Invisible Disability Research Paper

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Over 51 million Americans are classified as disabled, representing 18% of the population. The statistics shows that millions of people have disabilities, and the fact is, disability can happen to anyone. Individuals who are disabled should receive accommodations to be able to thrive and have a full lives because their past treatment the barriers they have to face and their visible and invisible disabilities can make even everyday tasks seem like a struggle, which significantly modifies their quality of life. Throughout history the treatment of people with disabilities has often been inhumane, but has improved over the course of history. In the earlier nineteenth century, many people who were mentally retarded were often forced to undergo …show more content…

An invisible disability can be defined as disabilities that predominantly affect someone neurologically, and are usually not blatantly obvious to the average onlooker. The following was stated by Wayne Connell “The term invisible disabilities refers to symptoms such as debilitating pain, fatigue, dizziness, weakness, cognitive dysfunctions, learning differences and mental disorders, as well as hearing and vision impairments.” This shows the reader that invisible disabilities are a legitimate problem in the country that is affecting millions of people. A visible disability is a disability that is made apparent to the public; when the person does not look, walk, or talk, “correctly” in terms of society’s standards. Proof of this can be found on uiowa.edu when it reads “Visible Disabilities – disabilities that can be objectively observed and measured by others.” By using this information, I can concluded that visible disabilities are obstacles that millions of people face around the world. Many people who have invisible and/ visible disabilities are discriminated against because of their surrounding stereotypes and often leads to segregation and marginalization. The was said by Wayne Connell,and it is an example of the discrimination that the disabled face “Due to the surgeries Matt has had on his face, he has endured stares, dirty looks and has even has been asked to leave retail stores because he was ‘scaring’ someone’s child.” This statement suggests that individuals with visible disabilities face discrimination because of how they look, talk, or even walk. While people with invisible disabilities have to face people assuming that they are faking it because the disability isn’t blatantly obvious to the public. Based on all of the information above, I can conclude that many individuals have to live with disabilities

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