SophieHow do you feel disability is represented? I think it's represented poorly as we are either represented as the here row or the victim. Plus people stereotype disability to people who can't walk talk or eat | and have to rely on our parents for everything What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says disabled? Strength Can you think of five famous disabled people represented in the media? Cherylee Houston | Jack Carroll What disability do you have? Cerebral Palsy Is the representation of disability accurate? Not in all areas Is disability represented as positive or negative? Why Negative |
LoisHow do you feel disability is represented? Most people have no experience knowing someone with a disability. They feel we can't do things. Literally and perceive people in wheelchairs are less capable. Things that are normal for someone without a disability are perceived as "inspirational." Sometimes that's offensive to someone in a wheelchair. What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says disabled? Most perceive as less confident, but is changing. In media few people with disabilities are presented in a positive light or by people with real disabilities. Can you think of five famous disabled people represented in the media? Helen Keller F D Roosevelt Gerri Jewel Stephen Hawking Itzhak Perlman What disability do you have? I have a hearing loss and aide in my left ear due to a tumour I was born with. It was discovered when large and almost fatal before removed in my early 1997. Cholesteatoma. 2nd I developed damage to facial nerves after a facial reconstruction in 1979 necessary due to birth defects in my jaw & palate. Two neurosurgeries two correct nerve damage from 1979 swelling, in 1983, resulted in bleeds on my brain stem and by 2007 two tumours that are inoperable but not life threatening. Also there are areas of atrophy on my brain stem. Though no paralysis, walking, balancing are exhausting I have lived with wheels since 2004 and using a wheelchair since 2010. Some autonomic functions are impaired. Impaired sensation and reflexes from the chest down. Able to type but mild impairment of fine and gross motor. Is the representation of disability accurate? Give examples why No, once people get to | know me they forget the disability. Now that I am over weight, a senior citizen, people are shocked I work part time, have a house, drive and live with minimal help. Some people are surprised in the retail store where I work but usually get over it. I have had my chair grabbed. In the US people with disabilities have 14% unemployment. I know of several people that finished masters degrees in fields such as engineering, from prominent colleges, that searched for jobs for over a year when classmates that were able bodied had offers within weeks. Is disability represented as positive or negative? Why It's getting better but hard to break stereotyped and perception we can't do it. HarryHow do you feel disability is represented? I think generally disability is represented well locally & nationally and that there is a growing awareness that people who have disabilities and or learning difficulties should have their needs met. Over the last 20 years with the introduction of first the Disability Discrimination Act in 1995 and then the later amended Equality Act of 2010 there has been a steady progression towards the positive recognition and inclusion of people with disabilities and or learning difficulties within society. That said as with all things there is still a way to travel and improving and changing attitudes and the what how and where people’s needs should be accommodated still needs to continue to improve and that the danger of complacency should be avoided. What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone says disabled? Often I think the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions the word disabled or disability is “ I’m not sure how to support them”, an attitude of fear of the unknown, or “how much is it going to cost for their adaptions support etc.? Then there are the generalised assumptions that those with a disability or learning difficulty have huge needs and that actions/things need to | be “done” to them, those with learning difficulties/disabilities, to help them. Can you think of five famous disabled people represented in the media? Ellie Simmons (GB Olympian swimmer), David Blunkett & Gordon Brown (Politicians with visual impairments), Richard Branson (Has dyslexia) & Cherylee Houston (Coronation Street actress who is paraplegic in a wheelchair) What disability do you have? I have Infantile Idiopathic Nystagmus (Visual Impairment difficulty with focusing) Right Sided Hemiplegia (Cerebral Palsy) affecting my right leg which is shorter than my left leg/slight limp & affects my manual dexterity with my right hand affecting fine motor skills. Is the representation of disability accurate? Give examples why I think generally the way disability is represented isn’t always accurate but that the level of accuracy is improving. For example in my own experience having progressed through an education system where there was no SEN provision in mainstream pre-16 school to finally having I would consider substantial support through the HE Disabled Students Allowance which enabled me to buy equipment and fund in class support that ultimately enabled me to achieve a successful outcome in attaining my degree as an adult. Is disability represented as positive or negative? Why I think that generally there is a growing positive representation of disability in terms of provision and legislation to support those with disabilities and or learning difficulties but that as with all things provision of support and legislation can only go so far to changing people’s perceptions and prejudices of people with disabilities/learning difficulties. Fundamentally is about a progressive change in attitudes and mind-set over time which unfortunately does not always happen quickly. |