The Stigma of Mental Disabilities

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

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.

Individuals with disability have had a long history of maltreatment in America. From being thought of as possessed individuals in need of exorcism, targeted for heinous experiments, unknowingly sterilized, being labeled imbecile, feeble minded, and retarded, to being shipped off to state schools or mental asylums, those with disabilities were given no consideration as a valuable and able to contribute member of society. In a speech to congress, Frank Bowe, a highly educated deaf-man highlighted this claim by stating, “we are not even second-class citizens, we are third-class citizens” (Bowe, F. 1977--need citation), and Jim Cherry (2001) furthered the ideal in his words, that prior to “1970 we [disabled citizens] had no right to education, to employment, to transportation, to housing, or to voting. There were no civil rights laws for us, no federal advocacy grants. Few people looked beyond our medical needs” (Cherry, J.L, 2001 http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/0701/0701cov.htm). Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 attempted to fundamentally change how disabled people were reguarded.

Americans with disabilities make up the largest minority group in the United States. Approximately fifty million people in the United States live with physical or mental handicaps. This minority group is unique in that it is made up of people from all socioeconomic classes, genders and races. Mental and physical impairments do not discriminate. As with other minorities, Americans with disabilities face unique challenges and discriminatory behaviors. For centuries, disabled people had to battle irrational fears and stereotypes due to the lack of medical understanding. The first demand for equal treatment for disabled people came in the 1960s. The struggle for disability rights has followed a similar pattern to many other civil rights movements – first negative stereotypes must be challenged, followed rallying for political and institutional change and lobbying for the self-determination of a minority community. As a result the examples of the African American civil rights and women’s rights movements encouraged the disability rights movement, and after decades of campaigning and lobbying, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990.

The majority of people that have a severe mental illness are object to challenges in double measure. From one point of view, they wrestle with the symptoms and disablement that result from the illness. From another point, they are tested by the stereotypes and preconceived ideas that stem from the misunderstandings about mental illness. As a culmination of both, people with a mental illness are stripped of the chances that define a quality life such as a good job, safe housing, adequate health care, and a connection with a varied group of people. Although research has gone a long way to understand the affect of the disease, it only recently has begun to explain the stigma of mental illness (Corrigan). The lives of people who are living with a mental illness are many times drastically adjusted by the symptoms of the illness and everyone’s response to them. While symptoms can normally be diminished by a number of actions, the intrinsic stigma and prejudice that comes with mental illness may continue on for a lifetime and can manifest themselves in a number of understated and non-understated ways. Normally, when one thinks of a stigma, they think of disgrace that is associated with a particular event, circumstance, or occasion. People with a mental illness are most often branded as an effect of their behavior, appearance, therapy, their economic status, and also the negative depictions in the media of the mental illnesses. People with a mental illness often have a “stereotype

The challenges we face with access of care can extremely discriminate and damaging to individuals, families, and communities. Barriers of accommodation, availability, accessibility and acceptability are obstructions that need to be demolished. 28% of insured people with disabilities reported needing particular therapies, equipment or medications that were not covered by their health plans, compared to 7 percent of those without disabilities (N.O.D, 2000). Enforcement efforts recently have failed to bring a need change to the healthcare access for disable people. Regardless of their disability, they should have access to affordable, comprehensive, and adaptive

The topic in regards to the disabled worker is of interest to the author. The commentary is titled “Accommodation for Disabled Workers: Knowledge of Rights a Good Start” at the Rand Corporation blog by author Kathleen Mullen. The article describes how employees quitting their jobs because of healthcare decline and applying for social security benefits. As a number of social security benefits increase it puts US funding at risk. The author knows several disabled workers that are faced with working with a health-related disability. Additionally, they are challenged to take care of their families in spite of their disability. The disabled subgroup often expresses that they feel misunderstood by the world. The disabled person is betwixt and in between.; society expects the

People suffering from mental illness and other problems are often the most discriminated, socially excluded, stigmatized, and vulnerable members of the society. They have to constantly struggle and face a double problem. Firstly, they have to struggle with the symptoms of the mental illness itself. They may face with problems such as illusions, delusions, hallucinations and other symptoms, which depend on a particular mental disorder. These symptoms do not allow the person to live a satisfactory life. They do not allow the person to work and independently achieve something in their life. And secondly, they are challenged by several stereotypes and prejudices, which gradually result in many misconceptions about mental illness known as “stigma”. Therefore, mental illness results not only in the difficulties arising from the symptoms of the disorder but also in the negative attitudes and beliefs that motivates the people to fear, reject, avoid and exclusion of people with mental illness. Some people with mental illness could lose self confidence, accept the prejudices and may also turn them against themselves. This is referred to as ‘self-stigma’, loosening the confidence of the person suffering with mental illness.

