Francia Malone is a respite care provider with ocular albinism. Her condition is caused by a recessive allele that affects her vision, and often causes fatigue, light-headedness, and photophobia (Marini et al., 2018). From her initial introduction, Malone highlights the importance of self-reliance and self-sufficiency for herself and other individuals with disabilities. In her younger years, the lack of resources and proper training of the teaching staff had made her education difficult. She would frequently be unable to read words written on the board and rely on her methods to deal with the hardship. Malone also recalls the impact name-calling and teasing had on her during her youth. She believes that a sense of belonging is ingrained in human nature and that the ostracization she felt personally, and that people with disabilities face daily are damaging and unacceptable.
Her family had taken to her to specialists, but she was misdiagnosed and given glasses that did not assist with her difficulty. The lack of resources and available information to her family at the time led to continued difficulty in her adult years. The ophthalmologist she consulted with during her college years simply said that he could not do anything for her. It was only in 1997 when Malone was able to consult with specialists in low vision that a better diagnosis was given, and she was able to get devices that helped her.
The infrastructural issues often revolve around transportation, such as being dependent on a bus that may not adhere to a schedule. Additionally, Malone has had to alter her form of speaking to clarify her need to service workers in stores. Many of the issues she faces in society have to do with the lack of knowledge concerning visual impairment and total blindness. Her disability falls within the branch of albinism, which is a condition that is poorly understood and very badly misrepresented in media. Malone has devised many coping techniques, such as using a telescope to read signs, turning the contrast low on her televisions, and is self-employed with plans to start her own daycare home for the elderly. Her self-sufficiency is a primary and very essential characteristic of her interpersonal life that drives her success, despite some negative self-perceptions she had prior.
Richard Daggett contracted polio at the age of thirteen in 1953. The sphere of medical practice was vastly different from the way it is now. Daggett was operated on and not directly talked to by the medical staff during his treatment. He spent several years in the hospital with specialists and therapists who assisted him through treatment. His condition was severe during his formative years of puberty which led to personal struggles with self-perception, acceptance, and interaction with his peers. The setting of the hospital was unhelpful, as the certain staff was overly strict, privacy was limited, and many procedures were inconsiderate to the patients. For instance, during an x-ray scan, Dagget and a female patient were awaiting the procedure naked together.
Daggett recalls that his family was supportive in the early stages of the condition and much later in his life. He recites that they were likely more worried than he was during the initial surgery. Daggett recollects that interacting with peers, especially girls, became difficult after his time in the hospital. He would worry about everyone focusing on him and being unable to attend many parties or events due to the houses of friends and family being unprepared for him to stay. Daggett was unable to find employment that would suit him but became a full-time volunteer for polio-focused associations. He frequently spoke on misinformation of the preconception of people with disabilities and their desire and ability to form relationships. He had encountered such prejudice when a home-school teacher assumed he would not need to learn about family life because he would not have one himself. Daggett advocated against imagining that things could have gone differently, as this negatively affects the perception of oneself.
Issues that people with disabilities and minority or disenfranchised groups face often overlap and interconnect. Though acceptance and tolerance have improved greatly in many societies all over the world, much progress is yet to be made to reach an acceptable inclusion and behaviors between communities. People with disabilities are often the subject of much judgment and inappropriate social conduct due to a lack of knowledge, prejudices, or other broad opinions that are usually rooted in falsehoods. Similarly, people in the LGBTQ, racial and ethnic minorities, low-income or poverty lifestyles, and gender-unbalanced communities often face backlash due to outdated notions.
An individual with disabilities that belongs to a group that may face such mistreatment is likely to encounter it on both sides. As such, it creates a second difficulty on top of struggles that are already implemented due to a lack of government-provided service, infrastructure, and assistance in education and employment. The issue runs deep in misinformation about both the medical factors of any disability and the characteristics of any minority group. Generalizations are incredibly hurtful and almost always untrue and can have a lasting and negative effect on the lives of many individuals.
Albinism, which is previously mentioned in this paper, has negative associations that are founded on no actual evidence. However, the perception of individuals with albinism is changing, and understanding of the condition among ordinary people is improving. As such, motions that encourage understanding and acceptance of not only disabilities but of minority communities as well are vital for each other and the well-being of any society. Though the improvements are subtle and rarely satisfactory, they are a significant sign of potential betterment that may come in the following years.
Reference
Marini, I., Glover-Graf, N., M., & Millington, M., J. (2018). Psychosocial Aspects of Disability Insider Perspectives and Strategies for Counselors (2nd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.