Vulnerable Population and Self- Awareness - Research Paper Example

Primarily, intellectual disability is associated with many stereotypes and myths by many individuals. The culture has engraved some biases and stereotypes on the condition, as well as on the individuals suffering from the condition. Moreover, some families are reluctant to seek medical intervention for fear of being stigmatized by the rest of the community, while other families have resulted in uncouth way of dealing with the sufferers. The result of this is that the sufferers of intellectual disabilities have agonized in this condition, which can otherwise be managed, treated or even reversed.

One of the biases associated to intellectual disability sufferers is that they have a lower life expectancy compared to other normal people. However, studies have shown that there is no clear link between severity of intellectual disability and survival of individuals. In addition, research shows that “the average life expectancy were found to be 74.0, 67.6, and 58.6 years for people with mild, moderate, and severe levels of handicap” (Bittles, et al. 2001). On the other hand, the mild cognitive disability is said to be three times common than the other types.

Moreover, there are diseases that are linked with people with mental retardation they include cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, vision, and hearing impairments and hyperactivity disorder. The number of people living with ID, getting married and raising a family has been rising in the recent years. This is unlike in the past when people with cognitive disability where thought to be unfit for this role, especially parenting; however, “with proper support, adequate education, counseling programmes, social and government support they can sustain meaningful enriching relationships” (May, 2000, p. 121). Despite this happening, compared to normal people, the couples with ID generally have lower family sizes, with