Disability in Society - Case Study Example

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..…3 Main Text……………………………………………………………………………..…4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………....9 Recommendations………………………………………………………………….…..9 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………..11 Appendix………………………………………………………………………………13 INRODUCTION “I used to think that I needed my circumstance to change before I had any hope. I wanted to know that there was someone else out there in my position, to know that there is hope, that there is more than just the little box that I see in my life.” ~Nick Vujicic~ The quote above was spoken by a man who was born with Tetra-Amelia Syndrome. This is a rare disorder that renders a person to be born without all four limbs (See Appendix). Nick Vujicic struggled with his disability not only physically, as he was unable to move around, but also mentally and emotionally. However, his strong determination to succeed despite his condition moved him to empower others with his motivational talks (World Quotes, 2013). He has proven to society that disabled people can rise above their limitations and even surpass those who are abled if they have enough faith that they can, since according to him, “for every disability you have, you are blessed with more than enough abilities to overcome your challenges” (Vujucic, 2013) “A disability is often used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic diseases” (Disabled World, 2006, para. 2). People with disabilities have inherent limitations in what they can do. This puts them in a position of being discriminated upon whether in terms of jobs, other people’s assumptions of their capabilities, or simply how other people view them. Although disabled people may be classified under the category of “disabled” or “handicapped” to give them preferential treatment in public places, such labels may affect perceptions of society towards them. This report provides an overview of disability in society with specific examples for children, since they are the most vulnerable in terms of disability. It hopes to create awareness of the struggles they encounter with their disabilities and how they are made to cope with it. More importantly, it discusses how society makes an effort to adjust to their special needs and to implement anti-discriminatory practices in accepting them into the mainstream. MAIN TEXT McPhail & Freeman (2005) explained the condition of disabled people using the bell curve. It is one image that has become a basis for placing individuals in terms of their characteristics and abilities, with those falling within the bell as normal. Thus, those who are placed beyond the curve belong to extremes. Those who fall below the curve, such as disabled individuals with body and mind deficiencies, are viewed in a negative light. Consequently, those who fall above the curve are seen as exceptionally good. Disabled people often elicit ambivalent reactions and opinions that sometimes lead to their discrimination as a minority group. To be able to understand the phenomenon of discrimination, it is essential that society’s view of the disabled be understood. Having a negative view of disability and focusing on deficiencies instead of what is functioning hinders the disabled person’s productivity, not to mention their self-esteem (McPhail & Freeman, 2005). A study by Gill Parkinson (2006) investigated counselors’ attitudes towards disability during their Disability Equality Training (DET). It was to be expected that these counselors are trained to “alleviate” or “treat” the disabled person’s impairment or abnormality or to correct the deficit to make him as “normal as possible”. Beckett and Wrighton (2000) have argued that in reality this attitude does little to remove the barriers to physical and psychological exclusion of disabled people and indeed could be seen to perpetuate the negative attitudes that such services aim to remove. One counselor observed that he found it difficult to see the person beyond his disability and it took a while for him to realize that the disabled person has common things with him, as he is a human being first and a disabled person next. An examination of one’s views of disability is therefore in order. It is essential to honestly assess if it is viewed as either or all of the following: a tragedy; irrevocable loss; . dependency on others; . externally imposed; .a control and empowerment issue; when disability seen as a label not a person; and as a difference. (Parkinson, 2006) Upon being aware of one’s personal view will there be an understanding and openness to moving forward to implementing anti-discriminatory practices. In New Zealand, the social model of disability offers a different viewpoint: Disability is not something individuals have. What individuals have are impairments. They may be physical, sensory, neurological, psychiatric, intellectual, or other impairments. Disability is the process which happens when one group of people create barriers by designing a world only for their way of living, taking no account of the impairments other people have. (New Zealand Ministry of Social Development, 2002) Such a refreshing concept points to the opposite direction. It puts blame on how society treats the “impaired” individuals instead of the disability or the disabled person itself. Vygotsky (1993), a world-renowned psychologist agrees. He hypothesized that if one’s development is impeded by his defect, he is not less well developed than his peers but rather, he just developed in a different way. He further emphasized that the difference was rooted in the intellectual and social compensatory processes in which he was powerfully motivated to engage in order to be accepted in society (McPhail & Freeman, 2005). Vygotsky concludes that in the final analysis, what decides the fate of the disabled individual is not his defect but its social consequences and how society realizes it (Vygotsky, 1993). The foregoing discussion reflects two models of how