People with DisabilitiesInclusion Training 2 of 8

Presented by Sarah Hinzman

Disability Inclusion Coordinator:

Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service

November 4, 2010

Objectives• After this webinar, you will…

Have developed an understanding of the historical overview of social perceptions of someone with a disability

Comprehend the prevalence of disability in the United States, with greater understanding of some of the most commonly overlooked disabilities

Develop further understanding of the importance of person-first language and etiquette

Demonstrate overall knowledge and significance of the ADA

Be able to identify and understand the impact of key terms such as ADA, functional limitations, major life activity, substantially limits and the four part definition of a person with a disability

Speak your mind…

• When you think about the term “disability” what comes to mind?

Please be advised

The following slides contain some difficult images and material, in order to engage an understanding of how people with disabilities were once viewed in general society

The Moral Model:Prehistory to the late 1800’s

• Philosophy– Disability is looked upon as punishment for a sin, or a mark

of evil• Influences

– Theological beliefs– Lack of scientific knowledge

• Societal perceptions– Individuals with disabilities are

viewed as sinners, or evil• Services and supports

– Services for individuals with disabilities are non-existent, and they are forced into institutions

• Philosophy

– Disability is viewed as a sickness which should be cured through medical treatment

• Influences

– The development of modern medicine

• Societal perceptions

– Individuals with disabilities are looked upon as sick, and therefore excused from the normal obligations of life

• Services and Supports

– Services are focused on “curing” the individual

– Those that are not, “long term care” services aim to segregate people with disabilities from society at large

The Medical Model:Late 1800’s to post WWII

The History of the Disability Movement

Christmas In Purgatory: A Photographic Essay On Mental Retardation, Burton Blatt and Fred

Kaplan Human Policy Press, June 1, 1974

The Rehabilitation Model:Post WWII through 1960’s

• Philosophy– Disability is viewed as a deficiency that

should be fixed by a professional• Influences

– A large increase in the number of

individuals with acquired disabilities

(WWII veterans)• Societal perceptions

– The large numbers of individuals who had acquired disabilities during the Second World War were to be reintroduced into society

• Services and Supports– Institutions are still common, and seen as the only alternative for some– The vocational rehabilitation system

The Disability Model:1970’s to today

• Philosophy– Disability is regarded as a normal aspect of life– A person protected as an individual with a disability is no longer limited to

individuals with functional limitations, it now includes individuals with a record of a disability, or individuals who could be regarded as having a disability.

• Influences – The self-advocacy and independent living movement– Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

• Societal perceptions– Individuals with disabilities are viewed as individuals– Individuals with disabilities view social discrimination and existing barriers as the

most significant problem, as opposed to any functional limitations they may have• Services and Supports

– Self-advocacy and several efforts for full inclusion as active citizens– (Independent Living Centers, integrated classrooms, personal attendant services,

UCEDDS)– The idea of adapting the environment to fit the needs of individuals

Living with a Disability Today

Mythbusters!

• People with disabilities feel more comfortable around other people with disabilities.

• The main reason we see people with disabilities grouped together is because of segregated learning and living environments, as opposed to personal choice.

Mythbusters!

• A person with a disability is sick, or has something wrong with them.

• Disability is a natural part of the human experience, and it is not the same as being sick. Mistaking a disability for a sickness not only fails to respond to a person's needs, it perpetuates a negative stereotype and an assumption that the person can and should be cured.

Mythbusters!

• People with disabilities can be as annoying, inspiring, creative, and rude as anyone else. And they should be expected to carry out activities of daily living, and being responsible members of a community if they are able to.

• People with disabilities are special, heroic, and courageous. They are exemplary human beings who always show marvelous strength of character. And they display this by simply performing activities of daily living.

Mythbusters!

• People with disabilities need to be protected from failing.

• People with disabilities have a right to participate in the full range of human experiences including success and failure.

Mythbusters!

