Saturday, December 25, 2010

Disabilities and Rehabilitation

Approximately 1 in every 5 Americans has some form of disability, and 1 in 10 has a severe disability. A person is considered to have a disability if he experiences a restriction in the performance of daily activities such as talking, hearing, seeing, walking, climbing stairs, and doing activities of daily living. He or she may need an assistive device for mobility, or may require help from another person to accomplish basic tasks. In certain scenarios, an individual with disabilities may receive federal assistance and special privileges based on an inability to work.
Care for the Handicapped
Disability can happen to people of all ages and may result from an acute incident such as vehicular accident or stroke, or from the advancement of a chronic illness such as diabetes mellitus. A person with disability goes through many losses, including loss of function, impaired social role, income, and independence. And his significant others particularly the family may undergo a range of emotional reactions to these losses especially if the handicapped plays a major family role.
Not all persons who have disabilities experience all the abovementioned emotional stages, although most do exhibit grief. In caring for a person undergoing such emotions, the individual must be encouraged to express his feelings and the listener should display a willingness to listen and talk about the disability. In terms of adaptation, affected individuals may display a different response--he may be independent and determined, or may be dependent. Hence, the level of assistance may also vary, but the main goal in caring for a handicapped person is to help him or her cope with the condition and gain a positive outlook and self-image. This can be done with the help of the family or by participating in a support group.
Rehabilitation
In rehabilitation, an ill person is assisted to achieve his highest possible functioning and achieve an acceptable quality of life by adjusting with the disability and focus on the abilities he is still capable of. Rehabilitation revolves around the patient, therefore, it is necessary that the patient knows what he will be participating with including the goals of this process. The rehabilitation team must also be skilled in assessment and evaluation. Likewise, they must also be sensitive with the issues the patient is facing for both to go hand in hand during the rehab.

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