disability is perceived. These are known as the Medical and Social models. The medical model recognises the individual with the disability as the source of the problem. It is his impairment that becomes the focus of attention and not the person himself. This was noted in the explanation of McPhail & Freeman (2005) that a disabled person is already judged based on his disability. In such a case, he needs to be provided with support and intervention that will ‘fit’ into schools or society in general or else, he will need to be segregated and provided alternative services until such time when he is ripe for reintegration to regular education (DFES, 2001). This isolation is likened to the medical treatment of the disability before the disabled individual is released to be contributory to society. On the other hand, the social model of disability which arose in the 1970’s argues that people are disabled by discrimination and prejudice, not by their impairments. According to this perspective there is a social restriction placed on a person with impairments by society (Riddick, 2001). However, the social model has demonstrated some positive features as it is used to identify the barriers in which an individual with disability can function at their best. For example positive social models encourage society to help the individual adjust well to society and allowing him to actively participate in societal activities while negative social models focus on the barriers that the individual may encounter and point to society as the source of such barriers (Oliver, 1983). In terms of the child with disability in the classroom, the teacher can differentiate their teaching and assessment to include the child. Concern for children with disabilities, whether in physical or in learning have pushed governments to pursue their best interest. The Education Act of 2010 focuses on promoting inclusion and incorporation of children with special education needs (SEN) rather than separation and segregation in the school. Loreman and Deppeler (2001, in Loreman et al, 2005, p. 12) assert that full inclusion includes the inclusion of children with various abilities in all aspects of their schooling. These children should be able to enter and enjoy such schooling with other children. Therefore mainstream schools must accommodate all children and make changes to meet the needs of a wide range of children’s needs. Ideal inclusion has schools customizing curriculum to the special needs of children with disabilities and providing them with the necessary resources to comply with the expectation of equal opportunities. This means provision of ramps and space adjustments for children in wheelchairs or creation of Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) for children with learning disabilities (NHS, 2012). Governments have designated laws for the benefit and protection of the disabled. In most countries, these laws are consistently evaluated if they are being implemented. Violations of such merit heavy penalties. In the seventies, Public Law 94-142, The Education of All Handicapped Children Act was passed in the US. It guaranteed that each handicapped child, aged 3 to 21 would receive a “free and appropriate” education in the “least restrictive environment” possible. Later, this law became known as the “mainstreaming law”. The Regular Education Initiative (REI) encouraged special education and regular education to join resources in the late 1980s including students served in pull-out programs into regular classrooms with regular and special education teachers team-teaching. Resource Specialists were encouraged to spend more time with regular teachers consulting and collaborating about students’ special needs. In 1990, Public Law 94-142 was retitled and expanded. It is now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Public Law 101-476. (Harwell, 2001). In the UK, passage of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), affords protection to disabled people against discrimination in certain prescribed areas, principally employment, education and the provision of goods and services. The DDA rules that disabilities should not prevent individuals from securing employment and that every educational organisation and Local Education Authorities need to provide equivalent access to the educational programme for children with disabilities. The disability discrimination issues are also covered in the “Equality Act” (2010) which replaced the DDA. It continues to convey the previous discrimination- and equality- oriented legislations under the former act (Royal College of Nursing, 2001). This mandates everyone to care for individuals with disabilities and establish a system that makes them more “enabled” and “empowered” as they are fully accepted and accorded due attention and support. This has also made more people acknowledge the needs of individuals with disabilities, hence, more legislations have been decreed in several countries. Levine’s (2002) clinical work with students with learning disabilities has also indicated that a recognition of and capitalization on their specific strengths of mind fosters their development, whereas a focus on their specific weaknesses compromises their development. This would be a good guiding principle when dealing with children with all kinds of disabilities. In doing so, their self-esteem is built up and they are empowered to push themselves towards their optimal potentials. Studies such as Levine’s among others have encouraged the provision of education of children with disabilities in order to optimize their potentials. This is also applicable to adult individuals with disabilities as they pursue employment within their capacities. It would help if people’s views of disability be more positive to encourage disabled people to recognize and hone their strengths instead of focus on their weaknesses. Ideally, formation of attitudes towards disability begins early. Dickins (2002) prescribe some guidelines for parents and educators to raise children