What stereotypes do people with disabilities have to face?

There are countless stereotypes about people with disabilities. Here are a few examples.

If you look/appear “normal”, then there’s no way you could have a disability. Many people think all disabilities are visible or obvious, which they are not.

“You’re too young to be disabled.”

People assume that everyone who has disabilities suffers from them.

People assume that wheelchair users are “wheelchair bound” or restricted by their wheelchair, when in fact their wheelchair is what allows them to do things and go places and be less restricted than they would be without it. The wheelchair itself is not a bad thing.

If you have a speech impediment, hearing loss or various other disabilities, a lot of people assume you have cognitive disabilities too and either talk to you like you’re slow or they don’t talk to you at all and instead talk to the people you’re with about things that should be discussed directly with you.

People assume that people with disabilities can’t do much by themselves and need constant help.

People assume that people with disabilities cannot be productive and contributing members of society.

People assume that no people with disabilities work and that all of them get disability and have an easy life with lots of “free money” and spare time to enjoy it. Some people even get mad about “their” tax money being spent on people with disabilities while they have to work. They don’t realize that a lot of people with disabilities work and pay taxes too and that those who can’t get such little money from disability that they can barely live off it and are trapped in poverty.

People assume that disabilities are stable and always the same, so if someone can do something today that they couldn’t do last week, or if someone can do something that someone else with the same kind of disability can’t, then they must be faking their disability or using it as an excuse. People don’t realize that people with disabilities can have good and bad days too and that disabilities vary in degree and don’t affect everyone exactly the same way.

If you have autism, a lot of people assume you don’t have any feelings, don’t understand anything that goes on around you or that you have a cognitive disability too.

If you can’t talk, people assume that you can’t hear either or that you can’t understand anything that goes on around you.

People think that the symptoms of mental disorders and neurological disorders could be controlled if the person wanted to and that they are just bad behaviors and the disorder is just an excuse so that the person doesn’t have to take responsibility for their behavior. Some disorders are even considered to be fake disorders by many people.

Disability Stereotypes

Source(s): https://shorte.im/a0rKs

Among the stereotypes we face are that we are:

* helpless / dependent

* unable to do most things

* suffering / miserable

* incompetent / useless

* asexual / unable to have sex

* unable to have or raise children

* completely different from everyone else

* unable to contribute anything to society / relationships / business

* unable to function at all in mainstream society

* less human than able bodies

And that:

* none of us work or pay taxes

* all of us are on disability

* we are a burden to society / tax payers

* our disability is a punishment for something that we or our parents did

* if our disability isn’t visible to the naked eye, it’s not real

* if we don’t use any mobility equipment, like a wheelchair, walker or cane, or some other piece of visible aids, then we’re not really disabled

* we are being unreasonably pushy and ungrateful when we demand equal rights, equal access, equal treatment and equal opportunities as able bodies. We are expected to settle for less than others just because we’re disabled.

I could go on an on about stereotypes relating to specific disabilities, but I’ll let these general stereotypes do.

Here are some stereotypes that PWDs have to face.

Not Normal

Damaged

Sick

Weak

Odd

Dumb

Stupid

Retarded

Useless

Helpless

Incapable

Dependent

Asexual

Unable To Support Others

Chip On Shoulder

Angry

Bitter

Simple

Unattractive

Lonesome

Lazy

Sexually Deviant

Wanting Sympathy

Wanting Pity

Do Not Need *Constant* Help

Not Capable Of Doing Things And Participating In Daily Life

Incapable Of A Stable Long Term Relationship

Do Not Want/Need A Serious Relationship

Untrustworthy

Evil

Victim

Hero

Burden

Outcast

A Tag-Along

Inspirational (Super Cripple)

