functional diversity

Functional diversity, a new term in the struggle for dignity in the diversity of the human being

Page 1 out of 10

Functionaldiversity,anewterminthestrugglefor

dignityinthediversityofthehumanbeing

Authors: Javier Romaach ([email protected])

Manuel Lobato ([email protected])

Independent Living Forum (Spain) May 20051 IntroductionMenandwomenwithfunctionaldiversity2formagroupthathastraditionallybeendiscriminatedinadifferentwaytotheothergroupsthathave alsoundergoneorstilldoundergodiscrimination(women,Negroes,immigrants,etc.).This discrimination has also been found even within those other discriminatedgroups,whichhavealso forgotten to include theirownmemberswith functionaldiversityaspartoftheirstruggle.Thelimitingorderogatorytermsusedfordescribingthegroupofwomenandmenwith functional diversity play a fundamental role in bolstering underestimationandthusmaintainingsaiddiscrimination.Thisarticleattemptstoproposeanewtermfordenominatingthegroupofwomenand men women andmenwith functional diversity representing the mostforgotten and discriminated ten per cent of humanity throughout the history ofalmostallhumansocieties.Whatneedisthereforanewterm?It isknownthatwordsor termsareassociatedwith ideasandconceptsandthatthese connotations arenot something random,but represent culturally acceptedvalues of the object or organism named. These values are conveyed over timeusingwordsasavehicle.Intime,ifwewishtochangeideasorvalues,wewillhavenoalternativeotherthanchangingthewordsthatsupportandgivelifetothem.

1 We are grateful for the remarks and contributions of members of the Independent Living Forum, in particular M ngeles Sierra and Rebeca Gmez. 2 The aim of this article is the justification of the introduction of the term functional diversity to replace others with pejorative semantics such as disability, handicap etc.. It is used from the beginning because the authors are persuaded that this is valid.


Page 2 out of 10

There are many words widely used in different spheres for denominating thegroupofwomenandmenwithfunctionaldiversity.Ifweusethebasisofourownpersonal experience, the most widelyused one in Spain is minusvlido(handicapped):viz.,carparkingspacesreservedforthehandicapped,pensionsforthehandicappedetc.Bothonourtelevisionandontheradio,andinthestreets,weformpartofthemenosvlido(lessvalid)group,thepeoplewhoareinotherwordsworthless.Apartfromthisaspect,suchterminologystillenduresinlegaltextsinthiscountry,with the use of terms such as disablement, disability, invalidity (partial, total,absolute,seriousinvalidity),handicapanddependency.EvenintheveryrecentAct51/2003dated2ndDecember,onequalopportunities,nondiscriminationanduniversalaccessibilityofwomenandmenwithdisabilities,article1GoalsofthisAct,insection2,keepsuptheterminologywithoutmakinganyefforttomodifythis:3

2.Forthepurposesofthisact,womenandmenwithdisabilityshallbeunderstoodtomeanthosewithadegreeofhandicapequaltoorover33percent.Inanyevent,anySocialSecuritypensionerswhoqualifyforapermanentdisabilitypensioninthedegreeoftotal,absoluteorseriousinvalidityandcivilservicepensionerseligibleforanoldageretirementpensionor forretirementthroughpermanentdisability forservice or incapacity shall be considered as being affected by a handicap to adegreeequalorover33percent.

Certainbodiesconnectedwiththeworldoffunctionaldiversity,awareofthefactthat language produces, modifies and guides thought, have attempted to definenewterms,inthesearchforanewsocialvisionofthisgroup.In its last attempt theWorldHealthOrganisation (WHO)promoted the socalledInternational Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), adoptedduringthe54thWorldHealthAssembly,heldinGeneva(Switzerland)from14thto22ndMay2001(WHO,2001),whichproposesthefollowingconceptualschemetointerprettheconsequencesofhealthdisorders:

Functional impairment(replacesthetermimpairmentasthishadbeenusedbythepreviousInternationalClassificationofImpairments,DisabilitiesandHandicapsICIDH, of 1980): this is the loss or abnormality of one part of the body or of aphysiologicalormental function. In this context the term abnormality isused torefer toasignificantdeviation from thestatisticalnorm (forexample, themeanofthestandardiseddistributionofapopulation).

