What Is Haden Syndrome In John Scalzi's Lock In

In Nancy Mairs’ article for The New York Times, “Disability”, published in 1987, she expresses her distaste with the media's representation of handicapped people. Mairs, who struggled with multiple sclerosis herself, clearly and sharply conveys this disgust by stating, “I’m not, for instance, Ms. MS, a walking, talking embodiment of a chronic incurable degenerative disease.” (Mairs 13), and that she is actually, “the advertisers’ dream: Ms. Great American Consumer. And yet the advertisers, who determine nowadays who will get represented publicly and who will not, deny the existence of me and my kind absolutely”(Mairs 14). Mairs is greatly upset that disabled people are defined by their disabilities and, therefore, are underrepresented in public media. This might lead to one asking themselves, but why are they? And the answer, according to Mairs, is quite simple, “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anybody’s life”(Mairs 14). Mairs concludes by pointing out how this effacement could have dangerous consequences for both disabled people and, as she called everyone else, TAPs (Temporarily Abled Persons) alike. Treating disabilities as an abnormal characteristic (as opposed to viewing them “as a normal characteristic, one that complicates but does not ruin human existence” (Mairs 15)) can cause one of these repercussions, as it makes the

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.

3.3. Explain the social and medical models of disability and the impact of each on practice

The Medical Model regards disability as an individual problem. It promotes a traditional view of disability, that it is something to be ‘cured’, even though many conditions have no cure. The problem is seen as the disabled person and their impairment, not society, and the solution is seen as adapting the disabled person to fit the non-disabled world, often through medical intervention. Control resides firmly with professionals; choices for the individual are limited to the options provided and approved by the 'helping' expert.

“The social model of disability sees the issue of "disability" as a socially created problem and a matter of the full integration of individuals into society. In this model, disability is not the problem of the individual, but rather a complex collection of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Hence, the management of the problem requires social action and is the collective responsibility of society at large to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full

“Cripple” seems to me a clean word, straightforward and precise.” This ultimately deems language as an intrinsic factor in claiming an accurate identity. Simply by naming the obstacle when it arises, enables one to regain control over it. Similarly, when placing so many people living disabilities under an umbrella term, it erases the truth and the unique experiences of their ailment, and/or in Mairs’ circumstance, the word may not even appropriately describe them.

1. Outline the history and development of the medical, social and psycho-social models of disability

The medical model of disability views disabilities as a problem that belongs to the disabled person. It is not seen as a problem that needs the concern of anyone else apart from the disabled individual affected, for example if a wheelchair user is unable to get into a building because there are steps then, the wheelchair is seen as the problem not the steps, according to the medical model.

This essay highlights and discusses models of disability reflected in two separate articles (Appendices A and B). I will identify the models of disability they represent. Both have been recently featured in the Guardian newspaper and are stories on disabled people.

Over 400,000 people in the U.S have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Every day they struggle walking, or they are spastic. Mairs has perfectly described her day to day struggle with M.S. which usually results in paralysis. Mairs does not like being called ‘Handicapped’ because she feels that can summarize many people under one word. The ailments that they are trying to conquer are completely different. Americans who are not disabled understand what it is like to have an ailment, and can imagine what their life consists of. Mairs has incorporated thoughtful allusions and her insightful feelings to aide the explanation of being crippled to a non-crippled reader in her memoir, “I AM a cripple”.

It focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of the illness, however, in its most narrow form can sometimes fail to address some other important influences on health and wellbeing. The medical model is concerned with the pursuit of cures for the disease.

Society often focuses on what a person lacks in terms of disability and focuses on condition or illness or a person’s lack of ability. Medical model of disability which views adults has having an impairment or lacking in some way

All they want is to take part of society as a normal individual. The disability-movement has fought for the disabilities rights throughout the years and has achieved goals such as accommodation of architectural infrastructures to serve better people who are physical impairments. The public policies have been great accomplishments because it has helped people with disabilities to be part of society. The disability-movement points out the healthcare finance policies have taken freedom away from the disability community, “ Health-care financing policies force disabled people into Institutions and nursing homes rather than funding independent living. Income-maintenance and public health-insurance policies include “disincentives” that penalize disabled individuals for trying to work productively.”(p.4). The government has done a great job on protecting disabled individuals’ rights. However, the health-care system has isolated this group even more by restricting the level of productivity that they have within the system, as a result this medical model marginalizes this group of people and this program available for this community does not fully address their issues.

All people who have brown hair are not alike. All people who have disabilities are not

The dominant model of disability for the majority of the 20th century was the medical model. The medical model’s emphasis is on impairment; this is the cause of the disadvantage disabled individuals face and therefore the site of interventions (Crow, 1996). It is based in the biomedical and clinical. It views disability as a personal tragedy, an idea which is often implicit in work around disability based on the medical model. (Oliver, 1990).