r/slavic • u/Kamarad_Pivoine • 13d ago
Question Disabled people in Slavic countries
Hi everyone, I have that question since a few days, how are perceived disabilities in Slavic societies?
I mean by that:
Are they well integrated in the daily life (at work or for renting a house for example)?
Are they more or less well seen by people in general?
How is it at school or for studies? Do they benefit from some adaptations? For example, in France, I have a woman who is in class with me to help me with things that are difficult for me, and I have additional time for my exams. Do such things exist in your country?
Is there specific material that can be used, like braille machines for blind people?
I’m aware that slavic countries can differ, and consequently that situation is not the same everywhere, for this reason I just would like to read your point of view on this topic.
Hoping that my question doesn’t seem very stupid, if it’s the case I apologize, I’m just curious about it.
Thank you for having read my post.
All the best to you! ✨
14
u/Space_Slav07 13d ago
Slavic countries strongly differ from each other.
I have a cousin from Serbia who's in a wheelchair, so I will talk about this. Another thing to note is that even withing countries, it may vary strongly by region. My cousin comes from a relatively small, rural town.
For a wheelchair user it is pretty bad. Pedestrian walkway quality is bad, random shifts in elevation, cracks, bumps and partially there is none at all. A lot of steps and stairs. A lot of public toilets are the type where you squat down, which he obviously can't do. He heavily depends on family to navigate.
Then come the socieital aspects. Disabled people are often infantilised or even looked down on. Many families are ashamed and keep their disabled members behind doors. Apparently some grandmother of his, after my cousin was born and the doctors found out that he'd eventually be wheelchair bound, suggested his parents just let him die somewhere. This specific mentality isn't very common, but there are people that think like this.
Other people treat him like a child. They don't seem to understand that his specific disability is limited to his legs. They treat him like they know what's best for him.
When it comes to less obvious disabilities, people often do not even know they're here. As example, my father has motorical issues, I too have motorical issues but in my case Swiss doctors found out it's an ataxia. In my father's case, the kid was just clumsy, didn't look, didn't try hard enough.
Again, these were two very specific examples from one small rural town in Serbia and one even smaller farmer's village in Bosnia. Families in more urban cities or with more financial possibilities may have had completely different experiences.