At this point in the course, we know that 20% of the population self-identifies as having some sort of disability, and we believe many more people either have an diagnosed disability or will acquire a short-term or non-permanent disability. We’ve also seen how any individual, regardless of current status, can acquire a disability, but we’ve also considered the experience of those born with disability may differ from those who acquire disability later in life. Add to this the fact that it becomes increasingly more likely that a person will acquire some type of disability as they age, and you can quickly see that disability will likely touch each of us in some way in our lifetimes.
This week, you will study experiences of those born with disability and how age impacts disability, caregivers to both children and aging adults with disabilities, and those who acquire a disability due to age.
1. Think about how someone approaches their disability. Why do you think a person born with a disability might differ from someone who acquires their disability later in life?
2. They might differ in how they perceive the disability movement, culture, and history – they might also differ on how important they believe the disability rights movement is based on their experience before and after having a disability. How might someone with a life-long disability feel differently about disability rights than someone with a short-term disability? How are these experiences similar?
3. What role do you believe the experience of caregivers and parents of those with disabilities should play in designing for disability or fighting for disability equality?
4. If we are all likely to acquire disabilities the longer we live, and more people are living to older ages, it stands to reason that more of us will need more accommodations as we get older. Why do you think more of our businesses, society and culture are not designed to be more accessible to older or disabled people?
References
https://reader.mediawiremobile.com/accessibility/issues/204297/articles/5c4f57820ed1020171b99752/reader
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1802121/
