TNMU Students Gave an Online Lecture “Disability: Types, Models, Use of Correct Vocabulary”

On November 11, 2021, Markiian Medynskyi and Oleksandra Chetvertak, the students of the Faculty of Medicine of TNMU, gave an online lecture on “Disability: types, models, use of correct vocabulary” for freshmen of our university.

According to the lecturers, citizens with disabilities make up a significant part of society around the world, but they still remain one of the most marginalized and vulnerable categories of the population. The number of people with disabilities is constantly growing, although the causes of disability can be different: due to different socio-economic factors, and different degrees of state welfare for these persons.

Increasing number of people with disabilities in the country requires addressing a number of issues regarding medical, legislative, legal, social and informational aspects. Due to current social challenges, the attitude to such people and their problems has changed significantly in the world. The integration of people with disabilities into society and their social protection has become decisive at the state level. The tool for achieving social integration is the mainstreaming of disability, which includes practical desire to non-discrimination and providing opportunities for people with disabilities to take an active part in development of the society.

In this context, the presented online lecture is of topical issue. After all, disability is not only a medical problem, but also a social phenomenon.

The lecture outlined the definitions of “disability”, “people with disabilities”, characterized the barriers (institutional/strategic, physical, financial, evaluative judgments, lack of information and communication) that people with disabilities face; types and groups of disability, legal status of people with disabilities (UN Convention “On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, Constitution of Ukraine, Law of Ukraine “On Fundamentals of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine”, Law “On State Social Assistance to Disabled Children and Disabled Children”, The Law of Ukraine “On Rehabilitation of the Disabled in Ukraine”; discrimination on disability was emphasized; the evolution of public views on people with disabilities (rejection, segregation, integration, inclusion) was highlighted, taking into account different historical periods; models of disability (moral, charitable, medical, rehabilitation, economic, social) were characterized; stereotypes about people with disabilities were considered; a content of journalistic materials for the hate speech against people with disabilities was analyses; recommendations for the use of correct vocabulary were provided; communicative and psychological features of interaction with people with disabilities were highlighted and professional ethics in working with people with disabilities was emphasised.