Personal Reflection : My Experience Of Personal Experiences In The Public Community

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

When I am explaining about the social stigma for the vast majority of disabled people a restriction of the possibility of participation in normal social life and limitations in the pursuit of personal happiness are often grave and depressing for the person with an impairment that causes a disability. There are a number of diseases that are stigmatized- mental disorders, aids, venereal disease, leprosy, and certain skin diseases. People who are stigmatised are usually receiving much less social support than those who have non-stigmatising illness. Mental disorders carry more stigma than any other illness. Stigma reduces the value of the persons who have a mental disorder. Stigmatisation is one of the major obstacles to the improvement of

The social model of disability which views discrimination and prejudice as being embedded in today’s society, their attitudes and their surrounding environment.

Barrier studies show that stigma is the fourth highest barrier to seeking help (Clement et al, 2014) proving why it is fundamental to research stigma.

Labelling and stigma has now more than ever become an increasing problem with cultural and social views being extrapolated onto domestic violence victims and mental health patients. Stigma is a concept that consists of three parts: self-stigma, structural stigma and public stigma. Public stigma is a culturally constructed view by society based on a strong disapproval of what is perceived to be different from the ‘norm’, thus making them a marginalised group (Corrigan & O’Shaughnessy, 2007, pp. 90-91). This type of stigma links in with structural stigma that has policies in place which exclude these types of people from further life opportunities and labels them as ‘different’. These two types of stigma intertwine with self-stigma that often

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

Over the past few years, I have noticed personal changes in my body language when in a fearful situation. On my college campus, there are times when I shake while walking down the street after dark and have my phone set up to dial 911. I usually feel threatened when I notice a group of people or individual person following me on the same side of the street. My first reaction is to continuously check my surroundings, know how to get help and make sure that I am in a safe place. I notice my body language change drastically during these types of situations, especially when I am by myself. There is a noticeable change in my posture; I stare at the ground, drop my shoulders, put my hands in my pockets and try to go unnoticed. If someone begins to make me feel uncomfortable by approaching me, I move to the opposite side of the street as quickly as I can. I take fast, brisk steps away from the danger and ignore any communication from the people around me. All of these feelings change, however, if I am with another person.

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

I suppose it makes sense since people with intellectual disabilities were considered like minorities. Similar like African-Americans, intellectual impaired were thought to be a "public menace, to be feared and ostracized." Negative thoughts like this towards people with intellectual disabilities only strengthened the eugenics movement that was becoming widespread. Eugenics believed that had the right to take control of people who were considered inferior. Supporters of the eugenics movement claimed that people with intellectual disabilities lacked moral fiber hence, cause of many social problems and must be removed from

Society’s ideological constructs and attitudes towards minority groups are created and reinforced through media imagery. Although negative associations that maintain inequities with regard to race, gender and homophobia (Conner & Bejoian, 2006) have been somewhat relieved, disability is still immersed in harmful connotations that restrict and inhibit the life of people with disabilities in our society.

Racial Stigma in Mercy originally meant a physical mark of shame. Now, it’s an invisible mark that sets you apart from others. The problem with the word stigma’ is that it puts the focus on the person’s difference instead of on the people who are setting them apart. Using the word stigma makes it seem different than racism, homophobia or sexism. It isn’t. So it’s time to talk about stigma for what it really is. (56)

My experience begun with an all day training about the program, the history of intellectual disability, some common disorders, and the progress that our society has accomplished in providing care for the underrepresented population. Throughout the semester, I visited

Individuals with serious mental illness are doubly affected by their disease; not only do they experience the often debilitating symptoms of their condition, but they must also endure mundane mental health stigmas and prejudices. Stigmatized attitudes are perceived to be one of the greatest impediments to living a complete and fulfilling life. Stigma has been defined as a combination of three related problems: ignorance, prejudice and discrimination (Rose, Thornicroft, Pinfold, & Kassam, 2007). Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, prejudice entails negative attitudes, and discrimination involves exclusionary actions against people deemed to be different. Two forms of stigma are commonly distinguished in literature. Public stigma describes the attitudes of society towards people with mental illness, while self-stigma results from the internalization of prejudice by people who suffer from mental health conditions (Corrigan, Powell, & Rüsch, 2012). The World Health Organization announced that stigma was the most crucial obstacle to overcome for a community to functioning effectively and efficiently (Ontario Hospital Association, 2013).

This week’s discussion dealt with Individuals and Disabilities. Over the years, people who have a “disability" have been subjected to prejudice and more. And the first way to diminish someone is through language, by using words or labels to identify a person as "less-than," as "the others—not like us," and so forth. Once a person has been identified this way, it makes