People with Disability and Main Issues - Research Paper Example

Introduction: Several issues have come up in recent years that gravely concern people with disability. Some of these matters include but not limited to ageing, social discrimination, healthcare, people with disability’s rights and a host of others. This paper investigates the three main issues, which are ageing, social discrimination and the basic rights for disabled people. The issues have affected the population of the people with disabilities in a number of ways: and the ways governments, private organizations and societies respond to the issues say a lot about how comfortable people with disabilities are among their non-disabled friends and colleagues. 1.0 Disability Issues and the Underlying Theoretical Perspectives (a) Ageing: There is no doubt that there are some misconceptions when it comes to the issue of ageing for people with disability. It is wrongly believed that disability can make someone aged faster than his or her contemporaries who are not disabled. In fact, researches have shown that this belief is a misplaced one: biological ageing happens to people of all mental states or body compositions. There are no differences in the physical changes observable on a non-disabled person as well as the disabled—each of them grows old at a similar rate (World Health Organization, 2000). Hence, both disabled and non-disabled aged persons require the same housing with features for old people, nursing homes, hospices, medical services, recreational centres and so on. Although those suffering from intellectual disability makes it may be difficult for people living with intellectual disability to have requirements met by their governments, private organizations and community services because of their lack of communication ability. This circumstance creates a huge disturbance to the capability of the government to provide basic services for people with disability because some of them could not speak to express the seriousness of their ailment (Bigby, 2000). However, this problem should not completely deter the governments from rendering the necessary services to the people with disability; private sign interpreters or personal relatives of the people with disability who would help them convey their concerns to the necessary authorities (Bigby, 2004). It is clear from the theoretical explanations given above that biological ageing is never an exclusive feature of the people with disability; rather it generally affects everyone that grows and advances towards adulthood. Everyone observes that some organs in his or her body have begun to depreciate in its capacity to function as a vital part of the body. Therefore, disability should not be an excuse for the governments and private organizations to shun providing their services to the people with disability. (b) Social Issues and Discrimination: It is no more news that the disabled have been subjected to countless inhumane treatments. This social stigma has often resulted in different forms of social rejection the people with disability constantly face in our world (Barnes et al. 1999: Goffman, 1963). On most occasions, the worst outcome of this social rejection has often been an outright discrimination of disabled people. Why should the disabled be discriminated against when they are most vulnerable set of people that seriously need more attention? Recent studies have revealed that people may be disliked or even hated for their slow mental processes which many people find irritating and time-wasting. For example, people with intellectual disability are seen as moron that would never be conversant with the happenings in their environments. This realization creates a kind of separation or apartheid between the disabled and non-disabled (Goggins & Newell, 2005). Should people with disability be allowed to suffer this kind of discrimination? The worrisome thing about this social segregation is that the governments or communities are not doing enough to safeguard the disabled. Appropriate laws that would protect people with disability from social isolation are not enacted in some countries such as China, Cambodia and some African nations, hence, the social integration programs for people with disability are not implemented (Christensen, 1992; Goode, 1994). (c) Disability Rights: The reasons why people with disability have been left to suffer untold hardships are that they have been neglected by the governments and have been robbed of appropriate rights that would have protected them from those that treat them with despise (Gleeson, 1999). The purpose of Disability Rights, if available, is to create a kind of awareness for the people without disabilites to perceive their disabled neighbors, friends and colleagues as equal and worthy of due respect and recognition (Blanck, 2005). This would help integrate the disabled into the fabric of the societies, having realized that no one would look down on them. The failure to protect the disabled by not providing them legal framework or support has been the major cruel act against the disabled everywhere in the world. Unprotected disabled people have no collective power to defend themselves, and they should not be blamed for all harmful circumstances that happened to them (Dudley, 1983). Being stigmatized exposes the disabled to uncomfortable situations that are beyond their power to contain or control. This constitutes a huge breach on their basic human rights as stipulated in the United Nations Charters and the constitutions of many countries but which are left unimplemented (Walsh & Heller, 2002). 