Assessment 1 topic 

Concepts of disability: Interaction between health conditions, environmental and personal  factors in the lives of people experiencing disability. Disability: the lived experience: The  effect of the disability experience on the individual, family and community. 

Assessment description: You are to produce a report, using the sections below as a guide  with a maximum word limit of 2500 words (statement of case study, Section C table and  reference list are not included). The aim of assessment in this module is to simulate an  experience of disability to provide you with some insights of what this would be like. It is  recommended that you write in first person, e.g. I am a 35 year old and so on. 

Section A: Choose a case study 

You need to choose one case study of a person with a disability from the following list and  consider what it would be like to live for one whole day with this condition. The severity of  your selected disability is at a level where it is causing significant challenges to your quality  

of life. You are no longer able to work. You will need to consider the home you currently  live in. If you had to live with the disability you have selected (below), what difficulties  would you face in continuing to live at your present address? (No more than 150 words)

The list of case studies to choose from are: 

1. Parietal Lobe CVA (2 years post diagnosis): You are a 45 year old male living with your wife and 2 teenage sons in Blackall in Central Western Queensland. 
2. Multiple Sclerosis (3 years post diagnosis): You are a 39 year old female living in  Mitchell in South Western Queensland. You live with your husband and 3 school  age children. 
3. Dilated Cardiomyopathy (2 years post diagnosis): You are a 29 year old male living alone in Blackbutt in South East Queensland. 
4. Bi-lateral above knee amputation (Traumatic from MVA 2 years ago): You are a  21 year old male living in Mossman in Far North Queensland with your mother  and 19 year old sister. 
5. Gillian Barre Syndrome (2 years post diagnosis): You are a 46 year old male living with your sister and her 2 primary school aged children in Stanthorpe  in Southern Queensland. 

Example statement of the case study: 

• I am a 35 year female living in Roma in Western Queensland with condition x (as listed in  case study). I live with my husband and 2 school age children. My home is low set with 4  steps, and has 2 levels inside with my bedroom and bathroom on the upper level. It is  also important to include a short statement about any challenges you would face living  in your current home as your case study. (No more than 150 words) 

Section B: Disability Awareness (Total 700 words) 

1. Using either websites, texts or journal articles, provide a brief outline of the effects  of the disability you have chosen as your case study on your body, including the impact of  your condition on everyday functioning. 
2. Based on your case study, and using reference material (texts and/or journal articles)  discuss the possible effects of the experience of disability on your immediate and extended  family unit. 

Responses to questions 3 & 4 may be presented in Table format if you choose (word count  still applies). Note these are two (2) separate parts and cannot be presented as one. 

3. Identify any relevant international, national, state and local organisations that can  provide you with information and/or support and identify services relevant to you as the  case study. This information and/or support can be available physically, by phone or via the  internet. For example there might be international or national organisations with  information and on-line support via a website; there might be telephone support services;  there might be local support groups. 
4. Clearly identify which organisations in your area would help you to holistically manage  your own daily activities of living, e.g. domiciliary nursing, community nursing, day respite  services and the likely frequency of services. These need to be realistic and available in the

community where you (as your case study) live – not a 'wish list'. You can also include any  support groups that may offer psychological, spiritual or social support in your area. 

Section C: Daily living (no word limit – maximum 2 pages) 

Imagine living a day with the condition you have chosen. 

Starting from when you get up to when you go to bed, imagine how will you get out of bed,  shower, dress, toilet, meals, go up/down stairs, get on a bus in your wheelchair or using a  walking frame? How will you shop/work? Can you drive, hang washing and so on? There is  no need to repeat activities which occur several times during the day e.g., Complete the  table for toileting once only. This also needs to be both financially affordable as your case  study, and realistic from an available service provision perspective. 

Provide a document under the following headings. A table format (below) is recommended  for this section. 

Section D: Challenges (total 1800 words) 

You should also use NUR3010 course material and other scholarly references to support  your discussion in each section. 

1. Using the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF) as a  guide, list and discuss the social restrictions you face as a result of your disability. For  example, how easy is it for you to be able to maintain family and friend relationships?  (450 words) 
2. Using the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF) as a  guide, what community or environmental challenges do you face, and how have you  adjusted to them? Discuss the changes you have needed to make in your life and also  make any suggestions for community environmental changes that could enable  community participation, e.g. wheelchair ramps. (450 words) 
3. Discuss how you may react to your disability from the perspective of self-concept,  body image and self-esteem. (450 words) 
4. Also discuss the concepts of paternalism, self-efficacy and independence in relation to  rehabilitation and health care professionals treating people with a disability. (450 words)

Section – A (Study Statement)

I am a 45 years old male living in Blackall (Central Western Queensland) with my two teenage sons and spouse. I experienced CVA two years back. My home is set at a height and the entrance is associated with 8 steps followed by a slope. Indeed, my home has several steps since it's a multi-storey building and I really need to work hard to get on to them while moving from one place to another. The four walls of my home remain wet and many times I feel cold and skinny due to the presence of immense moisture. The short space between the room and presence of home stuff many times makes me fall and facing these challenges annoys me since I do not feel stable while moving from one location to another. I am troubled by the structure of my house and unsteady movements make me feel like experiencing several injuries at any point in time. 

Section B (Disability Awareness)

CVA Effects in Daily Life 

I experience the pattern of sudden weakness, confusion and limited consciousness while managing my day-to-day activities (Health, 2014). I also experience difficulty in speaking and interpreting the conversation of my family members. Sometimes I feel distressed and experience high difficulty in breathing. I also experience breathing restriction and dizziness while sitting idle for a long tenure. The absence of an appropriate support system in my home makes me feel imbalanced and many times I lost my balance and strike the house walls. I feel distressed sometimes under the influence of intense headache that also causes neck stiffness and back pain. I also experience blurred vision and eyes pain at any point in time, particularly when I do not use my spectacles. May time after eating I feel diffuse abdominal pain that potentially aggravates my headache and makes me feel breathless (Health, 2014). I am unable to pass stool for several days, probably due to the same type of food that I consume daily. I also experience bleeding from gums and pressure inside the nose while eating food. My skin discoloration makes me feel uncomfortable and bruises acquired after frequent falling sometimes cause extremity pain and movement difficulty. I also feel difficulty in urination and many times I also experience blood in urine and anal pain during defecation (Health, 2014). I also experience pain during urination and slip while getting back to my bedroom from the bathroom. I experience difficulty in swallowing and the pattern of intense cough after eating makes me feel suffocated and I feel like struggling with my own-self while forcing the food items in my mouth. I feel anxious, depressed and lonely because of sustained disconnection with friends and peer groups (Health, 2014). I feel isolated since limited people visit me and many times I feel socially strangulated since nobody cares to understand my situation and extend a helping hand. I am not sure that for how much duration I would be able to survive and what might be the outcomes of my illness on my body and soul in the upcoming years. I sometimes feel like ending my life and sharing all of my concerns with someone who could really understand my condition and guide me in overcoming my potential health difficulties.

(Some parts of the solution has been blurred due to privacy protection policy)