The Issue of Discrimination Against Physically Disabled People - Essay Example

Disabled People Physical disability is the situation whereby an individual experience restricted ability in the functioning of their physical parts1. Apart from physical disabilities there are other forms of disabilities such as mental disability occasioned by impairment in the brain or the nervous system. Disability affects the quality of life one leads if not well managed. Areas whereby disability affects human beings include learning, communication, mobility, interpersonal relationships, social life as well as career2. Physical disability is often misunderstood in the society as demonstrated when members of the society discriminate persons with disability. This greatly affects the quality of life people with disability can lead. The negative attitude stemming from the society leads to denial of opportunities for the physically disabled. Physical disability is not distant from everyone of us. Personally, I underwent a major surgery at 16 on my legs which forever changed my understanding of physical disability. The surgery culminated into a rare condition called Miserable Malalignment. Eventually, matters became so complicated for me that the doctors tried to perform a correction by aligning my legs through sawing both of my legs' bones in half, twisting them to the right place and eventually using screws to keep them in place. This condition prevented me from going on with normal life and every aspect of my life was interrupted including my studies. I had become a physically disabled person. Coping with the situation was hard because I had always believed that physical disability was a condition one was born with. Therefore for me becoming physically disabled at age 16 was something I least expected. Of all facets in life, it is my schooling and social life that was worst affected. In terms of schooling I had to change from school based learning to home based schooling just because the school I had been attending had not put in place facilities for the physically disabled. This negatively affected my performance in school. During this time I came to understand how the society had been unfair to the physically disabled. The fact that my school lacked or did not have elevators or ramps dawned on me. It led me to look around and I found that very few schools had in place facilities for the physically disabled. Although the government has come up with reforms specifically those aimed at integrating special education to regular schools this has not been widespread as many schools, churches, hospitals, cinema theatres, shopping malls as well as other public places lack facilities for the physically disabled. My social life was equally affected considering the fact that prior to my surgery I had made friends. This enabled me to understand how society views people with social disability specifically how the society lacks important information on physical disability. The fact that friends deserted me was a clear indication that the society has formed very baseless attitudes towards people with disability. The mere sight of a physically disabled person in a wheelchair is enough to cause people to run away from those they are supposed to offer care to. I realized that there are very many stereotypes which have been formed by the society about physical disability. The society does not understand that disability is not inability. Therefore it is not rare to hear cases of physically disabled people who are qualified being denied opportunities because the stereotype that; disabled people cannot perform like non-disabled people, is very rife in the community. There is even belief in some communities that physical disability is communicable or contagious and therefore if one is physically disabled, friends and foes alike tend to keep a 'safe' distance. The stereotypes formed around physical disability go in as far as making some parents or caregivers to fail to take physically disabled children to school because they hold the belief that physical disability can hinder academic performance. While it is evident that physical disability can cause constraints of resources to the society, it is not an excuse for denying the physically disabled an opportunity to lead the quality life they deserve. Although it is expensive for institutions such as schools, religious worship places, hospitals, as well as shopping malls to put up facilities for the physically disabled there is no question about the need to make sure that every facility is accessible to the physically disabled and the physically able alike. There have been efforts by the United States of America government to solve the problem of discrimination against the physically disabled. Such measures have included passing of legislations aimed at protecting marginalized groups including the physically disabled. However such legislations have not been effective considering the constraints of funds which has made this very difficult for implementation. Other measures such as the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disability have not succeeded in fully addressing the issue of discrimination against the physically disabled. It is approximated that there are over 600 million people living with disabilities in the world3. This is a clear indication that physical disability is an issue which must be dealt with and addressed given the fact that it affects a considerable percentage of the population. There is a need for the congress to amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to meet emerging issues in the fight against discrimination on basis of physical disability. It is evident that the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 has fallen short in meeting the needs of the physically disabled. Americans with physical disability continue being discriminated in allocation of