Blog 3: Health and Disabilities
This week, Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon from the Applied Behavioral Science Department spoke about disabilities and autism. Some of the topics they discussed included the history of institutions, sterilizations, hospitalizations and other forms of abuse, discrimination, government policies related to people with disabilities, how to be "politically correct" when speaking about people with disabilities, autism, community awareness programs, etc.
Post a 300-500 word reflective response to either their presentation, an article that you've read recently (include citation) or any of these health/disability related themes:
- Autism
- Hearing
- Blindness
- Children with disabilities versus Adults with disabilities
- Disabilities and the education system
- History of disability treatment
- Stereotypes of people with disabilities
- Tips to working with people with disabilities
- Current state or federal policies concerning disabilities
For this weeks Thursday night class, we had professors Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon from the Applied Behavioral Science department come share their knowledge and thoughts on developmental disabilities. I personally learned a lot from these speakers and the topic interested me immensity. I related to the topics discussed because my Spring Break trip is to the Autism Society in Colorado. First, Jan talked about the effects and the broad idea of a disability. She defined it as a physical or mental disability that manifests prior to 18 years old. Jan mentioned the history of how people with a disability were viewed as an object of pity, having no feelings, and were seen as a menace of society. She gave us an overview of working with intellectual inabilities and described the severity ranging from mild, where the person can live independently and engage in work, to profound, where the person has high levels of dependence. Jan not only described the history, but also shared what she and Jim started to help the disabled in the community. They both teach together in the Applied Behavior Science department at KU and serve over 500 in the community providing people with disabilities group homes, which is progressing to smaller living. I really loved the idea that Jan emphasized looking at the person first and their disability second. They have a voice and ideas to share just like us.
ReplyDeleteJim spoke second and talked briefly about autism. He mentioned that 50 years ago autism “didn’t exist.” Autism at that time had no affective treatment and was rarely diagnosed or talked about. Today, 1 and 106 births are diagnosed with autism, due to an increase of awareness. I have not yet worked directly with autistic children but Jim mentioned some general characteristics of autism that will be useful when I attend the Autism Society over break. Some typical characteristics are kids engaging in tantrums and hitting either themselves or others. He also mentioned that parents tend to worry if their child has not produced words or won’t speak socially by 1-2 years of age. This raises’ question as to is autism more then a biological and environmental factor? Jim and Jan both concluded that there is technically no diagnosis for autism even though there are many ideas and studies to find a solution. Overall, I really enjoyed the speakers and the points they made especially on autism. This was definitely helpful for me and prepared me for my Spring Break trip.
-Joanna Ferm
The concept of people having intellectual disabilities or any other type of physical disability that impairs their ability to function in everyday life is one that has evolved drastically throughout the past century. The days in which almost all people born with an intellectual disability were cast away into institutions forgotten by the rest of society are over however people with disabilities such as autism or down syndrome are still not viewed as equal members of society. The common view for individuals with intellection disabilities is often a childlike one, many people talk down to people with intellectual disabilities like they are speaking to a child, even if the person with the disability is older than themselves. I Think that it is important to speak to people with intellectual disabilities in the same manner and tone in which you would speak to any other person within that age group. During my work with Natural Ties, an organization which paired college students with adults with intellectual disabilities, I learned that my “tie” could carry a conversation just like any other women could; we would talk about her family, her job, or her dog penny. The conversations we would have would be balanced and natural because I approached her as I would any other adult. It is important to fully understand that a person with an intellectual disability is a first and foremost a person, another human being with interests, desires, and emotions just like ourselves.
ReplyDeletePeople with physical disabilities such as hearing loss are sometimes harder to understand because their disability may not be obvious to us. I met a girl a couple of years ago who seemed to be very introverted. She had a hard to carrying a conversation in a normal manner and would often fail to answer questions or repeat information that was just said. My initial opinion of this girl was negative until I realized that she was completely deaf in one ear and partially in the other. After receiving this information her conversation flaws made much more sense and I realized it wasn’t that she was introverted it was that she just could hear parts of our conversation. This situation taught me a vital lesson about people and how I view them. Everybody has little things about themselves that make up who they are. When we are working with other people, whether it be people with disabilities or people without disabilities, we need to strive to understand this concept so we can establish the best understand of that person possible.
-MacKenzie Kerns
This was my favorite lecture so far for alternative breaks. Both speakers really knew their stuff and how to present it in an interesting and meaningful way. I knew that in the past people with disabilities were treated horribly but I didn't know all of the awful things that happened. From living in the time period now and seeing people with a developmental disability almost every day, I can't imagine them being treated so badly in the past. The institutions that people were made to live in sounded awful. It made me thankful last night after hearing that, to live in my generation.
ReplyDeleteThe two things that I found very interesting were the different scale of disabilities that Jan spoke about and the Autism intervention that Jim said. The scale of disabilities was something that was relatively new to me. I guess I knew there were different degrees but I didn't know they were sort of measured on a scale. I also liked that this scale doesn't stop kids with disabilities from getting an education. These kids still deserve to go to school and learn instead of how they were treated in the past. Autism intervention was also knew to me. I've heard the term before but I have never heard about the program in detail. I liked how Jim said that there are still a lot of things that people don't know but he does know autism intervention makes a difference. That was hopeful to hear. We've come a long way from where we were in the 70's so hopefully in 40 years, we can make even larger progress.
