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Ableism
Disability impacts roughly 10 percent of the population; thus, it is vital that human service providers view disability as a positive aspect of human diversity, while understanding societal prejudice toward people with disabilities. Ableism describes the discrimination toward a person or people with disabilities, while simultaneously privileging the able-bodied and is analogous to terms such as racism, sexism, heterosexism, or ageism. Ableism stems from the belief that being able-bodied or “normal” is more desirable than being disabled or “abnormal.” Ableist views about disability result in Day-to-Day reactions, including fear, pity, discriminatory attitudes, and structural barriers that lead to oppression, segregation, and inequitable access to resources.
History
Historically, larger societal contexts have contributed to ableism. Religious views of disability contribute to ableism when disability is seen as a result of amorality, witchcraft, God's displeasure, or holy innocence. Disability has been regarded as something that should be eliminated, healed by God, pitied, or acted upon through mercy and charity.
As medicine and eugenics were legitimized, disability became primarily viewed as a medical problem. Statisticians alongside medical experts quantified the able-bodied/disabled binary, proliferating deficit views of disability while solidifying notions of who could be categorized as disabled. The goal of medicine was to cure or eliminate disability and the only hope for the disabled individual was to become more “normal.” Under the medical model, people with disabilities are not the experts of their own bodies, often leading to painful medical procedures, segregation, or an overemphasis on remediation.
Alongside other civil rights movements, people with disabilities identified their own discrimination influenced by medical and moral conceptions about disability and identified and defined ableism. Instead of viewing disability as something to be pitied or seen as a medical deficit, people with disabilities fought to be seen as equal citizens. The disability rights movement centered on the idea that bodily difference itself was not the problem of disability; instead, major hurdles came from ableism, systemic barriers, inaccessibility, exclusion, and negative attitudes. This movement has succeeded in promoting the rights of people with disabilities through the deinstitutionalization of Many people with disabilities, the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the inclusion of Many people with disabilities in schools and communities. Although progress has made, ableism persists. Fortunately, human services providers can reduce ableism.
Combating Ableism
High expectations. People with disabilities are often baselessly viewed as being less able than others. Even though disability is only one small aspect of who an individual is (like race, gender, favorite food, eye color), ableist ideas about disability often spread and become the priMary focus for how others view the capabilities of the person. When it is understood that all people excel in some areas and need support in others, deficits are no longer the focus and the person with a disability is seen as a whole and complex person with potential.
Example: A professional is working with a child who does not speak verbally, but shows Many nonverbal signs of understanding. The professional assumes that the child is capable and diligently works to find a communication system for the child. The child begins to learn to use her new assistive technology device and becomes academically and socially successful.
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