disability and difference in global contexts pdf

It is also acknowledged that mainstreaming is not only new to Lesotho but throughout the globe. That this policy has proposed mainstreaming as a methodology through with development programmes are encouraged to redress disablement and work towards enablement. This publication acknowledges that the Lesotho disability stakeholders, have already endorsed the national disability and rehabilitation policy (NDRP) 2011, as a guiding instrument towards the redressing of the problem of disablement. Henceforth they remain systematically excluded from enjoying the same basic human rights and fundamental freedoms as their non disabled peers in the same mainstream society within which they live. Rather, it is the environmental, institutional, attitudinal and economic barriers that preempt persons with disabilities from exercising their right to participate fully in mainstream societal activities. Disability itself is not the major obstacle. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain precisely why the barriers exist. Sometimes,these barriers area result of deep a seated prejudice.These barriers,very often result from decisions to follow the old paradigm of considering people with disabilities as “defective”and in need of“fixing.” Atothertimes,these barriers could be a result of thoughtlessness, indifference, or lack of understanding. Whereas,economic barriers involve access to loans land and property ownership business ventures and employment avenues resulting in the majority of persons with disabilities living in abject poverty with no access to resources and income. Institutional barriers include policies,practices and procedures, as well as,information and communication systems adopted by entities such as employers, businesses and public agencies. Attitudinal barriers are characterized by beliefs and sentiments held by non-disabled persons about persons with disabilities.

Environmental barriers include inaccessible public and private buildings, such as schools, offices, factories, shops and transport. Society has historically imposed environmental, institutional, attitudinal and economic barriers that subject persons with disabilities to lives of unjust dependency, segregation, isolation and exclusion. The book bridges some important gaps in the existing disability literature by including issues relevant to disabled people of all ages and with different kinds of impairments and also by offering a unique analysis of the relationship between disability and generation in a changing world.ABSTRACT Among the minority groups that experience exploitation, oppression, persecution, discrimination, segregation and some other forms of abuse and systematic social alienation, are people with disabilities. The material is set in a truly international context, with contributions from thirteen different countries bringing together established and emerging writers, both disabled and non-disabled. It provides a unique combination of analysis, policy issues and autobiography, offering the reader a rare opportunity to make links between the theoretical, the political and the personal in a single volume.

The book explores how disabling societies impact on disabled people's life experiences, and highlights the ways in which disabled people have acted to take more control over their own lives. Disability and the Life Course, first published in 2001, explores the global experience of disability using a novel life course approach.

Disability and difference in global contexts pdf