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In your opinion, what could society do to improve for disability and is it it still taboo?

girlinawheelchair

Hi lovely people,

My name is Ebony, I'm 17, I have Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and I'm doing an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) on disability and society. If you could take some time to answer my questions, I'd be really grateful.

1. To what extent do you feel like disability is still taboo?
2. What could society do to improve disability within society?

If you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks,
Ebony

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Comments

Roddy

Hi @girlinawheelchair

Thank you for your time spent with asking your questions, and I wish you well with your studies...

I'm of the opinion that 'education' is the key (from an early age) as it teaches people to be aware and to understand that not everybody is the same, and yet everybody has the right to be treated with respect and accepted.

I can say with all honesty that it wasn't until my own son was born with disability issues, that I became aware of the daily & ongoing challenges and the way's with which society deals with them, and even then, it wasn't until I became reliant upon mobility aids that I realised these matters personally myself. It can be noted however that many things have improved in the way that society has taken some notice by seeing the importance of and introducing changes and making allowances for the disabled, such as wheelchair access & ramps etc., together with other vital needs.

Society has a very long way yet to go, with some peoples attitude towards 'difference' on many levels, and it is impossible perhaps to know if or when such things will change, unless it becomes an important part of every persons education. If it can be done for race, colour, religion & sexuality, then it's encouraging perhaps to at least know that the same could apply for disability.

A persons 'capability' should not be a reason to dismiss them from society, and after all, not everybody is a surgeon, a plumber or a gardener or can be a genius such as Steven Hawkins was can they? Every person has an important place in society, but???

Chloe_Alumni

Welcome to the community @girlinawheelchair! I hope your EPQ project goes well! I too have CP and did mine on the transition between primary and high school.

girlinawheelchair

Chloe_Scope said:

Welcome to the community @girlinawheelchair! I hope your EPQ project goes well! I too have CP and did mine on the transition between primary and high school.

Oh god, I remember that time all too well

and thank you for the warm welcome.

Seanchai

Good luck on your qualification Ebony . I am very much like Roddy . I would dertainly help people in wheelchair ... although i went to help a lady in a wheelchair who had dropped her purse she could not reach it and i picked it up and handed it to her , she went crazy saying i had no right to touch her purse , i got a lot of verbal abuse from her . So , sometimes people do not want help with their disability and i would ask next time (if someone drops something) if they wanted me to help .
I used to see children ( years ago) kicking off in a supermarket and i used to think ' if that was my child he would have got a skelped bum for being of bad behaviour ...but... my own grandson has severe autism and cannot speak , god knows how my daughter manages ...but shs does . My grandson is now 15 and one of the nicest guys in his special school , he would help anyone and he now signs for the head teacher when she is in assembly hall having a talk with the whole school .
I now know that children can be disabled and just how hard and frustrating it must be for them when they cannot convey how they feel . If i now see children ' kicking off' in a shop, i now think " poor child ...poor mother " .?. We live and learn .

Birdsnbees

hi these are the exact things that need changing to make for more equality

mad been going on for so many changes still not happening

in my view all are discriminatory breaking law against equality act and show failure to make reasonable adjustments i would like to contact relevant charities the nhs the british medical association mps ams to see if they can help and i wonder if scope would be happy to campaign on any of these:

-social housing waiting lists current wait does not house disabled vulnerable the same as healthy person more likely to wait more likely get unsuitable property more likely to become homeless

-landlords not accepting dss tenants

-landlords not accepting adaptations needed to properties

-dwp assessing someone as fit to work when not or wrong decision on pip or esa

-dwp social workers housing trying to bully harrass force someone work or do something they cant because of being disabled

-any doctor healthcare professional dentist that treats you differently because access nhs treatment rather than private

- anyone who treats you differently anywhere because you are disabled or do something different because of your disability

- failing to make reaosnable adjustments for you when you have asked for them

- ignoring autism, the fact it exists failing to make reaosnable adjustments for it and carrying out care the same as for someone who is not autstic is harrassment and unlawful

-criticising or assessing someone as fit to work because they stand up for their legal rights

please please speak out about these keep records its only because of our united effort we can win in the fight against this

April2018mom

Good luck @girlinawheelchair! And welcome.

Honestly this is why we need social integration and social prescribing. I also love to bust myths. Disability talks do help and are a inchstone in the right direction. But there is far more work to be done. I live and learn. Since my son was born, my outlook on life has changed completely. I do not feel embarrassed to be around people with physical impairments anymore. Just the other day I was talking to someone who was in a wheelchair at a local pub and she was employed as a paid for carer.
This really gives me hope for the future. Clearly the times have changed despite what the popular opinion is. However we must still remember that attitudes must be altered. And sometimes that starts with the person themselves. Especially if their mind is fine or if they still have full mental capacity despite their old age.
This is about doing what is right. However we must not force. It has to come from within. And we must remember that a teamwork approach to changing mindsets is best. Stereotypes are only part of the whole issue. We need awareness in general. Focus on the strengths.