Disabilities

Disabilities

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Institution

Chapter 4 considers contemporary childhood disability in the context of of parental and familial associations and controversies regarding special education services. Families usually differ in the manner that they respond to a family member that is born with a disability or that becomes disabled later in life. This family response is not only associated with the nature of impairment, but also with the family’s economic resources and prior beliefs regarding disability (Berger, 2013 pg. 79). With the advent of infant intensive care units and aggressive medical interventions, which have increased the survival rates of premature infants that are more vulnerable conditions like the cerebral palsy, the prevalence of children having disabilities has been increasing steadily. This state of affairs came about because of advances in the medical field and societal attitudes towards infants with disabilities. Two well-publicized cases in the 80’s marked a turning point in this change. In the first case, an Indiana boy born with an esophageal blockage and Down Syndrome decided to forgo treatment of the blockage upon the advice of their physician, but died six days later. The other case involved a New York girl born with hydrocephalus and spina bifida was denied surgery because her parents declined her surgery since their physician had told them that the girl would die more quickly without undergoing treatment. However, the girl did not die, but lived with severe physical and cognitive impairments.

Disability studies have indicated that, when a child is born with a disability people view the child as having something wrong. In such a case, the mothers do not even get the usual congratulatory messages. Mothers have reported that, when they give birth to infants with disabilities, friends, strangers, and extended family members openly question the value of the disabled children and extend the devaluation to question the wisdom of investing time and energy in nurturing the children with disabilities (Berger, 2013 pg. 86). Upon mothers realizing that they have children with disabilities, most mothers respond by blaming themselves. Women that are religious often think that it is a punishment from God.

Research has depicted that parental adjustment to children with disability can be related to whether the child was planned for or desired. Parents that had planned for a child seem to experience a greater sense of injustice when their child is born with a disability as opposed to parents who did not plan for a child (Berger, 2013 pg. 87). In contemporary society, parents’, teachers’ and physicians’ perceptions of children and their projections regarding their performance are filtered through the medical model, which defines disability as a property of the child, concerning itself with the diagnosis and treatment of impairments, which signal a deviation from the norm. According to the studies done by Hogan (2012), parents of children having disabilities have a higher probability of getting a divorce compared to other parents. This is because of financial insecurity stress and difficulties of balancing between Caregiving and employment (Berger, 2013 pg. 100).

Giving birth to a child that is disabled should not be viewed as abnormal because the disabled child is just like the normal child only that he suffers from a given physical or other condition. Women, who give birth to such children should not blame themselves since every child is a blessing from God and needs to be treated as such. Family values such as respect for each other and unity need to be maintained no matter the condition of the child born in a family; a disabled child should not lead to cases of divorce.

Chapter 5 discusses the issue of disability across the life course of an individual, which includes the adolescents and adults. The issues such as the association with peers, education system, the workplace, sexual and emotional intimacy, receipt of personal assistive care, and health care are discussed. Teenagers with disabilities face more than the normal array of challenges. For instance, when in school, other students make fun of them because they view them as abnormal individuals. Apart from students mistreating the disabled teenagers, teachers also mistreat them. This makes the learning process of these teenagers a stressful process. Out of school life, the disabled are usually treated with bias, which leads to their association with hate crimes. However, the federal law fights for the disabled by requiring the FBI to collect and report hate crimes. Despite the federal law requirement, disability hate crimes are infamously underreported. A reason leading to the underreporting of these hate crimes is because people that victimize the disabled, like the caretakers that commit sexual abuse, are often the ones charged with the responsibility of taking care of the disabled victims. Besides, people with disabilities usually constitute the victims of violent crimes and bullying, which are not categorized as hate crimes (Berger, 2013 pg. 118).

There is a disproportionately high prevalence of youths with disabilities in the juvenile justice system. This can be explained by the school failure hypothesis, susceptibility hypothesis, and the differential treatment hypothesis. According to the school failure hypothesis, impairment leads to school failure, which brings the feelings of rejection, low esteem and frustration that are linked with the involvement in delinquency. Besides, the susceptibility hypothesis postulates that neurological and intellectual impairments, which lead to hyperactivity-impulsivity and poor judgment result in delinquency. On the other hand, the differential treatment hypothesis is of the perspective that youths with disabilities are not involved more in delinquency than other youths, but law enforcement and other public officials treat the disabled more harshly (Berger, 2013 pg. 124).

People with disabilities are usually overrepresented among the ranks of the unemployed and poor. When people with disabilities are employed, they are usually overrepresented in the lower paid service jobs and underrepresented in the managerial and professional positions (Berger, 2013 pg. 128). Employers do not hire qualified disabled persons because of their perceptions. In matters relating to choosing a sex partner, the disabled individuals usually struggle with their body image and doubt whether others will view them as sexually desirable (Berger, 2013 pg. 132). In addition, most disabled people are usually underinsured or uninsured.

Just like other individuals, the disabled persons need to be treated equally. In the case of employment, employers need to consider recruiting individuals based on knowledge and skills and not physical appearance. Besides, there need to be stricter laws guarding the rights of the disabled individuals. This will enhance their life and make more enjoyable than it is currently. There is no need of incriminating a person because he is disabled; in fact, able persons need to view the disabled persons as normal people. This will help in eliminating issues of discrimination and the manner in which the disabled are treated in different institutions and systems.

Through using the medical model, the perception of the abled prsons to the disabled individuals can be changed; the disabled will be capable of receiving any medical care just like the abled individuals. By applying the social model, a number of issues will be resolved such as; the disabled will be treated equally as the abled individuals in the workplace, social gatherings and in institutions. For example, when selecting a marriage partner, both the abled and the disabled individuals will not feel compromisd to choose either a disabled or non-disabled individual. Besides, in schools, the disabled will be treated by teachers and fellow students in the same way without discriminating the disabled persons. In addition, through the social models, the disabled are likely to be considered in the formulation of laws; for example, high rate of juvenile crimes and hate crimes on the side of the disabled will lessen. On the other hand, through the cultural model, the disabled will be capable of getting a relief from discriminative cultures.

References

Berger, R. J. (2013). Introducing disability studies. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.