Another topic that I feel is important that they spoke about was putting the person before the disability. I have learned about that in my sign language classes here at KU. It's important to not recognize a person fully by his or her disability and this is something I know a lot of people need to work on. My generation didn't grow up saying this. My generation grew up calling each other "retarded" and "gay" and no one telling us why it was wrong. There is a big change in grade schools with that recently and I hope the changes continue to grow and to teach about what is right and wrong.
Sorry! I forgot to sign my last post...
ReplyDelete- Nicole Denney
One of my favorite movies of all time is “The Other Sister.” This movie is about a intellectually disabled woman named Carla Tate who has just ‘graduated’ out of training school where she stay at for many years. When she gets out and goes home to her family, she has many hopes of being able to do things for herself. At first, her over protective mother refuses all ideas of independent living, but her father supports her and knows what she is capable. This story follows her through her first apartment, classes at college, and a man she falls in love with. From the first time I saw it, I loved it. It always inspires and challenges me to rethink ideas of disabled persons.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon from the Applied Behavioral Science Department spoke about disabilities and autism, my mind was taken back to this movie. There have been many advancements in the history of intellectually disabled persons. This speech pertained to me personally and for my trip to Colorado to work with the Autism Society of Colorado. Jan spoke on the history of intelectually disabled persons in the community. She told us of the program she and Jim started. She helped inspire me for the trip and how to treat and talk to the children we will potentially be working with. Jim spoke specifically on a general overview of autism. There is no known cause for autism, although there may be many theories. It is in the first three years of a child’s life when they first start showing symptoms of Autism. These symptoms include impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. This may be a terrifying discovery for many parents, as Jim explained. There may not be a technological or biological cause, but there may be once they have mapped specific genes that are associated with Autism. Their visit was very helpful for me personally. It prepared me for my Alternative Spring Break.
Fifty years ago, one in every 1000 individuals had an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Today that number has climbed to one in every 160 people that have this disability, according to Thursday’s guest lecturer, Jim Sherman. Increased accuracy of diagnosis has been one determinate of this sharp increase. However ASD seems to be increasing in occurrence within the nation.
ReplyDeleteIntellectual disabilities have become a hot topic item of discussion within our educational system and country. It’s a growing portion of our population and an ever increasing source of concern. How do we accommodate individuals with ASD? What is the source of ASD? What are the best therapy and medical options for these individuals? How do we pay for the medical and service costs associated with aid for individuals with ASD? These and many more questions plague our education, government, and society. However, it is especially within our schools do these questions have the biggest impact on individuals with ASD.
While each of these questions should be approached and answered carefully, the best source of progress in regards to intellectual disabilities is awareness. By creating a larger number of qualified professionals to work with children and adults with ASD and creating a more knowledgeable community, we can better serve such individuals.
Personally, this is a major reason that I am pursing a degree in Speech-Language-Hearing, and hope to work in the field of Speech Pathology in the future. Such a field largely caters to individuals with ASD by working one-on- one in order to help children with ASD cultivate their language, and communication abilities. Also, I am extremely excited to visit the Autism Society of Lakewood of Colorado because of their work to progress in this detrimental aspect of our society. Without such vital organizations, and the work of such individuals as Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon, I fear that individuals with intellectual disabilities would be greatly ignored within our society.
This week we had Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon (from the applied behavioral studies dept.) come to class to speak about people with developmental disabilities and autism. Being a psych minor I have become aware of the injustices and cruelties committed against mentally ill people in American History but I had never considered that people with developmental disabilities went through very similar atrocities. I am saddened to hear about the mistakes that have been made regarding treatment of developmentally disabled individuals but enjoyed the opportunity to learn about it in more detail because I feel that knowledge is the only way to prevent such horrible treatment of people in the future.
ReplyDeleteAn important clarification needs to be made when discussing who falls into the “developmentally disabled” classification; the term coined by congress in the 1970s is broad enough to encompass individuals with disorders ranging from down syndrome, to fetal alcohol syndrome and fragile X syndrome. Currently developmental disorders affect approx. 2% of the population so it is clear that it is important for people to be aware of the needs of these people.
I have somewhat limited knowledge and experience with people who have developmental disorders and autism (although my younger sister is studying to become a special education teacher so she tells me some things about it). Although, when I was in elementary school my school was implementing a program called “mainstreaming” in which children with developmental disorders, anger management problems and issues of that nature were in classes that were not tailored to their special needs. Meaning that I had kids with special needs in many of my elementary school classes. From my experience it was a good thing because I feel like they may have been made to feel bad or inferior if they were kept completely separate from the kids who did not have those same disabilities. I also felt that the exposure to different learning styles and people who have special needs in general helped to build a sense of acceptance and kindness in the kids in my classes. They would, however, always have a “helper” or special ed teacher present with them to help them if they needed and they would spend one hour a day working individually with the special education teacher. I was a bit surprised to discover how different each program is from school to school in Kansas. When Mr. Sherman addressed this question in class I realized that I had this false impression that all elementary schools had programs like mine but after he explained the situation I started to wonder what the best education system for developmentally disabled children really is. It is obvious that there is no easy answer for this but I think it is important to realize how far we have come in dealing with issues such as these and hopefully continued research and study will allow for the most productive and beneficial programs in the future.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to not be able to see or hear but my mom’s uncle is deaf. Since he lives in Houston, Texas and I am from Wichita, Kansas, I do not get to see him very often. However, when I do see him, he always inspires me. I love watching him communicate with his children and grandchildren who all know sign language. Even when he is talking with me or my family, who do not know sign language, he still finds a way to help us understand what he is trying to say. He does not let his disability get in the way of anything.
