defining disability Flashcards
what is important to remember about the definition of disability?
there is no universal definition.
what is a congenital disability?
born with the disability.
what is an acquired disability?
disability after birth.
why is normalcy an exclusive word to use?
it often disregards people with disabilities.
how did the 1950s view ‘normal’?
normal was seen as the absence of deviance or disability.
what does normalcy include?
- the characteristics to be judged
- the environment where said characteristics appear
- the people who are making the judgements
normalcy is often in the eyes of what?
the beholder.
in reality, what is normalcy?
it’s what is typical/most commonly occurring.
what is a PWD?
person with disability.
what is a PWOD?
person without disability.
who created the international statistical classification of disease and related health problems (ICD)?
the WHO (world health organization).
what is eugenics?
the study of hereditary improvements via selective breeding, includes sometimes getting rid of people who do not fit certain standards.
how did eugenics lead to the formation of the normal distribution curve?
people like karl pearson, sir francis galton, and sir roland who helped develop the field of statistics were eugenicists.
how does darwin’s theory of evolution play a role in disabilities?
suggested that eventually no disabilities would exist in a species due to natural selection, however this does not apply to humans.
what is anthropometry?
- developing standardized measures of the ‘average’ body
- these measures were taken from white people, aged 18-25
- this was because at the end of WWII there was an idea that america’s citizens had the responsibility to be healthy and be “normal”
what did eugenics make people think about their bodies?
that it was the most important aspect of themselves.
what do many religions believe about the human body?
that it is imperfect and that only in the afterlife will it be so.
what is martha’s vineyard?
- johnathan lambert who arrived at the vineyard
- due to the vineyard being isolated, eventually his children were deaf, who passed it onto their children
- this created a place where everyone was deaf
- this did not bother anyone as it just became a way of living
- even the people at the vineyard did not view their deafness as a disability
the definition of normalcy is always what?
changing.
it took how many years for the american psychiatric association to agree that mental disorders could have a physical and biological basis?
42 years.
who tends to receive more resources, those with disabilities or those without?
those without.
what is categorizing disabilities often useful?
- decides the eligibility of certain services
- the agencies where people can receive these services
- the settings where individuals live
why is a diagnosis important for many third-party services?
they will not provide reimbursement.
what is the downside to categorizing disabilities?
it tends to overlook the strengths that people have.
what are most diagnoses are based on?
symptoms and clinical features, not other possible causes.
what are also considered disabilities?
health conditions and chronic illnesses.
what are the four categories of disability?
- physical (physical symptoms)
- intellectual (intellectual issues)
- cognitive (cognitive issues)
- psychiatric (having been diagnosed with a psychiatric disability)
is it more common to have one disability or many?
many with one disability is typically labeled as the “primary” and the other disabilities are “secondary.”
intellectual, cognitive, and psychiatric disabilities were not considered disabilities until when?
the late 20th century.
what has self-identifying with physical disabilities led to?
the formation of strong advocacy groups.
when was the national federation of the blind established?
in 1940.
what do most physical disabilities include?
mobility and neurologic impairments
what is one of the most commonly occurring physical disabilities in the U.S.?
arthritis.
what type of disability receives the least amount of prejudice?
physical.
physical disabilities are often what?
objective and quantifiable, which makes them more likely to be tested with standardized lab procedures.
what do visual impairments usually include?
- total blindness from birth
- gradual loss of vision
- muscular disorders
why are people who wear glasses/contacts not considered visually impaired?
it is easy to obtain resources like glasses that fully restore a person’s functioning.
a large percentage of visual impairments have what?
unknown causes.
what is the leading cause of blindness?
diabetes.
approximately how many people have a visual impairment?
1.5 million people.
where do most visual impairments start?
from birth (approximately 60%) or old age (past 70).
why is the community visual impaired people growing?
people are living longer.
previously, where were visually impaired people taught?
in specialized resident schools seperate from their families.
the original social security act only offered public assistance (welfare) to people who were what?
blind.
