Disability
Coping Strategies
And
Social Change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE3Mq7c2k8Y
What is Disability?
A disability is a condition or function judged
to be significantly impaired relative to the
usual standard of an individual or group.
World Health Organization
Three dimensions of disability are recognized
in The International Classification of
Functioning, Disability and Health
Body structure and function, activity, and
participation
The classification also recognizes the role of
physical and social environmental factors in
affecting disability outcomes.
Types of Disability
Mobility and Physical Impairments
Head Injuries - Brain Disability
Vision Disability
Hearing Disability
Cognitive or Learning Disabilities
Psychological Disorders
Invisible Disabilities
Crimes
In 2007, 79 hate crimes were reported against
individuals with disabilities, one percent of the
total reported.
Eric Krochmaluk
One incident in Gloucestershire
Crimes cont’d
Disabled people who require assistance
Failure to recognize hate crimes
Barack Obama
Video by the President
Talking about a world without barriers
The families struggles with the barriers placed in
front of their family member
Education- IDEA
Independent Living
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pkdfOOoIw0
Americans With Disabilities Act
 Signed into law by George W. Bush in 1990
 Civil Rights Law that prohibits discrimination based
on ability
 Five titles included in the law:
Employment
Public Entities (public transportation)
Commercial Facilities
Telecommunications
Miscellaneous
• Protection from retaliation
Section 504
Law attempting to eliminate barriers faced by
people with disabilities in public education
Identify and Locate
Law states:
No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the
United States... shall, solely by reason of her or his
disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any
program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
IDEA
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Provide Financial Funds to Schools to
Guarantee Special Education
Self Advocating
This Video is Written and Performed by
People with Intellectual Disabilities
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imOJdaOQP1U
Self Advocating
People First Movement
Oregon- 1974
The Language of Disability
•
•
•
•
Move away from labels
Older terms: Mentally Retarded People
Newer terms: Person with intellectual disabilities
Emphasize that people with disabilities are people
Self Advocating: Tips
Know Yourself
Skill Level, Strengths, Weaknesses
Know What You Need
Interventions, Accommodations, Modifications
Know How to Get What You Need
Self-education, Communication, Support

Self-Advocacy:
Know Yourself, Know What You Need, Know How to Get It by Nancy Suzanne
James
Self Advocating
Self Advocates Becoming Empowered
http://www.sabeusa.org/
Founded in 1990
Helping people advocate for themselves
Full inclusion for people with developmental
disabilities
• Full inclusion: all people should accommodate people with
disabilities without any limitations.
• Also used in education: mainstreaming
Current Events
 Education Secretary
 Duncan
 Enforce Civil Rights Laws in schools
•
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/07/AR2010030702285.html
 Australian Court
 Parents receive court approval to sterilize their disabled eleven
year old
•
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2010/03/09/australia-sterilize/7259/
 South Carolina
 Budget cuts for services
 Medication maximum
 Wheelchair accessibility
•
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gip-ZNznBlNloEWf43kz3M0VObyQD9E78QJ00
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB6tyieCd40
Oppression faced by people with
disabilities
 governmental and organizational indifference and
delays, sometimes from the very medical personnel,
agencies and individuals meant to help you.
 emotional reaction at your change in status from an
"able" person to a disabled person.
 peer may potentially feel uncomfortable with you.
 others to react differently to you than they did
before the onset of your disability.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN8EbBpxy10
Causes of continued oppression
 Fear, worry and dismay on the part of relatives and
friends
 Ignorance, lack of information and lack of
understanding
 Cultural and societal stereotypes, prejudices or
bigotry
 Hidden or unidentified lack of pressure on the
school systems
 Lack of full funding and advocacy
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN05UfmIAh4
Why People Feel Uncomfortable
Around Individuals With Disabilities
Social uneasiness
Paternalism
Assumptions about emotions
Assumptions about abilities
Similarities to people with
people who don’t have
disabilities
Eat
Breathe
Learn
Make love
Raise families
Get arrested for civil disobedience
Laugh
Cry
Parents Advocating Tips:
 Observe and Record.
 Talk with teachers.
 Pursue an evaluation.
 Share information with your child's teacher and
school.
 Familiarize yourself with laws and services.
 Partner with your child's teacher and school
administrators.
 Get involved politically.
Volunteers & Care Providers
Advocating Tips:
 Familiarize yourself with the child’s diagnosis
 Watch for physical and behavioral changes
 Seek out the opinions of those who know the child
best
 Educate yourself about local resources as well as
your child’s team of service providers
 Know the child’s education rights
 Know the role of the care provider
 Focus on short-term goals
Advocating Tips for teachers:
Become familiar with IDEA
Develop IEP
Effective communication
Develop positive relationships with parents
Positive relationship with the disabled
individual
Overall Tips For Interactions
With People With Disabilities
 Treat disabled people the way you want to be treated.
 Listen; do not make assumptions about what a person can or
cannot do.
 speak directly to them, not through his or her companion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YXyTNIdux4
 Extend common courtesies to disabled people, as you would
to anyone else
 If you are having trouble understanding what he or she is
saying, ask the person to repeat rather than pretend you
understand
 Offer assistance to a disabled person if you choose to, but
wait until your offer is accepted before you help, and let them
instruct you on how to help them.
Acts Associated with
Disabilities
Americans with
Disability Act
Telecommunications
Act
Air Carrier Access
Act
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roabFT
K1GRA
National Voter
Registration Act
Individuals with
Disability Education
Act
Rehabilitation act
Architectural
Barriers Act
Famous Individuals with
Disabilities
 Bruce Willis - Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19,
1955) is a German-born American actor and singer.
Bruce Willis has had stuttering problems throughout
his youth and was always scared it would affect his
acting career.
 Aristotle - (384 BC � 322 BC) Aristotle was a
Greek philosopher writing on many different
subjects including zoology, biology, ethics,
government, politics, physics, metaphysics, music,
poetry and theater.
Famous Individuals Cont’d
Charles Darwin - 1809-1882 Naturalist,
author; OCD and stutter. Darwin's many
lifelong and serious illnesses have been the
subject of much speculation and study for
over a century.
Michael J. Fox - (born Michael Andrew Fox
on June 9, 1961) is a Canadian/American film
and television actor. Fox was diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease in 1991
Famous Individuals Cont’d
DYSLEXIA:
Magic Johnson
Tom Cruise
Walt Disney
Whoopi Goldberg
Albert Einstein
Sher
BLIND:
Ray Charles
Stevie Wonder
Helen Keller