ReplyDeleteI also greatly admire people who work with children and adults with disabilities. It takes a lot of patience and hard work but very rewarding in the end because you know that you’ve helped them. One great program we have here at KU is Natural Ties. In this program, students from KU are paired up with adults in the Lawrence community with disabilities. Every Wednesday night, there is some activity like going to a movie or basketball game, playing board games or an ice cream social. The students take their “tie” to and from the event and hang out with them while there. I do not have a “tie” but I have gone to a few of the events with friends that do and it is always a lot of fun. You can see how much fun they are all having by the looks on their faces and for most of them it is the highlight of their week. It is great for them to have social interaction with each other as well as the students. It is great to see students giving up their wednesday nights to spend time with them. Unfortunately, people with disabilities are often mistreated or made fun of. however, the students involved in Natural Ties are very respectful and treat them just like any other person, exactly the way they deserve to be treated. -Rachel Zarich
There wasn't anything new to me in Thursday's lecture. Because music therapy is a related service that is often used with intellectual disabilities and Autism Spectrum disorder I have been studying and learning about the history of the IDEA development and changes in education for people with intellectual disabilities since I started my graduate equivalency degree last semester.
ReplyDeleteI think that last week’s lecture is going to have a profound effect on the progress that we make with the education and training of individuals with disabilities. The economy has placed enormous pressure on our government to cut budgets. Our guest lectures this week mentioned that the governor has proposed closing the last residential facility in Kansas. The question is where will those people go? Do we have support systems for those individuals in the community? What is the cost to local agencies and governments? How will local school districts fund the special education and support for children with special needs? We don’t want to go back to days of unsanitary and inhumane treatment of people with disabilities. The economic realities are going to have an impact on what can be done.
I think the other thing that we can be grateful for is that there has been enough noise raised about the Autism Spectrum Disorder that we are beginning to see the awareness and concern of our culture for these individuals. Even a couple of years ago the frame of reference for Autism would have been a couple of movies such as Rain man. There have been a number of very good movies dealing with these issues. The movie I am Sam, with Sean Pean is one example. Another was, Riding the Bus with My Sister with Rosie O’Donnell. Now we are beginning to see characters on our favorite TV shows that are exploring the challenges of intellectual disabilities and Autism. I hope that with awareness will come the desire to keep good programs going to the benefit of all society.
Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon came to our class to talk about health and disabilities. Since I am a student in applied behavioral science, I have learned about the history of people with disabilities before. I think it is very cruel to segregate people by having disabilities. I remember that solders went to the war to fight for their countries and when they came back to the country with no leg, he was segregated from other people and society. Not having a leg or arm make that person less important? I don’t think so. We have no right to treat other people this way. I have been doing practicum at research and training center on independent living at KU and I like how people support people with disabilities here in the U.S. They listen to their concerns and help them to be able to do things independently. I remember that one of the students with disability told me that they are not disabled but the environment makes them disabled. For example, some company will not hire people with disabilities or the buildings do not have slopes so they cannot get into the buildings. These environment factors cause them to have limited access and make them to have limited things to do. I agree with Jim Sherman to call the person first before their disabilities. We need to respect people with disabilities like other people. Also, he talked about autism during the lecture. Autism definitely became well known these days. People started to do researches and try to find the causes. As Jim Sherman said, there is no evidence or cause of getting autism. It could be vaccination, or genetics. However, there are so many people conducted researches and there are ways to cure or help people with autism. It became easier to find the way than before since it became a big issue in the U.S. but I am very proud of KU that they offers students to study and interact with children with autism and also it’s good for their parents. They can help their children by serving/giving effective treatment with affordable cost.
ReplyDeleteJim Sherman and Jan Sheldon gave this week’s lecture about health and disabilities; it was very interesting and relatable for me. My mom was a special education teacher while I was in junior high so it was nothing new for me but it was good to be reminded of the lives that people live with disabilities. When Jan talked about how they used to treat disabled people at the institutions my heart sank because that is just not how humans should treat one another. People with disabilities have feelings just like everybody else and feeding them mush and making them go around naked all day is completely inhumane. Up on KU campus I do not see many students with disabilities so it is sometimes easy to forget or get caught up in my own life. I believe that we can learn so much by working with disabled people and this week’s lecture almost made me want to be going on the trip to work with individuals with Autism. The lecture was also very relatable to my life because my younger brother has a disability that has left him in a wheelchair for the last 8 years of his life. He has a disease called Muscular Dystrophy, which basically causes his muscles to deteriorate over time. He has taught me so much about staying positive in life no matter how much things may try to bring us down. Whenever I see my younger brother he gives me motivation to work harder and be a better person because I know that there are individuals living in pain and stricken with diseases and disabilities. Jim and Jan gave a wonderful lecture and I think really got our attention going about disabled individuals. I hope that as a group we all walked away from it with more knowledge and more drive to go out and spend time with some individuals with disabilities helping them and intern helping ourselves to open our eyes to the world outside.
