Correct Answer: (D) The idea of disability suggests that they are in need of help.

Step 1 - The common public view of disability:

Society generally treats disability as a biological given, sees the disabled person as a victim of fate, links disability with the person's own sense of self, and assumes that the disabled always need help.

Step 2 - Check the options:

Options (A), (B) and (C) are all written in the negative and therefore state the opposite of the common public perception.

Step 3 - Identify the correct one:

Only option (D) states a genuine public perception - that disabled persons are helpless and dependent on others.

Note: Sociologists criticise this view. They argue that it is society, through its attitudes and its inaccessible buildings and transport, that turns an impairment into a disability.

Hence, option (D) is correct.