2.0 Comparing and Contrasting the Theoretical Perspectives Above It is wrong that in our societies disabled people are seen as useless people: they are often despised and counted as unproductive (Clements & Read, 2008). In reality, everyone understands that disability is not a choice, it happens naturally to people who would have done everything in their power to prevent it. Hence, the similarities and differences between theoretical perspectives on ageing, social discrimination and disability rights can be analyzed by using the following points: (i) Disabled people’s faults: None of the problems that occur to the people with disability are their own making: disability came to them as a natural happening which they could do nothing about (Snow, 2001). People with disability do not necessarily put themselves into an environment where they could be socially discriminated against or harmed by people who carelessly overlooked that all human beings, whether they have disability or not, require to be treated with all respect, and their fundamental human rights must be honored (Blanck, 2005). In the same way, disability has nothing to do with ageing, every human being faces the challenges of biological ageing which results in reduced functionality of some parts of our bodies (Bigby, 2000). (ii) Governmental Institutions: People with disability are exposed to various cruel acts of social stigmatizing because the governmental institutions have failed to establish safe havens for them. In other words, governments of many nations have disappointed their disabled citizens by not educating the other non-disabled members of the societies the essentiality of respecting the individual rights. Only very few countries actually have laws that discourage social discriminations, acts of violence and harmful disposition to the disabled (Berkowitz, 1979). Governments have also fallen behind in the areas of providing medical services, housing facilities, recreational centres, and other provisions that are likely to make life easier for the disabled citizens. As ageing affects all members of a country, it is improper to help the non-disabled members and leave the disabled to their fate owing to their communication problems or whatever (Bigby, 2004). (iii) Private Organizations: From the perspective of private organizations, it is possible to see the similarities and differences between the three issues highlighted above. Private organizations could launch powerful campaigns to enlighten the public about how to respect the rights of the disabled, but they do not have the power to make laws that could enforce the matter. Private organizations understand that ageing affect both non-disabled and the disabled alike (Gleeson, 1999). And this makes some charitable organizations powerless in their bid to help the disabled people. However, when comparing private organizations with charitable organizations, the former has upper hand in dealing with social issues than a charitable organization: this is due to the fact that private organizations offer services or products that are quite familiar with people in that locality. Therefore, they enjoy some kind of general acceptance within that locality which gives them more political or social relevance than charitable organizations (Gleeson, 1999). 3.0 The Causal Connections Among the three Issues Discovered in this Paper There are two major causal connections in the three disability issues addressed in this research paper. These criteria are (1) Illegality and (2) Poor Implementation of laws. (a) Illegality: There are still many countries that lack proper legislation to protect their disabled citizens: Apart from making the laws that will directly protect their disabled citizens, governments also need to pass laws that will facilitate the importation of equipment required by people with disability (Mandelstam, 1997). When there are laws that try to safeguard the interest of the disabled, there is every possibility that they will not be discriminated against in the societies, and their health requirements will be met as they age like every other non-disabled citizen. The following statements emphasize the significance of establishing legal framework for supporting the disabled. (b) Poor Implementation: In some areas where there are laws to support the disabled, the problem of poor implementation has led to the ineffectiveness of these laws (Mandelstam, 1997). Therefore, the unethical ones have used these dormant laws to perpetrate all manner of crimes against people with disability: for instance, by discriminating against people with disability in the public services which include but are not restricted to health services, housing and accommodation, recreational services and so on. 4.0 Possible Solutions to the three Main Issues The three main issues raised in this research can be resolved if the governments, private organizations, societies and the rest can cooperatively work together on the issues. These are examples of the ways to help people with disability in our world: (a) Improved Health Facilities: When the disabled have the opportunities to enjoy good health facilities, they would be protected from illnesses that may take their lives or make their disability get worse (Berkowitz, 1979). Improved health services will help people with disability who are growing old to able to cope with the stress and physical hassles of ageing. It is when they are not properly taken care of that they can die by any diseases or frustration from the stress arising from health matters. (b) Invocation of United Nations’ Human Rights Charter: In places where there are no laid-down laws to safeguard the disabled, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities can be invoked to protect vulnerable people with disability around us (Goggins & Newell, 2005). This will force people to stop discriminating against the disabled and honor their fundamental human rights. This will also create a kind of equality between people with and without disability. (c) Community Efforts: One way to make sure that people with disability are sheltered from undue discrimination is to increase communal efforts at education ordinary people about the significance of being respectful with people with disability. Goode (1994) supports that periodical education should be given to the people living in the area where the population of people with disability is dense; they should be taught how to offer their help when they discover that the disabled people need them. Incidentally, this action will encourage more people to see the disabled as an active part of the population and they would help them assimilate or be included in the community (Blanck, 2005). Constant interaction with the disabled in a community can help their communication