ReplyDeleteThis week, Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon came to speak with us about people with disabilities in the world today. This lecture was very relatable and very interesting to me. I am an Applied Behavioral Science major and am actually currently in Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon’s class. It’s ABSC 304: Behavior Modification and Therapy. It’s a very interesting class and I actually learned about everything they were discussing already in my class, but it never hurts to hear things twice. I’m currently majoring in Applied Behavioral Science and Pre-Occupational Therapy. I want to become an Occupational Therapist and work with people with disabilities. I want to be able to help them. In order to apply to OT school, you must have at least 40 hours of work experience with the special population. I got that done a long time ago, in high school actually. That’s where I became interested in working with the special population. I worked for a company called Helpers Inc. based out of Overland Park, KS. Once proven qualified and hired, you are matched with a family needing mentoring/caring (depending on the severity of the disability of their child). My first family was the Dozier family. I worked with Cory, their 15 year old mildly-autistic son. My job was to get him out into the community, and to improve his social skills because they were severely lacking. Cory was a very negative teen, often making threats and beating me up. (He was the same size as me and much stronger). Working with Cory was very difficult and I almost quit many times. It was rough but eventually,Cory warmed up to me a lot and looked forward to when I was coming over. This was an amazing experience for me and I looked forward to going to see him after school. He made a lot of progress and became a lot less resistant. Unfortunately, I had to stop working with Cory when I came to college because the commute was too much work. I hope he has found an even better helper than I was and he inspired me to pursue a career working with special populations.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Arenholz
From elementary school to junior high school, my classmates and I learned how to write in cursive, memorize all of our states and capitals and even did some algebra. One of my classmates, Andy, was born with Down Syndrome, which is a mental disability that limited his ability to learn and develop at the same rate that the rest of us did. At first, Andy took all the same classes that we did and honestly, I do not remember thinking that he was any different from anyone else in the early years. Eventually though, Andy took fewer classes with us and spent most of his day with his special education teacher. Because of my experience with Andy, it surprised me greatly when one of the speakers mentioned that some time ago, the disabled were not even given the opportunity to learn, but were basically treated as institutionalized animals.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that really affected me was when one of Thursday’s speakers, Jan Sheldon, mentioned that children with disabilities used to be viewed as innocent gifts from God. Now they are more often looked upon as objects of pity. Unfortunately, I usually fall into this category of people who see a child with a disability and feel sorry for them. As I grew older, I felt worse for Andy, who fell behind while the rest of us moved on. I think that the main reason for why I feel this way is because I know that it was not these people are not at fault for being born with disabilities. It definitely brings up the unanswerable question of why bad things happen to good people, or at least to people who seem undeserving of any physical or mental hindrances right at the beginning of life.
I am excited to work with the children at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind. Up to this point, my volunteer experiences have only been with healthy children without any disabilities. This will be a major challenge for me because I am definitely getting out of my comfort zone. I appreciate the many pieces of advice that our speakers gave us in working with the disabled. There was one comment that I have not been able to forget and that is to treat the disabled as a person first and to treat the disability second. People deserve to be treated the way you would want to be treated and this does not include actions moved by pity, but rather, this involves acts of sincerity.
--Cindy Vu
I am fascinated by the constantly evolving view of the disabled community. Jan Sheldon mentioned how people with disabilities have been viewed as holy and honored, objects of pity, subhumans and even threats to society. These changing views have led to a wide spectrum of behavior towards those with special needs. Some misconceptions have led to cruel, belittling and inhumane treatment such as sterilization or isolation. On the other hand, reform in education has encouraged integration and respect for those who are intellectually or physically disabled. In high school, I was part of a class called Interpersonal Skills that paired members of the senior class with students in special education in an attempt to bridge the gap between the special needs community and the general student body. Our teacher told us that in the past, her students were confined to one classroom in the school and rarely had any contact with people outside of the special education program. Thanks to raised awareness from the IPS class, her students are now friends with a wide range of people from the senior class. Social boundaries were crossed and lines were blurred at the high school as IPS classmates started walking to class, going to lunch and attending football games together. I think we could see a similar outcome in the larger community through deinstitutionalization. By giving people one small thing in common, whether it’s a class or a neighborhood, they start to count their similarities instead of their differences. How wonderful would a neighborhood block party be where neighbors, disabled or not, could discuss the joys and pains of their shoveling their driveways, mowing their lawns, or greeting the mailman? Communal living arrangements can reverse the detrimental effects of institutions and give those with special needs an opportunity to reconnect with society. Although it is sometimes uncomfortable, it is highly beneficial for us to constantly reach out to people who seem different from ourselves. I believe life should be constant education that expands our concept of normal. Deinstitutionalization definitely offers just that.
ReplyDelete-Hannah Duff
On Thursday during class we had two speakers who talked about working with individuals with disabilities, later more specifically autism. As a music therapy student going on the trip to Houston, it is very important to talk about and learn even more about children with disabilities since that is the population we will be working with over the spring break trip. Jan Sheldon defined developmental disabilities as mental and physical disabilities that have onset symptoms before the age of eighteen. Developmental disabilities are different than intellectual disabilities; this concept can be confusing for some people who do not have education or training in these populations of individuals. Intellectual disabilities can be broken down into four distinct categories: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. With the background of definitions solidified, the discussion continued about different views in history of people with disabilities.
