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Essay on Talking about Disability
Disabilities are of many sorts, persons with physical, sensory, or psychological impairments that can make performing a daily task more complicated. Under this wide explanation, an estimated 54 million people in the United States, or nearly 20 percent of the population, live with disabilities. A number of disabilities, such as a broken hip, may be temporary; others are relatively minor, such as vision impairments that can be modified by corrective lenses. Other disabilities classified as severe may not represent a handicap that is, the inability to take part in community life on an equal level with others. For instance, a person confined to a wheelchair may be able to live independently if physical and social barriers to mobility have been removed. In 2000 an estimated 34 to 43 million people in the United States had chronic disabilities.
Efforts by disabled people to establish legal rights mark a sharp contrast with traditional U.S. public policy. Before the 1970s, most legislation dealing with the problems of people with disabilities, such as Social Security or public-assistance entitlements, provided limited financial support or specific services.
Life for most people with psychological or physical disabilities is very much better over what it was twenty or thirty years ago. The Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal and state laws assure that people with disabilities have the same fundamental rights as people without disabilities. Various things have been slower to transform; specifically, attitudes and perceptions about people with disabilities. Ignorance and discrimination can be serious impediments to achieving integration, productivity, and independence for people with disabilities. The use of outdated language and words to describe people with disabilities contributes greatly to perpetuating old stereotypes. No longer should we view people with disabilities as helpless or tragic victims.Awareness is the first step toward correcting this injustice.....
