WHAT IS DISABILITY?

The World Health Organization defines disability as follows:


"Disabilities is an umbrella term covering impairment, action limitation, and participation restrictions. It is also a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitiation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action. Disability is a complex phenomenon reflecting an interaction between features or a person's body and features of the society in which he or she lives" (Wikipedia).

I learned from America on Film, that for many centuries, disabled people have been neglected, mistreated, disregarded, and they also have been discriminated against by people who are not disabled. It also tells me that in Hollywood, directors felt people with disabilites were incapable to play leading roles in movies. They were only allowed to play extras in the background. As an example, classical movies such as The Wizard of OZ used little people in the background as supporting cast, but there not fortunate enough to play a major a role such as The Wizard of OZ himself.


I, myself, used to have a different aspect of thinking about people with disabilities. I used to think that they were not normal as other people until I came to Shoreline Community College when I met Jana Norton at The Writing & Learning Center Studio. My first quarter as a student at Shoreline Community College. I was enrolled in English 099. I remember I was having problems putting words together. I was really lost, and I found the English language was very hard for me as someone who speaks English as a third language. Finally, I showed up to the Studio to get help with that one assignment that I was having problems with. As soon as I entered the TWLS, I seemed to be so distracted and not knowing what to do. I saw a handicaped woman who barely can raise her hands. She came and introduced herself to me as Jana Norton with a soft tender voice, "May I help you?" In my critical thinking mind, "I hope she will not be the one to help me with my assignment." (Foolish me) for for thinking that way, I certainly did not have any idea that disabled people, like Jana, as a handicap could actually turn out to be just as smart as some normal philosophers in our world society.


I was amazed to see how Ms. Jana Norton changed my whole entire perspective towards disabled people. I remember she took her time by guiding me through my bad spellings,

clauses, paraphrases, in addition to that, I was having hard times with my enunciation with some words that were not too familiar to me. She was very patient by taking her time to help me out with the assignment. From that moment on until now, every time I find myself stock with some hard projects, I would not go anywher rather than to the TWLS just to get help from Jana Norton, including some of her colleagues. Therefore, I would encourage anybody who seems to be having difficulties with English homework assgnments to come to the TWLC and get help.

As the world begins to develope more and more, disabled people start being acknowledged differently by the ssociety. America on Film also talks about instead of shunning people with disabilities, the medical models has to do research to actually understand the cause of disabilities and to bring disabled people into the realm of everyday life like everyone else. I also learned from the America on Film, that with de development of the medical model, for a long period of time that people with disabilities began to be treated in a more better ways such as being seen as human.

Their acceptabilty gives them access to be part in the world society but not to be seen as normal as others. Untill now, people with disabilties are still fighting for their rights of acknowledgement. People with disabilities have come a long way to be where they are in the world society today. With them fighting for their rights to be seen as human in America, special schools were created for them, like the Columbia Institution for Deaf, Which is now known as Gallaudet University.

Lots of foreign countries are failing to recognize the importancy of people with disabilities. I am using my birth country, Haiti, as an example. Port Au Prince, which is considered Haiti's capital, has at least two or three very good boarding schools for people with disabilities such as deafness. In order to take avantage of these institutions, you have to come from a family with wealth; otherwise people with disabilities would be seen as inferiors, outsiders and less than human. I give lots of credit to North America, for the fact that there are lots of opportunities which are created by the government to enable people with disabilities to be part of the society.

Posted By: Abner Richet

Calass : America On Film Class

Teach By : Ruth Gregory and Rachel Davdid