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Disabilities in society essays
Perception of disability in society essay
Perception of disability in society essay
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Recommended: Disabilities in society essays
Understanding disability in our society today is not an easy task. I personally view disability as a long-term struggle that forces you to feel hopeless and live in a different world. When I read the numerous case studies on the utilization of the ICF, it makes me understand how ‘Disability’ became a medical term and how I could apply myself as well as other populations. Obviously, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health is more commonly known for providing diverse languages, framework, and descriptions of health and health related issues, which implies to the ICF. As the class textbook states, healthcare organizations use different codes in healthcare, such as diseases, disorders, and illness (ICD-10 codes), …show more content…
In this case, the domains are represented in multiple different lists, such as functions and structures, activities and participation, contextual factors, and umbrella terms. Within the domains, they contain body structures and functions, activities and participation, environmental and personal factors, as well as disability. Disability has some similarities with the term umbrella towards impairments and the limitations/restrictions of activities. Plus, the ICF incorporates certain environmental factors with these components. I feel that frameworks for functional status information should be required to be more common in order to make information comparable and of value. The International Classification of Functioning and the Disability and Health (ICF) became approved by all the of the World Health Organization members through all of their participating countries as they provide a common language and framework that is comprehensible to everyone. The class textbook also stated that the overall classification of the ICF, introduces plans for them to use models that help elaborate on how the ICF uses at population and clinical level. In this …show more content…
Disability is able to be categorized and coded utilizing the ICF-CY framework which develops a direct path towards identifying individuals with disability needs. In this case, I think it is important to document the possible circumstances of people with disabilities across the world as they take measures to encourage their social participants, ranging from rehabilitation methods to educational purposes. Essentially, public health is characterized towards both disabled and non-disabled individuals who incorporate surveys, census, and questionnaires to provide both a meaningful and complete depiction of healthcare needs that they desire. The ICF-CY identifies that environmental factors, such as physical, social, and attitudinal are common facilitators and barriers that hinder a disabled patient’s ability to fulfil their life as they wish by getting appropriate health and education services. Through these services, the development of both the ICF and the ICF-CY have proven to be significant improvements towards the characteristics of patients with disabilities because of the environments of which they live in. I believe that this can have a big impact on the tools used towards the establishment of successful advocacy and
What comes into one’s mind when they are asked to consider physical disabilities? Pity and embarrassment, or hope and encouragement? Perhaps a mix between the two contrasting emotions? The average, able-bodied person must have a different perspective than a handicapped person, on the quality of life of a physically disabled person. Nancy Mairs, Andre Dubus, and Harriet McBryde Johnson are three authors who shared their experiences as physically handicapped adults. Although the three authors wrote different pieces, all three essays demonstrate the frustrations, struggles, contemplations, and triumphs from a disabled person’s point of view and are aimed at a reader with no physical disability.
Take a second and imagine yourself as an elderly 72-year-old person, struggling with a dreadful disease, multiple sclerosis. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, multiple sclerosis is a defined as a disabled disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body (insert citation). With this picture in your head, think about how society may view you. Think about the struggles you would undergo daily. Most importantly, think about how other people would label you. Personally, would you prefer to be characterized as handicapped, disabled, differently abled, or crippled? While these names may sound a bit harsh, Nancy Mairs, the author of an article called “On Being a Cripple, easily chose her preference. Among the several possibilities, she chooses the word and uses it comfortably throughout the passage; however, she refuses to let it define the type of person she is. Diagnosed at the age of 28, Nancy Mairs sorted through the other politically correct synonyms and found something that is meticulously suitable. Mairs hates the world “disabled” considering that it conveys that she is physically or mentally incapacitated. She also refuses to
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
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.
Langdon Winner (1993): Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding It Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology
"Disability the facts." New Internationalist Nov. 2013: 20+. Advanced Placement Government and Social Studies Collection. Web. 27 May 2014.
The Medical Model is one of the approaches used to understand people with disabilities, and is ‘concerned with the origin, degree, type of loss and the onset’ of a certain disability (Munoz-Baell &Ruiz, 2000; 54:40-44). This approach views a disability as something no human being wants and should be avoided at all costs if possible (Models-Deafness, 2005). The Medical Model aims to treat people with disabilities, but before treatment can take place they need to study the disabilities and conduct experiments. In some cases the tests and investigations conducted violate the subject’s (disabled person/people being studied) fundamental human rights (Chenoweth, 1995; 36). As stated in the Integrated National Disability Strategy (INDS) : Models of Disability (1997) the Medical Model is made up of establishments that cater to people with disabilities in terms of ‘providing treatment or alternatives’ to their impairment. Although they have good intentions (to assist the disabled) this models interventions result in disabled people being dependent on these institutions and the government.
The ICF model can be used to identified the patient’s impairments, activity limitations, and the participation restrictions. For this patient, his impairments are the inability to achieve full left knee extension and flexion, decrease strength of the lower extremities, decreased kinesthesia of the upper and lower extremities, decreased motor control of the trunk. The activity limitations of the patient are decreased sitting balance, decreased ability to perform sit to stands, poor standing balance, and inability to ambulate independently. The participation restrictions of the patient are the inability to spend quality time with children in the town and the inability to navigate home and community independently. When evaluating this patient,
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.
Healthcare professionals lack experience and education on how to work with hospitalized patients with intellectual disabilities (reference). Admittance into the hospital can put a lot of stress on individuals with ID as well as their caregivers, and the healthcare professionals involved. Balancing the needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities is a challenge for many professionals throughout the hospital due to multiple factors have produced years of social oppression, institutional discrimination, and attitudinal barriers. Communication is the key to maintaining a seamless flow between health care professionals and their special need patients. By advocating for a reform in training of health care professions, this would help with increasing the quality of services provided for those with intellectual
Disability is defined as a long term condition that restricts an individual’s daily activities (Government of Western Australia Department of Communities, n.d.). A disability can be identified in numerous types which are physical, sensory neurological and psychiatric. Due to the assistance with appropriate aids and services, the restrictions experienced by individuals with a disability may be overcome. However, the ways society perceives disability may have a significant impact on individuals living with it and also families around them. Therefore, the aim of this essay is to reflect on the social construction of disability through examining the social model of disability and how it may impact on the lives of people living with disability.
Because of the ambiguity of the definition, there is a requirement to have the social model to help to provide the answers. As the social model illustrates how the social institutions, labels, and stereotypes impact the perceived abilities of a disabled person, it is shown that the definitions of what is “normal”, “good”, and “functional” all come from the current society in which the person lives. Additionally, as culture and these definitions change with time and new ideologies and technological advances, what defines a disabled person will also change with time. This is also true across cultures as there may be different requirements to be considered “functional” or in good health in other cultures. For instance, a man unable to walk may not be as hindered in his freedom of movement if he is only required to stay in a small local area, such as a village, in comparison to a large city. However, it is also important to point out that the social model requires the medical model as well because the social model fails to focus on the individual at a more micro level. A person may see others in a similar circumstance and react in a different
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...
Clinicians will want to ensure the “continued participation in the face of threat or frustration” (Chapey, 2008, p 80). Typically, this area can be assessed and appears with most activity assessment tools. However, this area will measure their capacity and performance in regards to the participation level in their environment. Tools that can be used include the WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) assessment tool. The WHOQOL-BREF attempts to understand how the individual feels about their status in regards to physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment (Chapey, 2008, p 120).
French, S. & Swain, J. 2008. Understanding Disability: A Guide for Health Professionals. Philadelphia: Churchilll Livingstone Elsevier: 4