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Society’s Attitude Toward People with Disabilities
Societal attitudes towards people with disabilities
Society's attitudes toward disability
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Intellectual disability in lay man terms would be the disability to perform intelligent functioning of the human brain. The performance of everyday social and practical skills requires intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour which are in-built abilities in most normal human beings. The ones who possess intellectual disability are often limited by their intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour skills. This disability is generally spotted in individuals before they reach the age of 18 (Intellectual Disability (n.d.)). Now we read more into the two parts of intellectual disability: intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour. • Intellectual functioning: In lay man terms, intellectual functioning is more commonly known as intelligence …show more content…
These disabilities manifest in many different ways and due to many different causes. It does not only vary across periods but also across cultures. The challenges are mainly due to the daily difficulties of living with a certain diagnosed disability and such challenges are intensified by social stigma and cruelty. The ignorance about the same gives way to negative social perceptions which affects both the people with the disability and their families. Initially the intellectual disabilities were known by many names but now many cases have been generalized and there is continued research in the same field. The social prejudices of certain periods were responsible for the nomenclature of many of distinguished disabilities. Due to the social illogical construct, the humanity of these people was assumed to be overshadowed by their illness. They are often called “mental retards” which objectifies them as things and not a person which is an insult on their personality. Irrespective of a medical condition of person, it is degrading to be called such names and it has haunted many generations of families to treat their disabled family member as it would bring along a social stigma that would ruin their prestige in this so called informed and rational
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
Labeling theory is an issue that has been raised that deserves a closer look. Labeling theory, the impression that the public labels certain people as different from the normal conduct. (Popple and Leighninger, 2011) Everyone labels in society. An actor can be labeled into a certain part thought out his/her career. A boss is labeled horrible for firing one individual. Society uses labels and it defines people. The book brought up two points of labeling that should be explored. The first point is the label of developmental disabilities will give a diagnosis. People who have developmental disabilities have it, and they cannot change the situation. It can be manageable, but there will always be the label. The second point is that the society label and perception of the label. There is a stigma in the public about developmental disabilities. Although more accepted than mental illness, developmental disability has a label of individuals being stupid and slow. Labeling theory can be seen throughout history. Chapter thirteen points out that history can shape individual’s label of developmentally disabilities.
While acknowledging the diverse influences of capitalism, colonialism, urbanization, and industrialization on the perceptions and constructions of intellectual disability, this book also adds a new and significant dimension by including analysis of social and cultural notions of identity, personhood and selfhood.
The two essays “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs and “A Plague of Tics” by David Sedaris are excellent pieces of work that share many similarities. This paper would reflect on these similarities particularly in terms of the author, message and the targeted audience. On an everyday basis, people view those with disabilities in a different light and make them conscious at every step. This may be done without a conscious realisation but then it is probably human nature to observe and notice things that deviate from the normal in a society. In a way people are conditioned to look negatively at those individuals who are different in the conventional
Many individuals with mental retardation (MR) have mental health disorders that are undiagnosed and untreated (Reiss & Valenti-Hein, 1994). Individuals with MR experience the full range of emotional, psychiatric and behavioral disorders at higher frequencies than the general population (Kishore, Nizamie & Nizamie, 2010; Prout, 1993). Prevalence studies have shown that individuals with MR are three to four times at higher risk for psychopathology than are individuals without MR (Matson & Bamburg, 1998; Prout, 1993). This is known as a dual diagnosis, which describes the finding of MR in association with significant psychopathology (Prout, 1993). While, psychopathology is limited to those phenomena and disorders that are described in the conventional classification systems such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV). Examples include anxiety, depression, paranoia, dependent personality traits, avoidant behaviour and thought disorder (Reiss & Valenti-Hein, 1994).
Ability and disability entails the ability to do things others can do or the inability to do something due to physical challenges, mental or emotional challenges that one possesses within their immediate surroundings. Basing on positionality, ability and disability is a key attribute that can make a person to be viewed different within their immediate societies. These attributes can make one to be embraced or sideline within their immediate surroundings.
Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives. Overcoming the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to remove environmental and social barriers. People with disabilities have the same health needs as non-disabled people – for immunization, cancer screening etc. They also may experience a narrower margin of health, both because of poverty and social exclusion, and because they may be vulnerable to secondary conditions, such as pressure sores or urinary tract infections.
“Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.” (Einstein). Developmental disability, better known as intellectual disability, or mental retardation is a disorder that causes individuals to preform at below average levels (“Intellectual”). This disorder is characterized by continued infant-like behavior, decreased learning ability, failure to meet the markers of intellectual development, inability to meet educational demands, and a lack of curiosity (“Intellectual”). Some people with intellectual disabilities are able to live normal lives, while others may require assistance. Most people with intellectual disabilities have the same capacity to preform the same task as those without intellectual disabilities.
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.
People with intellectual disabilities can and do learn new skills, but they learn at a slower process. There are varying degrees of intellectual disability, from mild to profound. In society today, mental retardation is no longer the appropriate political terminology when referring to people with an intellectual disability or developmental disability. Today the term used in the medical professional is intellectual disabled.
Children with disabilities are more in the public eye than years ago, although they are still treated differently. Our society treats them differently from lack of education on special needs. The society labels them and make their lives more difficult than it has to be becau...
According to Google an intellectual disability can be defined as “a disability characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive behavior, which covers a range of everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 18.” This type of disability can be very counteractive and disruptive to not only an individual, but an entire family’s life. Intellectual disabilities vary greatly and impact each individual differently, but ultimately they all have similar repercussions. They drain individuals from their freedom to do as they please and limit them to their disabilities demands. They can
Persons with Disabilities have their image in society. It may be positive or negative. Media plays a significant role in creating the right image of persons with disability in society. Today, world population is 7,113,968,427 billion (GeoHive 2013) and hence estimated population of person with disabilities is 711 million, if we consider that 10% of world population are persons with disabilities as estimated by World Bank (2004), Sanchez (2010) and Cumberbatch (1992). If the current population (on 29th April 2013) of India is 1,271,876,934 billion...
...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.
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