Social issues exist everywhere. They cause problems within a society, and once they get to a certain point, it is difficult to reverse the negative influence they have on an individual or group. For those individuals living with disabilities, life can become demanding in several different ways. Living with a disability is in itself a challenge. When one adds the difficulty of finding jobs, accessibility, and maltreatment by others due to a disability, the disability becomes even more of a drawback. For those who are able-bodied, imagining life with the restrictions that a disability brings is a difficult task. Healthy individuals do not think about having to circle around an entire building to find a handicap accessible ramp, carrying the guilt of a financial burden because they do not have the resources within a workplace they need, or experiencing utmost pity from another human being as if they were not even human at all, but simply some fragile object to feel sorry for; this is the life of an individual with a physical disability. The constant battle to be treated as equally is one that they fight daily. Although the mistreatment may not always be intentional, it is hurtful and devouring. When an individual with a disability is forced to travel a longer distance than the average, healthy person, it imposes that the individual with the disability is less of a priority or that they are less important. The answer of an employer that, “you are not good enough because you cannot walk,” is an answer that causes one’s self-esteem to plummet. These are issues that a human should never have to experience, yet it is seen daily in the lives of those with disabilities.

When one has an impairment that limits their mobility, finding a job becomes a task that is laborious and sometimes impossible. Employers often deny a disabled individual of employment because they cannot perform a task in the time that a healthy individual may be able to, or may not be able to execute the tasks at all. There have been steps forward in trying to decrease the discrimination by employers to disabled persons, as one site states, “The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 seeks to make work possible by decreasing discrimination against people with disabilities and mandating employer provided work accommodations” (“Barriers to and Supports for Work Among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D."). But even with the work since 1990 by the ADA, there have still been extremely low employment rates among those with disabilities. One article cites that “prior studies find lower employment rates among adults with disability than among adults without disabilities” (“Barriers to and Supports for Work Among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D."). My mother has multiple sclerosis. This disease has limited her in many ways, including employment. Due to nerve damage, many muscles in her body no longer work, causing numbness in her limbs, fatigue and problems with bladder control. These three limitations make finding an occupation extremely difficult. When she asked my aunt, who works at a restaurant, if they would take an application from an individual with a disability, my aunt’s response was: “as soon as the employer sees you have a disability, he’ll throw the application out.”  Like my mom, many of those with disabilities want to work, but the job options are practically nonexistent. In a study of disabled individuals and employment, fifty-two percent said that there were no appropriate jobs that would accommodate their disability (“Barriers and Supports for Work among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D;”). Even if a disabled individual was hired somewhere, they would then have to worry about accommodations to make the workplace safe and accessible. A survey from the NHIS-D found that “one-third of non-working persons with disabilities reported the need for some type of accommodations” (“Barriers and Supports for Work among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D;”). These accommodations range from parking to elevators and even the ability to take breaks to use the restroom more often than the average individual. In another study, it was established that “special worksite features are the most frequently unmet need” (“Barriers to and Supports for Work Among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D."). This proves true that the employment of disabled personnel is not thought about when building a workplace. It proves that the workplace is simply built to satisfy the needs of a healthy individual. Not only does employment help support an individual financially, but it also supports them in a community sense. Individuals desire to have a community that they belong to, and a lot of times this is found within a career or workplace. When the ability to work is taken away, it also takes away the opportunity to be in community with other individuals. One article quotes: “In our society work not only serves as a basic source of income for most families, but also a form of social connection and status in the community. Yet the employment rate of persons with disabilities is extremely low” (“Barriers to and Supports for Work Among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D."). Employment among the disabled is crucial. It not only helps an individual financially, but it also gives them a sense of worth, yet the ability to find a job as a disabled individual is close to impossible without accommodations.

Those with physical disabilities are slighted in many ways. One of the major things they are forced to face is no access to buildings, recreational areas, and other important industries. Physical access is limited to places like roads, curbs, ramps, parking lots, elevators, and restrooms (“Implementing Promising”). Those with physical disabilities need many more ways of admittance and access to various places. One author said “If the building is on fire and the elevators aren’t working, a wheelchair user on the 14th floor could be in quite a predicament” (Implementing Promising”).  It is a serious issue that people do not have a plan for these types of accessibility issues. On the Georgetown campus, during construction, blockades were put up around roads and ramps eliminating access to disabled citizens. This placed increased strain on handicap students, and the posters placed around with handicap signs crossed out were not considered helpful at all (“Construction, advocacy”). Changes need to be made that will accommodate both the able, and disabled, which will be much more cost efficient if these types of accommodations put into plans when a building is under construction. Even historical buildings are losing many potential visitors, solely because disabled people cannot enter. Those with physical disabilities would greatly benefit, and so would society as a whole if these access limitations were eliminated.

