How is disability represented and stigmatized in American Society?

Much of the stigma associated with disability in American society is based on observations and perceptions of being different from normal. In a sense, if you do not meet the standard or definition of being normal you are labeled abnormal. This culture of categorizing not inanimate objects but humans as normal and abnormal has been further perpetuated and reinforced in American culture by the early medical model of disability that emphasize impairments and seek to treat an illness and not a person. In their article The State of Disability in America, Baker, Mixner, and Harris, bring to light several historical figures that were subject to stigma based on their disabilities, such as President Franklin Roosevelt. FDR went to great lengths to protect his image and avoid the stereotypical perceptions of disability, to the extent of avoiding being photographed in his wheelchair. The authors also present the concept of self-determination. This concept is based on the recognition that all persons, including people who have disabilities and their families, have the need to determine their futures. This ability to choose ones own path in life and make choices should be available to all people regardless of disability. As future physical therapists, we must use this concept to empower our patients to become independent and active participants in life and erase these long held stigmas of what disability is.