This previous Summer I had the privilege to work with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind as a program facilitator. Here we provided recreational and vision rehabilitation programming in an inclusive and safe environment for a diverse group of people. We worked with veterans, people with recent spinal trauma injuries, and partially sighted youth, families and seniors. Focusing merely on the partially sighted population I worked closely with, there are a number of issues they face on a daily basis, which they understand is influenced by larger, macro structural and societal forces at play. Some of these issues include, accessibility, communication, participating in athletic and recreational activities and employment opportunities. …show more content…
Here, the program ran daily and I would work either with one or two children between the grades 1-6, with the goal of assisting them with their English reading, writing, and verbal skills. This was an amazing experience as I developed strong relationships with my mentees and it was amazing to feel the impact that they had on myself, and as well the impact I had on them and their integration into Canadian society. Along with this, one of my other roles with Ralph Thornton was to work with a grass roots organization, the Health Strength & Action Group, and facilitate meetings with them, where we would discuss issues around poverty and health. Along with this,I also worked closely with the advocacy group Fair Fare Coalition, attending meetings and planning rallies with members of the TTC Riders, a group advocating for a more affordable …show more content…
This concept is something I take great interest in in the classroom, and one of the many tools I use in practice. The Critical Analysis program focuses heavily on understanding the challenges and inequities in society facing people, and strives to achieve more equitable and effective policies and practice for the future. Furthermore, this program will further develop my analytical and theoretical skills, which would have a positive impact on my research and practice in the future. With this MSW program, I hope to increase my knowledge specifically on the inequities faced by the population living with visual impairments, and then this would also lead into my hopeful research topic around this population as well, which I hope to focus particularly on the legally blind population in
The movement continues to make great strides towards the empowerment and self determination ("Disability rights movement," 2005, p. 3). On the other hand, it has not completely broken down barriers that continue to create the dynamics of oppression among such individuals. For instance, WIOA can be harmful to individuals with disabilities because there are still societal prejudices and biases associated with the stereotypical portrayal of people with disabilities and WIOA has played a role in it. For example, WIOA networks with employers to hire individual’s with disabilities and place them in conventional settings, where they work with others who have disabilities, for example, Walgreen’s and in fact, these participating organizations have also increased their pay. In my opinion, individual’s with disabilities should be able to work with individuals who are not disabled, as well. Furthermore, pay for those individuals who are still considered to be in “sheltered” work programs have not received an increase in pay. Additionally, according to my studies, in 2012, less than 30 percent of Florida’s civilians with disabilities between age 18-64 living in the community were employed. There is a greater priority focused on young people who are disabled. This is an additional issue in my opinion which can be considered discrimination, because, the focus leaves out middle aged individuals as well as,
‘“Now it’s my turn to make it better for generations that come after, which is why I’ve become, involved in disabilities issues”’ (Open University, 2016a).
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 first theme we discussed in class was ableism. Ableism is discrimination of disabled or handicapped people (Croft, Ableism Powerpoint, 2016). The disability does not have to be obvious such as the person needing a wheelchair or a cane. They can be less obvious to what we consider “normal” such as the person wearing glasses. One of the questions that were discussed in class was “How do we decide who is able?” and “What is standard?” (Croft, Ableism Powerpoint, 2016) . The answer to those questions is power and privilege. If a person has power, they can do anything, meaning they have all the necessary resources. They are accepted because they have the power to influence others (Croft, Ableism Powerpoint, 2016). Privilege
Braille Institute: Empowering visually impaired people to live fulfilling lives. Braille Institute. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010
David Lepofsky is a blind Canadian lawyer and the chairman of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, who have suffered from vision loss. Blind for much of his life, Lepofsky understands the hardships that people with disabilities are forced to go through daily in society. As a lawyer and chairman of the alliance, his goal is to advocate for new laws to help disables overcome the barriers faced upon society such as unequal access to services, discrimination, and emotional stress.
For example, he cooks and takes care of the home. Even outside of his home he finds a way to get around on his own, such as his use of the city transit system and carpooling with colleagues, this allows him to do activities such as shopping to going to meetings and social events by himself. The book stresses that even in other households deaf-blind people share responsibilities and duties with sighted spouses. He destroys the misconception that disabled people rely wholly on other family members to meet their physical, social, and transportation needs. The author demonstrates through this books existence alone that deaf, blind, and deafBlind people are not illiterate idiots incapable of doing simple tasks but that they can do anything a able bodied person can.
This essay has served to give a brief understanding of the theories and practices of the medical and social models of disabilities, and how they affect people with disabilities. It is an important issue to consider as there are still many things in the world the disable people and we still have steps to make society inclusive.
Tanya Titchkosky’s perspective on blindness and disability has made me question how I should act around those that I consider “disabled.” Would I be helping them or would I be intruding their space and doubting their capabilities because I am considered as “normal?” It really is all about the ambiguity, the in between that Titchkosky states that really gets
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...
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
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...
To begin with, full inclusion in the education system for people with disabilities should be the first of many steps that are needed to correct the social injustices that people with disabilities currently face. Students with disabilities are far too frequently isolated and separated in the education system (Johnson). They are often provided a diluted, inferior education and denied meaningful opportunities to learn. There are many education rights for children with disabilities to p...
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,
Recreation and Leisure activities are in a high critical dimension of quality of life for everyone, including people with developmental disabilities. Sadly, many of those who are disabled are still limited to segregated recreation and leisure choices for any reason or another. Some people will confine themselves to opportunities which include trying a new variety of activities in different settings with different people; here some of the factors that can be affecting: Age, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Racial and Ethnic identity, and Socioeconomic status.