Defining the status “person with a disability” in Ukraine

Abstract

Polumysna O. Defining the status “person with a disability” in UkraineThe article finds that the term “person with a disability” has constantly evolved, the attitude of society towards a person with a disability has been constantly changing. The nicknames that society assigned to this category of people, calling them lame, idiots, beggars, lunatics, social outsiders, the mentally retarded, the retarded, scarecrows for the healthy, samovars, etc. are considered. It was found that these names indicated only a person's disability or position in society and did not identify him as an ordinary person with his own needs and problems to be solved. In the twentieth century, only how able / incapable a person is came to the fore. At the end of the XX – beginning of the XXI century in many countries society began to pay attention not only to the medical indications of people with disabilities, but began to talk about the equality of these people in society, i.e. the implementation of the social model of disability. It is noted that the use of the words in-valid, dis-ability, mal-formation already fosters in society a negative attitude towards people with disabilities. It has been studied that the vast majority of researchers called people with disabilities “people with disabilities”, “people with special needs”, “people with disabilities”. In addition, there are sharper statements such as “abnormal student with disabilities”, “child with defects”, “special child”. After the law was passed in 2017, most scholars began using the term “person with a disability”.
 It was found that people with disabilities living in Ukraine ask not to be called autistic, cerebral palsy, downs, people with special needs, disabilities, and put a person first, and then his disability. There has been and in fact there is no consensus between society, scientists and people with disabilities themselves, as they are called, which indicates a certain imbalance and lack or one-sided communication in society.