The word able is dated back to 1895 when it was first used. Ableism is a deliberate form of discrimination against people based on their abilities (Bruce, 2016). Ableism insists on inferiority of the disabled compared to the “able.” There are several forms of ableism such as mentalism. Mentalism is discrimination against people with mental disorders. Labels imposed on the disabled narrows their opportunities and limits their options. Ableism is a result of mere judgment from those who are not disabled. Over the years, those considered disabled have proven themselves worthy facilitating their acceptance in contemporary society. Several unions, organizations, protection policies and self-help groups have been on the forefront to safeguard them against exploitation.
Disablism is discrimination against of a certain people in belief they are inferior. Ableism refers to ‘ideas, practices, institutions, and social relations that presume able-bodiedness, and by doing so construct persons with disabilities as marginalized […] and largely invisible ‘others’ (Chouinard 1997: 380). Disablism refers to “the social, political, cultural and psycho-emotional exclusion of people with physical, sensory and cognitive impairments” Goodley, 2014 )
Extreme examples of ableism in society include the mass murder of disabled in Aktion T4
Germanys Nazi government (Jackson, 2010). They view disabled as life unworthy of life. Under the rule of Hitler between 1939 and 1945, He signed a decree authorizing the killing of patients with chronic psychiatric disorder. Aktion T4 led to the death of about seventy thousand people including men, women, and children. Public heat resulting from the practice made him call off the practice, but in 1941, it resumed secretly killing two hundred thousand more people. Though such practices are rare, they are still experienced in rural areas, especially in uncouth societies. Some African communities are still deeply rooted in their ancestral beliefs and practices which degrade the disabled. According to them, disabled do not have a right to live thus they were killed moments after being born.
There exists two distinct approaches when referring to disabled namely person-first language and disability first language. Person first language is an approach that focuses on the person instead of their disabled state. Some disabled people prefer this as it redirects their focus to the subject of discussion rather than being disabled. On the other hand, other disabled people are part and parcel with their disability, and they prefer identifying with it. Disability first language comes in handy when dealing with such people.
Belgium professor Tijin Baert from Ghent University carried out an extensive research. He sent seven hundred and sixty-eight job applications of two students who were identical. In one of the students, he portrayed a form disability at random. Also, he showed decreased wages for the disabled application. The research showed that forty-eight percent of people with disability would receive negative responses from the employer. Despite stating lower wage and meeting required qualifications, they did not seem like favorable candidates.
Disabilities exist in different forms. The disabled, just like normal people are not all the same. They exhibit different levels of disability ranging from mild to severe. Some disabled people have more than one form of disability. They are caused by various factors though some develop before birth. Forms of disability include; blindness, deaf or hardness to hear, physical disability, autism, mental disability and acquired brain injuries.
People living with disability face poverty and starvation. Often, the disabled are disowned and abandoned by family members and the society at large. Since the disabled demand more care, healthier foods and attention, most people find it burdening to care for them. When they run out of compassion, patience, and perseverance, most caregivers vanish living the disabled to fend for themselves. Unless the disabled take it upon themselves to look for food they die from starvation. Those who manage to move around can only get food for the stomach leaving them in the merciless hands of severe poverty.
Though not voluntarily, the disabled face a wide range of barriers in their lives every day. Due to their physical or mental impairments, they are unable to partake some activities. A negative attitude towards people with disability, an inaccessible environment, lack of favorable laws that insist on the disabled participation and absence of relevant supportive technology are the main contributors to the barriers. Types of barriers are based on attitude, physical capabilities, communication skills, policies imposed, social and transportation issues.
Most people are not aware of the magnitude of difficulties experienced by a persona s they try to reach certain places. Attitudinal barriers are basic, and they form the basis for other existent barriers. Attitudinal barriers exist in forms such as racism, discrimination, and prejudice. They are emotional barriers that make one feel left out and uncomfortable to participate in any social activity. Attitudinal barriers, in turn, gives rise to social barriers. Since it is merely impossible to interact with others, those discriminated against prefer to keep their circles small as they shun getting hurt.
Communication barriers are experiences but hose with intellectual malfunction, reading, writing, hearing, and visual impairedness. Technological advances have been on the forefront to eradicate the barriers. The visually impaired can use braille to communicate and gain technological skills. The deaf can use of videos and relevant writing material. Physical disability, on the other hand, is caused by obstacles that restrict movement. Disabilities that cause immobility face physical barriers. Though wheelchairs aid movement, it is impossible to get through a flight of stairs.
Programmatic barriers arise from problems faced by the disabled in programs. A person with disability would take more time to prepare and get through a sea of people to a facility, unlike others despite any help. Though this is true, allocating equal lateness allowance time to all individuals is uncouth. People with disability should have more lenient restrictions due to their condition.
Comparing people with disabilities and those without regarding health access and social factors, the disabled are oppressed. People living with disabilities fall victim to violent crimes. Due to disability, they are not in apposition to defend themselves as quick as others would providing room for manipulation. Living with disability restricts movement necessary for exercising thus increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Disability often leads to depression which in turn causes bad eating habits where the depression finds solace (Keedwell, 2008). Bad eating habits and lack of exercise cause obesity. Restriction bar disabled people from most activities which subsequently increases their stress levels. Finally, living with disability causes overall restricted access making the disabled feel unwanted making them fall deeper into depression.
Advocacy refers to active protection of the rights, principles, and security of persons living with disability. Advocates work by tackling issues faced in society concerning the disabled. Advocacy for disability include self, individual, legal, group, citizen and systemic. Self-advocacy portrayed by the person living with disability educates others on how to treat them. Individual advocacy is by the advocate to protect those living with disability. Legal advocacy is presented by a lawyer to protect an individual or a group of disabled people according to existing policies.
