There are many different social groups out there, and many of those are often times overlooked, or even looked down upon. One of those groups is people with disabilities of any type. The disabilities can be physical or mental, ranging from a birth defect to complete and total loss of the ability to move, and many people have these types of disabilities. Often times, these people with disabilities are the butt of jokes and ridicule, but sometimes people just feel pity for them. People with disabilities often just want to be treated normally, and that doesn’t often happen.
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All of these people with disabilities have a story behind what makes them unique, some of them being as simple as “I was born with it” while others start like “While I serving in the military…” and all of these stories should be listened to. Often times, these people with disabilities don’t think about their disability while describing themselves. You wouldn’t hear an amputee describe themselves as an amputee right off the bat, they are more likely going to talk about their personality and character well before talking about their disability. I have had some personal experience with this for a couple of reasons. First off, I was born with a cataract in my right eye, leaving me legally blind in it even after surgery, and I am now wondering if I will be able to get a drivers license. Also, in 2009 my father became paralyzed, and he won’t make a full recovery for the rest of his life.
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There is a large diversity of people that have disabilities because disabilities have absolutely nothing to do with ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, financial status, or anything else. In the article, “For N.C. girl, playing T-ball shows her life is without limits” it talks about a six-year-old girl named Rosie, who is described as “a happy, outgoing girl who easily chats with children and adults alike” who happens be missing her entire right leg, and most of her left forearm. The article, “A developmentally disabled man lived alone with hundreds of rats. He’s now been awarded $8 million” talks about an African American man that is now 66 years, that is unable to take care of himself due to a cognitive disability, and was left alone for around 17 years before social services finally showed up, saying that they “dropped the ball here”. As you can see, it is not just grown white males that can have disabilities, it can be literally ANYONE.
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People that have a disability of some sort, have many different challenges they face on a daily basis that most of us wouldn’t understand very well, including stereotypes and assumptions that people make of them. Basically, every person with a disability would just like to be normal or at least treated it. A normal thing that many of them want to do is sports, and often times being in sports is difficult for these people without special equipment and training. There are some organizations that help the parathletes, such as the Challenged Athletes Foundation, or CAF. CAF offers financial support and training to people that have disabilities that aspire to continue or start to play sports. Another organization that benefits active-duty and retired veterans are Wounded Warrior Project, or WWP. WWP assists by offering financial support, and an outlet to find jobs that will accept these disabled veterans, and in fact, they helped my father find a job after he retired from the Navy. An assumption that many people make about people with disabilities is that the disability defines them. This is not really true though, they are their own person with or without the disability. The disability doesn’t have to dramatically affect their lives, it might just make certain aspects of it more difficult than normal. A stereotype associated with people with disabilities is that the disability is visible right off the bat, and is purely physical, but there are many mental disabilities, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental disorders that change the quality of life. Overall, having a disability can offer some challenges, but thanks to organizations and advances in technologies, people are able to overcome these and still lead a fulfilling life.
Having a disability puts you into an expansive and diverse social group. These people with disabilities are different types of people with their own individual characteristics and personalities. Their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, financial and social status, nor any other type of defining characteristic, except for having a disability, is needed to be considered in the social group of people with disabilities. These people, like any other social group, have their own challenges, stereotypes, and assumptions that come with it. There are plenty of organizations, like Challenged Athletes Foundation and Wounded Warrior Project that is dedicated to improving the quality of life of these people with disabilities. You can volunteer with one of these organizations, or simply donate to help them help these people. There are also plenty of other organizations that hold runs, marathons, triathlons, and other activities that you can participate in to help support these people with disabilities.
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