3 The inverted commas, italics and underlining are from the authors.


Page 3 out of 10

Limitation toactivity (replaces the term disabilityas thishadbeenused in theICIDH):thesearethedifficultiesthatapersonmayhaveintheperformanceoftheiractivities.Limitationstoactivitymaybeclassifiedindifferentdegrees,dependingonwhether these entail amore or less significant deviation, in terms of quantity orquality,inthemanner,extentorintensityinwhichtheperformanceoftheactivitybyapersonwithoutahealthdisorderwouldbeexpected.

Restriction inparticipation: this replaces the term handicapas thishadbeen

used in the ICIDH): these are the problems that a personmay undergo in theirinvolvement in living situations. The presence of restrictions in participation isdeterminedbycomparingaparticularpersonsparticipationwiththeparticipationexpectedbyanotherwithoutadisabilityinaparticularcultureorsociety.

Barrier:thesearealltheenvironmentalfactorsinvolvedinapersonscontextwhich

condition functioning and create disability. Theymay include aspects such as forexample an inaccessible physical environment, the lack of appropriate caretechnology, women and mens negative attitudes to disability, and also the nonexistenceofservices,systemsandpoliciesfosteringparticipation.

Disability:intheICF;thisisanumbrellatermwhichisusedtorefertoimpairments,

limitations to activity and restrictions in participation. It denotes the negativeaspects of interaction between the person with a health disorder and theenvironment(contextualandenvironmentalfactors).

Wemustrecognisethatthissearchfornewconceptsisapraiseworthyattempttoshift the problem of functional diversity from the person to the environment.However, ifwe analyse the termsused,wewill see that they contain thewordsimpairment,limitation,restriction,barrieranddisability.Intheauthorsopinion,noneofthesetermsispositiveorneutral,forwhichreasonthey prove a vain attempt to change a reality inwhich the very authors of thetermsthemselvesfailtoseethesideoffunctionaldiversitythatis,atleast,neutralorpositive.Towardsanewmodel,beyondthemedicalmodelandthesocialmodelAt the Independent Living Forum we understand that functional diversity hasnothing to do with illness, impairment, paralysis, backwardness, etc.. All thisterminology stems from a traditional vision of the medical model of functionaldiversity, in which a different person is presented as someone biologicallyimperfectwhoneeds to be restored and fixed in order to reinstate theoreticalpatternsofnormality,whichhaveneverexistedandwhicharenotlikelytoexistinthefutureeither,preciselyduetomedicalprogress.


Page 4 out of 10

Weunderstandthatwomenandmenwithfunctionaldiversityareconnectedwithsocieties,which,whilstbeing intrinsically imperfect,haveestablishedamodelofperfectiontowhichnospecificmemberofthesehasaccess,andwhichdefinetheway of being physically, sensorially or psychologically, and the rules of socialintercourse; and that this model is connected with the ideas of perfection andnormalityestablishedbyanextensivepowerwieldingsectorandbytheconceptofmerelyquantitativemajorities.These majorities have endured for centuries, which is why attempts ofterminological changes have had so few results, since these have mostly beenmade through themental fog caused by years of oppression, discrimination andsegregation.Theattemptstoshiftallorpartoftheproblemtosociety,byproposingtermssuchas restrictions to participation have not been successful in the least because,afterallissaidanddone,societycontinuestothinkandbelievethatagooddealoftheproblem lieswithin thesubjectwith functionaldiversity. In fact,asageneralrule,womenandmenwithfunctionaldiversitythemselvespreferthetermswhichdesignatetheirimpairmentdirectlysuchasdeaf,blind,quadriplegic,etc.,becausethey reflect a reality of their own lives and many of them no longer see thenegativevalueinthis.The attempts to shift the problem fully to the person or fully to society havethereforenotbeenagreatsuccess.In this proposal we seek an intermediate area which does not shun the realsituation.We,womenandmenwithfunctionaldiversity,aredifferentfrommostofthe population, from the biophysical standpoint. Due to having differentcharacteristics, and given the conditions of the context generatedby society,weareforcedtodothesametasksorfunctionsinadifferentway,sometimesthroughthirdparties.Hence,adeafpersoncommunicatesthroughtheeyesandbysignsorsignals,whiletherestofthepopulationdoessobasicallythroughwordsandhearing.However,the function that theseperform is the same: communication.Tomove around, apersonwith a spinal injury customarily uses awheelchair,while the rest of thepopulationdosousingtheirlegs:thesamefunction,butindiverseforms.Forthisreasonthetermfunctionaldiversitycorrespondstoarealityinwhichapersonfunctionsinadifferentordiversewayfrommostofsociety.Thistermtakesinto consideration the persons difference and the lack of respect of majorities,who fail to consider this functional diversity in their social and environmentalconstructiveprocesses.