One of the sections of this chapter that really stuck out for me was the Etiology of learning disabilities which explains the variety of reason behind disabilities such as: Acquired Trauma, medical factors, Genetic/Hereditary influences, and environmental factors. I am sure many people can agree that the stigma surrounding learning disabilities is usually pointed toward the child being born with the disease and not everyone considers the many other factors which cause these defects.

Not all children with disabilities are the same, some are able to learn in a normal classroom setting while others may need a more accommodating setting. The mandate ensures that if able a child with learning disabilities can and will learn in a normal classroom setting. In my opinion this can only help the child, it will push them harder and show them that they are able to succeed in a “normal” classroom setting. Another factor is that students will see that a child with disabilities is no different from you or I and could very well help change the way teens and adults stigmatize people with disabilities.

life worth living? Do people with disabilities want to be a financial burden or artificially sustained? These

While not outwardly condemning laws regarding disability rights, Bernstein dedicates her article to the negative effects that have come from expanding the amount of disabilities covered in said laws. In an attempt to ban discrimination against people with disabilities, Congress passed the ADA in 1990 (Bernstein 124). However, in 2008, “Congress broadened the scope” of the ADA and the new version was called the ADA Amendments Act or ADAAA (Bernstein 124). Under this new act, significantly more conditions could be considered a disability and more people could receive compensation benefits (Bernstein 126). Bernstein believes the ADAAA has hindered people with disabilities from finding a job because employers “fear hiring those who have even the slightest “disability,” instead increasing the rate of unemployment for those with real disabilities” (126). Employers are becoming increasingly cautious of hiring those who have a disability because of the possible litigations and lawsuits that could follow them. This is due to the fact that many ailments and conditions that were not initially considered disabilities are now thought to be a disability. Some people with these conditions are saying they are

As the world, becomes increasingly more aware of those with disabilities. There are still struggles for those with disabilities to be a fully participate in society. Many individuals use others that have a disability to isolate them from certain societal functions such as employment and sports. Even though there are Organizations and Associations that advocate for those with disability to get fair treatment, individuals are still facing discrimination. Instead of trying to make society more accessible for those with a disability society is just trying to categorize them as special and make them make their own accommodations in society. When it comes to whether or not society should increase accessibility and make accommodations for disable people two Philosophers Aristotle and John Rawls have two different perspectives on the issue. While, Aristotle argues about the most virtue individual should have the opportunity. Rawls argues about how your identity should not define whether you can be fairly integrated into society. This paper will focus and evaluating both argues on whether society should increase accessibility and make accommodations for disable people.

The society’s judgment and biasness for the disabled in the past was no more different than their hatred for colored people. Fortunately now for both, disabled and colored people, there have been numerous changes within society due to the management and treatment for these people. In Essig’s article, “A Media Fad for the 1990s?(People with Disabilities Becoming Media Celebrities)”, stated that in previous years disabilities were meant to be ignored and kept in closets and parents of

When composing this essay, it was my intention to address and argue an issue within America that hinders the lives of many individuals whose voices are often times pushed to the side. My argument is in direct correlation to one particular issue within America that creates a divide between many individuals. The main claim is going to help me to generate my argument in which I will support with various subclaims, that will help me to support my claim through my paper. To allow me to do this I will search databases and plan to accumulate various pieces of evidence that I plan to use to promote each of my subclaims, that will, in turn, prove my central claim. One of the obvious flaws within the United States is healthcare, but more specifically health care failure to be as accessible to people with disabilities. There is overwhelming evidence that individuals with physical or mental disabilities are usually left without proper treatment because of the high costs. While our resources are spending, millions on people who don't really need all those resources to survive everyday life. One of the underlying issues within healthcare is America's inability to properly and efficiently provide individuals with disabilities the proper resources or funding. On one hand, some people will argue that our health care provides them with all that they need to live day to day lives. However, some people feel that handicapable people are denied proper treatment and often ignored. My argument is