ReplyDeleteI have volunteered with children with disabilities since early in my middle school years. I would go to the special education room during my study hall hours and just be in the room with my fellow students and help them learn life skills. They were completely segregated from the “typically developing” students’ classes, and so this was the only time I ever saw these students. However, in elementary school, I remember having classes and recess with a few students that had autism (although, at 9 years old we didn’t know what autism was).
One more thing that Jan Sheldon mentioned that is notable was the idea on how through time the views of the disabled have changed 10 fold. At first she talked about how the children with disabilities were seen as God sent and as a special baby for a special family. This idea soon turned to the children being seen as menaces to society. Individuals with disabilities, before the 1970s, were sent to institutions to be taken care of by the state. In the 70s, the deinstitutionalization movement occurred to take them out of these institutions and give them education and teach them how to live independently, or at least as independently as possible.
The final part of class was by Jim Sherman about the autism spectrum disorder. This is very important to know about as diagnosis has increased from 1:10000 children to 1:104 children diagnosed with some form of autism. The main thing that I took out of his talk, since I have already had many classes about autism and how music therapy can help individuals with autism is the characteristics of this disorder. Jim mentioned 4 main characteristics that help in the diagnosis of autism: not talking by the age of 1.5 years, social avoidance behaviors, self-stimulatory behaviors, and self-injurious behaviors.
I thought that this weeks topic was very intriguing. It is always great to learn about the history of all of the communities in our world. The coolest thing about them speaking is that they were there before people with disabilities had any rights, or were even acknowledged. It is very fulfilling to see that they could seek that passion they had for something that had not even been realised as a problem yet. They have gotten great benefits to see how their research and effort has dramatically effected the lives of many people with disabilities. They are no longer separated and invisible, but they did outreach so they are apart of any community they want to be in.
ReplyDeleteIt first shocked me too, when I learned that kids with disabilities, including the deaf, were not allowed in public schools until after African Americans fought for their rights in the school. In the late 1980's there was a strike at Gallaudet University which is the only University in the world for the Deaf Community. The president of the university had always been a hearing person. And during that years election there was a person who was deaf and a person who was hearing who were being chosen to be Gaulladet's next president. The hearing person had won, this frustrated all of the students because the only different between the runner ups was that one was hearing and one was deaf.
When the students all came together and boycotted going to classes, and refused to attend school until they had a deaf president. the boards reasons for choosing a hearing person was that she would be able to talk to people about the university and promote it at conferences and meetings. She would be more successful at bringing in students and be able to communicate better with all of the other administratrions they have to come by when representing a university. The board saying that the deaf runner up would not have been as elligble because his inability to hear would hold back the university's success was heart breaking for the students. If the board thinks that him being deaf prevents him from being equally successful, what was the board expressing about all of the students that were learning there? That they will not be equal either when they go out to find jobs. This statement really took out the whole meaning of the university, and everyone in America stood behind the protesting students.
Finally the new president stepped down and new regulations were made about hiring people who are deaf, and there has been a deaf predident since. It really was a landmark change for the Deaf Community because they were seen by all of America during this protest and they got to see that everyone was behind them, and now they could finally have someone from the Deaf Community represent them as a universtiy.
CNN.com recently posted an article, "Kenya's mentally ill locked up and forgotten." It was about disabilities in Kenya. Due to a lack of funding from federal the federal budget, people with disabilities aren't able to receive the help and care they so desperately need. One mother told the reporters that she keeps her son tied up so he doesn't run away and hurt himself. She wants somewhere safe for him to go, but the hospitals there aren't sufficient or safe. From that article, I inferred that people with disabilities in Kenya and other countries like it don't get to attend school.
ReplyDeleteHere in America, students with disabilities get to attend school. According to the US Department of Education, the number of students with disabilities attending school has increased significantly since the late 1970s. Specialized learning for them has been developed as well. In my high school, I worked as a peer tutor for a student with disabilities. I had never thought much of the special education program before, but when I became a peer tutor, I realized how much impact education had on every student, regardless of disabilities. Learning can be a challenge for anyone, and for a student with a disability, it is incredibly hard to overcome certain stereotypes in education. Just because a student has a certain disability doesn't mean they aren't able to learn certain things. The initial stereotype that comes with someone with a disability causes problems in the education system. As more students with disabilities are getting the opportunities to attend school, these stereotypes need to be dropped so every student can get an equal opportunity at education. Just the slightest hint that students with disabilities can't achieve much can be extremely hurtful and problematic. Every student deserves a full education regardless of their disability.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/25/kenya.forgotten.health/index.html?iref=allsearch
-Megan Carr
On Thursday, Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon spoke on a subject I know very little about- disabilities, particularly autism. I have never really worked with people with disabilities before besides one week last summer when the summer camp I worked at hosted adults with disabilities rather than children. It was an interesting week, full of both fun and frustration. I respect them both for dedicating their lives to such a difficult subject to work with, particularly considering the public's ever-changing views of people with disabilities. Jan's timeline of the public mindset on disabilities was fascinating; I had no idea it had shifted so often and so thoroughly throughout history. Each set of beliefs about the disabled was so radically different, it was as if they weren't on the same topic at all. I did know that people with disabilities used to be institutionalized and treated as if they were animals from our unit on abnormal psychology in high school. It is such a dark, depressing topic that I remember having a hard time stomaching the information. It's hard to even comprehend that humans are capable of such atrocities. I think it's truly amazing that Jan and Jim were advocating for the rights of those with disabilities long before such a thing was widely accepted. They seem to be true pioneers in their field.
