Disabilities Essay

Describe the effects that having a physical disability can have on a person’s day to day life

If most people heard the name Helen Keller, they would think of that poor girl who was deaf and blind. They would think of her and remember the stories they heard about how she was taught how to communicate by a teacher named Anne Sullivan. That is probably all they would think about her. How she was world famous because of how she learned to read through Braille, letters pressed into her hand, and how she eventually learned to speak, however, this is not all there is to Helen Keller.

In the United States today, there are over fifty-one million disabled adults and children. Throughout our nation’s history, we have not allowed the best treatment and care for these numerous citizens. But, in the recent past, the government has passed laws, made exceptions, and thoroughly tried to provide accommodations to these people with special needs. While this is true, America, as a whole, still views this group as strange or different. Even though this is exceptionally normal, it is not correct. The United States needs to be opened up to the truth about their fellow American citizens. The people of America ought to understand that these disabilities affect not only those who are disabled, but that it affects the family and friends

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) greatly emphasizes the participation of the child’s family during the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. Parents and/or caregivers are considered one of the most essential members of their child’s IEP team. Their involvement benefits their child’s overall academic success. Unfortunately, full parental involvement does not always occur and there can be many different reasons for their nonparticipation. The IEP process can be a very overwhelming experience for families with children with special needs, especially for those who are culturally diverse. It is the job of the professionals and special education teachers to understand the importance of collaborating with family’s

For someone with a physical disability and for example wheelchair bound they have to plan outings carefully to ensure where they are going has wheelchair access. Wanting to go somewhere then realising they are unable to get in a building or have appropriate toileting facilities would be extremely frustrating and upsetting for the individual.

In 1817, the American School for Deaf was founded in Hartford Connecticut. This was the first school for disabled children in the Western Hemisphere. Although this was not the beginning of the Disability Rights Movement, it was a start to society, making it possible for people to realize that there were those with disabilities out there in the world and something had to be done. The Disability Rights Movement fought for equal access, opportunity, consideration, and basic human respect along with dignity for those born blind, deaf, or anyone with other forms of physical or mental disability. The purpose of social movements is to provide social change regarding a specific issue in which a particular group of

The moment she got trampled under the stomps and shoves of others, one could identify what she’d been feeling like previously - a witness to her own inconvenience. This incident not only exemplifies but also symbolizes the burden she feels having been born handicapped, unable to provide assistance or gain to the world. These feelings Adahs has for her life are later rebutted by her longstanding dreams of attending medical school and improving science. By achieving her academic potential, she finally recognized herself as an important asset to the world- no longer being seen as handicapped, physically or mentally.

     When a child doesn’t seem to be learning, some teachers and parents in his/her life might criticize the child and think of them as stupid, or maybe just too lazy to want to learn. What they don’t realize is that the child might have a learning disability. But how are these children being helped? There are many programs, special schools and facilities, home teaching methods and many other ways in which children with Learning Disabilities are being helped.

People with disabilities are not completely gone. They are still there and have a mind of their own. They feel emotions and sometimes have a more complex mind than others. Two authors help enlighten this idea that disabled people are much more than helpless bodies. Both Christy Brown and Jean-Dominique Bauby perfectly illustrate their lives and what it is like to be disabled, and they prove by their stories that they think and feel, and can even develop enough to share what they feel with the world. My Left Foot is about the journey of a boy suffering from cerebral palsy. His entire life he was labeled as a loss cause by doctor after doctor, but his mom never gave up hope. Slowly, he started showing signs of development by random movements responding to certain situations. In the end he ends up being able to communicate with his left foot. The next story, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, is about an individual who suffered a stroke at the age of 43, leaving him paralyzed, only able to blink his left eye as communication. He develops his own alphabet inspired by the French language in order to exchange conversations with others. His thoughts in the story jump from the present, him currently disabled, and the past, when he was not. Both memoirs, with very different stories, show the lives of two individuals that are not like others. One who had their disability since birth, and the other who obtained one after a tragic event. In My Left Foot by Christy Brown and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby, both authors use characterization to show readers the struggles of disabled people and help them understand that just because they can’t use motions such as hand gestures to express how they feel, doesn’t mean that they don’t think and feel.

It became very clear to me the role of Occupational Therapist in changing people’s mind about people with disabilities. There are many people with severe disabilities, however I feel as if, the society also chose to see what they can’t do and miss to see how capable they truly are. People often give up right away and most of the time hopelessness tend to takes over and blinds us from the possibilities of getting back into our feet and live the life we want. Julia Tavalaro’s story taught me that patience and persistence can a long way. Both occupational therapists on these short stories did not give up on helping their patients improve their daily lives. They work harder than their patients to find practical and realistic approaches to not only enhance the quality of their patients life, but also to boost self-worth and dignity. Reading success stories just like these fuels my desire to become occupational therapist. As a person who has so much love and passion for life, I want others to love theirs as

Disabilities within the characters of “The Life You Save May be Your Own” by Flanner O’Connor

In my essay you will learn about Jamaican and Haitian culture and their outlooks on disability. Laster on you will see the comparisons between those two cultures and the American culture. I selected the Jamaican culture because it has always been a dream of mine to visit Jamaica. I selected Haiti because I am not well educated on their culture.

She tells the story of her life to present the examples in her life and to show her own uniqueness. Keller proved that her deafness and blindness would not stop her from being an extraordinary person. She also wrote to express her survival of her disabilities and how she overcame them. Keller’s purpose was to inspire people to endure. She communicated to disabled people especially to help them realize what they are capable of.

be protected by the A.D.A. this person must have a long standing record of this

It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, but our society today lacks to understand that. In today’s time different is not accepted, people that are different are discriminated, looked down upon and usually picked on. People with disabilities are seen as different creatures by most people, the disabled don’t choose to be the way they are, but still our society alienates them. There are different types of disabilities, some type of disabilities are; mental disability, physical disability, learning disability and socializing disability. These disabilities are seen as weakness in our society that hence contribute to the stereotype that leads to the discrimination against the disabled.