On December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated. The reason for marking this day on the calendar is to make the population aware of the specific needs of people with disabilities and to guarantee the active participation in society of these people, who represent 15% of the world’s population. Because fighting for the rights and integration of people with disabilities is everyone’s business.
Types of disability
There are different types of disabilities, but the objective to be met is the same for any disability: to eliminate the barriers that prevent access to society. We are not only talking about removing the architectural barriers that affect people with physical disabilities and mobility problems, but also about all those barriers that prevent, for example, communication for people with sensory disabilities, those others that make it difficult access to the job market for people with cognitive disabilities or those that restrict the social participation of people with mental disabilities.
Just as there are different forms of disability, the cause for which the disability is acquired also varies. It may be due to a hereditary or genetic factor, degenerative diseases or even accidents. But keep in mind that depending on the type of disability, your needs vary. We cannot help a person with hearing impairments in the same way as a person suffering from paraplegia.
Help a person with a disability
- It is true that there are more and more regulations aimed at the integration of people with disabilities, but it is also true that in most cases these regulations are not complied with. Thus, it is common to see people with physical disabilities who cannot access certain places in our cities. Other times, it is blind people who have problems carrying out any daily activity, and many people wonder how they can help in their personal capacity.
- The fundamental advice if you want to help a person with a disability is to try to put yourself in their place to find out what they need. We cannot widen the sidewalks, but we can help a person in a wheelchair to overcome some obstacles. Nor can we do anything if the traffic light does not have audible signals, but we can offer our arm to help a blind person cross the street. Physical contact is very important for people with a sensory disability. Putting a hand on the shoulder is the best way to get the attention of a person with vision or hearing problems and remember that people with mental disabilities should not be talked to like children, but with love and simple language.
- These are just some tricks that help us in living with people with disabilities, but although individual behavior is important, we must bear in mind that if we want these people with disabilities to enjoy a full life with equal rights and conditions, the greatest involvement must come from the institutions.