Many biological characteristics that are considered to be a disability are really just socially perceived as disabilities. Because our societal infrastructure is built on a "one size fits all" model, many people are disable to perform tasks that they could have successfully completed if society had anticipated and reacted to their needs. One need only to look at the architectural makeup of the buildings around them to see that they are built for the able bodied population. However, physical buildings aren't the only structures that cause disability. The idea of success in our society also involves a very fast paced lifestyle. Those who are slower, either physically, emotionally, or mentally, are unable to keep up with the "successful" individual running a mile a minute. Unfortunately this causes our society to ignore the contributions of many individuals, and we could be missing out on even bigger successes.
One way in which it can be evidenced that disability is a social construction, lay in the fact that some groups of people suffer from disabilities more than other groups. The way society contributes to and views disabilities needs to change. We need to start questioning why the selected model of "norm" was chosen, and who benefitted from that choice. Social structures need to start taking measures to become more inclusive and avoid disabling people. We also need to take every caution in preventing future disability by supplying preventative health care, and creating a healthy environment for all members of our society.
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