Page 5 out of 10

AmatterofdiscriminatingmajoritiesItshouldbetakenintoaccountthatapersonjoinsthegroupofwomenandmenwithfunctionaldiversitywhensheorhecannotperformthesamefunctionsinthesamewaysasthemajority.Ifthemajorityofhumanbeings,forexample,wouldnotsee,wewouldbedifferent to thewayweare, andwouldprobablyhaveamuchmore highlydeveloped sense of smell and sense of touch. Furthermore, theenvironmentcreatedwouldbeverydifferent:computerswouldnothaveascreen,therewouldonlybe radioandno television, therewouldnotbe inkwritingandpossibly reliefwritingwouldhavebeendeveloped, andmedia for recordingandreproducingsoundwouldbemuchmorehighlydeveloped.Hence, the way we construct our environment depends on what we have beentaughtisnormalinthestatisticalsense,andthisnormalitychangeswithtime.Itshouldnotbe forgotten thatwhat isconsiderednormal is astatistical fictionwhosenatureismerelyinstrumental.In this respect we have created a society in which the possibility of fullyintegrating diversity in all its spheres (education, work, building, transport,communication,information,leisureetc.)hasnotbeencontemplated.Quite theopposite indeed,discriminationagainsteverything that isdifferenthasbeenadominantfeatureinbuildingoursocial,corporealandmentalcontext,withattitudesof exploitation, exclusion,denial of rightsbeingadopted, assignationofpassive roles, of slavery and generation of conflicts. It is enough to think of thediscrimination and abuses that have been suffered by American Indians, Negrowomenandmen,womenandmenwithnoeconomicresources,women,children,etc..From these layers of discrimination,which still exist today andwhich verticallystratify society, the last one to be revealed was that of women and men withfunctionaldiversity,aroundthe late1960s,whentheMovement for IndependentLivingemergedatBerkeleyUniversity, the first in the struggle forhuman, socialandeconomicrightsofwomenandmenwithfunctionaldiversity.Thisdiscriminationiswhat forcesadifferentgroup, likethatofwomenandmenwith functional diversity, to gather together and seek identification as a humangroupwhichhastofighttoachievefullcitizenshipandeffectiveequalityofrights


Page 6 out of 10

and opportunities in society, to become a group of people whose diversity isappreciatedasavalue,andtofindtheirplaceinthisworld.AnalysisofthetermThe termwomen andmenwith functional diversity is a new one, and wasproposed and started to be used at the Independent Living Forum4 in January20055.Weunderstandthatthis isthefirsttimeinthehistoryoftheworldthatachangetoanonnegativeterminologyforfunctionaldiversityhasbeenproposed,and that this proposal comes exclusively fromwomen andmenwith functionaldiversity. We attempt to go even further and avoid the social strategy ofdeviationism,theonethatproducesthethemandusgroups,toputforwardthat functional diversity is something inherent to the human being and that onmanyoccasionsitmaybetemporaryorcircumstantial,whichis thereasonforitsemergenceasasocialconflictwhichdirectly,indirectly,temporarilyordefinitivelyaffectsusall.The termconsistsof fourwords,andthat initiallymakes itmorecomplex tousethanthetermthatitisintendedtoreplace:peoplewithdisability.Experiencehasneverthelessshownthatinaveryshorttimewomenandmenwhoacceptthetermuseitfluentlyandnaturallybothinwrittenandspokenlanguage,theacronymPFDevenhaving been coined from the initials of eachword (Person with FunctionalDiversity).Theuseof thewords womenandmenwithkeepsup theprevious traditionofstressingtheconceptthatwearewomenandmenandthusweoughtandwanttoreinforcethedignity inherent toouressenceashumanbeingswhoarebornanddesiretolivewiththesamerightsanddignityasalltheothers,asestablishedbytheUN6:

Allhumanbeingsareborn freeandequal indignityandrights.Theyareendowedwith reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit ofbrotherhood.

