common occurrence. In 2005, I was in a car accident, and it broke my pelvis, fractured my C1 vertebra and required emergency surgery to remove my spleen. I was unable to sit up or get out of bed for about 2 months and was re...
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_270487.pdf [Accessed 28/01/14]. Scotch, R (1989) From Good Will to Civil Rights: Transforming federal disability policy. Temple University Press: Philadelphia, PA. Shakespeare, T (2006) Disability: Rights and Wrongs.
Disability is an topic that has produced conflict, and is viewed very differently from either side. For able-bodied people to truly understand what disabled people go through they need to see disabled people more; see their lives. If seeing disabled people more often became reality, they would be viewed as normal more, and it would make interacting easier for both sides. Disabled people have a hard life, but it does not mean it is not worth living. Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, and Harriet McBryde Johnson all have physical disabilities, and have written about their experiences and views. In their writings, they touch upon both similar and different points. A very present similarity between the authors is they all play to the same audience. In their messages, both Mairs and Johnson agree that able-bodied people automatically assume that disabled people have a lower quality of life or are unhappy. The strategies used by each author plays to their message, and aids them in getting across their position. Disability isn’t always easy to understand, and these authors help illustrate that.
In the essay “Disability,” Nancy Mairs discusses the lack of media attention for the disabled, writing: “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anyone’s life.” An ordinary person has very little exposure to the disabled, and therefore can only draw conclusions from what is seen in the media. As soon as people can picture the disabled as regular people with a debilitating condition, they can begin to respect them and see to their needs without it seeming like an afterthought or a burden. As Mairs wrote: “The fact is that ours is the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time.” Looking at the issue from this angle, it is easy to see that many disabled people were ordinary people prior to some sort of accident. Mairs develops this po...
...eglected social issues in recent history (Barlow). 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.
This act established old age benefits and funding for assistance to blind individuals and disabled children and the extension of existing vocational rehabilitation programmes. In present day society, since the passage of the ADA (American with Disabilities Act of 1990) endless efforts of the disability rights movement have continued on the focus of the rigorous enforcement of the ADA, as well as accessibility for people with disabilities in employment, technology, education, housing, transportation, healthcare, and independent living for the people who are born with a disability and for the people who develop it at some point in their lives. Although rights of the disabled have significantly gotten better globally throughout the years, many of the people who have disabilities and are living in extremely undeveloped countries or supreme poverty do not have access nor rights to any benefits. For example, people who are in wheelchairs as a transportation device have extremely limited access to common places such as grocery stores, schools, employment offices,