Preview

Disabled

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1358 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Disabled
Jesse LopezPeriod 3
Mr. Medina
November 8th 2012
Society's View of the Disabled
Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in our country today. Unfortunately it is also one of the least publicized and most neglected social issues in recent history. People with disabilities are generally looked at and talked about in a negative way, and are subsequently treated differently than people who are not seen as disabled. It is hard to pinpoint the very source of many stereotypes because the issue of disability rights transcends the borders of race, ethnicity, education level, economic standing, and class issues. In fact, disabled people are generally invisible to the public. Out of sight and out of mind is the way in which people tend to deal with the injustices endured by the disabled community. The only way to confront the issue of discrimination against people with disabilities is through social awareness, education, and tolerance of those who have a disability.
One of the most elementary rights that are granted to most in our country is a public education. People who face disabilities tend to learn and grow in a way that is different than what our society typically considers “normal”. Some people take longer to learn than others, this is a fact. Just because someone learns in a way which differs from your own, does that make them any less or more of a person? Before many of the laws that have been passed recently in our nation’s history children with disabilities were looked at as less than human and in most cases were not offered a formal education. Set aside and disregarded as the ruble of the human race. In fact it was only in 1961 that public school buildings started to require ramps so that they could be accessible by all. Fortunately today, most children that suffer from disability are put into special programs that can accommodate their needs as people while allowing them to experience an education. More of an

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Hsc Level 5 Unit 534

    • 14642 Words
    • 59 Pages

    1.1 Explain the importance of recognising the centrality of the individual rather than the disability.Words are critical in shaping ideas, perceptions and attitudes. They can be used to reinforce existing prejudices or to liberate people from stereotypes, prejudices and misconceptions. If anyone doubts the value of this or the potential for relatively rapid change, consider the distaste with which we all now view the word “nigger”. None of us would dream of using it. Yet only a generation or two ago it was an internationally acceptable and widely used term for the individual people of an entire ethnic group in the USA; not just in use orally, it also appeared in book titles. In more recent times the Australian word “abo” to describe an aboriginal or indigenous person is considered offensive by most people and is dropping out of use. The moral Language changes, and we are capable of giving it a nudge in the right direction - even if we run the risk of being considered “politically correct” by some people or sometimes require a few extra words to make our communication acceptable. In the context of disability, negative and patronising language produces, predictably, negative and patronising images and attitudes. Words in popular use mirror attitudes in society and by changing the words we can begin to change those attitudes. Those attitudes are often the most difficult barriers…

    • 14642 Words
    • 59 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the essay, “Becoming Disabled” by Rosemarie Garland-Thomas, her main claim that she argues is that she wants the disabled community to be politicized in the eyes of society. First, Garland-Thomas talks about politicizing disabilities into a movement. She compares and contrasts movements for race and sexual orientations to the movements about disability (2). Disability movements have not gained as much attention as race or sexual orientation movements because so many Americans do not realize how prominent disability separation is in America. She wants people to start recognizing that disability is just as important as race and other movements. Next, Garland-Thomas speaks about different types of disabilities and how they aren’t always…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Education is regarded as a fundamental right in the United States. Up until the 1970’s, however, children with disabilities were being denied this right. Congress passed landmark legislation to redress this injustice, beginning with the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and culminating with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. These new federal laws strived to end educational discrimination against children with disabilities, by guaranteeing all children have access to a free and appropriate education in the best environment possible. These laws made clear what schools and other public entities obligations were for the education of the disabled, and also proposed specific measures to be taken for their protection, thereby ensuring that all citizens had access to an education and the self-sufficiency and education provides.…

    • 2629 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hissom Essay

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Although there have been many improvements in the conditions which people with developmental disabilities have to deal with over the last few decades, I feel as though our state, and country still have a long ways to go. There have been many laws and programs put into place with the intention of helping these children and adults feel “normal” in society, but the public as a whole is still very uneducated on this subject. People with disabilities are still bullied in schools, work places, or anywhere else public. Educating the public and making public areas truly safe and comfortable places for people with developmental disabilities to be will be the next challenge to overcome. As students trying to get degrees in human development, nursing, doctors, counselors, and any other type pf degree that involves working with people, it is our job to educate the public too. The more the public is introduced to this subject, the more normal it will become; therefore, making life for people with disabilities more fulfilling and as close to what would be considered normal as…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the 1970’s and 1980’s a civil rights based approach was developed by disabled people. Buildings were built in such a way that there was no access for wheelchairs. Information was produced in a way that disabled people could not use. Attitudes and stereotypes about a disabled person prohibited a disabled person from having the same opportunities as an able bodied person. Special services…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ada and Affirmative Action

