My Inside Look At Disability

The amount of people who live with disabilities is a controversial number. Depending on what law and diagnostic tools used, a person may have a visible disability, or one that may lie beneath the surface of his or her appearance. Some people believe that the term “disability” is merely a label use to hold back, or prescribe helplessness. Meanwhile, individuals who have been properly diagnosed with disabilities struggle to maintain respect and acceptance every day. In plain language, there is a lot of misunderstanding between people with disabilities and those without. It is firstly important to get everyone on the same page regarding the definition of disability.

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

Forrest Gump is a character in a film titled “Forrest Gump”. Gump will be my character of focus for the purpose of this case study. The selection to study Forrest has been chosen to analyze because perhaps the most popular depiction of disability in a film in the past 20 years. According to IMDB.com the movie Forrest Gump grossed a total income at the box office is an astounding US $677 million dollars worldwide. Forrest Gump is a character depicted as having an intellectual disability, as well as scoliosis. Forrest’s character is fictional, and acted out on screen by an able bodied actor named Tom Hanks. Additionally the intellectual disability Tom Hanks portrays on screen is written by an able bodied writing team. My case study will focus on the Social Model of Disability, the intersection of gender and disability, and the portrayal of an intellectual disability on screen, and the perpetuation of stereotypes Forrest Gump portrays for viewers.

People with disabilities are part of the society; Are present in any area of ​​human endeavor. The worst maltreatment suffered by individuals with disabilities is that they are not seen, with exceptions, like any other person. Disability is not a characteristic of the subject, but the result of their individuality in relation to the demands that the environment poses. The type and degree of disability that the person suffers from prevents them from using their resources autonomously, being forced to look for other alternatives to meet his essential needs. People with disabilities, in fact, in everyday life, are not like other people: they have limitations and problems that do not affect ordinary people in the same way. The aspect that matters is that these people, with their limitations, have the right as all to the maximum development of all their potentialities.

Disabilities have been used to discriminate on people who have them and people who do not.

If a new toaster doesn't work we say it is, “defective” or “damaged “and either return it or throw it away. Many places are inaccessible to people with a physical handicap, I took a class where we actually went into a building and tried to maneuver, using my client's wheelchair, crutches, etc. The bathroom didn't meet most of the standards and a wheelchair wouldn't even fit in a handicap stall. In some, high schools and middle class school they had classes for disabilities for slow learning kids, and some of the kids thought that it was really unfair. Two examples of how a “problem” can actually be rephrased into a need for a person whose disability employed in the field would realize they are dependent on people with disabilities for, their live hoods, and would, therefore, treat people with disabilities with greater respect. If the setting is accessible people with disabilities can usually get around fine. For example, if a person is struggling to put a wheelchair into a car, or having some bright light in some building? Physical sensory, cognitive, disabilities affect far more clients than many treatment providers realize. Why Kathie Snow chose to call her company Disability is Natural is because it's redefined as a body part that works

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

While I was watching a television show, Shameless, I have encountered the theme “disability” in an undesirable way. In Shameless, one of the characters has an intellectual disability. His family makes fun of him in this show and they call him “retarded” repeatedly. They constantly push his needs to the side and scold him saying, “ He’s retarded, just leave him.” Also, the other main character, Ian, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He attains a job as an EMT and his

There are so many different thoughts that run though a person’s head when they hear the word disability or see a person with a disability. During the Roman and Greek eras a person with a disability was treated very badly, they were killed or abandoned in the woods in Greece, drowned and burned during the Spanish Inquisition, shackled to their beds in the U.S institution because there was an insufficient number or staff members to care for residents and not allowed to attend neighborhood schools and much more. People with disabilities were treated like they weren’t human. During the Greek and Roman era people with disabilities were considered punishments of the Gods a bad or evil sin. Being chained left on hills to die, locked away and forced

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.

In the past, having a disability was seen as a physical imperfection. People with disabilities were treated as moral and social subordinates. We were trained that if a person had a disability they were not able to perform a task with the same ability as a normal person. They have been denied jobs for which they are highly qualified because they have been considered incompetent, or because employers were not comfortable with their presence in the workplace. Occasionally people with certain disabilities have been committed to institutions and facilities because people believed they were incapable of making decisions or caring for themselves or because people did not want to interact with them (Blanck, 2004).

People with physical limitations and diseases are judged based on the way they look. Just because someone looks different does not mean they are different. Everyone is equal. Just because someone is crippled does not mean they cannot do anything: “ People – crippled or not – wince at the word ‘cripple,’ as they do not at ‘handicapped’ or ‘disabled’” (Mairs 525). People flinch when they hear the word cripple. People with physical limitations can do normal things just like normal people can

Over the year’s perceptions and attitudes towards people with disabilities have varied from community to community. Approximately 50 million Americans with disabilities today lead independent, confident, and happy lives. There have been many advancements in healthcare and thus, most disabled individuals live within their community rather than an institution. For many centuries people with disabilities have been battling harmful stereotypes, ridiculous assumptions, and fear that they do not fit in.

Throughout America’s history and even less than 100 years ago, people with disabilities (which can include epilepsy, cerebral palsy, developmental delays and various physical and mental impairments) have been excluded from society by their families and in institutions because they were seen as useless and very dependent. Since it may take time for those with disabilities to understand and adjust in daily life, it can cause frustration and hatred by those who feel superior because they are not living with disabilities.

The website for disability history museum states that it is a misguided belief that, “people with disabilities, especially cognitive impairments, are holy innocents endowed with special grace, with the function of inspiring others to value life” (Block, n.d.). I have seen these displayed numerous times within the movie. For example, Forrest Gump characteristics are best described as childlike throughout the movie, which takes on an innocent persona. I think the media kind of portrays this as well regarding individuals with disabilities. In every news story/article that comes out about an individual with disabilities, I feel like the media portrays them as an angelic