• Learning disabilities are neurological in origin. They do not arise from lack of exposure to life experiences.

• If students with Learning disabilities would study harder or be exposed to more educational opportunities they would not have problems with learning

Learning disabilities (LD)

• Research shows that LD is neurologically based and persists across a person's lifespan. Contrary to previous thinking, LD is not the same as mental retardation. People with LD have a wide range of abilities and deficits. LD is not due to:– Other disabling conditions or any other physical cause– Environmental or cultural factors– Economic disadvantage– Low IQ (Albert Einstein had LD)

Some types of LD• Specific Learning Disability: A disorder in one or more of the processes

involved in understanding or using language, either spoken or written. It may appear as an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do math. This category includes conditions such as perceptual disabilities, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

• Dyslexia: Deficits in visual, auditory, or motor processing that interfere with reading. Characters may appear jumbled or reversed. Entire words or strings of letters may be unrecognizable.

• Dysgraphia: Deficits in writing, which may include lack of organization, clarity, unity, fragmentation of written concepts, mechanical errors, reversals, transpositions, and omissions of letters or words. Spelling may be poor, handwriting may be illegible, and written ideas may be disorganized and incomprehensible.

• Dyscalculia: Difficulty with numbers or remembering facts over a long period of time. Some people have spatial problems, such as difficulty aligning numbers into proper columns. Some persons may reverse numbers and have difficulty in mathematical operations.

Accommodating LD

• If written instructions are needed, type or print them

• Color code • Use a recording

device for instructions• Provide a map of the

site• Use checklists

• Use timers or alarms• Communicate one on

one• Access to a quiet area• Use a Readingpen or

voice scan technology• http://www.ldanatl.org/

The Impact of the ADA• Aims to end all forms of discrimination toward

individuals with disabilities• Guarantees individuals with disabilities access to

employment, housing, education, transportation, and all other rights given to able-bodied citizens

• Establishes individuals with disabilities as protected citizens

• Defines the term “disability”

What is the definition of a disability?

• A person with a disability is defined as:

Someone with a physical or psychological condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities…

– A major life activity is “anything an average individual can do with little or no difficulty.”

• Examples: walking, talking, speaking, seeing, hearing, breathing, learning, sitting, standing, sleeping, reaching, lifting, sleeping, thinking, concentrating, interacting…

– 'Substantially limits' refers to being unable to perform, or significantly limited in the ability to perform, an activity as compared with an average person.

• The law also protects individuals who may not have any functional limitations, but could be subjected to discrimination. Such as: – Someone who has a record of a disability

• An individual who had epilepsy twenty years ago, but no longer experiences seizures

• Someone who is regarded as having a disability – An individual, who neither has, nor has ever had, a functional

limitation, but could be perceived as having one (i.e. someone with a lazy eye)

• Someone who has an association with someone with a disability – The parent of a child with a disability or an individual who works

closely with people who have AIDS

Inclusion Match!• Task: Each example provided is a person

who would be protected from discrimination under the law. Discuss what aspect of the definition of disability would apply to each example.

1. A physical or psychological condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities

2. Someone who has a record of a disability

3. Someone who is regarded as having a disability

4. Someone who has an association with someone with a disability

Example 1A person had Leukemia, which was treated and has been in remission for the past 15 years

• Leukemia is a cancer of the blood-forming organs characterized by abnormal proliferation of white blood cells

• This person has no functional limitation as a result of the cancer or treatment

This person is protected from discrimination under the second definition of a disability—someone who has a ‘record of a disability,’ but does not have any lasting effects

Example 2A person has Bipolar

disorder depression• A mood disorder characterized

by the alternation of manic and depressive states

• Person takes medication to help keep chemicals balanced

• Sometimes, when this person feels really good, they feel they don’t need to take their medication

• When they do not take their medication, they get really energized and happy or very depressed

This person is protected under the law by the first definition, someone with ‘substantial limitation in a major life activity.’ Only with medication is the chemical balance maintained, and the person can socially and emotionally function as would an average individual.

