The Problem With Disability, Reaction Paper Example

The problem with disability is not of the child or the adult who has to live with the disability every day. It is with the individuals who are so ignorant in the idea of disability and what it causes for the person who deals with it on a daily basis. It is with the individuals who take it upon themselves to try and understand something that they do not have to deal with; however, they try to understand it and it get it all wrong and end up hurting people because they can only be aware of their ignorance for so long. The article “Family in Shock after Neighbor’s Hate Mail Targets Autistic Son” is an article that certainly shows this ignorance and disturbs me to think that many people will not take the time to understand what the family and the child are going through daily. These families go through so much on a day to day basis and have to deal with more confusion, hurt, anger, and problems than the normal family does and there are many people that do not take this into account. They only see what they want to see and do not take the time to understand the situation.

Our society is made up of individuals who do not like change or challenges or something that is not of the norm. It expects all people to be “normal” and expects everyone to act in a certain manner. Many people within our society still do not understand how to deal with the unfamiliar and their ignorance about disability shows in many different ways. The hate mail that was sent to the Begley family demonstrates this in full force. The person who sent the hate mail to them about their son, Maxwell, did not even know him or the family, yet still proceeded to give this letter to the family. This shows indecency and a lack of dignity. It shows us that our society still does not know how to deal with individuals who are different from themselves and I’m not sure that it will ever change.

By reading this article and the class readings, I feel more obligated to stand up for those with disabilities and also take it upon myself to learn and understand their difficulties on a daily basis. This, in turn, will help me become a better person who understands and is not subjected to the ignorance of so many in our society today! It gives me the opportunity to understand the importance of disabilities and how people who live with them feel on a daily basis. It also makes me want to do something about it and raise awareness for these individuals.

Knowing more about the topic of disability and seeing how people are treated, as Maxwell was treated in the above article, will help me show people how to be aware of what individuals with disabilities need. Susan Wendell (date) stated it best in the following paragraph:

Failures of social support for people with disabilities result in inadequate rehabilitation, unemployment, poverty, inadequate personal and medical care, poor communication services, inadequate training and education, poor protection from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, minimal opportunities for social learning and interaction, and many other disabling situations that hurt people with disabilities and exclude them from participation in major aspects of life in their societies (96).

Knowing this helps me understand what I can do to make things better for these people and gives me the opportunity to no longer be ignorant of their needs. If I am given the information in order to help these people, I will be able to make a better contribution to society.

References

Wendell, S. (YEAR). The social construction of disability. In Title of Book, Publishing City: Publishing Company (pp. 93-96).