How Impairment Can Become Disabling - Essay Example

How Impairment Can Become Disabling People with disabilities or impairments often face a lot of challenges due to their physical and physiological conditions. Although the impairment can make an individual not able to carry out some duties, its effects are not as big as those caused by barriers that disabled people have to go through everyday. People with Tourette’s syndrome are some of those who have to face various barriers which make it difficult for them to go about their daily business with ease. This paper focuses on the impairment of Tourette’s syndrome and how this impairment can be disabling. I. Tourette’s Syndrome Definition and Overview According to Waltz (2001), Tourettes syndrome can be defined as a neurological disorder that is usually characterized by tics. Waltz states that tics are “physical jerks and involuntary vocalizations”. In many parts of the world, Tourette’s syndrome has been regarded as a disability. Disability can be defined as the “physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term effect on an individual’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities” (Pringsheim, Lang, Kurlan, et. Al, 2009). An impairment is defined as the loss or abnormality of physiological, psychological and/ or anatomic function or structure (Steinberg, King, and Apter, 2010). Certain impairments can be disabling to individuals. They can be disabling in the sense that they can cause barriers that make it difficult for the affected individuals to carry on with their daily activities. Tourette’s syndrome can cause untold challenges to the patient. Most cultures have negative notions about people with disability, who are mostly seen as individuals who cannot do anything unaided. Tourette’s syndrome is seen as one of the most abnormal of all forms of illnesses. The symptoms of this illness include getting occasional tics which might make the patient behave in a way that is regarded as unconventional (National Health Services, 2010). There are different models followed when dealing with all people with disability, including those with Tourette’s syndrome. II. Models of Disability A. Medical Model The medical model of disability categorizes individuals by their medical conditions (Weiss, 2009). The result of this type of categorization is widespread stereotyping and discrimination. People normally categorize what such a person is capable of or not capable of in regard to his disability. Categorizing people in terms of their medical conditions often leads to negative expressions which lead to negative expectations (Walkup, Scahill, and Riddle, 1995). The medical model emphasizes on the issue of dependency in the part of disabled people. The model is seen as promoting the idea that disabled individuals are flawed and not supposed to be not in the same league as other ‘normal’ people (Waltz, 2001). In this model, classification of individuals is done by people who are themselves not disabled (Steinberg, King, and Apter, 2010). B. Social Models The Social model relating to disability came about as a reaction to the dominant medical model. This model seeks to remove the notion that disabled people are not ‘normal’ (Walkup, Scahill, and Riddle, 1995). The most important aspect of the social model has to do with equality. The social model regards disability as the social restrictions that people with disability are often subjected to as they try to go with their daily lives. In this model, disability is not treated as a condition which should invoke pity or which has to be cured. Instead, it is seen as a positive asset (Newman, 2009). Proponents of this model argue that people with disability should be treated equally as other marginalized groups in society (Pringsheim, Lang, Kurlan, et. Al, 2009). The model emphasizes on the need for change in attitudes that exist in society about people with disabilities. It also put s a lot of emphasis on the need for full social support and access to information for people with disabilities (Steinberg, King, and Apter, 2010). Proponents of the social model also argue that physical structures and working hours should be structured to work for everyone, including those with disabilities. Unlike the medical model, the social model does not encourage categorizing people with disabilities, a practice that is regarded as prejudiced and discriminatory. This model addresses some of the barriers that disabled people face in their day to day lives (Hicks, 2009). III. Impairment of Disability Impairment can broadly be defined as the loss of physiological or psychological function that is normally caused by an injury, congenital condition or an illness. Disability is normally defined as the limitation or loss of opportunities to get involved in societal activities on the same level as other people due to environmental and social barriers (Newman, 2009). Impairment of disability often inhibits an individual from moving around unaided, using the usual means of transport, climbing stairs, going to unfamiliar places, getting the same kind of jobs as other people and enjoying the same social services and amenities as other people (National Health Services, 2010). IV. Barriers faced by People with Tourette’s syndrome A. Education People with learning disabilities normally have a hard time with normal learning activities. Most patients who suffer from Tourette’s syndrome are slow learners (National Health Services, 2010). Unfortunately, very little has