We’re Only Human

Human only We’re

ANNA VART explains why the able who scorn the disabled, mental or physical, are not just medically confused but morally disabled.

THOSE LIVING WITH A DISABILITY SHOULD NOT LABELED ‘INSANE’ OR ‘DELUSIONAL’. “

Before medical knowledge and human understanding those living with disorders were associated with disease and witchcraft. he disabled suck up resources and contribute little to society. With limited medical personnel, medication and money, why should these parasites be alive? They’re better off dead.’ Such stigma and prejudice are everywhere. They always have been, and if we don’t change the way our world works they always will be. Stigma is a mark of disgrace associated with a circumstance, quality or person and prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or personal experience. Similar but different, they are equally unacceptable and come hand in hand. I’m here to tell you about stigma, particularly stigma against people with disabilities, people like my mum. First, I would like to give you some background about when these misconceived opinions of those who appear different began. Let’s start from the beginning, the very beginning of human existence. Ever since this ‘T race has walked the Earth those with disabilities have been viewed as a nuisance, a pain and easy to ‘dispose’ of or remove from society because they are different. Before medical knowledge and human understanding those living with disorders were associated with disease and witchcraft and often died long before they reached maturity. If the lack of effective medicine didn’t kill them, then they were murdered by their own communities. Times change and, in a way, so did our attitude. Laws were passed to protect those living with disabilities. I was intrigued to find when the first such laws were created. The 1845 Lunacy Act was dominant for the early years of the Victorian era, but it made no clear distinction between learning disability and mental illness, stating that ‘a lunatic shall mean an insane person or any person being idiot or lunatic or of unsound mind.’ I know! I’m equally confused about what this means.

In 1847 The Charity for the Asylum of Idiots was established in London, the term ‘idiots’ meaning anyone with a learning or mental disorder, or autism. That would be unacceptable today, but it would have been the norm back in the 1840s. The last law of interest was passed in 1934, when the Brock Report recommended sterilization of the mentally or physically disabled. This prompted my further research.

A mental disorder, also called a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Mental disorders are usually defined by a combination of how a person behaves, feels, perceives, or thinks. A mental disability can be anything from depression or anxiety to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. A physical disability, on the other hand, is the limitation of a person’s physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. An example of a physical disability is insomnia or Retinitis pigmentosa. What’s Retinitis pigmentosa? The shortened version is RP and it’s a term for a group of eye diseases. RP causes the thin layer of