4 The Forum for Independent Living is a virtual community, set up in mid 2001, constituting a venue for protest and debate in favour of the human rights of women and men with all kinds of disability in Spain. It can be found in http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/vidaindependiente/. This philosophy is based on the Movement for Independent Living, which started in the U.S.A. in the late sixties. 5 Message 9622 of the virtual community of the Forum for Independent Living http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/vidaindependiente/messages/9622 6 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Adopted and proclaimed by the Resolution of the General Assembly 217A (III) of 10th December 1948. Article 1.


Page 7 out of 10

TheworddiversityisdefinedinWebstersdictionary7as: Diversityn.

1. Thestateorfactofbeingdiverse;difference,unlikeness.2.Variety,multiformity.

Ouraimbyusingthiswordattemptstoreflectexactlythat:difference,dissimilaritywithwhatisusualinthestatisticalmajorityofthehumanrace.Thewordfunctionalisdefinedas: Functional.adj.

1. Oforpertainingtoafunctionorfunctions

Forthiswordweusethefirstmeaningofthewordfunction: Functionn.

1. Thekindofactionoractivitypropertoaperson,thing,orinstitution.Wespecificallyrefertothefirstconcept:actionoractivitypropertoaperson,theactivitiesthathumanbeingscustomarilyperformaslivingcreatures(forexample,moving,seeing,communication,etc.).Itshouldbenotedalsothatfunctionsaretheresultofactionsof theorgansorpartsofourbody(forexample,eyes,ears, legs,brainetc.)As we can see, the term is semantically correct in English and covers all theconcepts that we wish to express, except for discrimination, but the traditionalconnection between human diversity and social discrimination means thatincluding this aspect in the definition of the term is not necessary, as we arestruggling for a time to come when discrimination disappears, and functionaldiversityisacceptedasafurtherpartofthewealthinthediversityofthehumanrace.As regards the order in which the terms diversity and functional are used, thefollowingargument,expressedherebyCarlosEgea8,couldbeputforward.

What I do not agree on, is the order inwhich the following two terms are used:functional and diversity. It is clear that the promoters of the use of thisterminologywish to stress the fact that therearewomenandmenwho function(act,performactivities,interact,relatewitheachother,etc.)inadiverse(different,inanotherway,etc.)manner.Icouldnotagreemorewiththerootoftheidea:thereisagroupofwomenandmeninthissocietywhofunctiondifferently,or,totakeitalittlefurther,allofus,absolutelyallofus,functiondifferently.

7 Websters dictionary, 1989 edition. 8 Message n 12.400 of the Independent Living Forum. http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/vidaindependiente/message/12400


Page 8 out of 10

Theproblem isthatwehave forgottenourgrammar lessonsonnouns(orsubjects)and adjectives (or qualifiers). In the termwhose introduction is being attempted,diversity is the noun that expresses, as the Dictionary reminds us, variety,unlikeness or difference, and theword functional is the adjectivewhich, in thematternow concerningus,expressesbelonging toorconnectionwithbiologicalorpsychicfunctions.

That is, in the application of personwith functional diversitywe are expressingthroughthenounthatthesubstantivepartliesinthedistinctionappliedtobiologicalor physical functions. Itwould almost appear thatwe are undermining our ownposition.

Butifthetermsareturnedaround(asIhavealreadydoneinsomecommunications)wewouldbedefiningtheintendedchangebeingputforwardrathermoreaccurately.Ifwetalkofwomenandmenwithdiversefunctionality(itmightlookthesamebutthesubstantiveandadjectiveelementsareswapped)weareplacingtheemphasisonthe factthatthesubstantiveaspect isthe functioning(functionalitybeingthenounexpressingthequalityoftherelativeaspectofbiologicalandpsychicfunctions)andtheadjectivalpart is thediverseaspect (expressing thedifferentnatureor formofthefunctionalitythatthisqualifies).

