1. Concept and definition
Disability can influence a person’s social interactions just as much as race, gender or age. According to figures, approximately 20 percent of Australia’s population has at least one disability of some form (Rowan, 2017, p. 247).
Disability can be defined as any condition that results in restriction of a person’s mental, sensory or mobile abilities, for example deafness or the loss of a limb. Disability can be a result of an accident or trauma, genetics or even disease. For instance, the loss of limb mentioned above could be from a car crash, similarly, deafness can occur from being born with an improperly formed ear drum. Disability does not necessarily need to be permanent, a back injury can heal over time; visible, …show more content…
Personal relevance
Never having a disability, it is difficult for me to presume what it would be like to live with one, however growing up I had family members around me suffer from various disabilities and witnessed the struggle they endured every day.
When I was younger, my grandmother had cataracts in both eyes which affected her sight greatly. She would wear large, thick lensed glasses. After her cataract surgery she did away with those glasses and enjoyed full vision again, for a time. More recently she developed macular degeneration disease which once again caused her vision to deteriorate. At one point I was living with her to assist her. Simple things I took for granted like watching television or even making a cup of tea were hurdles she needed to overcome with step by step learning of new techniques or do away with altogether.
3. Proposing a new experience
For this reason, my experience will be to experience today’s world without sight for a 24-hour period. This will give me a better understanding of what it feels like to be reliant on another person to navigate the world; I will have my wife to support and guide me, as well as gain first hand understanding of how society responds to a person with a physical impairment and also how society has integrated coping mechanisms to assist disabled people move through the world beyond their own
Disability can influence a person’s social interactions just as much as race, gender or age. According to figures, approximately 20 percent of Australia’s population has at least one disability of some form (Rowan, 2017, p. 247).
Disability can be defined as any condition that results in restriction of a person’s mental, sensory or mobile abilities, for example deafness or the loss of a limb. Disability can be a result of an accident or trauma, genetics or even disease. For instance, the loss of limb mentioned above could be from a car crash, similarly, deafness can occur from being born with an improperly formed ear drum. Disability does not necessarily need to be permanent, a back injury can heal over time; visible, …show more content…
Personal relevance
Never having a disability, it is difficult for me to presume what it would be like to live with one, however growing up I had family members around me suffer from various disabilities and witnessed the struggle they endured every day.
When I was younger, my grandmother had cataracts in both eyes which affected her sight greatly. She would wear large, thick lensed glasses. After her cataract surgery she did away with those glasses and enjoyed full vision again, for a time. More recently she developed macular degeneration disease which once again caused her vision to deteriorate. At one point I was living with her to assist her. Simple things I took for granted like watching television or even making a cup of tea were hurdles she needed to overcome with step by step learning of new techniques or do away with altogether.
3. Proposing a new experience
For this reason, my experience will be to experience today’s world without sight for a 24-hour period. This will give me a better understanding of what it feels like to be reliant on another person to navigate the world; I will have my wife to support and guide me, as well as gain first hand understanding of how society responds to a person with a physical impairment and also how society has integrated coping mechanisms to assist disabled people move through the world beyond their own