Citizen advocacy is protection against a disabled person by the neighborhood they belong. Group advocacy involves protection of a group of disabled people while systemic advocacy follows a particular routine. Legal advocacy is put in place by the government to protect its citizens. The Americans with disabilities act was enacted in 1992. It safeguards against unequal treatment in employment, public transportation, public communication, public accommodation, state and local government activities.
Images discussion and analysis using concepts learned and theories
In the first picture, there is an elderly lady who is trying to give a speech in front of a gathering. There is both ableism and disablism portrayed. The old lady depicts disablism. Old age decreases balance in the body due to tired and worn out bones and muscles. Her walking stick helps maintain balance as she moves around. She cannot hold the microphone and support herself simultaneously thus she receives help. The middle-aged man helping her is her son. From him, we depict ableism. He is holding the microphone for his mother as she speaks.
From the barriers in disablism, he has conquered a few namely discrimination, safety, and physical barriers. The gathering does not discriminate the old lady but rather grants her the opportunity to address them. She is also safe since she gets to support herself fully and the only extra activity is talking. There are no visible physical barriers thus she can move around. The old lady is ninety-eight years old. She walks around her house regularly to exercise her muscles.
The society should focus on equity rather than equality. Such is unfair treatment because equal opportunity provision to people with diverse abilities. Equality is providing the same opportunities, equipment, and facilities for everyone in society. Though equity seems fair, it should only apply to people with the same capabilities.
Equity, on the other hand, sensitizes the importance of providing opportunities that make everyone comfortable. Giving each one a stepping stone is unnecessary since a short viewer is rendered obsolete. Redistributing the stepping boxes makes to obtain the same level on stepping on the boxes gives life more meaning. Equity provides a chance for everyone to reach a desired goal. Equity enhances harmony across all platforms in a bid to reduce the poverty gap in society.
The second picture above shows an Asian man on the streets. Thus he cannot walk. He moves around by crawling as he begs for money. The money he gets is meant for food. He is holding a bowl which he uses to collect money from passersby. Two ladies are looking at him in the picture. They do not have any intentions to help him out. Since they have been staring at him for a while, he feels uncomfortable and starts moving to find another favorite spot. He first chose the initial begging spot because it is at a bust stop. The bus stop has a constant flow of people thus it is easier for him to get some money.
The physically challenged man moves since he feels a barrier between him and the ladies. They are looking down upon him thus he does not feel safe. His feelings are hurt though he has no power to change his situation. Such practices are a setback to community development. According to the critical disability theory, this would increase the rift between persons living with disability and those without. The man faces several hazards as he moves which include health and safety. Since he is on the road, it is easy to be run over by vehicles. Also, the pool of disease-causing organisms on the ground is alarming, yet he uses his hands to move around getting into direct contact with such bacteria.
We should sensitize society first by defining who persons living with disability are. Educate on the diverse situations that bring about disablism. For those dealing first hand with disabled, we should help them come up with detailed programs of how to care for them. Care should include diet, medication, exercise and other psychological healing processes. Persons living with disabilities are as important as any other person. Since they are less privileged, they should enjoy more advantages (Goffman, n. d.).
The third picture above is taken at a warehouse. The warehouse stores custom-made wheelchairs. Though there is no sign of any persons with disability in the vicinity, the wheelchairs speak volumes. The project is an initiative by the community to help the physically challenged. The image shows how the critical disability theory manifests in society. The wheelchairs are donations to all physically challenged.
The chairs are made from locally available material with modern technology creating a haven for the disabled. Such a program goes a long way to improve societal well be ing. Welfare of the people living with disability will improve significantly. The chairs will enable them to work and move around easily demanding less attention. They also feel accepted due to the compassionate gesture knocking down attitudinal barriers.
Cybernetic model of learning characterizes by a test taken after a study or educational process. Relevant images cite approaches to deal with issues and concerns presented in the images. People fail in most disciplines due to lack of knowledge. Creating awareness should be the main objective to educate society on experiences with disability. A descriptive, extensive and empathetic pedagogy is essential in achieving this. There is a link between effective pedagogy and effective utilization of technology. Also, there is a link between pedagogy and accessibility. Methods of relaying information are essential in determining the impact of the message put across.
Most countries around the globe have adopted favorable laws to advocate for disablism. Most persons living with disability do not pay taxes. They have designated parking spots and subsidized pay for certain commodities. They enjoy several advantages. Employers have to meet specific requirements for distributing their workforce. If an organization has more than fifteen employees, then they are entitled to set aside a certain percentage of vacancies for qualified persons living with disabilities. Redefining ableism goes a long way in protecting the disabled. Disability is not inability.
References
Bruce, C. (2016). Review of Goodley, Dis/Ability Studies: Theorizing Disableism and Ableism. Canadian Journal Of Disability Studies, 5(2), 178. http://dx.doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v5i2.277
Jackson, A. (2010). Shifts in attitude towards disability observed through seven German films.
Bunch*, G., & Valeo, A. (2004). Student attitudes toward peers with disabilities in inclusive and special education schools. Disability & Society, 19(1), 61-76.
World Health Organization. (1980). International classification of impairments, disabilities, and handicaps: a manual of classification relating to the consequences of disease, published by resolution WHA29. 35 of the Twenty-ninth World Health Assembly, May 1976.
Burch, S. (Ed.). (2009).The Encyclopedia of American disability history. The Facts On File.
Keedwell, P. (2008). How sadness survived. Oxford: Radcliffe Pub.
Bannerman, D. J., Sheldon, J. B., Sherman, J. A., & Harchik, A. E. (1990). Balancing the right to habilitation with the right to personal liberties: The rights of people with developmental disabilities to eat too many doughnuts and take a nap. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23(1), 79-89.
Goffman, E. Asylums.
