Abstract
This paper will be using statistical information and data, as well as real-life examples of how and why those that are mentally disabled are viewed in the light that they are. The viewpoints that the mass media gives to those whom are mentally disabled is often in a negative or degrading way. Most of the time they are viewed as being helpless, or a victim. If the stereotypes that come with the label of mentally disabled can vanish, then they can be viewed as being “normal”, the way they should. Coming from my own personal experiences, I was supposed to be born with mental disabilities, so this subject is quite personal for me, because I could very well be looked upon the same way. Keywords: mental, disability, helpless, victim, negative, degrading, normal, stereotypes, data, statistical, information…show more content… That is over 42 million Americans. The impact that mental illness has on our society is high. A few percentages - 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24. Of the kids that do get diagnosed with a mental health condition at age 14 and higher, have a 37% chance of dropping out of school. That is the highest percentage of any disability group. You nearly double that number and your left with the percentage of youth in our juvenile justice systems that are dealing with mental illnesses, at 70%. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24. Approximately 90% of those who died by suicide had an underlying mental illness. Based on the numbers, mental disabilities, and
