Culture of Disability

Sociology
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Culture of Disability
Yes, I believe a disability culture exists. The disability culture exists as a group of people who have some sort of disability. The disability culture has no language or artifacts that distinguish them from other people, but the culture is made up of skills and arts like poetry, performance pieces, sculptures and even dance. For a long time, people have referred to this group of people with patronizing terms like ‘crippled’, ‘limited’, ‘impaired’ and many others. By grouping these people as the disability culture, there is some hope in that term. 1 This term gives abilities to the people with disability. The disability culture has no single explanation like the other cultures. Disability culture comprises of many other aspects such as expression, art, performance and a community of people who share the same experiences in their daily lives. Many members of the society have always thought that people with disabilities are always very different from the other members of the community. People with disabilities have a lot in common, and therefore they understand each other better. Even the nondisabled people have a disability that is not visible, unlike the people who belong to the disability culture.
Their disability is visible and does not allow them to interact with the society like the other people. The main reason as to why I say that there is a disability culture, is that most of the disabled people do things in a way that is different from the nondisabled.

Let us take an example of the people with speech impairments. They communicate with each other through sign language. This art and skill cannot be mastered by the nondisabled unless they are taught. Other groups of disabled people use different devices and equipment that the nondisabled people cannot use. 1 People with disabilities have many things in common, and they live a different kind of life with the nondisabled. Therefore, they have their own way of life and that is their culture. The disability culture takes away the isolation, and the discrimination that the people with disabilities feel in the society. With the disability culture, people with a disability know that they are part of something big, they can fight for their rights and knowing that they are part of the disability culture gives them hope.
First Classmate’s Post
Even though disabled people are part of other cultures, they are treated differently by their religions. People have different cultures, but the different cultures address their members who have a disability in the same way and all the disabled people worldwide often feel isolated and discriminated against. This makes them be in another culture. A culture of people with skills and arts that the other members of the society do not possess. 1 For instance, a person with stroke and a person with TBI share an everyday thing. They cannot interact with the society like other people. Their interaction with the community is very different, and it involves the application of many skills. This scenario is similar for the case of women. They are from different cultures, but they are being treated the same just like people with disability.
Second Classmate’s Post.
Yes, I support this argument. There are many cultures. People not only belong to the culture of the society they were born in. People who have common aspects of life belong to one culture. We have global culture. These are cultures that include people from different parts of the world who believe or do things in the same way just like the disabled people. The disabled people cannot do certain things in the usual way like the nondisabled. Therefore, they have the same lifestyle marked with use of skills and arts. Disability culture exists, and it is the best term that can be used to refer to people with different disabilities as brings hope to the people.
References
Henderson G, Bryan WV. Psychosocial aspects of disability. 4th ed. Charles C Thomas Publisher. January 1, 2011.