Clown

Pitiful And Sweet

Vulnerable

Passive

Brave In Overcoming Disability

Tragic

Beggar

Eternal Child

A Burden

Worthless

Unemployable

A Benefit Scrounger

Sits At Home All Day And Eats Bon-Bons (Bonbons) And Watches Television All Day

Source(s): *Both me and my only child are SSA Federal and State Registered Disabled PWDs.* I am a Registered Member of the Ectodermal Dysplasias International Registry and of the National Foundation of Ectodermal Dysplasias. * I am proud to be a “Gimp”, a “Crip”, a “Cripple”, a “Capper”, a “Wheelie”, a “Wheeler”, a “Freak “, and a “PWD Freak”!* *Disabled And Proud!* *AFO WC PMD TDD-TTY STS-RS PHPSSP RCRMEDIR RCRMNFED MLRCRD SSA PSD-PD-PWD* *PWDRHIP* *Wowasakeikcupi! * Creator-Originator of the phrases of – Pulling PWD Rank – Pulling Disability Rank – PWD Insiders Language – Person With Disabilities Rank Has Its Privileges – PWDRHIP.*

This has been asked a heap of times but here’s some general answers:

They are suffering from x

They are “stuck” in a wheelchair – most people who use a wheelchair are usually not totally dependant on them and/or are not in them all day

They have more than 1 disability – For instance people think that because the person is physically disabled they are also intellectually disabled and/or deaf.

They can not do things independantly

That’s about all I can come up with right now – I know there are more though.

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axfbA

Absolutely. It’s a sad but true fact that media is often made up of people who don’t have a clue about the things that they are expected to write about. And let’s face it… most of society doesn’t understand about the various disabilities that exist, so how can you expect the media to do any better? I agree that they often glorify disability, and try to turn it into an “inspiration” or some sort of heartwarming story about how poor little so-and-so has struggled soooo hard to “overcome” this-or-that disability. Gimme a break! Most of us are not trying to overcome anything; we are simply trying to deal with who and what we are, whether that be a blind person, a deaf person, a person in a wheelchair, a person with a developmental disability, or whatever. I’d like to see them write something that is real, utilizing real language that truly says it as it is… Instead of talking about how Joe Deaf lives in a world of silence or Jane Blind lives in a world without light… how about simply saying that Joe gets up in the morning thanks to the flashing light next to his bed, watches the news on his captioned television, calls his mom using video relay services, and so on? Or that Jane takes walks through the park with her seeing eye dog, orders a meal at the local restaurant through a braille menu, listens to a descriptive video edition of her favorite PBS program, etc. etc. ? The media needs to show that while people with disabilities might be “different” from others, that our differences don’t have to make any difference. In the end we are a lot more alike – we think, we feel, we act. We eat, we sleep, we breath, and yes… we go to the bathroom. We are.

That they made themselves that way.

They are a leech to society.

They can get better if they want to.

They are lazy.

Depends on groups too:

take an overweight person on a wheelchair

“they are fat , not disabled”

“why should “my money” have to pay for “their” issues

Blind people “never know whats going on” because they cant see

A death person talks like they are stupid, so they must be stupid

Someone with mental illnesses are just faking it.

Everyone who is disabled can do equal work, like lifting, climbing, speaking etc

That they should get over it

They are beggars, they can’t do ANYTHING for themselves, they they dint deserve to live

They are weak

They did nothing to deserve their benefits

That their benefits are LARGE and they live in the lamp of luxury “without having to work a day in their life”

a second class citizen

freaks

They will “never find love”

no one will ever except them

they take up “all the oxygen”

The one thing that sticks out the most?

That you are not disabled because you don’t *look it*

After that I find it’s the, well disabled doesn’t mean disabled anymore, it means *enabled* and you can bloody well stop taking any benefits and get a full time job because you are not special and should not get any help.

and the *well I know someone who has cancer, doesn’t use a wheelchair, home cooks, raises her kids right, attends parenting night, ran the marathon, is a CEO, has NEVER taken a sick day, managed to make her kids a video diary picture box to open up on each birthday and oh she has never taken a benefit in her life* Sop why can’t YOU WORK?

Makes me seriously angry that.

Take a person who is non verbal , a stereotype would be since he can’t talk he does not understand anything , totally false > A person with physical limitations cannot learn, false, A autistic person does not have any strengths, false, A autistic person has no idea what is going on, that is false too. Disabled people are violent, not true. their are so many stereotypes it is ridiculous .

Besides what is already mentioned two things that first come to mind is they think you are unable to comprehend what they are saying and they talk slowly.My favorite one is they will talk very loudly. To which I say very slowly “I am not hard of hearing ..thank you….” I know someone who is legally blind (not totally blind”-he’ll say he can’t read something) and they immediately start talking slow and loud!!So those are my two insights.