After reading “People First Language” by Kathie Snow, the first thing that came to my mind was the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” I have never agreed with this saying because words can inflict pain just like sticks and stones. Words really do matter. Kathie Snow believed that other people’s attitude towards others is the greatest obstacle facing people with disabilities. According to Kathie Snow (2010), “The real problem is never a person’s disability, but the attitudes of others! A change in our attitudes leads to changes in our actions. Attitudes drive actions” (P. 2). I completely agree with Kathie Snow in this regard because this is more than just language; it is the attitudes we have towards …show more content…
2). Some people may not be able to do things that others can, but that does not mean they are unable to accomplish those things that others can. We seem to live in a world where the able-bodied among us are considered normal, and everyone else must work harder to be considered normal. This way of thinking distracts the way we see and talk to others, and the words we choose to use. Nobody is broken. I remember a friend casually describing my cousin Michael as broken because he was in a wheel chair and could not move his legs. I remember thinking, “He is not broken; he just cannot walk.” I was disappointed that someone would even label him that way. I do not think of Michael as disabled or broken, he just cannot walk. Michael is tall, funny, and always has a joke to tell me. Michael needs to use a wheelchair, but that does not define …show more content…
Kathie Snow mentions that a “problem” reflects a need (2010, P. 2). For instance, instead of saying a person who suffers from cerebral palsy, we should say, a person with cerebral palsy. Also, rather than calling someone mentally retarded, we can say, someone with an intellectual disability. It is degrading when we label people. We must focus on the individuals first. People with disabilities are seen as someone who cannot live a normal life because they cannot do what other people can do. I believe that Kathie Snow calls her company Disability is Natural because disability is a natural part of life that does not lessen the right of individuals with disabilities to enjoy the opportunity to live in our society. Disability is a normal part of life. The way we view disabilities can change when we can see that disability is a natural part of
The human race is rather ignorant. We give a label to people that we think are challenged because they are not like the majority. The people that do label, are the ones who are truly blind or deaf. They see nothing, they hear nothing except what they want to hear or what they think they want to hear or see. For you see the "handicapped" can do things that non-handicapped can not. If one really thinks about it, they are not handicapped. If any one is handicapped it is the
...ive most of their life as a perfectly able-bodied person until a tragic accident one day could rob you of the function of your legs, and you have to learn how to cope with being disabled. Mairs illustrates that being disabled is more common than the media portrays, and it’s hard to deal with feeling alienated for your disabilities. These three authors have evoked a sense of sympathy from the reader, but they also imply that they don’t want non-handicapped people to pity them. The goal these authors have is to reach out to the able-bodied person, and help them understand how to treat a disabled person. The disabled people don’t want to be pitied, but they still need our help sometimes, just like if you saw someone with an arm full of grocery bags having difficulty opening their car door. They want us to accept them not as a different species, but as functional people.
In “On Being a Cripple,” Nancy Mairs. She hates to call her handicapped because she believes that hold her back. The author writes, “I certainly don’t like “handicapped,” which implies that I have deliberately been put at a disadvantage, by whom I can’t imagine (my god is not a handicapper general), in order to equalize chances in the great race of life” (21). In other words, she doesn’t want to call her handicapped, because she wants to live her life with equal chances even she’s not. Her positive attitude makes her more active. She’s trying to live a normal life with her disability. She hates being crippled, but she’s trying to get over it. If she had a negative attitude, she wouldn’t write about her own story. She wouldn’t do anything. I believe her positive mindset affects somehow to get rid of something that hold her back. She overcame the effects of her illness through positive attitude. Mairs and Jamison’s thoughts they have shaped their lives either positive way or negative
Once we understand why we act in labeling people, we can work on eliminating the habit of labeling others. We can overcome it by promoting absolute approval, sympathy, and consideration. We can learn to observe and experience the world without judgment. We can remain detached from expectations and demands. We can learn to accept people as they are and will not cause them unnecessary pain.
The following is a response and reflection to the article “People First Language” by Kathie Snow. My first personal interpretation of the article was of a person on a rampage and I could not understand the content of the article. The author Kathie Snow seemed to be upset that people with disabilities are labeled, instead of being addressed by their name. In her article, it appeared that she was using false analogies. Her article compared people with disabilities and medical diagnoses like psoriasis, arthritis, diabetes. I am not sure if I agree with this analogy, because not all disabilities are a physical medical issue. Some disabilities are cognitive, social, or emotional and really have no relationship with medical disabilities. Although, it takes a professional medical person in some subfield of the medical field to diagnose a disability, it just seems that, there is no correlation between medical physical issues and disability. On the other hand, there were parts of the article that
...beld person as equal and for society to take responsibility for their ignorance and become more open minded and accepting of those who may have less functioning ability or mental awareness of what is going on around themselves. Only recently has the (dis)Abeld community been given the spotlight through television shows such as Bones, or House, Or CSI have those with disabilities been given a platform to push over society’s negative stereotypes of ignorance and shown how despite limitations, those with limitations can indeed live happy and healthy lives. Despite much of the stigma that still exists towards those who are (dis)Abled, much success has been made and continues to be made because of the selfless determination of a select few who are determined not to be restrained by society’s ignorance and to make a difference in the world around them and for others.