Example 3A person’s father had Huntington’s disease

• Huntington’s disease is a genetic disease of the central nervous system, which causes progressive dementia and involuntary movements, and slowly progresses to death—the child of a parent with Huntington’s disease has an 87.5% chance of inheriting it

• This person has never been tested for the disease and has no functional limitations

This person is protected from discrimination under the fourth definition, ‘someone who has a close association with someone with a disability.’

Example 4

A person has scarring over 30% of their body

• This person has no record of any functional limitation

• The scarring is a result of a chemical spill

This person is protected from discrimination under the third definition, ‘regarded as having a disability,’ even though no disability exits

Exclusions from coverage defined by the law:

• Current illegal drug use or legal substance abuse is not protected by the ADA

•Temporary, non-chronic conditions that do not last for a long time and that have little or no long term impact, e.g. broken leg (though accommodations can be helpful)

Substance abuse and disability

When is Addiction a Disability?• An individual who suffers an addiction is

sometimes protected because addiction can result in a substantial limitation of major life activities.

• Someone who has a history of addiction to illegal or controlled substances who is successfully participating in a rehabilitation program is protected. In addition, a person perceived to have an addiction is also protected against discrimination.

• However, a person who is currently using illegal substances is NOT protected. This also includes individuals currently illegally using legal substances.

• The organization may discipline, discharge, or deny a service position to an individual who suffers addiction whose current use of substances adversely affects job performance or conduct.

Program expectations for people who are in recovery

• Require that service members who illegally use drugs or alcohol meet the same qualifications and performance standards applied to other service members.

• Unsatisfactory behavior such as absenteeism, tardiness, poor job performance, or accidents caused by alcohol or illegal drug use need not be accepted nor accommodated.

• Example: If a service member is often late or does not show up for work because of alcoholism, their supervisor can take direct action based on the conduct. However, the organization would violate the ADA if it imposed greater sanctions on a service member who is an alcoholic than it did on other service members for the same misconduct.

Rosa’s Law• In October, President Obama signed

Rosa’s Law

• It will change references in federal law from mental retardation to intellectual disability, and references to a mentally retarded individual to an individual with an intellectual disability.

• http://www.r-word.org/

To make the inclusive difference in your program…

• Read books and magazines written by people with disabilities like Ragged Edge, Mouth magazine, and Braille Monitor.

• Invite people with disabilities to talk to service groups about their experiences and ask questions.

• Include people with disabilities as service members and volunteer leaders. More likely than not, you already do!

• Learn about disability culture and its heroes such as Ed Roberts, Gini Laurie (grandmother of the independent living movement), and Justin Dart (father of the Americans with Disabilities Act). – Disability Social History Project: www.disabilityhistory.org– Society for Disability Studies: www.uic.edu/orgs/sds– Disability History Museum: www.disabilitymuseum.org

• Attend meetings of disability consumer groups, where people with disabilities take leadership roles.

Remember…

When a person with a disability is seen as helpless, barriers go up in the minds of the

people around them. People with disabilities want to be included in their

communities and be treated like anyone else-- with dignity and respect. In reality,

people with disabilities do everything others do, just differently.

Additional resources…Preparing your organization to engage people with disabilities

http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/node/17466

Including the developmentally disabled in traditional volunteer programs: why organizations should do it and how to get there http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/rgk/serviceleader/instructors/studentpaper9.php

Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation http://www.bu.edu/cpr/

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities http://www.nichcy.org/Pages/Home.aspx

More national service resources for inclusion http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/volunteer-member-staff-

management/disability-inclusion

www.volunteeriowa.org http://www.volunteeriowa.org/volunteer/volunteer_disabilites.aspx

Evaluate!• http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Inclusion2

• Next session: “Inclusive Recruitment and Outreach”

Thursday, December 2, 3 p.m.

(A new webinar link will be sent)