Invisible Disability

Throughout the ages, people with disabilities have been hidden away at homes or institutions and were often not educated. This was common practice and as such, when the education system was designed, children with disabilities were not even considered. Then, starting soon after the civil rights movement in the 50’s, a series of lawsuits was brought against school boards and the federal government took notice. Then the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was passed and these children were finally allowed the education they deserved. As time went

Ableism and Disability oppression is a concept that is often ignored and underrepresented in social justice issues. The concept of ableism is the idea that society is disadvantageous towards people with disabilities and mental illnesses. When analyzing institutional, societal, and cultural structures through the view of ableism and disability oppression, one can concur that exclusionary practices allow for the despotism of people with disabilities and mental issues. Furthermore, the underlying issues of the institutional ableism allow for the perpetuation of mental illness and disability stigmas. For instance, in the reading Ableism it states, “The medicalization of disability fostered the belief that people with disabilities needed to be monitored

Visible manifestations of an underlying disability may be misattributed by an observer to other causes (Santuzzi et al. 3). For instance, someone who suffers from chronic pain may not be able to do as much activity as someone who does not suffer, but when the person with chronic pain takes a break, they are labeled as “lazy” or told they are “bringing the team down.” Stigma can make those who suffer from serious invisible disabilities feel as though they are making up their own symptoms, or being a burden on those around them, and these stigmas can have serious consequences on the health of someone with an invisible disability.

She knows that the earth is a cruel place, but we need to push for those who need a little help in life. Anyone that has been mistreated or looked down on can relate to what she is fighting for. She displays this by show what happens behind the scene of anyone with a handicap in Bring Down The Barriers- Seen and Unseen : “A student with a sensory-processing disorder needs to sit in the front row of class and take notes on a laptop computer, but the professor insists that laptops may be used only in the back of the room” (Adam, Rachel). By showing what needs to be changed, Ms. Adams can reach into those that believe we can make a better future for everyone. This will also not only help the handicapped but other as well. Another essay called Include, Everyone, Ms.Adams paints how a kinder future can form: “I know not all parents are sold on the idea of an education in kindness and tolerance. But there are more pragmatic reasons why inclusion is a good idea. It’s great preparation for the workforce leaders of the future. Employers are increasingly aware that people with disabilities are dedicated, reliable and innovative workers. Recently, it has been reported that the software corporation SAP is actively seeking out employees on the autism spectrum” (Adams, Rachel). If educators include people of all disabilities in school curriculums, American can see more situations like this. It shows that making sure

Ableism is defined as, “the all-encompassing discrimination and exclusion of people living with disabilities” (Adams et al, 461). However, in order to determine if ableism is occurring, then one must first know what constitutes a disability. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, someone has a disability if they have a considerable handicap that hinders the actions that are important for life, such as “walking, seeing, hearing, learning, speaking, breathing, standing, lifting, or caring for one’s self” (Adams et al, 461). Disabled people make up the largest minority in the world with their estimated population at 650 million people (Adams et al, 461). Of this 650 million people, 360 million people have some sort of disabling

In the United States alone over fifty-six million people, or nineteen percent of the population, struggles with disabilities. Each one is unique, ranging from mild to intense, physical or mental, to even behavioral. The way society views this group is as though the handicapped are inferior to others. The aforementioned viewpoint has made terminology such as “retarded” or “slow” second nature in an average American’s vocabulary. It is unjust and has no right in modern civilization.

There are stereotypes that people believe that can be completely inaccurate. Having group discussions about stereotype that are not accurate with people who believe and do not believe the stereotype will allow people to see both sides. Ways to cut down on disability stereotypes is when students and teachers without disabilities contribute in class activities that would equal out to having a disability. These activities will put the students without disabilities in the shoes of the students that have a disability. According to Ellman, merely adding children with disabilities in a classroom with students who do not have a disability is not going to be a very effective educational experience. Teachers and professors will have to find another way to cut down on ableism by students who are not disabled. Other ways that people in the community can help stop ableism is to have a multitude of clubs and activities that consist of disabled and nondisabled people. This will bring people in the community together and they would understand how people with a disability have. More parades of people with disabilities will make them feel better as a person. The more parades there are for people with disabilities the more people will understand how serious it can be. Ellman states that interacting with role models who are advocates for students with disabilities will help people understand the disabled. Young adults generally look up to what their role models do; so if they go against ableism, so will the student. Stopping ableism is nearly impossible, but if the government and the community come together, we can cut down drastically on the amount of people that make fun of people with

