Assignment 2 – Disability Issue Essay
The essay will be on disability with focus on issues such as stigma and discrimination. Attention will also be directed at actions taken on the issues through government decisions, petitions, campaigns and strike/industrial action. Disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. A disability is any continuing condition that restricts everyday activities. The disability service Act (1993) defines ‘disability’ as meaning a disability: which is attributable to an intellectual, psychiatric, cognitive, neurological, sensory or physical impairment or a combination of those impairments.
The Equality Act 2010 states that you are disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. Traditionally, disability was perceived as the tragic problem of unfortunate individuals whereas now disability is often seen as a form of social oppression and social exclusion (Oliver & Barnes, 1998).
Historical Background of Disability
Disability in time and place reveals how disabled people’s lives are integral to the heritage all around us. From leper chapels built in the 1100s to protests about accessibility in the 1980s, the built environment is inextricably linked to the stories of disabled people, hidden and well-known (Historic England 2018).
Sometimes we need to know where we have been to figure out where we are now, and what the future may hold. The hard reality is this. Society in every nation is still infected by the ancient assumption that people with disabilities are less than fully human and therefore, are not fully eligible for the opportunities which are available to other people as a matter of right. (Justin Dart, 1992)
Throughout history, people with disabilities have been treated differently from those who conform to or fit societal norms. Following are some of the unfair treatments that were acceptable by different societies. In ancient Greece disabled are killed or abandoned in the woods, they were drowned and burned during the Spanish Inquisition. In 1601, Queen Elizabeth’s government divided the poor into three groups, the disabled poor were placed in the group labelled “helpless poor” (Historical Background of Disabilities, n.d.).
Research on issue of disability with focus from newspapers, journals, policy & leadership
BBC reports headline – ‘Unsung hero: Autistic tennis coach wins East Midland Award’. People with disabilities are able to do well in many things as against the stereotype that they cannot. They may use different methods or assisting devices but they can still excel in their chosen field. Mathew Chilvers, 22, teacher at special schools is an autistic tennis coach, has won the “2018 BBC East Midlands Get Inspired Sports Unsung Hero”. Now he wants to encourage people with disabilities to get involved in sport….Continue Reading….