Disability as defined by society and culture

The two articles definitely had a central theme: disabilities (for the most part) are defined by how society and culture believe the whole should treat the individual. I do have to agree (and I feel reluctant to) that society does cause some of the disabilities such as infection due to lack of clean, running water. The US is very driven on results: better, faster, easier. A lot of this society has been mechanized; there is only one way to do something and no more. People with disabilities are shown as miracle stories. However, with so many people living until the really old ages, disabilities will pop up. I don't believe this society is so blind to disabilities as it once was. More educational facilities are recognizing the fact that people learn differently and this can't be considered a disability. I have been in several classes, especially in high school, where I learned that there are different approaches to learning and one type usually does not work with everyone. This is not a disability but requires creativity.
I personally do not see society changing to accommodate everyone. The amount of expense it would take to make sure that every store has wheel-chair access or that grocery stores have benches is so much greater than the benefits these "disabled" people would receive. If a store has a potential five more customers if wheelchairs were put into the equation, would it be worth it? Probably not, the space between aisles would have to be larger- which means that less products can be displayed and potentially bought in the same amount of space; space that could be used for parking outside (and another customer) would be turned into a ramp. Keeping the shelves down to a certain level so that people with limited reach could get the things they would need also limits the number of products on display. Overall, I don't see those who are disabled as being independent. ON the other hand, I respect their ability to perform tasks, and I am sure they could also do the same things I do (even if differently) probably better than me. People who are disabled probably can't be independent, but they sure can work. I liked how this article addressed issues I wouldn't think about head on.