in environments that are anti-discriminatory. This environment is characterized by the celebration and valuation of differences in abilities, identities, cultures, religions and social practices. Thus, a wheelchair-bound individual learning to play basketball is cheered on instead of shunned from playing the game. Special Olympics held in institutions catering to children with special needs are likewise supported and encouraged. These practices promote self-esteem development of disabled individuals as well as build positive group identity among those supporting them. The group is aware of the negative impact of discrimination on both the disabled individuals as well as in the value formation of children, hence, it eliminates practices and procedures that foster discrimination (Dickins, 2002). CONCLUSIONS It is heartening to realize that with current legislations protecting the disabled and ensuring that they are treated equally with the abled, persons with disability are now gaining more recognition and acceptance in society. People need to look beyond their defects and see that they are also people with capabilities despite their physical or cognitive deficiencies. If all people in society will learn to accept differences brought about by disability and provide the necessary support to let disabled persons live as normally as they can, then it is likely that more people will be like Nick Vujicic, who, despite his disability of being limbless, has learned to walk tall and be worthy of emulation of everyone. RECOMMENDATIONS It is worthy to include in this part of the report some recommendations from Barnes (1998) for society to fully integrate disabled persons into the system and in turn, implement a more comprehensive discrimination policy. He suggests that the following points be considered: 1. There should be policies created to integrate disabled people into the community. 2. There should be policies in breaking down barriers to employment such as quota schemes of taking in a certain number of disabled persons only. More affirmative action to persuade employers to take on disabled personnel is desired. 3. There should be a comprehensive benefit system geared towards the getting disabled individuals to work instead of being dependent on the aid of others. 4. Considerations for disabled people to work at their own pace should be implemented since not all disabled people can work at the same pace as their more able counterparts. 5. Inclusive education for all children should be imposed. 6. Health care systems should not discriminate against those who have particular impairments. For example, in the UK, people with Down’s syndrome are often refused heart operations on the basis that their contribution will not be as valuable as others. 7. There should be policies addressing discrimination in the transport system, accessible housing and accessible environments 8. Policies created on behalf of the disabled population must be strongly enforced. (Barnes, 1998) BIBLIOGRAPHY Barnes, C. (1998) “Discrimination and the law - the British Experience”, Conference on Legislation for Human Rights, Stockholm, Sweden, 24 August 1998 Beckett, C. & Wrighton, E. (2000). “What matters to me is not what you are talking about maintaining the social model of disability in public private negotiations.” Disability and Society, 15(7), 991-999. DFES (2001) Special Educational Needs Code of Practice https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/0581-2001-SEN- CodeofPractice.pdf- accessed 18.03.2012 Dickins, M. (2002, 3 January). “All about… Anti-discriminatory Practice”, Nursery World, pp. 15- 22 Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Retrieved on 27 November 2013 from http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/95050--a.htm#1 Disability Discrimination Bill. Retrieved on 27 November 2013 from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldbills/006/2005006.pdf Disabled World (2006) Famous People with Disabilities, Retrieved on 28 Nov 2013 from http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/article_0060.shtml Education Act, 1996, Section 312 Every Child Matters: Change for Children. Retrieved on 25 November 2013 from http://www.everychildmatters.gov.uk Harwell, J.M. (2001) “A History of the Field of Learning Disabilities” in Kim, H.H. (ed) (2004) Learning Disabilities. MI: Greenhaven Press Levine, M. (2002). A mind at a time. New York: Simon & Schuster. Loreman, T., Deppeler, J. and Harvey, D. (2005) Inclusive Education; A Practical Guide to Supporting Diversity in the Classroom, London and New York: Routledge. McPhail, J.C. & Freeman, J.G. (2005) “Beyond prejudice: Thinking toward genuine inclusion”, Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 20(4), 254–267 NHS (2012) Diagnosing Dyslexia. Retrieved on June 30, 2012 from http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Dyslexia/Pages/Diagnosis.aspx New Zealand Ministry of Social Development. (2002). The New Zealand disability strategy. Wellington, New Zealand Oliver, M. (1983) Social Work with Disabled People. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Parkinson, G. (2006), “Counsellors’ attitudes towards Disability Equality Training (DET)”, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, Vol. 34, No. 1, February 2006 Royal College of Nursing (2001) Disability legislation. Retrieved on 27 November 2013 From http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/372994/003851.pdf Vujicic (2013) Retrieved on 28 Nov 2013 from http://www.worldquotes.in/famous-nick- vujicic-quotes#sthash.sMtYSz4H.dpuf Vygotsky, L. S. (1993) Fundamentals of defectology. New York: Plenum Press. World Quotes (2013) Nick Vujicic, Retrieved on 28 Nov 2013 from http://www.worldquotes.in/famous-nick-vujicic-quotes APPENDIX Nick Vujicic Born : 4 December 1982 Australia Occupation:Evangelist, Preacher, Motivational Speaker, Director of Life Without Limbs Nationality: Australian - (from: http://www.worldquotes.in/famous-nick-vujicic-quotes#sthash.sMtYSz4H.dpuf Read More