It is hard and sometimes impossible for the disabled to look after themselves. Lack of some body parts or derailed mental abilities make it so. The result is very poor personal health. For example it would be impossible for a person without hands to do laundry or bath. Personal health includes hygiene and healthy eating. The disabled can’t work as efficiently as the normal people, this makes them hard to earn a living resulting to begging, the money is never enough to cater for basic human needs. The society at times cares less.
Disability is characterised by desire for positive change and striving for emancipation and flourishing. It is seen every day amongst people living with disability. It is active hope. We desire a place within the community! This place is not just somewhere to lay down our heads, but a place which brings comfort and support with daily living, friendship, meaningful work, exciting recreation, spiritual renewal, relationships in which we can be ourselves freely with others. And out of this great things may flourish.
Perhaps we will begin to feel better about ourselves, to come to know ourselves as honoured, respected, accepted, yes, loved. To be healed from shame, feeling unworthy, undesirable, ugly, difficult, not smart enough, not sporty enough, not lovely enough. And perhaps we might be freed from our terrible daily fears that it all won’t last, that more rejection is written into our lives. Maybe our dreams will no longer be filled with the traumatic fear of others pushing us around.
Sourced from: https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/disability-and-carers/publications-articles/policy-research/shut-out-the-experience-of-people-with-disabilities-and-their-families-in-australia?HTML
Communicating with the Disabled
Socializing is an important part of being human, whether disabled, retarded or normal. Most people don’t like associating with the disabled. This makes them feel separated from the rest and feel lonely. People have various reasons for not socializing with the disabled. This greatly affects the personal health of the persons leaving their personal health at stake.
Relating with people with disabilities can be complicated but it is as easy as relating with any other person. First, accept and appreciate them as they are without taking so much consideration in their uniqueness. This step makes everything else follow suit easier than imaginable. Do not be too empathetic but then do not be ignorant as not to tailor your communication to suit the necessity of the conversation or interaction without offending the person in question.
Some people are uncomfortable talking with people with disabilities. This chapter gives you some basic tips to help you be more comfortable interacting with people with disabilities, and to help people with disabilities more enjoy interacting with you.
Why is disability and personal health prime?
The disabled are humans, others are not better than them in any way. They just lack some body parts that doesn’t make them less human. Personal health to the disabled is important, they need to maintain personal health for a normal life. The society should at all costs help these people.
The first objective in this topic area, DH-1, is critical for understanding why disability and health is important. DH-1 calls for including measures of disability in all health data collection systems as well as analyzing and publishing the data in a standard demographic format to help monitor progress toward reducing health disparities and achieving health equity. Until recently, people with disabilities have been overlooked in public health surveys, data analyses, and health reports, making it difficult to raise awareness about their health status and existing disparities. Emerging data indicate that individuals with disabilities, as a group, experience health disparities in routine public health arenas such as health behaviors, clinical preventive services, and chronic conditions. Compared with individuals without disabilities, individuals with disabilities are:
Less likely to receive recommended preventive health care services, such as routine teeth cleanings and cancer screenings
At a high risk for poor health outcomes such as obesity, hypertension, falls-related injuries, and mood disorders such as depression
More likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors that put their health at risk, such as cigarette smoking and inadequate physical activity
How can the Disabled have an Independent living?
The question might be tricky to answer but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. Yes the disabled can for sure have an independent living. It solely depend on them and the attitude of the surrounding community. The disabled can make this real by working hard and not looking down upon themselves.
Independent Living is when Disabled people enjoy the same opportunities to live and participate in the community as non-disabled people, free of any forced dependency upon their family or friends, and can exercise choice and control over the decisions affecting their own lives.
As a philosophy, it is based on four assumptions:
- All human life is of value;
- Anyone, whatever their impairment, is capable of exerting choices;
- People have the right to take control over their lives;
- Disabled people have the right to participate fully in society.
This idea developed amongst Disabled people themselves as a response to the discrimination and exclusion they experience when they wish to live in the community or take part in those mainstream social, cultural or leisure activities non-disabled people are able to take for granted.
Sourced from: http://www.independentliving.org/docs4/bracking1.html