The treatment of physically disabled persons is a serious issue in society.  Many people do not realize the things that they say or do for a physically able person can actually be hurtful to a disabled person.  Feeling sorry for or taking pity on a disabled individual will more than likely lower their self-esteem and make them feel almost as an alien to society.  No one should ever have to feel this way among fellow humans.  This pity is a common misconception that many people commit without even thinking.  In addition to people feeling sorry for them, disabled persons experience many other forms of violence and abuse that able-bodied people are at less of a risk for.  One expert states, “The social context of disability, including factors such as inaccessibility, reliance on support services, poverty, and isolation, has a powerful impact on individuals’ increased risk for violence” (Powers).  People with disabilities are not only at risk for the normal forms of abuse such as physical, verbal, and sexual, but also for others like financial abuse, manipulation of medications, and the destruction or disabling of equipment (Powers).  This piles on an extra set of problems that can be hard to handle for this group of individuals.  Just as violence is committed towards people without disabilities, these different forms of abuse all involve the culprit abusing power and control over the victim.  Unfortunately, abuse coming from personal assistance service (PAS) providers is common.  This not only includes formal service providers, but also family and friends, paid or unpaid.  PAS cruelty is on the rise, while forty percent of disabled persons report that they have been taken advantage of financially and ten percent have reported physical abuse.  Almost fifty percent say that their service provider arrives late or leaves early, along with forty percent that have been insulted, put down, and had their money stolen (Powers).  As seen by these chilling facts, the treatment of the disabled community is at an all-time low.  This is an unacceptable problem that needs to be addressed along with other aspects of the treatment of disabled persons.

Much of the country does not realize that another big problem with the treatment of physically disabled people is the lack of financial help they receive.  Most individuals, who need disability money, or supplemental security income (SSI), will not qualify for it, because the requirements are so high.  If a disabled individual is from a family that makes around $750 per month, or makes that individually, the amount of disability money they would qualify for goes down drastically.  If the family or individual income is $1500 per month or greater, the amount of disability money drops to zero (Morton).  As many Americans know, it is nearly impossible to survive off of so little, much less with a disability as well.  Many times, those with physical disabilities cannot even work, which puts them in an even worse position if they do not have a generous caretaker.  Making jobsites more accessible and catering to a disabled person’s weaknesses would help fix this problem.  Another issue with qualifying for SSI is the fact that if a disability is not “serious” enough or is not expected to last for more than a year, the disabled person cannot get the money (Morton).  For example, many people with serious bone fractures would not qualify since they would be expected to heal within twelve months. I feel that this is very unfair, because every disability is serious, no matter what it is or how long it is anticipated to last.  One article states, “Most claims are denied simply because the applicant's impairment was not severe enough” (Morton). Society expects the disabled to pay the same bills as the healthy individuals, yet when asking for financial help, the disabled persons are often denied.

Whether it is job opportunity, accessibility, or treatment, disabled persons are put at an unfair advantage, and sometimes even treated as less than human. Disabled individuals deserve to have the same opportunities that healthy persons have. In order to accomplish this, society will have to provide accommodations for workplaces, accessibility that is equal to the able-bodied person, and eliminate the mindset that those who are disabled are less than the healthy bodies.

Works Cited
“Barriers and Supports for Work among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D;” Pamela Loprest, Elaine Maag, January 2001, The Urban Institute, Washington DC

“Barriers to and Supports for Work Among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D." Barriers to and Supports for Work Among Adults with Disabilities: Results from the NHIS-D. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
"Construction, advocacy should augment campus disability dialogue." UWIRE Text 23 Oct. 2014: 1. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
“Implementing Promising Community Inventions.” Community School Box.Creative Commons, 2014. November 5 2014. Web.
Morton, David. "Social Security Disability: 8 Reasons You May Be Denied Benefits | Nolo.com." Nolo.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

VIOLENCE AND ABUSE AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: EXPERIENCES, BARRIERS AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES Laurie E. Powers, Ph.D. Mary Oschwald, Ph.D. Center on Self-Determination Oregon Institute on Disability and Development Oregon Health & Science University For More Information, Please Contact Laurie Powers or Mary Oschwald, OHSU Center on Self-Determination, 3608 S.E. Powell Blvd., Portland, Oregon. Mary Oschwald Can Be Reached at (503) 232-9154, Ext. 126; [email protected] (n.d.): n. pag. Web.