Disability As A Social Construction

Having a disability can be very complex and hard to understand. Disability is an individual performing which includes physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual mental illness impairments, and various types of chronic diseases. Living with a long lasting health condition presents many challenges and learning how to meet those challenges is a process that doesn 't happen right away. In the except P.H.*reaks: The Hidden History of People with Disabilities, the playwrights recapitulates on characters who all face some type of disability and it demonstrates perceptions towards disability that have varied significantly from one period of time to another. However, disability is not the impairment itself, but rather attitudes and environmental barriers that result in disability.

“The medical model is presented as viewing disability as a problem of the person, directly caused by disease, trauma, or other health condition which therefore requires sustained medical care provided in the form of individual treatment by professionals. In the medical model, management of the disability is aimed at a "cure," or the individual's adjustment and behavioral change that would lead to an "almost-cure" or effective cure.” (Langtree, 2012)

Douglas C. Baynton argues in his article, “Disability and the Justification of Inequality in American History”, that the concept of disability is culturally constructed and has been paid little to no attention to throughout history. He also argues that the term disability plays an important role in justifying discriminations against minority groups, based on gender, race, and ethnicity. He states that “Disability has functioned historically to justify inequality for disabled people themselves, but it has also done so for women and minority groups. That is, not only has it been considered justifiable to treat disabled people unequally, but the concept of disability has been used to justify discrimination against other groups by attributing disability to them.” (Baynton 94) He used women’s suffrage, African American freedom, and immigration restriction as examples to show how disability played an essential role in illustrating how minorities who were labeled as disabled were treated with discrimination. As they were labeled with disability, discrimination against them became justifiable, which ultimately proves that discrimination against disabled was thought as justifiable and were looked over.

The article “introducing disability Studies” by Ronald J. Berger was an eye opener in uncovering the past history of negative stigma associated with having a disability. Through history people have felt the need to stare at people with disabilities or to turn away in fear of maybe contracting the “disease”. This negative attitude was positively reinforced by ordinances such as the Chicago “ugly law” in which a person with physical deformities would have to pay a fine for simply being too “disgusting” looking to other citizens. This law was in place from 1880 to 1973, which is pretty recent in history. However there are positive glimpse in history when it came to uncovering and defining disabilities. Men like Leo Kanner and Asperger have dedicated

Physical disability culture should be considered as a culture itself along with race, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality. Disability culture, includes behaviors, beliefs, and ways of living, that are unique to persons affected by disability. Here in the United States, non-disabled individuals typically view disability culture as primarily social and political in nature, whereas academic communities view disability culture from predominantly historical perspectives (Peters, 2014). In some countries, people with disabilities are still segregated and lack access to education. In the United States, many individuals with disabilities battle discrimination in terms of employment, housing, education, and access to public buildings and services. As do individuals from many other cultures, persons with disabilities share a common bond of experiences and resilience (Darrow, 2013).

Many groups of people experience disenfranchisement. This paper will seek to review people experiencing disenfranchisement related to ableism in its various forms. The oppression of the disabled and the social injustices they bear will be considered, as well as the myths and stereotypes associated to the disabled. The author will seek to gain knowledge and understanding of this group of people and their functioning within our society.

In a debate between the social construction of disability and the medical model, I would side with social construction of disability. Prior to reading Chapter 3 of Rethinking Disability, I would have sided with the medical model since that was the only approach I was made aware of. In all of my studies, this is the method that I was shown. I was taught that if a student presents symptoms of having a disability, the teacher would include the parents and the student to undergo all of the steps such as, the examination, diagnosis, prescription, and follow up. We are so used to this process that we do not look beyond it to analyze what this really means. As stated in the chapter, after these students are diagnosed with all these labels, society

The article "Viewing Persons with Disabilities as a Culture" by Dawn O. Braithwaite was published in Kathleen Verderber's book \underline{Voiced: A selection of Multicultural Readings}. Through research and anecdotes, Braithwaite discusses cultural communication between able-bodied persons and persons with disabilities.

