A disability pretender is a subculture term meaning a person who behaves as if they were disabled. It may be classified as a type of factitious disorder or as a medical fetishism.
One theory[ citation needed ] is that pretenders may be the "missing link" between devotees and wannabes, demonstrating an assumed continuum between those merely attracted to people with disabilities and those who actively wish to become disabled. Many wannabes use pretending as a way to appease the intense emotional pain related to having body integrity identity disorder.
Pretending takes a variety of forms. Some chatroom users on internet sites catering to devotees have complained that chat counterparts they assumed were female were revealed as male devotees. [1] This form of pretending (where a devotee derives pleasure by pretending to be a disabled woman) may indicate a very broad predisposition to pretending among devotees.
Pretending includes dressing and acting in ways typical of disabled people, including making use of aids (glasses, hearing aids, braces, canes, inhalers, walking sticks, crutches, wheelchairs, mobility scooters, white canes etc.). Pretending may also take the form of a devotee persuading his or her sexual partner to play the role of a disabled person. Pretending may be practised in private, in intimacy, or in public, and may occupy surprisingly long periods. In the latter case, some pretenders hope that the disability may become permanent, such as through tissue necrosis caused by constricted blood supply.
People with this condition may refer to themselves as "transabled". [2] [3] [4]
Body integrity dysphoria (BID), also referred to as body integrity identity disorder (BIID), amputee identity disorder or xenomelia, and formerly called apotemnophilia, is a rare mental disorder characterized by a desire to have a sensory or physical disability or feeling discomfort with being able-bodied, beginning in early adolescence and resulting in harmful consequences. BID appears to be related to somatoparaphrenia. People with this condition may refer to themselves as transabled.
An assistive cane is a walking stick used as a crutch or mobility aid. A cane can help redistribute weight from a lower leg that is weak or painful, improve stability by increasing the base of support, and provide tactile information about the ground to improve balance. In the US, ten percent of adults older than 65 years use a cane, and 4.6 percent use walkers.
A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the legs to the upper body. It is often used by people who cannot use their legs to support their weight, for reasons ranging from short-term injuries to lifelong disabilities.
Acrotomophilia is a paraphilia in which an individual expresses strong sexual interest in amputees. It is a counterpart to apotemnophilia, the desire to be an amputee.
Abasiophilia is a psychosexual attraction to people with impaired mobility, especially those who use orthopaedic appliances such as leg braces, orthopedic casts, or wheelchairs. The term abasiophilia was first used by John Money of the Johns Hopkins University in a paper on paraphilias, in 1990.
Whole is a documentary about people with a body integrity identity disorder, that makes them desire to be an amputee. It first was broadcast on the Sundance Channel in 2004.
Attraction to disability is a sexualised interest in the appearance, sensation and experience of disability. It may extend from normal human sexuality into a type of sexual fetishism. Sexologically, the pathological end of the attraction tends to be classified as a paraphilia. Other researchers have approached it as a form of identity disorder. The most common interests are towards amputations, prosthesis, and crutches. As a sexual fetish, attraction to disability is known as devotism, and those with the fetish are known as devotees.
The Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) is a method of quantifying disability in multiple sclerosis. The scale has been developed by John F. Kurtzke. The EDSS is based on a neurological examination by a clinician. However, a number of versions have been developed which enable patient self-administration.
A mobility aid is a device that helps individuals with mobility impairments to walk or improve their overall mobility.
Sexuality and disability is a topic regarding the sexual behavior and practices of people with disabilities. Like the general population, these individuals exhibit a wide range of sexual desires and adopt diverse methods of expressing their sexuality. It is a widespread concern, however, that many people with disabilities do not receive comprehensive sex education, which could otherwise positively contribute to their sexual lives. This roots from the idea that people with disabilities are asexual in nature and are not sexually active. Although some people with disabilities identify as asexual, generalizing this label to all such individuals is a misconception. Many people with disabilities lack rights and privileges that would enable them to have intimacy and relationships. When it comes to sexuality and disability there is a sexual discourse that surrounds it. The intersection of sexuality and disability is often associated with victimization, abuse, and purity, although having a disability does not change your sexuality, nor does it change your desire to express it.
Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR) is an autonomous institute functioning under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of India. It is located in Olatpur, 30 km from Cuttack.
T46 and F46 are disability sport classification for disability athletics. People in this class have a single below or above the elbow amputation. The amputee sports equivalent class is ISOD the A6 and A8 classes. People in this class can have injuries as a result of over use of their remaining upper limb. The classification process to be included in this class has four parts: a medical exam, observation during training, observation during competition and then being classified into this class.
Disability sports classification is a system that allows for fair competition between people with different types of disabilities.
Paratriathlon classification is the classification system for athletes participating in paratriathlon. It is governed by the World Triathlon. The sport has been included in the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
Erotic target location error (ETLE) is a hypothesized dimension for paraphilias, defined by having a sexual preference or strong sexual interest in features that are somewhere other than on one's sexual partners. When one's sexual arousal is based on imagining oneself in another physical form the erotic target is said to be one's self, or erotic target identity inversion (ETII).
Mallory Weggemann is an American Paralympic swimmer.
Amputee sports classification is a disability specific sport classification used for disability sports to facilitate fair competition among people with different types of amputations. This classification was set up by International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD), and is currently managed by IWAS who ISOD merged with in 2005. Several sports have sport specific governing bodies managing classification for amputee sportspeople.
Les Autres sport classification is system used in disability sport for people with locomotor disabilities not included in other classification systems for people with physical disabilities. The purpose of this system is to facilitate fair competition between people with different types of disabilities, and to give credibility to disability sports. It was designed and managed by International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD) until the 2005 merger with IWAS, when management switched to that organization. Classification is handled on the national level by relevant sport organizations.
LA4 is a Les Autres sport classification is an ambulatory sport classification for a sportsperson with a disability that impacts their locomotor function. People in this class may or may not uses crutches and/or braces on a daily basis. They have some issues with balance and reduced function in their upper limbs.
Wheelchair sport classification is a system designed to allow fair competition between people of different disabilities, and minimize the impact of a person's specific disability on the outcome of a competition. Wheelchair sports is associated with spinal cord injuries, and includes a number of different types of disabilities including paraplegia, quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome and spina bifida. The disability must meet minimal body function impairment requirements. Wheelchair sport and sport for people with spinal cord injuries is often based on the location of lesions on the spinal cord and their association with physical disability and functionality.