resources, access to resources, as well as in access to positions of leadership. There is a need for raising awareness amongst the American population about the fact sheet regarding physical disability. The myths that have formed around physical disability need to be done away with and there is a need for a reawakening amongst the American people. This can be achieved if people can take time to analyze physical disability. Perhaps it would help to mention a few Americans who have beaten the odds and succeeded in their fields although they were physically disabled. Such include; Ray Charles who succeeded in his music career and went ahead to achieve celebrity status, Herbert Everest who excelled in entrepreneurship and contributed positively to the lives of future generations of physically disabled Americans and the whole world by designing the wheelchair, as well as the former president of the United States of America, Franklin Roosevelt who suffered from polio4. It is sad that physical disability has claimed ambitions of many of those physically disabled people who due to the pressure from the society have ended up giving up leading normal lives. Those who have failed to overcome the stereotypes and challenges presented by the environment have ended up failing to achieve their career dreams and life goals on account of their impairments. Although it is tough for the physically disabled to lead normal lives considering the numerous challenges they are faced with, it is not an excuse for the physically disabled to fail to make it in life. There is a need for more physically disabled people to rise up and stand for their rights by proving that physically disabled people are just as capable as the non-physically disabled. It is true that the physically disabled are faced with challenges such as mobility something which makes it very hard for the physically disabled to access crucial facilities. It is not rare to find institutions, which discriminate against the physically disabled. Such institutions deny the physically disabled an opportunity to prove their ability. It is easy for the disabled to be turned away and shy away when faced with such challenges. However, this is not the way it is supposed to be. How well the physically disabled understand their fundamental rights goes a long way in determining how the society at large will treat them. Lack of knowledge is partly to blame for the discrimination that has characterized the physically disabled. The question is not whether there are enough human rights activists or organizations out there. The question is how far the physically disabled are willing to take the fight against discrimination. It is therefore the responsibility of every physically disabled member of the community to stand up for their rights and utilize the checks and balances in place to deal with ugly incidences of discrimination perpetrated by the few in the society who want to maintain the status quo. The fight against discrimination of the physically disabled cannot be won through individual battles. There is a need for every physically disabled member in the community to join interest groups such as American Organization for the Physically Disabled. Joining such interest groups yields to a synergetic effect in that it gives its members a fallback position from where they can stand up against injustices. Access to information is very important to the persons with physical disabilities. This is because it is through quick access and dissemination of information that physically disabled people can voice their concern and in turn can access useful information especially regarding to mitigation. The physically disabled are faced with challenges even at the family level. This shows that there is a need for social workers and others tasked with the responsibility of safeguarding the interests of the physically disabled to be on the lookout for cases in which parents or caregivers fail to report on the status of their physically disabled children. For the physically disabled to lead the normal lives they are entitled to, there is a need of all stakeholders to play their roles effectively. The individuals who are physically disabled, the family, the government and the society at large need to work more closely if the needs of the physically disabled are going to be met. To address the numerous challenges faced by the physically disabled especially in connection to access to resources, there is a need for a multisectoral approach to deal with the challenges. Equally important is the role played by the support groups such as The Association for the People with Disabilities. Therefore every member of the society who is physically disabled should enlist in atleast one support group for purposes of counseling and having access to useful information. In conclusion, it is evident from the discussion above that there has been a lot of misconceptions about physical disability is. The society lacks information about physical disability. This point to the need for awareness campaigns aimed at raising the level of awareness on physical disability. The role of the media cannot be underestimated and part of the reason why there still exists stereotypes about physical disability can be attributed to ineffective use of the media by the physically disabled to pass across the right information about their status. Evidently, the physically disabled undergo through psychological and physical difficulties occasioned by unfavourable environment but that should not be an excuse for the physically disabled to feel less important because they have a right to be treated equally. Works Cited Page David, Johnstone. An Introduction to Disability Studies. 2nd Ed. ISBN 1-85346-726-X. Frank, Bowe. Handicapping America: Barriers to Disabled People. Harper & Row Gary, L. A. Encyclopedia of Disability. Thousand Oaks. California. 2005. Read More