The Importance Of Disability Studies

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Why study Disability? Disability is increasingly present in the public consciousness and on the political agenda. Disability Studies scrutinizes the concept of disability as a cultural, political and social phenomenon. The definition varies based on the paradigm that is being considered. In contrast to clinical, therapeutic, or medical perspectives, Disability Studies focuses on how disability is represented and redefined in our society. It rejects the perception of disability as a problem that needs to be “cured” or “fixed.” From this perspective, disability is not a characteristic that exists in the person or a problem of the person. Mitra (2006) argued that a person can be considered to be disabled when he or she is unable to function as a “normal” person. The study includes a diverse group of people who are deaf, blind, or use wheelchairs, learn at a slower pace than others, have chronic pain, or have atypical perceptions of the world. Their commonality is how society views and treats them. Despite laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability, people with disabilities continue to have limited opportunities to participate in education, employment, recreation, and many other aspects of community life open to people without disabilities. Though our society has made much progress since the passage of Disabilities Act, 2006 (Act 715) in Ghana and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), many people are still segregated in their homes, limited in their