capability. Fundamentally, good policies within a community serve to offer rare companionship that most disabled people need as they aspire to be recognised as an active part of the society (Berkowitz, 1979). (d) Experienced Teachers: Most disabled persons often look for some encouragement as they transition from parental care and age into adulthood (Bigby, 2000). Teachers, as some past research has shown, are in the best position to provide all the kinds of encouragement that a person with disability requires during his or her developmental stages. What this signifies is that teachers can provide moral, mental and health education supports for children with disabilities at schools as well as in the societies through volunteering and community development (Berkowitz, 1979). Therefore, the quality of assistance provided by these teachers depends on the quality of the training they had received about taking care of students with disabilies. Many children with disabilities do not remember any persons they had come across in their lives apart from their teachers and relatives; hence, this points to the fact that teachers have a lot to do in this respect. The teachers should be encouraged to pay close attention to their students’ personal development as they grow under them.; Although, governmental policies and laws are also necessary in helping them do their jobs very well (Clements & Read, 2008). In circumstances where there is no well-designed Special Education for disabled students with disabilies, the teachers would just gamble by trial and error as they tried to find solution to the serious problems posed for the children with disability (Blanck, 2005). Prior preparations by the government could help teachers achieve their primary purpose of helping students with disability grow well. Conclusion Three main issues that affect people with disability have been identified in this paper, but it is unfortunate that governments, private organizations and societies have not been doing their best to prevent these issues from affecting people with disability in our societies. The disabled have been socially discriminated against; they have been exposed to ridicule by those who believe that people with disability age faster than their non-disabled contemporaries, and they have been robbed of their basic human rights as established by the United Nations’ Human Rights Charter. The best approaches to resolve these problematic issues are to provide a legal framework to support the causes of people with disability and improve their health status. Once those who maltreat people with disability realize that they would be prosecuted for doing,so they would definitely shy away from carrying out their dastardly acts and save people with disability from unnecessary suffering and stress. This strategy will give people with disability equal opportunity in any environment they may have found themselves. As a teacher of autistic students in Saudi Arabia, it is possible to harness all the factors described above to help those children in need of attention and encouragement. The Saudi Government is strict in the provision of good health facility in the country; also the education system does not completely exclude students with disabilty. The communities have recognition for people with disability and do all they can to support people with disability among them. However, the established Special Education system in Saudi Arabia requires some reforms in order to be able to cater for the needs of these students with disability: (1) there must be great communication between the disabled students and the other relatives in their families—this action will help students with disability have confidence in communication, even after they had transitioned from their homes to the school and post-schools; (2) Teacher-student ratio should be small—in Saudi Arabia, some Special Education classes are still full of many students at a time except autism; this practice will not help the teachers to concentrate on student with disability that need more attention. (3) Post-educational development is also necessary for students with disability in Saudi Arabia—this entails that the students be trained in how to handle their personal lives after graduating from the school. This step is significant in the sense that it will provide the confidence the students with disability need to transition into the communities around them. More so, it will help them to be quickly included in the societies in a way that they could make serious contributions to things going on around them. One main problem teachers of special needs students confront in Saudi Arabia is that of poor implementation of programs and ideology. Saudi Arabian Special Education follows a particular style that has its own unique procedures. Failure to implement all these procedures sometimes make teachers of disabled students face some problems: these problems include but are not restricted to: (i) poor communication between teachers and students; (ii) inadequate educational achievement; (iii) bad interrelationship with the other students; (iv) absence of self-confidence and so on. These issues could be tackled if there are professional training for teachers of student with special needs and through this they could be constantly reminded of their duty to help their students transition into the larger society, not just to get used to the classroom only. Generally, the idea of disability has been an ongoing one which has been discussed, analyzed and tackled. But this does not mean that future researches should not be conducted on the disability to help the world’s disabled people. References Barnes, C., Mercer, G., & Shakespeare, T. (1999). Exploring disability: A sociological introduction. MaIden, MA: Polity Press.  Berkowitz, E.D. (1979). Disability policies and government programs. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. Bigby, C. (2000). Understanding the post parental care stage. In Moving on without parents. Sydney: McLennan & Petty. Bigby, C. (2004). Policies and programs for successful ageing. In Ageing with a lifelong disability. London: Jessica Kingsley. 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