Throughout history both in the past and present many individuals who are living or who lived with a disability have been viewed as a burden to society. According to The Dimensions of a Disability Oppression (2010) by L.J Charlton several aspects are intertwined with disability oppression which is beliefs, politics and economics. Policy and the world system have a lot to do with how people see another person especially an individual with a disability because thanks to poverty and powerlessness are viewed as daily experiences in the life of someone living with a disability. In our society when it comes to differences we either ignore it and if we feel that it’s not dominant enough we start to think its subordinate compared to us. We are taught

At the end of the Civil War, Andrew Johnson alleged our nation 's supposed investment in our veterans by claiming that “ a grateful people will not hesitate to sanction any measures having for their relief of soldiers mutilated...in an effort to preserve our national existence.” Since then, our changing perception of disabled veterans of military service has affected the success and practice of their rehabilitation. Historians and social scientists have found it difficult to understand the process of identity formation among disabled veterans. This difficulty is rooted in historian’s inability to make sense of the disabled veteran’s history, social position, and representation in culture and discourse. Historian Paul Lawrie, who argues one of many interpretations of how these veterans are represented, believes that the conflation of disability and blackness denied African-American veterans basic human rights in the time after World War II. However, as racial prejudices slowly improved over the course of the century, historians interpreted other social, political, and cultural forces as main influences of the formation of representation of these veterans. Historians have suggested that, in addition to race, social welfare policy, film, and gender have all worked in cohesion, or in conflict at times, to determine these representations.

The disability rights movement was credited to all the people who have worked for years organizing and attending protests, licking envelopes, sending out alerts, drafting legislation, speaking, testifying, negotiating, lobbying, filing lawsuits, getting arrested – they believed in doing whatever they could for a cause . In 1973, there was a shift in the disability, public policy (Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act). Section 504 was amended to a civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II), which extends this prohibition against discrimination to the full range of state and local government services, programs, and activities (including public schools) regardless of whether they receive any Federal financial assistance . The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (Amendments Act), effective January 1, 2009, amended the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) that affects the meaning of “disability” in Section 504. Although, Congress introduced the American with Disability Act (ADA) in 1988; however it was not until July 26, 1990, when it began. In 2008, ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) was

The Disability Social History Project website is a great side were you can find information and articles pertaining to disabilities in one place. The information is well organized and easy to find. It has 11 buttons on the left-hand side with the different sections. It has information about the history of disabilities in different time periods and different disabilities. The exhibits section has different articles that talk about freak shows in the United States in 1840 through 1940, disability campaigns in the United States during the 30’s through 60’s, and the Nazis’ extermination policies for people with disabilities during the 20’s through 50’s. The people's section of this website is a great inspiration since it has stories of people

Switched at Birth shocked the nation with its compellingly unique storyline and portrayal of a disabled main character. The show follows the intertwined lives of Bay Kennish and Daphne Vasquez who were accidentally placed in the wrong cribs at the hospital soon after they were born. Bay grew up in an upper-class family and attended a private school in the city. Daphne, on the other hand, grew up in a single parent family who struggled to make ends meet every month. Daphne contracted meningitis when she was three, leading to her gradual deafness. After meeting for the first time, the families realized that they must learn how to live their lives together despite their conflicting backgrounds (Switched at Birth S:1). Although this show demonstrates the “Disability drift and the disability hierarchy” myth, it effectively shows how people with disabilities can live their lives the same way as able bodied people and have the same opportunities to achieve their goals. The writers accomplish this by focusing heavily on the social model of disability, which highlights the idea that “disability is caused by the way society is organized, rather than by a person’s impairment or difference” (Scope par. 1). Viewing disabilities from this perspective educates viewers on the flaws in our society and how we should work together to change our communities.

Social and medical models of disabilities – medical looks at what is wrong with a child and

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.