South Indians Perspectives on Disability

Lang, R. (2001, June). Understanding disability from a South Indian perspective. Paper presented at the 14^th Annual Meeting of the Disability Studies Association, Winnipeg, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lc-ccr/lccstaff/raymond-lang/understanding_disability_in_india.pdf

Perceptions of disabilities vary in India from regarding disability as a result of sin to viewing it as a blessing and a challenge meant to be overcome in this life to attain a greater state of being in the next.  In a study by Lang (2001), 70 people with disabilities in urban areas in India expressed positive attitudes about having disabilities.  Researchers also hypothesized that this could be a result of living in urban areas where eastern philosophies (karma) are not as commonly accepted as western philosophies regarding disabilities.  Also, urban areas have a higher likelihood of having received disability awareness trainings (Lang, p. 297).  However, in this same study, karma was still reported as a religious explanation for cause of disabilities, which again puts the blame on the person with the disability or their parents for having committed sin in a previous life.  Even though karma is commonly accepted as an explanation for disability, the understanding of karma can very greatly from one person to the next.   

Heirarchy of Stigmatization Against Disability

Smart, J. F. (2009). Disability, society, and the individual. (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: Pro Ed.

Unfortunately, individual with disabilities suffer from stigmas created by society, which change from one type of disability to the next.  Individuals with physical disabilities experience the least amount of stigmatization, while those intellectual disabilities and psychiatric disabilities experience the most stigma as a result of negative perceptions (Smart, 2009).  Smart (2009) explained individuals with physical disabilities experience the lesser amount of stigmatization because physical disabilities are easily seen and more easily understood.  Abstract disabilities like intellectual disability and psychiatric disability are accompanied by more fear and discomfort for people in society, as they don’t as easily understand these internalizing disabilities. 

Attitudes Toward Patients with Intellectual Disability

Lewis, S., & Stenfert-Kroese, B. (2010). An investigation of nursing staff attitudes and emotional reactions towards patients with intellectual disability in a general hospital setting. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 23(4), 355-365.

            Professionals that work with disabilities treat their clients differently based on their attitudes. Negative impacts resulting from negative attitudes toward individuals with disabilities can cause exclusion, stigmatization, and prejudice toward these individuals, which will in turn decrease the quality of their lives (Lewis & Stenfert-Kroese, 2009). Negative perceptions of disabilities arise from stigmas created by cultural or social standards. There are negative perceptions of disabilities in India as well that arise from castes, cultures, religions, etc.  Identifying negative perceptions and planning instruction, curriculum, and assessment in consideration of them will yield the most success.

Understanding Behavior Disorders in India

Chakraborti-Ghosh, S. (2008). Understanding behavior disorders: Their perception, acceptance, and treatment-a cross-cultural comparison between India and the United States. International Journal of Special Education, 23(1), 136-146.

• “In 1947 the Government of India began an initiative in the education and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.  However progress was slow until the entire disability sector received a boost in 1981 with the declaration of the International Year of the Disabled Persons by the United Nations” (Singh, 2004).
• “Unlike the United States, the category behavior disorder is not considered a disability in Indian culture.  The implications are: (a) there are no behavior problems among children in India, (b) Indian society does not recognize behavior problems as disabilities or it defines behavior problems differently, (c) behavior is perceived as the responsibility of someone other than the school’s or (d) behavior problems which do exist are so well accommodated that they do not merit additional attention” (p. 138).
• “All teachers in India and in the United States defined behavior problems or disorders based on their own lives and experiences.  In India, Problems are defined as common to all human beings and are not considered disabilities” (p. 142).
• “In India, poor socio-economics, extreme poverty, family problems, and social expectations are considered responsible for causing behavior problems” (p. 142).
• Chakraborti-Ghosh (2008) found that “…the Indian people have been accustomed to dealing with disabilities in a natural psychotherapeutic way rather than depending on western medicine; disabilities were traditionally accepted as misfortune” (p. 137).  This is another example of disabilities being perceived negatively in India.  Researchers also found that behavior problems as a result of disabilities are perceived by teachers in India as being “based on their own lives and experiences” and that problems are experienced by all human beings and are “not considered disabilities” (Chakraborti-Ghosh, 2008, p. 142).