Language And Ableism Essay

Language and Ableism in today’s society can be seen as a controversial topic for some. For one thing, there are people who discriminate or have a social prejudice against anyone with a form of disability. Margaret A. McLean in “Getting to Know You” mentions, “Adult education forms one context where ableist notions may persist unrecognized and unchallenged as these understandings have become institutionalized in the beliefs, language, and practices of non-disabled people” (McLean 13). Furthermore, Margaret A. McLean in her article targets “Able-bodied people, and adult readers in order to help identify, confront, and change ableist views of the disabled” (McLean 13). How can one change their views towards the disabled when the opinion of them is already made? Identifying exactly what ableism means can be somewhat challenging. Mclean provides plenty of sources to make her article credible, which helps the reader engaged in what she plans to prove. For starters, …show more content…
Any able-bodied person would love to have some sort of friendship, and the same holds true with the disabled. Being mentally ill forms a disability and often, when no contact can be made with a person that has a background of being disabled, they can often feel as if nobody wants them to be around, which leads to depression. In this case, Mclean provides an important aspect to help prevent ableism by, “Exposing to the experience of disablement with the opportunity to get to know a person with a disability through the development of relationships” hence “friendship denotes the development and maintenance of close relationships through the exercise of social support, including the ability to ask friends to respond to or engage in an activity” (Mclean 16). By having contact, one may gradually become comfortable with being out in the open with others, rather than feeling like an