ReplyDeleteI find autism particularly interesting because from what I've heard it seems that every autism case is different, which was supported by Jim's assertion that some autistic kids respond exponentially better to treatment than do others. I hope research one day shines some light on this mystery; with any luck, it will. It seems that the better we understand this mysterious disease, the more capable we will be of treating those that are inflicted and supporting their families.
This week Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon from the Applied Behavioral Science Department came and informed us about a few issues regarding people with disabilities. I am going to the Autism Society of Colorado over break so I found this exceptionally helpful. I worked with children on the spectrum in high school through a tutoring program but didn’t know nearly enough about the disorder. As I was listening to their lectures I found myself getting very upset and worked up about the issues being presented. It saddened me to hear some of the things that people had to go through. I was never very educated on the subject, probably due to the fact that it is a taboo subject. A few issues that really caught my attention were: education and treatment of individuals with autism. It surprised me a great deal to hear that it was just in 1975 that people with disabilities were ‘given’ the right of an education. Another issue was the Willowbrook experiment. I had heard a little about it but not to this extent. It seems that in today’s society the only way to learn about these types of things is to self-educate. The Willowbrook experiment story I heard was a lot more “dumbed down” and not nearly as harsh as the experiment’s reality. Also, just the way many institutes treated their patients were awful.
ReplyDeleteJan spoke of different stages of society’s treatment of individuals with autism. The attitudes that really stuck out were; ‘be nice and pity them,’ ‘they are sick and need to be put in hospitals,’ and ‘they are a menace to society.’ All these outlooks surprised me but I know when I was younger I didn’t know how to handle situations and interactions with people with disabilities. I agree that education is very helpful for individuals with disabilities, but it is also very important to educate one’s self on such social issues.
-Christine Van Allen
Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon from the Applied Behavioral Science Department spoke about disabilities and autism during this week’s Alternative Breaks class. I have experience working with people with disabilities but still learned new information from class. I did not know how society’s view of people with disabilities had changed throughout history. Society first saw people with disabilities as a blessing because it meant that God thought the family could handle a child with special needs. Then eventually society view of people with disabilities evolved to locking them up in asylums in order to keep them away from the rest of the community. This thought about people with disabilities has only changed within the last thirty years. I think it is really sad that society was so ignorant that they were scared what a person with disabilities would do to the community. Since then it has been proven over and over that people with disabilities can learn just like everyone else allowing them to have a better quality of life. In addition, I believe that my education was effected positively because of the inclusion of people with disabilities into schools. I have learned a great deal from the children with disabilities that were in my class growing up.
ReplyDeleteI think the most shocking thing I learned during class on Thursday was how expensive the intervention therapy was for children with autism. Paying for the program would be a huge financial burden for families with children with autism and many people would not be able to afford it. I was happy to hear that some states have passed laws that allow insurance to pay for the therapy but Kansas’ law is still in the works. Until then, many parents with children with autism must send their children to public schools where they get some intervention but not nearly as extensive or as much one on one attention as the programs Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon discussed.
-Anne Salvato
I really appreciated what Jim and Jan are trying to accomplish for people with intellectual disabilities. I think our society does not pay enough attention to people with intellectual disabilities, although I think the resources for these people has significantly increased. However, we still have a long way to go and there is still so much more to be discovered. My mother works as an aid to children with autism at our local public school, so I get to see second-hand some of the issues children with autism face on a daily basis. Each child gets an IEP, which stands for an individualized education program. I think that it is a good idea, however, it is clearly not enough. The children she works with are thorn into a classroom with children who do not have any intellectual abilities. My mother works with a 10 year old who can only comprehend up to the intellectual level of a five year old. This is clearly not the best environment for him, but unfortunately there is not really any other option. Our public schools are not prepared well for children with intellectual abilities at all. As the boy my mother works with gets older its school is only going to get harder and people will become less patient with him. Our public schools really have no plan for children with autism and they just throw by the wayside once they turn 21. I think we need to have more programs like Jim and Jan have created that help the individual adapt into the real world.
ReplyDeleteWorking with children who have learning disabilities is a challenge. Their needs are different but equally important. Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon from the Applied Behavioral Science Department spoke about disabilities and more specifically autism during this Alternative Breaks class this week. Jan spoke first touching on the definition of developmental disabilities. A disability is a physical, intellectual or learning disability that affects the person’s ability to live independently and learn. The part of her speech I found most interesting was the change in the way we view people with disabilities. She explained how society has gone from viewing them as an act of God, to an object of pity, to having a sickness, to being subhuman, to being a menace to society. She warned those of us who were going to be working in schools or directly with children with disabilities to be conscious and aware of how we treat them. We should treat them with the same respect as any other child and offer them choices, never assume they don’t care. The care of these individuals has improved dramatically in the last few decades. There used to be laws to sterilize or execute individuals with learning disabilities because people were afraid of them. Now there are laws to protect them. This includes a law instituted in 1975 stating that all children with disabilities must be provided education between the ages of three and twenty one. The model now is to see the person first and the disability second. After all, 1 in every 106 births is a child with some form of autism. For families who have a child with autism or a learning disability there are many more lifestyle options available. There has been a change from institutions to smaller group homes where they can be more self-sufficient and lead more normal lives.
