Current issues in dissability studies activity 10

1 Activity What are your thoughts about when a person becomes aged? In your experience does the ageing process occur more quickly in people with disabilities?
The undeniable fact about biological ageing is that everyone, irrespective of races, colors and mental state of mind declines in organ capacity and body functionality and activity as he or she advances in age. This may make some people suffer incapacitation in some areas of their lives—for examples, they could be affected with reduced vision or hearing; they could lose the functionality of one part of their body; they could lose their memory due to amnesia. Though with the increasing number of aged people, some social and medical services are required to attend to their constant needs: these include but not restricted to the building of more nursing homes, recreational facilities for the ages, hospitals, and more avenues to supply the increasing services needed by the seniors in our societies. Here is an important question: does disability make people get older quickly? The answer is no, because the recent survey and research have indicated that people suffering from intellectual, for instance, do not necessarily get older than their contemporaries. Interestingly, they even seem to outlive in some circumstances. Similar physical changes are observable in both the disabled and non-disabled old people (World Health Organization, 2000).

Activity 2:
What are the types of formal services that might be required for people with disabilities? How might these differ from the general population?
People with disabilities need some specific services that may or may not necessarily isolate them from the general population. Normally, aged people need housing, nursing homes, hospices, medical services, recreational services and so on. The only difference in the case is the problem of communication that usually affected diagnosing disabled people—some of them could not talk or properly explain to the doctors the actual sickness or illness they are suffering. This constitutes a great hindrance to their ability to solve disabled people’s medical needs (Bigby, 2000). Therefore, the disabled aged people require intensive cares and guidance for their problems to be successful attended to, what non-disabled old people may not require.
Activity 3: Do you have comments on any of the readings for this week?
The most interesting about this week readings (1 &) is that they pinpoint the developmental requirements needed for a disabled person to grow into his or her adult self without parental influences in decision-making and personal cares (Bigby, 2000). While the second reading highlights the policies and programs put in place by the government, private organizations and communities in helping the disabled people grow old successfully (Bigby, 2004). The two readings are compendium for any student to turn into expert on disability cares.
References
Bigby, C. (2000). Understanding the post parental care stage. In Moving on without parents. Sydney: McLennan & Petty.
Bigby, C. (2004). Policies and programs for successful ageing. In Ageing with a lifelong disability. London: Jessica Kingsley.
World Health Organisation, (2000). Healthy Ageing – Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: Summative Report. Geneva: Switzerland: World Health Organisation (WHO/MSD/HPS/MDP/00. 3)