Essay On Disability

Abstract

Disability in today’s society has been greeted with a lot of emotion. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the theorizing of disability is a possible idea in sociology. It is for getting the major factors that drive a community to develop certain emotions for people with disability. In the process, a theory has been developed to support the same. Psychologists are very concerned with this development that has been prevalent in all communities throughout the ages. The study also seeks to check whether the topic of disability has a chance to be introduced as a theoretical subject in sociology.

Literature Review

Persuasion of the highest level in sociology writing has been derived from personal feelings. Be they from anger or happiness, they form a feeling in a society that is good or bad. According to Kaye (1996), the first stage is the recognition of these personal feelings when trying to understand the sociology of these emotions. It is a common argument that more radical approaches conceptualize disability in ways that conflict with common-sense notions of disability. They also argue that these notions tend to look down on the political point of view in sociology. Sociology of disability has been said to vary on equality and studies in diversity. These have been placed together with engagements like gender, age, and class socially. Buraway (2005), argued that it was important to reconfigure sociology to accommodate disability.
Despite the disability movements and studies being very prevalent, new languages and theories are in the process of development. These theories have not been adopted, but they have been on the sidelines of this discussion for long. That has resulted to numerous pushes to have these theories adopted, and this is a clear complication to trying to develop a new one. However, the study will go a long way in trying to discover all the prejudices and emotions that accompany disability.

Research Methods

In developing the study, use of very specific questionnaires was adopted. The design of questionnaires was in such a way that they asked specific questions on disability about the stigma and their treatment. Focus on the questions was on how specific conditions exist and the impact of handling these conditions on disability in the society.
People with disability were the main respondents in the study. There were requests for them to fill the questionnaires and honestly answer the questions on them (HEFCE, 2006). The other respondents were local people without disabilities who responded to questions about how they feel about disability and how they feel if the issue was handled professionally. The last respondents to the study were professional psychologists and sociologists. These people had a request from the authors to respond on how the issue of disability is socially handled. They were also to respond to whether the topic of disability is to be theorized and studied in sociology.
After the filling of the questionnaires, the authors collected them and analyzed the feedback given by the three different groups of people. Compilation of data followed and the authors sat down together to derive conclusions and recommendations.

Conclusion

After data analysis, the sociologist authors concluded and recommended for the medical treatment of the disability question. It was in their view that, disability is a major concern in the modern world and sociologists should develop medical approaches to handling cases of disability. They also observed that this was a major topic among the medical sociologists and many writers (G. Scambler & S. Scambler, 2010).
Another major conclusion was that disability be introduced as a class subject in all sociology classes. It was a common cause among all the respondents for the introduction of the disability topic in many schools. Sociologists and writers alike agreed to provide the required information they have acquired to teach sociology students who have disabilities. Medical sociologists have evidence that widening and politicizing the issue of disability has increased. That observation has increased the need to handle disability medically and academically to avoid future conflicts.

Criticism

Visible weaknesses in the study are that it does not provide a role the people with disability will play in including disability studies in schools of sociology or how there will be involved in the medical point of sociology. It also does not indicate whether introducing disability studies in class and also in medicine will increase or reduce the amount of stigma these people face. A major strength, however, is that it will enable the issues concerning disability be addressed professionally after careful assessment and study.
The conclusions derived by the authors are clearly a true representation of how the society feels about theorizing disability. They fully fit the needs of the society and for those people living with disability.

Analysis

The article could prove an important part of sociology classes. It has good information on disability issues and could prove an important reference on such issues. It could be used as a class course book on matters affecting the society like disability. I would gladly recommend the article to my classmates as it has key points that would assist them understand the basic issues affecting people living with disability. It has a close tie to other learning materials used in sociology classes.

References

Burawoy, M. (2005). For public sociology. American Sociological Review 70, 4-28. Retrieved from http://burawoy.berkeley.edu/Public%20Sociology,%20Live/Burawoy.pdf
HEFCE. (2006). RAE2008, Panel Criteria and Working Methods, Panel J Bristol: HEFCE, pp. 1–82.
Scambler, G., & Scambler, S. (Eds.) (2010). New Directions in the Sociology of Chronic and Disabling Conditions: Assaults on the Life world. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.