Aging with a Physical Disability

The process of aging is a natural part of the life cycle most of us our bound to experience one day. With age our physical and emotional health deteriorates, and often times we cannot perform the same tasks as we once could when we were younger. Along with aches and pains, and limited mobility; elderly people can also experience a decrease in their mental capacities and memories. Disorders such as Arthritis and Alzheimer’s are typically acquired diseases that come along with the aging process.

For people who already have physical disabilities the process of aging is an even more complex and challenging experience. Cerebral Palsy is not classified as a progressive condition, however with the added restrictions of growing old someone with this disability can worsen in condition. It is an unfortunate fact that most people with a severe disability also have a significantly lower life expectancy. Aging becomes a sooner and quicker process and with the addition of joint pain and increased fatigue associated with old age, someone with Cerebral Palsy will as a result become even less mobile. (Aging and Cerebral Palsy, 2005).

There are specific care homes for people who have physical disabilities, and care homes for elderly people. Where does someone go to live if they have a physical disability, and are now beginning to age? Oppression occurs at three levels: the personal, cultural, and structural level. In respect to one another these three levels of oppression are interdependent and influence each other. (Mullaly, 2007). Personal and political issues are influenced by the structural nature of society, and this can cause a range of personal difficulties depending on who the person being affected is. (Mullaly, 2007). People who have a physical disability, and are also experiencing the struggles of aging are affected by all three levels of oppression at once.

Older people with physical disabilities experience the emotional struggle of fitting into society as they grow older. Though some of these people may have been able to live at home, the consequences of early aging force them to seek care and supervision much earlier than those without a disability.  Society may not see them as an older person yet, even though they are affected by the same challenges elderly people face. On a structural level they belong in two different categories, but in combination they really do not belong to either one.

Aging and Cerebral Palsy. (2005). Retrieved from

http://www.cerebralpalsysource.com

Mullaly, R. (2007). The new structural social work (3rd Ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

-Eliza R.