Individuals with physical and health disabilities face various barriers that hinder them from fully participating in the society compared to those without these disabilities. Often, a multitude of barriers makes it extremely impossible for these people to function in the society.
Attitudinal barriers are the major barriers, and they contribute to the other type of barriers (Jonge et al. 2007). For instance, the difficulties in accessing a place may limit a person with physical or health disability from participating in common daily and everyday life activities. Some common attitudinal barriers include discrimination, prejudice, and stigma (Jonge et al. 2007). In the society, such attitudes emanate from people’s perceptions towards the disability. Some people may look at disability as a God’s punishment for wrongdoing and others may see it as a personal tragedy.
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Communication barriers hinder the disabled from experiencing different communication methods with others (Jonge et al. 2007). For instance, most Catholic Churches do not include a sign language interpreter during in their mass sessions or when the congregation is worshipping. Therefore, individuals who are hard hearing or deaf in this congregation cannot participate in the church activity as much as they would like.
Physical environment barriers affect the disabled by denying or limiting them from accessing places such as transport, leisure activities and employment. For instance, though most modern buildings is fitted with lifts and ramps, others such as restaurants, cinemas and workplaces still lack such amenities (Kasser & Lytle, 2013). As such, they tend to be inaccessible to people with physical and health disabilities. Therefore, most disabled individuals will experience challenges when finding a home, a job, going out with friends and enjoying leisure activities.
However, all these barriers can be reduced to increase the participation of people with physical and health disabilities in the society. First, it is important to increase awareness of these barriers within the society (Kasser & Lytle, 2013). This will allow more people to understand how these barriers affect people in such a negative manner. Eventually, more people will be willing to do something to help the disabled.
References
Jonge, D. ., Scherer, M. J., & Rodger, S. (2007). Assistive technology in the workplace . St. Louis: Mosby Elsevier.
Kasser, S. L., & Lytle, R. K. (2013). Inclusive physical activity: Promoting health for a lifetime . Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