been done to make their situation better. Most of the students who have this condition are normally subjected to daily taunts and humiliation when they fail to keep up with the rest of their fellow students in class (Hicks, 2009). When young students suffering from Tourette’s syndrome are subjected to such conditions, they might develop emotional problems such as low self esteem, or worse, they might result to behaving in a socially unfit manner (National Health Services, 2010). A student or young person should not be made to suffer for a condition that he pr she has little or no control over. The society should be made aware that Tourette’s syndrome patients are human beings who deserve to enjoy the same things as those who are considered ‘normal’ (Hicks, 2009). This means that they have a right to education just like any other healthy person. They should not be ridiculed since they have a potential to lead productive lives if given the opportunity to grow mentally, physically and emotionally. B. Social Ostracism People with Tourette’s syndrome normally find themselves being alienated by family and the society at large (Newman, 2009). One of the effects of Tourette’s syndrome is making people act impulsively. This may be the reason why Tourette’s syndrome patients are normally ostracized. Since most people in the society do not realize that Tourette’s syndrome patients have the same rights as other people, it is hard for them (society) to give them respect in all areas of life. This means that Tourette’s syndrome patients face a lot of ostracism not only in their homes and schools, but also at work. People with Tourette’s syndrome also record higher rates of unemployment (Hicks, 2009). Most employees will steer clear of anyone who has a Tourette’s syndrome history. Those Tourette’s syndrome patients who are lucky enough to find employment are normally treated differently from other employees (Newman, 2009). For instance, a person with Tourette’s syndrome may be subjected to unfair dismissal due to his condition. Workplace discrimination for people with Tourette’s syndrome also involves giving them jobs that are considered demeaning or low grade, such as toilet cleaning. This may be the case despite the fact that the individual may have qualifications to do the job that other people are doing in that company. Social ostracism does not occur at the work place only. It also occurs in other social facilities such as shopping malls, restaurants and even in hospitals. Not many people understand why people with Tourette’s syndrome behave the way they do (Pringsheim, Lang, Kurlan, et. Al, 2009). This explains why such people are normally discriminated against when shopping or going about their normal businesses. There is a time when Tourette’s syndrome patients used to be avoided since it was believed that they were demon-possessed. However, in this day and age, there should not be even one reason to treat Tourette’s syndrome patients any differently than other people. People with Tourette’s syndrome also face social barriers when looking for medical services (Newman, 2009). Segregated social provision in hospitals used to be a problem faced mainly by people who were handicapped. However this segregation has spread to include those suffering from Tourette’s syndrome. Most cultures have negative representations of people with this syndrome. In medical facilities, there are no provisions to cater for their needs, yet their condition is treatable in these institutions (National Health Services, 2010). In many cases, they are ignored as medical practitioners go about serving other people first. In the worst case scenario, people suffering from Tourette’s syndrome are normally sent to mental institutions where they have no access to proper medical care (Waltz, 2001). V. Conclusion Tourette’s syndrome is a disability condition which has been misunderstood in society (National Health Services, 2010). This has led to the discrimination of people suffering from this condition. Many of them have to go through embarrassing social ostracism over something that they have little or no control over. These individuals normally face many different barriers in their social, personal and economic lives. The main reason why these barriers are there is because there is very little understanding of the rights of people with disabilities (Walkup, Scahill, and Riddle, 1995). TS may be regarded as disabling, but that does not mean that people with this condition have to be discriminated against (Waltz, 2001). Although the medical model has been used for a long time in the way people with Tourette’s syndrome are treated, there are better ways that society can treat these individuals. The medical model seems to discriminate against them, but the social model can be applied to make sure that people with Tourette’s syndrome have equal access to amenities, education and job opportunities just like everybody else (Steinberg, King, and Apter, 2010). The social model advocates for a change in people’s attitudes towards individuals suffering from Tourette’s syndrome (Steinberg, King, and Apter, 2010 and Weiss, 2009). When people start to understand the needs of people suffering from Tourette’s syndrome, a lot will be achieved in terms of equality in different aspects of life. No one will be discriminated in terms of education, job opportunities and access to social amenities just because he or she has Tourette’s syndrome. 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