The policy topic that I have decided to address is Invisible Disabilities, because this is a huge social problem. In our society a person with a disability is primarily recognized from when you look at someone and you can visibly confirm that they are disabled. Visible disabilities are what most people think of when they think of someone who is disabled: for instance someone in a wheelchair. The truth is, not all disabilities are physically visible, and generates negative attitudes towards persons who suffer from them. Some invisible disabilities include learning disabilities, brain injuries, epilepsy, narcolepsy, and so many more.

“We cannot understand our world without a ‘mediator,’ and our most important and intimate mediator is our body. Different bodies and senses reveal different aspects of the world, or create for the person a very different world than that experienced by someone with other capabilities, but that difference does not devalue the experience” (Harmon 494). It is vital to recognize cultural context of the way that disabled people experience social society before delving deeper into the subcategory of that culture that is dance. The article “The Invisibility of Disability: Using Dance to Shake from Bioethics the Idea of ‘Broken Bodies’” explains its criticisms of the bioethics methods employed in American medical fields. It is essential to take the

Paul Dodenhoff wrote an article titles Five Faces of Oppression and in the article he uses Iris Marion Young’s concept that stated the five elements were oppression, exploitation, marginalization, cultural imperialism, and violence (Dodenhoff, 2016). From this article, there can be a new point of view gained on the idea that our culture has created its own hierarchies of superiority and inferiority (Dodenhoff, 2016). While this system is primarily unspoken, it still exists when you look at it from the stand point that there is the upper class, middle class, and lower class, in addition to the brains, the jocks, the populars, and the disabled. In the online article “Higher Education and Disability, the author discusses that there is a current trend that allows individuals with disabilities to be views as accepted and valued instead of negatively seen as a “special group” (Leake & Stodden, 2014, 399). In this same article they state, “This is a matter of concern in view of the widespread understanding in higher education that students who feel socially accepted are more likely to persist and graduate than those who do not, (Leake & Stodden, 2014, 403).” However, many individuals continue to treat the disabled unjustly because they are seen as the most inferior if the classes, but who are we to judge

When you ask people what the first word that comes to mind when they think of diversity, they usually reply with “race,” “socioeconomic status,” and other demographic elements. Needless to say, diversity can entail a multitude of things, yet all diversity can be connected to the individual experience. However, more often than not the individual experience is not immediately observable. In my particular case, dealing with two “invisible disabilities” has given me a new perspective on the human phenomenon known as fundamental attribution error.

Mayerson (1992) said that the disability rights movement, over the last couple of decades, has made the injustices faced by people with disabilities visible to the American public and to politicians. This required reversing the centuries long history of “out of sight, out of mind” that the segregation of disabled people served to promote. The disability rights movement adopted many of the strategies of the civil rights movements before it.

According to Shakespeare, people with disabilities and nondisabled allies have worked together over the past three decades through the disability movement which he refers to as the ‘last liberation movement.’ This movement focused national attention onto the social oppression and cultural discourse that people with disabilities face every day in our country and the lack of regulations and laws in place that would prevent this kind of discrimination from happening.

For most of our nation's history, children with special needs or disabilities were shunted aside. In spite of mandated education laws that had been in place since 1918, many students were denied education and

Prior to the course, Perspectives on disability, my understanding of disability was a fundamental, concept of disability, in which I knew it existed, and also have seen and interacted with people considered to have a disability. I never took a deep look at all the social and political factors that exist within the spectrum of disability. This course has allowed me to examine all aspects of disability, which has changed my view and approach of what a disability is and how it is viewed. "Historically, disability has been viewed fundamentally as a persoal tragedy, which has resulted in diasbled people being seen as objects of pity or in need of charity. They have been subject to descriminatory policies and practices in which the predominant images of passivity and helplesness reinforced their inferior status"(Barton 4). Uncovering the framework of disability, by studying the historical, soicial political and educational standpoint, I see the intricacies in which gives me a greater understanding and awareness of the topic.