Living With a Physical Disability: Challenges and Opportunities - Essay Sample

Introduction

A physical disorder is a physical state which inhibits the movement, physical strength, flexibility, or agility of an individual. This may also cause trauma to the head or spinal cord, rheumatoid arthritis, cerebral palsy, breathing problems, and autism, auditory and vision loss. Physical disabilities may impair a person's physical ability and movement, either permanent or temporary (Abdollahyan, 2020). According to The Centers for Disease Control, nearly one in four people in the United States are physically disabled (Sartorius, 2017).

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Causes of a Physical Disorder

There are several different causes of physical disorders, and they are grouped to either hereditary or acquired causes. Hereditary / Congenital causes include situations where a person is born with or acquired a physical condition due to genetic medical disorders, sustained impairment at birth, or has trouble with their muscles (Tadros, 2018). Acquired causes include circumstances when an individual acquires a physical impairment that may be caused by an accident, illness, or disorder, or as a result of a medical problem;

Types of Physical Disabilities

Acquired Brain Injury

Acquired brain injuries are caused by brain trauma that occurs after birth. They arise after birth by injuries, strokes, cancers, illnesses, degenerative neurological disorders, or oxygen deprivation, as a result of brain injury. They can also arise as a result of a head injury, alcohol or substance use, poisoning, and illness like AIDs or cancer. These events may trigger impairment to the brain's neurological, physical, psychological, and sensory functions, leading to mild or significant impairments that may be temporary or permanent (Abdollahyan, 2020). It is usual for many mentally challenged people to have difficulty processing data, scheduling, and solving problems.

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

The spinal cord becomes wounded when too much force is exerted on the spinal cord. Also when air supply and blood supply to the cord are stopped, it fails to function properly. When it is impaired, it results in a lack of control, like mobility or sensation. In some individuals, paraplegia, which is the loss of consciousness under the chest), results in a spinal injury. It contributes to quadriplegia in other people. Accidents amount for most spinal damages that are as a result of accidents and drops in automobiles (Sartorius, 2017). Other factors include cancer, asthma, tuberculosis, blood clots, and spinal neurological diseases. It affects other parts of an individual's body, like breathing processes, the activity of the bladder and intestines, temperature, and sensory ability.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a condition caused by damage to the development of the brain just before or after birth, triggered by a decreased blood flow and a loss of brain oxygen. During pregnancy, diseases such as whooping cough, traumatic head injuries, and untimely childbirth can all be causes (Tadros, 2018). People with cerebral palsy can suffer fatigue, walking difficulties, loss of muscle control, and balance issues, and repetitive gestures.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

Cystic fibrosis is a heritable chromosomal disease that affects the cardiovascular system, immune, and reproductive processes in the body. It directly affects the body's phlegm and sweat glands, allowing dense and oily mucus to become. This will block the air pathways and contain bacteria that cause lung disease and persistent infections in the case of the lungs (Abdollahyan, 2020). The impacts of CF on other areas of one's body are accompanied by several other symptoms, like sinusitis, liver disease, malnutrition, slow health, diarrhea, and infertility. People with CF may also have low body levels of salt that cause issues like fatigue, cramps, and dehydration.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a nervous disorder in which a person appears to experience frequent seizures as a result of a rapid blast of electrical function within the brain. These seizures can cause involuntary body movements, odd sensations or stimuli, a shift in the actions of an individual, or make them lose consciousness. Injuries to the head, strokes, tumors, head inflammation, systemic brain defects, and other hereditary causes may all lead to epilepsy (Tadros, 2018). There are several different forms of epilepsy, and individuals may vary significantly in the form and frequency of seizures they undergo.

Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is a class of hereditary diseases that results in the loss of muscle mass and chronic, irreversible weakness (Sartorius, 2017). Common symptoms can vary widely, and they may entail trouble walking, breathing or eating problems, impairment of joint movement, and cardiac and other body disorders. Side effects of the most widespread type of illiness occur in young age; however, others are not apparent until the old age.

Dwarfism

Dwarfism is short stature (an uneven development of the skeleton), which can be caused by more than 300 inherited or medical disorders. Disproportionate dwarfism is a disease in which some parts of the body are small, while others are bigger or larger than normal. Proportionate dwarfism is a disorder in which the individual is naturally proportioned, except to some degree, all body parts are small (Tadros, 2018). Children with dwarfism can experience a slowdown in developing cognitive skills.

Conclusion

Conclusively, these types of physical disorders can be managed to enable these persons to live comfortable lives as others. These people require regular medical intervention to monitor their states and to ensure they receive the right medications to keep them comfortable in society. They should also be provided with assistive technology such as computer-based speech recognition software, support systems, and other modified IT equipment and machinery. Even walkways and corridors should be kept clear of obstacles. Those people working in various stations should be provided with flexible and frequent breaks. They should also be protected by the laws of the land and should receive some benefits that help them to deal with their disorders. The society should also be enlightened on how to deal with people living with disability to make them feel part of the community at large.

References

Abdollahyan, M., Smeraldi, F., Patel, R., & Bessant, C. (2020, January). Investigating Comorbidity of Mental and Physical Disorders in Online Health Forums. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Applications of Intelligent Systems (pp. 1-5).

Sartorius, N. (2017). Comorbidity of mental and physical disorders: A major challenge for medicine in the 21st century. European Psychiatry, 41, S9.

Tadros, E., Molla, E., Cappetto, M., & Finney, N. (2018). Examining somatic symptoms that mimic physical disorders through a narrative and medical family therapy lens. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 46(5), 454-469.