Understanding Disability Stereotyping And Popular Misconceptions About Disability

Society is driven by norms and obligations that leads us to having negative perspectives and attitudes toward disabled individuals. We have internalized the physical appearance has a social standard. When the physical differences are not conformed by members of society, individuals with those differences tend to be rejected. For example, in the movie “The Butterfly Circus”, Will was being treated almost like he was not human because he had no arms nor legs. In addition, members of society tend to associate disables as non-productive. According to professor Nanoch Liveh, “The level of societal development, the rate of unemployment, beliefs concerning the origins of poverty, and the importance attached to the nation’s welfare economy and security are all contributing factors affecting attitudes toward people with disabilities.” Not only, social norms

According to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, a disabled person “has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. ” Around 11 million people in the UK are living with a limiting long term illness, impairment or disability with less than half employed. With developing technology,

According to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (2017), an intellectual disability is classified as a deficit in “intellectual functioning” and “adaptive behaviors.” For a disability to be qualified as an intellectual disability it must have originated before the age of 18. Some diagnoses that fit under intellectual disability include autism, Down Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. “Developmental disability” is the umbrella term, encompassing many other disabilities, including those that fall under the category of intellectual disability. Developmental disabilities typically impact an individual in a physical way, such as cerebral palsy or epilepsy.

The presence of medical conditions, classified as disabilities by the Americans with Disabilities Act as, “…a physical or mental impairment that

Disabilities; these may include a physical or learning disability. Children with a learning disability may not be capable of holding their attention for an extended period or pay close attention in class. A learning disability is not a problem with intelligence, disorders are caused by a difference in how information is received, processed and communicated in the brain.

A person with a physical disability is someone who has physical impairments which they may have been born with or happened to gain in a result of an injury. Having a physical disability limits you from doing daily activities yourself.

Disability is an impairment is a life changing condition that limits one’s physical or mental abilities. Disabilities comes in many forms such as blindness, hearing, speech disorder, loss of vision. and memory. As well as, chronic illness such as diabetes, HIV, obesity. Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”) employers, cannot discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities when hiring, firing, job promotion, distribution of benefits and privileges. In addition, by law, employers must make reasonable effort to modify work equipment and job settings for people with disabilities. Such as job schedules, employee training and communication devices; without causing an undue hardship, significant difficulty

Disability has appeared frequently in recent films (Byrd & Elliot, 1988), a reflection of society’s interest in the subject. These films often misrepresent disability using stereotypes. These stereotypes reinforce negative and incorrect social perceptions of, and attitudes towards,

When terms such as prejudice and discrimination are used, many often think of race and ethnicity. Many also believe that prejudice and discrimination are things of the past. However, both are still evident in today’s society. People are still set aside from the general population because of sexuality, mental illness, and political orientation. Stereotypes surrounding these people are some of the most demeaning of this time. Stereotypes can cause those affected to lose job opportunities, be refused service, and be treated as inferior. Stereotypes are generalizations of groups of people. Stereotypes are not based on the differences between people within those groups, but are rather judgements made towards all members.

Disability Inequality is an issue which society often ignores but is an alarming topic. People tend to assume they are ill-equipped mentally since they are disabled physically. It has immense effect on people with disabilities.

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.

Stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination have been targeted intensely within these last years in society. It is very important to know and understand the differences. At one point in our lives we have all participated in stereotyping at least one weather you have noticed it or not or wanted to or not. It is one of those things that are learned form or parents and culture. Stereotypes are simply “the beliefs about the personalities, abilities, and motives that doesn’t allow for individual variation” Franzio (208). Stereotypes usually cause prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice is an attitude one has about a specific group which are usually negative attitudes. Discrimination is negative actions towards a specific group. Although it can sometimes

Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers with fifteen or more employees are prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. Furthermore, the employment provisions of the Act require that employers provide equal opportunity in selecting, testing, and hiring qualified applicants with disabilities, job accommodations for applicants and workers with disabilities when such would not impose due hardship, and equal opportunity in promotion and benefits. (United States Department of Labor). If an employer is found liable for such discrimination, the fines can be extremely high. Therefore, it is important to know the definition of disability as determined by the ADA. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that essentially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual, a record of having such impairment, or being regarded as having such impairment (Bennett-Alexander and Hartman) and the individual should be able to prove such factors to establish a prima facie case in court. Despite of these definitions, a disability is determined based on the effect the impairment

Disability is ‘any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being’.

“For purposes of nondiscrimination laws (e.g. the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act), a person with a disability is generally defined as someone who (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more "major life activities," (2) has a record of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an