Category: Blogs on Healthcare

Understanding Intellectual Disability

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A little over a month ago, I took on the task of trying to write a string of articles to help define intellectual disability (ID). The approach I chose would be to: first, explain what ID is, second, discuss the importance of ID awareness and pride, and third, discuss the stigma around ID. However, this task proved to be far from simple. I started my research by looking at what ID is and how to define it. As I began researching, I realized that there is a lot of information out there specifically related to defining ID. Everything I read provided a slightly different definition for ID that ultimately made it harder to define. Each article highlighted different aspects of ID. For example, some articles focused heavily on intelligence quotient (IQ) tests while others stated that IQ tests should not be the determinate for whether an individual has an intellectual disability. I began questioning if trying to define ID was the best starting point and ultimately decided to change my path and began researching ID awareness.

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Text: New Blog Post. "Time Lost to Disability Management is a Health Inequity.' by Annie Carver, Esq. Image of a clock with thousands of little clocks coming out of it. The National Center for Disability, Equity, and Intersectionality logo

Time Lost to Disability Management is a Health Inequity 

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by: Annie Carver, Esq. 

“Health inequities are difference in health status or the distribution of health resources between different populations or groups arising from the social condition in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age.” There are many health inequities that are associated with disability – caused by stigma, discrimination, poverty, exclusion from education and employment, and other barriers within the healthcare system. One health inequity that is rarely named for people with disabilities is lost time, or the time cost associated with being disabled. There is a time cost associated with navigating welfare and healthcare systems, coordinating medical care, and managing personal care and symptoms. On top of that, public inaccessibility and legal barriers isolate disabled people from their greater community; therefore, disabled people often have to navigate the complicated coordination of their care without the support system that many non-disabled people enjoy. These time barriers also tend to disproportionately impact those with multiply marginalized identities, particularly people of color and queer people. 

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