Recently, ScienceDaily, a website that covers news regarding scientific research studies, reported on new research on the impact disability simulations have on how people relate to persons with disabilities. Disability simulations are role-playing exercises where people without disabilities experience what it is like to live with a disability. An example would be a person with sight wearing a blindfold to simulate blindness while completing a set of tasks.
How Are Disability Simulations Impacting the Way People Relate to Persons with Disabilities?
Unfortunately, per the results of the research, disability simulations may be doing more harm than good. According to the ScienceDaily article, following disability simulations people are often left with negative feelings regarding persons with disabilities, including:
- Fear
- Pity
- Apprehension
Reportedly, the researchers behind the study believe that the reason for the negative feelings could be a simple one. They think that since the study participants only step into the shoes of people with disabilities for short periods, they do not have enough time to gain a full understanding of, or respect for, how capable persons with disabilities truly are.
It takes time to master living with a disability, time that someone mimicking what it is like to be disabled does not have. Therefore, for the time being, disability simulations appear to provide people with an inaccurate picture of what life is like for persons with disabilities.
To learn about how Social Security Disability insurance (SSDI) works, including what the Social Security Administration defines as a disability, watch the video below and keep following our Tulsa Social Security Disability law firm’s blog.