ReplyDeleteThis was the most interesting lecture so far in my opinion. Being a psychology major I am very interested in developmental disabilities and how they affect people and the societies they live in. I really look up to Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon as they have a lot of experience with kids with developmental disabilities such as autism. I really loved hearing Jim talk about how treatment of autism came about the growing effectiveness of those methods. Also, I found it very interesting when Jan discussed the evolving views of society on the mentally disabled. A lot of what she said coincided with what I have learned in my abnormal psychology course. How people went from viewing these individuals as gifts from the gods to menaces to society is fascinating to me, as well as the changes in the treatments involved. Furthermore, I'm glad to have been given a little insight on the different levels of mental disablement and what exactly those levels imply for the living capabilities of the individual. Overall I really enjoyed hearing Jim and Jan talk about their experiences and share their knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI was greatly interested in the presentation from last week's class, especially the particular subject of autism. Growing up, I spent a lot of time around a cousin who had autism. Because I was around this intellectual disability from a very young age, it did not occur to be that strange to me. My cousin was never treated differently by anyone in our family, though no one was blind to the disability. However, upon reaching formal schooling throughout junior high and high school, I realized not everyone had as clear of an understanding of autism and other intellectual disabilities as I was lucky to have. What is important to remember, as our lecturers pointed out, is that a person is not defined by the disability they are diagnosed with. Political correctness goes far beyond politeness in this facet of disabilities; people are people, and all deserve the same respect and access to education and other opportunities. A disability should not be the deciding factor in whether or not someone can positively contribute to society. In history, we were told that this was not always the case; those born with an intellectual disability were deemed specially made that way by God at one point in time, and seen as an affliction to a normal family. People’s knowledge of disabilities has developed over time to encompass a more generally normal, understanding perspective. I was also very surprised to learn about the costs of intervention and therapy programs for children with autism. This is something I had never considered that schools must deal with and provide as much as they can with very limited funding. Jim and Jan’s work, which is sometimes as much as eight hours a day, makes a large difference in the lives of those with autism that they work with, and they are able to do so with very little cost. Unfortunately, public and private schools cannot provide such inexpensive care. While I am not attending a break where this is a prevalent issue, it was a very interesting and though-provoking lecture.
ReplyDeleteProfessors Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon visited us Thursday from the Applied Behavioral Science department. Working with the Department of Applied Behavioral Science, they came to share their knowledge and thoughts on developmental disabilities. I have some interest in this field of study and at one point had considered a degree working with developmentally handicapped individuals in the public school system.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sheldon talked briefly about the broad definition of disability and how, because this has changed over the years, we are seeing a lot more people diagnosed with things like Autism. I find it interesting to note that the definition specifies it as a physical or mental disability manifesting prior to age 18. Perhaps this is specifically when determining services within the public school system. I have experience with individuals who may have had some latent disabilities, not enough to warrant assistance, but which did not truly manifest themselves until they were adults. I’m sure our social systems do not leave them out but wonder how this definition applies.
Professor Sheldon spoke about the history of treatment for people having mental or developmental disabilities. I had heard and read accounts of mental health “hospitals” in the early part of the century and experimentation done on them because they had no feelings and no rights but was not aware of the other history. She mentioned that while people with disabilities were commonly viewed now as objects of pity, they had once been accepted as a gift by the family they were born into. Professor Sherman spoke briefly about autism and the increased awareness of this disease. Because there were no clear definitions of it, and it manifests itself so broadly on an individual basis, this illness has been a hard one to make people aware of and take seriously.
I find it concerning that these days, 1 out of 106 children born exhibit autistic tendencies but conversely the fact that it is being detected earlier means these children have a better opportunity to overcome these behaviors and grow up to be high functioning individuals. I participated in an ABS class last semester, and learned more about how it is diagnosed and treated and even given the advanced diagnosis, it appears there is no set criteria which leads me to wonder if some children are not misdiagnosed. The book we read in my ABS class detailed one families work with their children who began to exhibit signs of autistic behavior and it takes a person with tremendous perseverance to help these children and I admire anyone who has elected to make this their life’s work.
Having worked in the community with several people who have a range of disabilities, I am always interested in hearing the options they have to contribute to the culture of a town. I feel we have significant opportunities available in our town through the work done at the Dole Center, Independence Inc. and Cottonwood Industries and would like to see more done at the school system level. Professor Sherman mentioned the costs involved but it has been proven that handicapped individuals do tend to perform better when they have consistent social interactions. It is my hope that we can expand the developmental opportunities at the public school level so that more children can benefit from these services.
Ms. Sheldon and Mr. Sherman came in to talk to us about disabilities and specifically autism this Thursday night. I thought that the whole speech was very interesting and I found some things out that I had no idea about. I recently worked with a woman as a personal care assistant for her and her disability, she was born without legs or arms. I learned a lot in personal experiences with her and I thought that it was interesting that when Ms. Sheldon talked, she emphasized about saying the persons name first and then the disability. I never knew that this was proper, and although I never even said she was disabled to her face, I wish I would’ve referred to her differently when I told people what my job was. Even now, only about fifty years after the official including of these people in 1975, I believe there is way too many people out there who don’t know the proper way to act around people with developmental disabilities. There should be a way to at least inform little interaction tips about disabilities. As I was personally interested, I found a great site on disability etiquette.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdf
This site is very informative and could be something useful to summarize and put in the University Daily Kansan.