Whilst accepting his reasons as fully valid, we nevertheless disagree with thisrecognisedexpertforthreebasicreasons:

Wedoindeedwishtostressourdifference,becausethisisarealityinherenttoourlives,weareproudofitandfindfulldignityinthisdifference,whichwedonotdeny.

Whenitcomestocoininganewterm,howeasythisistoutterandquickto

assimilatearehighlyrelevantmatters.Asweseeit,womenandmenwithdiverse functionality is muchmore complex to pronounce than womenandmenwithfunctionaldiversityanditwouldthusbemoredifficultandslowertobetakenup.

It should also be considered the possibility of exchanging this with the

previous term: disability. For example, the conversion from functionaldiversityisdirect:Womenandmenwithdisability>Womenandmenwith functional diversity, Policies ondisability > Policies on functionaldiversity, Women andmen with intellectual disability > Women andmenwithintellectualfunctionaldiversity,etc..However, replacing this with diverse functionality seems less intuitive:Women and men with disability > Women and men with diversefunctionality, Policiesondisability >Policiesondiversefunctionality,Personwith intellectual disability > Women andmenwith intellectualdiversefunctionality.


Page 9 out of 10

DiversitywithindiversityAshasbeenstatedatseveralpointsinthistext,whenitcomestoconsideringthediversityofgenderwithinthegroup,womenandmenwithfunctionaldiversity,ormenandwomenwithfunctionaldiversity,shouldbeused.At the Independent Living Forum we understand that what makes the group awhole is not its internal diversity, but the social discrimination undergoneeverydaybywomenandmenwithfunctionaldiversity,includingallthosewhoare circumstantiallyorprovisionally suddenly immersed inahostileenvironmentwhichdeniesthemtheircitizenship.We nevertheless understand that the solutions needed to eradicate thisdiscrimination ought to take into account the specific diversity of groups ofindividuals,thatwecangrouptogetheranddenominateaspersonswith:physicalfunctional diversity, visual functional diversity, auditory functional diversity,mental functional diversity, intellectual functional diversity, organic functionaldiversity,circumstantialand/ortemporaryfunctionaldiversity,etc..When tackling the linguistic diversity in the Spanish State we could coin termssuch as diversitat funcional in Catalan, diversidade funcional in Gallego andfuntzionaltasunaniztasunainBasque.Crossing our borders and taking advantage of the language knowledge of theauthors,merelywith a view toproposing andnot imposing, aswehavedone inthis whole document, we would venture to propose functional diversity inEnglish,diversitfonctionelleinFrenchanddiversitfunzionaleinItalian.ConclusionIn this articlewe have identified three elementswhich define themembers of agroupfightingforitsrightsasdifferent:

Bodies in which organs, parts or the whole body function differentlybecausetheyareinternallydifferent.

Women and men who, due to the different way their bodies function,performtheirdailytasks(movingaround,reading,gripping,dressing,goingto the toilet, communicating etc.) differently. (We could say, women andmenwhofunctioninanothermanner).

Agroupdiscriminatedagainstforanyofthetworeasonsgivenabove.


Page 10 out of 10

The way we at the Forum for Independent Living propose denominating thisgroup,towhichwebelong,iswomenandmenwithfunctionaldiversity,asweunderstand that this is the firstdenomination inhistory inwhich thevisionof ahuman reality is not given negative or medical connotations, and in which theemphasisisplacedonitsdifferenceordiversity,valueswhichenrichtheworldinwhichwelive.

/ColorImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorImageDict > /AntiAliasGrayImages false /DownsampleGrayImages true /GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 300 /GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true /GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true /GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict > /GrayImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayImageDict > /AntiAliasMonoImages false /DownsampleMonoImages true /MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 1200 /MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode /MonoImageDict > /AllowPSXObjects false /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false /PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true /PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfile () /PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName (http://www.color.org) /PDFXTrapped /Unknown

/Description >>> setdistillerparams> setpagedevice

functional diversity

Documents