Negative Attitudes Towards Disabled People

Disability has been a difficult topic of society for years. Many people find discomfort in the presence of the disabled and many feel pity for those who are disabled. Back in the 1800s, the disabled were perceived as unable to contribute to society, often forced to undergo sterilization, and forced into institutions and asylums (“A Brief History”). In fact, this treatment of the disabled and mentally ill has been persistent until somewhat recently, when the Civil Rights movement took place, and those with disabilities decided to take a stand for their rights. Although people with disabilities continue to face difficulties in finding jobs, legitimizing their opinion, having the right to vote, and choosing whether or not they receive or refuse

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.

Ultimately Americans’ view disabilities as something that needs medical treatment and educational intervention. Other cultures views toward individuals with disabilities are both similar and different in some ways. Pacific Islanders believing that disabilities are a result of their ancestors wrong doing, individuals from the Philippines believing that that a disability is a curse and reject the individuals, and the Chamorro culture believes that individuals with disabilities should be protected because disabilities are a gift from good.

Disability is a definition of a physical or mental condition which impacts on a person’s movements, activities and senses. People with disabilities were informed of bias and disadvantages compared to an ordinary person. There are many biases and prejudices contributed to the discrimination of individuals with a disability. Partly because of social connotations the disabled people are useless, cannot work. In fact, these extraordinary people always bring and do incredible things. They not only overcome their grim fate, but also bring good things to life, especially those who are perfectly considering better than an ordinary person, they are not aware of the capacity of individuals disabilities with them characteristics such as loyalty, dedication, and hard work.

There are many stereotypes regarding those with intellectual disabilities. This may be because these individuals range in cognitive ability, receptive and expressive language, and physical need. While it may be assumed that those with disabilities are not able to process the world around them, they are not immune to mental health disorders and the, sometimes tragic, events that take place throughout a lifetime. Someone without an intellectual disability may find solace in a friend, partner, or family member. If the event is impactful enough, they may even turn to a mental health professional that is trained to help those going through a tough time. Unfortunately, individuals with disabilities do not always have that same network of support.

Formerly, persons with disabilities were kept private and out of public view. In recent years, the number of people living with disabilities has increased due to longer life expectancy and advancement of medical treatments for life-threatening illness. With the transition of persons with a disabilities into more conventional lifestyles, they are now thriving in society. Disabled persons can be increasingly independent through an assisting device such a cane or wheelchair, though cultural barriers still exist between disabled and able-bodied persons.

Stigmas come in two different types: public and self. A public stigma is the reaction that the general public has to people with invisible disabilities (Corrigan and Watson 16-17). On the other hand, self-stigma is the prejudice which people with invisible disabilities turn against themselves. Both types of stigma can have a significantly negative impact on someone who suffers from an invisible disability. Public stigma reinforces stereotypes and prejudice misattributed to invisible disabilities and self-stigma stems from widely known public stigma, leading to a negative outlook in regards to having an invisible disability. The visibility of a potentially stigmatizing identity— such as schizotypal personality disorder— has been suggested to be the primary feature that causes those with invisible disabilities to

Despite many crucial developments surrounding acceptance of others there is still a long and arduous path ahead of our society. People with disabilities, whatever a given disability may be and mean for the individual, are frequently stigmatized. They are not always offered equal opportunities, nor are they always offered the proper support to fortify their capabilities so that the individual may be the best they can be. Because of this there are many people who never go or return to college, are unemployed, or are isolated from the community.

In this essay I will attempt to explain people’s attitudes towards the person with disability, also about the causes due to which our society discriminates against them. Few of these reasons are stereotyping, psychological discomfort, lack of accommodation, paternalization & pity.

Another obvious physical disability is an individual's confinement to a wheelchair. People who cannot walk under their own power are usually at a great disadvantage. Many times there are no special considerations made for these people. Even some typical expressions demonstrate this lack of compassion, such as "I have to run to the store", or "I'm going for a walk." People in wheelchairs are often considered weak and unable to care for themselves. However, some advances have been made in our society that encourages the independence of these people. Wheelchair ramps, handicap parking, and cuts in the curb of sidewalks are just some of the more obvious changes that have been made to better accommodate these people. But some problems may still occur for people in wheelchairs. Some hallways and doors may not be wide enough for the chair to fit through and when it is icy outside it is very easy to slide if the pavement is not sanded properly.

It is human nature to despise those that are different than normal. Everyone has a different perception of normal and when someone cuts that boundary it results in discrimination. Some people also tend to dislike the disabled due to their own weaknesses, to hide their own failures they will look down upon the handicap to make themselves feel better. Some people's self-esteem is so tiny that they have to find someone "lower than them" to feel superior. Also society perceives the disabled as useless, powerless and inefficient human beings, which also contributes to the ideology that leads to the discrimination against the disabled. Psychological and cultural influences also result in discrimination against the disabled. Hence, we can conclude that the fact that the disabled are “different” is what leads to the discrimination against them.

Over the years, perceptions towards disability have been significantly changing as result of the long pathway the disable community has taken fighting for Civil Rights, inclusion and against discrimination. Unfortunately, this last one has not been totally accomplished yet. Barriers to social integration still exist in the society. Perhaps the greatest barrier is not the disability itself; is the attitude of people.

This is not just a disadvantage to disabled people in the United States, it is a problem world wide. In the United Kingdom, only 6 percent of young disabled people are employed (O'mahony). All this leaving the United Kingdom with just “less than one in 20 people with a mental or physical disability are in paid employment”(O’mahony). Disabled people around the world in different nations are taken away the feeling of usefulness and the feeling of accomplishment. Affecting the disabled both financially but also emotionally.

Approximately 15% of the world’s population is, in a way, disabled. Whether it is a physical disability or a serious chronic disease, we have about one billion people in the world that live with a disability every day of their lives. It often occurs that these people are seen as an outcast of society; people that cannot live normal lives. It is important to realize that this is not true at all. People with disabilities are completely able to be part of the world. It is just the world’s duty to accept them.

Education evidence has shown that negative attitudes are a major obstacle to the education of disabled children [13] and physician attitudes are often seen as a barrier to PWDs for seeking health care [14]. In addition, uncertainty, not knowing how to interact with PWDs and lack of knowledge can often lead to negative attitudes. Some studies have shown that physicians are developing negative attitudes towards PWDs after working the first time with them due to a lack of training. Knowing the attitude of students is thus very important for the future of the country, because their attitude towards PWDs affects the future process of social integration of PWDs. Students from health care and educational programs are most likely going to work at some point with people with disabilities in their future career and this often without having special training on how to care, treat or teach people with disabilities. Their attitude and knowledge can influence a decision of a person with a disability seeking health care or attending school. In addition the professional’s attitudes can also influence the attitude of the person’s family and