Contradicting myself, I do see that these people want to be acknowledged equally, but would be curious to know if they would be upset that they were supposed to be treated differently.
When Mr. Sherman talked about autism, although I knew that there is no cure or medication/vaccination, I didn’t know that they did not know the cause of autism. This is very interesting to me. Also, I didn’t realize the cost of doing an intervention with these kids. Twenty five to sixty thousand dollars a year for about two to three years! That is insane. I have worked with high intellectual disabled autism cases and have not experienced a mild case. I am very interested in how they are different, or how their thinking functions. I know that some can even drive cars.
Kelsey Connolly
Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon were both wonderful speakers. This past Thursday, I learned a lot about how people with disabilities used to be treated. I never knew that most were institutionalized and treated like animals. Thankfully, our treatment of people with disabilities has reformed over the years, and now we are required to provide an education for people with disabilities. The presenters also talked about autism. The stages of autism become apparent at a very young age. It starts with the infant hurting itself. The infant is very secluded and anti-social, and will often ignore its own parents. The child is non-responsive and often times will play with its own fingers for hours on end. Later on, the child will not begin to talk when a normal child would typically begin speech. All of these very terrifying symptoms often times lead to autism. It was shocking for me to find out how relatively recent autism was discovered and attempted to be relieved. At first, people did not try to do anything for people with autism, and would just keep them hidden in their homes, or send them to an institution. Then people began to try to teach people with autism how to speak, and how to be more independent. Now we have an education system for people with disabilities, and we actually try to help them. We also learned that autism affects one in every 106 births. This number was very surprising to me, because I never realized it was that high of a percent. I learned a lot about autism that I didn’t know before, but what I learned that was most important to me was how to treat people with disabilities. I learned to never refer to them as the disabled, because that means you are defining them by their disability. Instead, it is better to refer to them as a person first, and then say they have a disability. Also, it is good to let them make their own decisions when it comes to things, instead of making the decisions for them. People with disabilities deserve to be treated just like anybody else!
ReplyDelete-Janani G.
The presentation Jim Sherman and Jan Sheldon gave regarding disabilities in society was incredibly interesting, particularly their explanation of society’s reaction to developmental disabilities. The perception of this community has changed greatly since the late 19th century. Originally, people understood these disabilities as a gift from God bestowed upon only the people that were truly good enough or strong enough to care for them. These people were regarded with high reputations in their communities. This positive view of those developmental disabilities rapidly degrades after this period. They became an object of pity for which the public thought they should treat as charity. It is easy to see why this led to trend led to the subsequent fad where developmental disabilities were considered a sickness. It was believed that it was simply an illness that could be cured with the correct treatment; this led to hospitalization of many of these people. After the establishment of clinical side of disabilities, including mental hospitals in which psychosurgery was a regular practice. These types of surgeries rarely worked and they even resulted in the death of a darling of the nation, a Kennedy. The public began to think of this community as menaces to society. Most people with developmental disabilities were subject to sterilization. Not soon after, a subhuman quality was projected on those with disabilities rendering them even less a part of society and even more dependent upon others. The surge since this dark time has been to teach people with intellectual disabilities to be independent with more self-efficacy. It was interesting to find out that the journalist Geraldo actually played a large part in exposing the living conditions of developmentally disabled individuals. This history was slightly appalling to me. I have an aunt who works with intellectually disabled children and she found me a job working with a little boy with Down Syndrome for an hour a week. This job never felt like work, and I enjoyed myself with a kid that could be excited about everything. I feel very privileged to live in a time where the public is really becoming aware of the facts and tolerant of people who simply seem different.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the constantly evolving view of the disabled community. Jan Sheldon mentioned how people with disabilities have been viewed as holy and honored, objects of pity, subhumans and even threats to society. These changing views have led to a wide spectrum of behavior towards those with special needs. Some misconceptions have led to cruel, belittling and inhumane treatment such as sterilization or isolation. On the other hand, reform in education has encouraged integration and respect for those who are intellectually or physically disabled. In high school, I was part of a class called Interpersonal Skills that paired members of the senior class with students in special education in an attempt to bridge the gap between the special needs community and the general student body. Our teacher told us that in the past, her students were confined to one classroom in the school and rarely had any contact with people outside of the special education program. Thanks to raised awareness from the IPS class, her students are now friends with a wide range of people from the senior class. Social boundaries were crossed and lines were blurred at the high school as IPS classmates started walking to class, going to lunch and attending football games together. I think we could see a similar outcome in the larger community through deinstitutionalization. By giving people one small thing in common, whether it’s a class or a neighborhood, they start to count their similarities instead of their differences. How wonderful would a neighborhood block party be where neighbors, disabled or not, could discuss the joys and pains of their shoveling their driveways, mowing their lawns, or greeting the mailman? Communal living arrangements can reverse the detrimental effects of institutions and give those with special needs an opportunity to reconnect with society. Although it is sometimes uncomfortable, it is highly beneficial for us to constantly reach out to people who seem different from ourselves. I believe life should be constant education that expands our concept of normal. Deinstitutionalization definitely offers just that.
ReplyDelete-Hannah Duff