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages

    An individual may have a visible or invisible disability; either should not reject a person from equal opportunity. Discrimination against, race, gender, age, and disability is illegal whether one recognizes it or not. Truthfully, discrimination still exist in the world but with hope to come and with the help of ADA, this can be something of societies past. Moreover, to protect the disable, the American Disability Act (ADA) of 1990 was passed by Congress to try eliminating discrimination. The ADA’s primary objective is to protect discrimination against a person with mental or physical disabilities in the private sector in areas such as employment, telecommunication, transportation and public services.…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Congress found that some 43,000,000 Americans have one or more mental or physical disabilities, and this number is continuously growing (Jasper, 2008). They also found that nearly everyone of them faced discrimination because of their disability since it was “different” (Jasper, 2008). The discrimination happened everywhere, including private and public schools, public transportation, communication, health, and most other public services. When Congress saw all this, they began putting together the different titles that created the rules and regulations of the ADA in order to provide the disabled with a way to fight back against the…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disabilities In 1800s

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The unemployment rate in 2012 for people with disabilities was more than 1 in 10 (13.9%) compared to less than 1 in 10 (6.0%) for those without disabilities. Therefore, people with disabilities should be treated more equally. People with disabilities should be treated with more respect, because of how they were treated in the past, their disabilities you can see and cannot see, and barriers the disabled face. Throughout history the treatment of the disabled has been evolving.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Over time people with disabilities now have equal rights and are treated as such in society and are given the same opportunities as someone without disabilities. Throughout history we have witnessed high profile icons become major influences on our society, Stevie Wonder and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The challenges these men lived through on a daily basis only made they stronger. They strived to be equals alongside individuals what did not have any…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Yet within contemporary society inequality, oppression and discrimination are still being experienced by distinct groups, one of which is individual’s with physical disabilities.…

    • 3635 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disability In 1800s

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Amazing fact, question or quote about the topic: “There is no greater disability in society than the inability to see a person as more” said by Robert M. Hasel He means when you see someone who has a disability you feel bad right away. You look at them differently, you may not notice it but you do. You think when you see them that they can’t do what others can do. There’s so many differences on the way they’ve been treated,There’s so many different disabilities that fall into two categories, and they have ways to do things on their own.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Historically, individuals with disabilities have been denied the opportunity to compete on an equal basis and pursue employment opportunities in society due to being characterized as weak, pitiful, dependent, and limited (Mayerson, 1992). The continuing existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice contributed to a hostile and unadaptive society. People with disabilities endured a long history of the concept of “out of sight, out of mind”, and soon began to challenge societal barriers that excluded them not only from participating within the workplace, but from within their whole community environment. To alleviate this problem, the American’s with Disabilities…

    • 2360 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Society comprises individuals and communities of remarkable diversity. In addition to racial, ethnic, social, economic, and religious differences, people also have physical differences, which include a wide spectrum of abilities. Along this spectrum lie a range of impairments, or disabilities, and to fully understand the implications of impairment and disability, it is important to define the two terms. In an effort to accomplish this, and to illustrate two opposing views on impairment and disability, the ideas of artist-activist Liz Crow and film director-producer Josh Aronson will be examined. In doing so, the argument will be made that in order to move toward a society where prejudice and barriers no longer…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disabilities Act History

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages

    While some in the media portray this new era as falling from the sky unannounced, thousands of men and women in the disability rights movement know that these rights were hard fought for and are long overdue. The american disabilities act is radical only in comparison to a shameful history of outright exclusion and segregation of people with disabilities. From a civil rights perspective the Americans with Disabilities Act is a codification of simple justice.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    In America we have developed a complex competitive environment based upon what we consider are the norms of a developed society. As a member of this developed social fabric, you are expected to present yourself as a productive member of society. Unfortunately for some people there have been long standing impediments, which prevent those with disabilities to prove their worth and place in society.…

    • 2854 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays