CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL NEEDS THROUGH THE SYMBOLISM OF ABUSE AND BULLYING TARGETING

The World Health Organization (WHO) states on its website, the one dedicated to the regional office of the Middle East, that there are more than 1000 million disabled people across the globe, which represents approximately 15% of the entire world population i.e. nearly 1 in every 7 people is disabled. It also indicates that the number of the people who suffer from a handicap is on a continuous rise, mainly because of the aging population as well as the exacerbation of chronic illnesses. Moreover, the same organization informs that although this matter is of an extreme seriousness, there is in fact a severe lack of awareness and an unavailability of the necessary scientific information related to this topic. As a matter of fact, there is only a small number of documents that display collections of studies about the policies and responses that the countries have put in place in order to meet the needs of people with disabilities. The data related to disabilities and disabled people points out to an evident lack of concern, on a global scale, when it comes to this particular group that happens to include millions of people all throughout the world. However, and despite the efforts and resources dedicated to accommodate and rehabilitate handicapped people, we still, unfortunately, have a long way to go before we can reach this desired goal. So, does it mean that all these efforts were in vain? In this communication, we will attempt to answer this question through a presentation of the historical evolution of opinions about the meaning of disability and special needs in light of the recent scientific advancements and its impact on the social perception, by shedding the light on the symbolism of the phenomenon of abuse and bullying targeting individuals with special needs. This historical examination shows a clear quantum leap when it comes to the treatment and attitude towards people with special needs, a leap that coincides with the advancement that the scientific research and the pathological classification in the psychology have witnessed in the beginning of the twentieth century. Following these classifications, a number of legal renewals took place, which provided disabled people with several rights that guarantee their protection. Therefore, we can determine that there is indeed a tangible change, albeit the fact that there is definitely and undoubtedly more room for improvement in this regard. Consequently, the denunciations we witness today regarding the abuse and mistreatment of people with disabilities is in fact a product of the collective awareness and the public acknowledgment of the radical shift regarding the conceptual and practical notion of disability. Which in turn, predicts a better and a more prosperous future for a group of people who are in dire need of change.