explain " disabilty is a matter of perception"
Answers
Answer:
Over the years, perceptions towards disability have varied significantly from one community to another. Limited literature in disability history, however, continues to pose a great challenge to students of disability studies in their endeavor to trace the development and formation of perceptions towards persons with disabilities. It is towards this end that this article seeks to present a coherent literature review on cross-cultural factors that influence perceptions towards children and adults with disabilities from a historical perspective. The final section provides a few examples that illustrate positive steps taken by the international community, and several countries, to improve disability perception.
As Roeher (1969) observes, an examination of attitudes towards people with disabilities across culture suggests that societal perceptions and treatment of persons with disabilities are neither homogeneous nor static. Greek and Roman perceptions of disability and illness are reflected in the literature.
Among the Greeks, the sick were considered inferior (Barker 1953), and in his Republic, Plato recommended that the deformed offspring of both the superior and inferior be put away in some "mysterious unknown places" (Goldberg & Lippman 1974). On the other hand, "Early Christian doctrine introduced the view that disease is neither a disgrace nor a punishment for sin but, on the contrary, a means of purification and a way of grace."(Baker et al. 1953)
During the 16th century, however, Christians such as Luther and John Calvin indicated that the mentally retarded and other persons with disabilities were possessed by evil spirits. Thus, these men and other religious leaders of the time often subjected people with disabilities to mental and/or physical pain as a means of exorcising the spirits (Thomas 1957).
In the 19th century, supporters of social Darwinism opposed state aid to the poor and otherwise handicapped. They reasoned that the preservation of the "unfit" would impede the process of natural selection and tamper the selection of the "best" or "fittest" elements necessary for progeny (Hobbs 1973).
Lukoff and Cohen (1972) note that some communities banished or Ill-treated the blind while others accorded them special privileges. In a comparison of the status of persons with disabilities in a number of non-occidental societies, Hanks and Hanks (1948) found wide differences. Persons with disabilities were completely rejected by some cultures, in others they were outcasts, while in some they were treated as economic liabilities and grudgingly kept alive by their families. In other settings, persons with disabilities were tolerated and treated in incidental ways, while in other cultures they were given respected status and allowed to participate to the fullest extent of their capability.
Variations in the treatment of persons with disabilities are manifest in Africa as in other parts of the world (Amoako 1977). Among the Chagga in East Africa, the physically handicapped were perceived as pacifiers of the evil spirits. Hence, care was taken not to harm the physically handicapped. Among the citizens of Benin (formerly Dahomey in West Africa), constables were selected from those with obvious physical handicaps.
In some communities in Benin, children born with anomalies were seen as protected by supernatural forces. As such they were accepted in the community because they were believed to bring good luck (Wright 1960). Nabagwu (1977) observed that among the Ibo of Nigeria, treatment of persons with disabilities varied from pampering to total rejection.
Explanation:
plz make me brainlist