Due to this disease the body is slowly broken down by affecting the central nervous system of a person’s body. The children depicted in the essay are probably an example how fellow human beings should be around a disabled person. They just view the disabled person as another human being and respect them the same way. The children are proud to associate themselves with Mairs and do not shy away from introducing her to the general public. This is what a disabled person requires: that all those around him or her should respect them for what they are and give them unconditional regard
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).
Throughout the course of history, people with disabilities have often been viewed through the context of their limitations. The Disability Rights Movement, beginning in the 1960’s, strived to change society’s perceptions to consider people with disabilities through their abilities instead. Positive messages of person’s abilities have begun to permeate our media, including changing ideas of how we view disability in general. Through the use of captivating personal anecdotes and scientific information to back them up, the 2015 This American Life podcast “Batman” seeks to prove that disability is a social construct, because one’s abilities are directly influenced by those around them.
People who have physical disabilities often experience negative situations and connotations that they must overcome to thrive in society. People who offer narratives about their disabilities often give the most accurate representation about the challenges those with disabilities face. Ms. Marenge, reported that one of the hardest things about leaving the rehabilitation center after becoming paralyzed was living in a house that was inaccessible, and having to rely on her family to carry her up and down the house (Casey Marenge, 2011). Similarly, a student with muscular dystrophy, says that she wishes more places were wheelchair accessible, because when they aren’t she feels that society is holding her back, and she can’t reach her full potential. Alisha also reported that t making friends is hard because some kids would ignore her at school because of her situation and she is often separated from the mainstream students at school. Alisha, doesn’t want to be defined by her disability, however, she believes that many people who look at her only see her wheelchair (Alisha Lee, 2011). Despite the many negative ways people who suffer from physical disabilities are affected, it is important to note that they don’t always feel bad for themselves, and that having a disability doesn’t stop them from loving
We are born into our ethnicity, race, gender, and culture. They are a part of who we are when we enter this world. One of the few diversities that may be acquired later on in our lives is disability. All of us, regardless of where we come from, what we believe, or who we are, can be afflicted with some form of disability in our life time through disease, accident, or other conditions that render us incapable of caring for ourselves in the same way that was possible before. This knowledge creates fear and is one of the primary reasons for the prejudice and stigma our society places on the disabled. The process of recognizing this fear, becoming knowledgeable, and culturally aware, is the ideal for individuals moving towards cultural competence, However; for those who are able to move past these prejudices, other biases await them. The well-meaning who overcompensate by solicitous and over protecting behaviors may be just as harmful as those whose bias creates prejudice.
The first thought that crosses the mind of an able-bodied individual upon seeing a disabled person will undoubtedly pertain to their disability. This is for the most part because that is the first thing that a person would notice, as it can be perceived from a distance. However, due to the way that disability is portrayed in the media, and in our minds, your analysis of a disabled person rarely proceeds beyond that initial observation. This is the underlying problem behind why disabled people feel so under-appreciated and discriminated against. Society compartmentalizes, and in doing so places the disabled in an entirely different category than fully able human beings.
Every day in America, a woman loses a job to a man, a homosexual high school student suffers from harassment, and someone with a physical or mental disability is looked down upon. People with disabilities make up the world’s largest and most disadvantaged minority, with about 56.7 million people living with disabilities in the United States today (Barlow). In every region of the country, people with disabilities often live on the margins of society, deprived from some of life’s fundamental experiences. They have little hope of inclusion within education, getting a job, or having their own home (Cox). Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed in life, but discrimination is limiting opportunities and treating people badly because of their disability. Whether born from ignorance, fear, misunderstanding, or hate, society’s attitudes limit people from experiencing and appreciating the full potential a person with a disability can achieve. This treatment is unfair, unnecessary, and against the law (Purdie). Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in the country today. Essential changes are needed in society’s basic outlook in order for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to succeed in life.
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
When I was younger, I use to think that people who hold a type of disability were weird and off, so I thought