People with Disabilities

Disability is one of the most important issues in society because of the many fallacies that have been conjured up by people who have not been exposed to individuals with certain disabilities. This stigma has been incorporated into the notion that people with disabilities are “useless”. People with disabilities do not need to have a physical problem, many have a certain mental state that is not parallel to a fully cognitive person. These disabilities range from extreme physical handicaps to mental issues to a depressive state of mind. All of these fall under the umbrella of the term “disability”. Such biases and prejudices contributed to the discrimination of people with disabilities, but that has been eradicated by the many laws or acts that

Each time period had people with different views of disability and ways of treating those with disabilities. For example, early European colonists in 1492-1700 had a definition for disability that discussed productivity in regards to things such as class and gender. For children who were born with disabilities, the women were always blamed. For the time period of 1700-1776, slaves who had "undesirable bodies" were left to die. After that until 1865, African and indigenous women compared to white women were compared to animals and viewed negatively due to their features. Each time period had people who viewed disabilities in different capacities and took

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

Disability, by definition is “a physical or mental condition that limits a person 's movements, senses, or activities;” it is an impairment that restricts an individual 's ability to participate in "normal" routines in their everyday society. The term disability frightens able-bodied individuals because it challenges their own beliefs regarding normality and more importantly, their own vulnerability. As the years have progressed, however, disability has become an umbrella term that is used to categorize individuals who don’t abide to society’s norms; it is used to marginalize individuals as the weaker self. As a result, those who are disabled are thrown into institutions—ostracized from all of society. Susan Nussbaum’s novel “Good Kings, Bad Kings” focuses on an institution through the perspective of patients and workers, each with their own story to tell. While the novel implores and explores various themes throughout the character’s dialogue as prevalent throughout the novel, one striking theme that Nussbaum explores is the theme of the institution as a dumping grounds for children with disabilities. Both “A Pupil and a Patient” by Brad Byrom and “Disability and the Justification of Inequality in American History” by Douglas C. Baynton address the issue of disability injustice in institutional settings. All of these readings are similar in that they approach disability as an impairment made by society, and not necessarily the individual.

What socio-historical factors play into the social construction of disabilities? Please be specific and provide examples to support your answers.

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

The Museum of Disability was very informative on displaying the progressive history of individuals with disabilities. Prior to visiting the museum, I only knew that people with certain disabilities perform in the circus, but did not know how badly they were being treated. People often forget that those with disabilities are still human and have rights like any other human being. The ways people perceive individual with disabilities have majorly progressed since the Middle Ages until now.

Historically, people with disabilities were seen as being unable to contribute to society and therefore were viewed as being dependent on others for care. The dependency that was created resulted in persons with disabilities being seen as unhealthy and defective (Neuhaus et al, 2014). In effort to care for people with disabilities, agencies such as Anixter have confined people with disabilities to buildings and kept them from becoming participating citizens in their natural communities.

People with disabilities constitute the nation’s largest minority group, and the ONLY group any of us can become a member of at any time.

A disability can be defined as a “limitation of function because of an impairment” (Lane, 2008, p. 277). To some, “deaf people [seem] limited in some functions because of an impairment of hearing” (Lane, 2008, p. 277). However, this determination of disability has arisen from “norms and the technologies of normalization” (Lane, 2008, p. 279) by the hearing and otherwise “able-bodied” world. To the hearing world, Deaf people lack the “ability” to hear; a sense which so many of us hearing people depend on. In actuality, the only reason Deaf people seem to suffer is because we, the hearing majority, have placed our own beliefs and values on them. By labeling Deaf people as disabled, we are guilty of audism and ableism, as we “[insist] that inherent biological factors determine individual traits and capacity” (Lane, 2008, p. 282), and assume their life is lacking because they either cannot hear or cannot hear as well as we think they should. If we were to change our mentality about accessibility, about human rights, and about individuality, it would seem clear that the only reason Deaf people are limited in any way is because the majority makes so much revolve around the importance of hearing, and dismiss the reality that

Disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, and/or activities. Normal is conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected and abnormal is deviating from what is normal or usual, typically in a way that is undesirable or worrying. Throughout history, people with disabilities have been treated differently from those who conform to or fit societal norms. For many years’ people with disabilities have been treated different and/or unfair from the ‘norm’ or those considered to be ‘normal’. From the Greek and Roman times until recently, society look at people with a disability as less than human and should not have the rights of those who fit the norm. In the case of Ancient Greece, the disabled would be killed or abandoned in the woods. They would be kept as jesters for nobility in the Roman Empire court and they would experience acts of infanticide or the crime of killing a child within a year of birth during the time of the Renaissance.

To make sure that people with learning difficulties are able to live in their flats independently and not go through any abuse, there are various strategies to help them such as:

Even though Christianity was already spread across the Europe, the attitude towards people with disabilities was not so great (Disabilities, 2017). There were “idiot cages” in the town centers, inside which were people with disabilities, which served as entertainment for citizens. They were still treated as different people of the society. Although, there were many churches which provided people with disabilities with help and support. People began thinking that mental disorders can be cured and a great number of medical centers

Despite the response to disability varying greatly between times, places and cultures (Barnes, 2012), there is no doubt that disability has an immeasurable impact on people’s lives. Disability affects an individual’s identity and their ability to work, socialise and be involved in society. In this essay I will discuss how approaches to disability have changed over time, specifically how approaches to disability have developed in recent centuries. I will start by discussing the medical model before moving on to its direct challenge in the social model. Finally I will discuss responses to the social model, in particular the biopsychosocial model.

In the olden day, children born with disabilities were hidden or even killed. Shame and guilt often followed the birth of a child with disabilities. Most people believed that the disability was the result of a family member’s sins. Although society began accepting people with disabilities as time passed, a disability was still viewed as a personal tragedy. Many children were denied access to education and opportunities to learn. In 1967, 200,000 persons with disabilities resided in state institutions. Many of these restrictive settings provided only minimal food, clothing, and shelter. These institutions did not have the individuals with a disability assessed, educated, or rehabilitated. In 1970, U.S. public schools educated only one in five children with disabilities. Many states had laws excluding certain students, including children who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or mentally retarded. (Archived: 25 Year History of the IDEA)