Psychology with ICF and Ageing Development Theories - Term Paper Example

SECTION A a) Arlene is approximately five feet, three inches tall, with gray, short, curly hair. Her voice has a low volume and pitch but it is very clear. Arlene prefers to talk point with as few words as possible to convey a clear message. Her intelligent way of talking can keep your attention. She has a tendency of raising her shoulders and frowning, but she keeps good eye contact. This seems to suggest a lack of contentment but resigned attitude towards her situation. She also expressed a sense of sadness due to the fact of her age, and feels that people do not listen to her anymore because she is too old to be taken seriously. She can still maintain a topic and begin new and intelligent topics, so her mind is still active. However, her memory is a bit weak. She indulges in crossword puzzles, and no rough physical routine, so her body might be weak. Arlene misses her husband and worries about him since she has not seen her for a couple of years, but she was not informed by the nurses of his demise, out of fear for her psychological health and she might become unstable. She is happy about the fact that she was able to make new friends in the residential home, but at the same time, she feels that she is in a prison. She feels that she lost her independence from her old lifestyle. b) The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, otherwise known as ICF, is a way to classify groups and perspectives in context of functionality or disability. It promotes the focus for a healthier environment for people, but most especially older adults. As per the article of Philippa Clarke “Environments for Healthy Ageing” (2009, pp. 14-15), the ICF understands that there are a lot of physical and social barriers that can contribute to an older adult’s functions and which can also affect the way she can interact with her environment. One of the foremost things that can affect the person is her environment. Instead of considering disability as something which is only true for a minority group, taking the elderly people as example, the ICF maintains the concept that it is a normal human experience, and that each person can experience some degree of disability in life (World Health Organization, 27 April 2010, http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/). Social and environmental factors can have a vast effect to the way a person can interact with the environment, and in such a way, can be considered a disability. The purpose of the ICF is to give new meaning to the idea of ‘disability’ and ‘health’ so as to include other factors, such as environment, that can play a part in the way a person communicates with her environment. Also taken into account is the social environment, of which the person is a part of, and to not limit disability to merely a biological or medical condition. c) Miss Arlene seems resigned to her situation in the residential home but was still able to make new acquaintances, given she is at an age when others could have become more reclusive and solitary. However, she airs a certain discontent, the feeling of being trapped in a cell, of being unable to do what she used to be capable of doing. She also mentioned that she is not taken seriously anymore because of her age. This is understandable, given her age, where many gain the feeling that they are nothing but unnecessary baggage. Considering the bio-psychosocial model, it can be seen that she feels that she is being taken apart from society because she could no longer adapt to the changes in the world, and so instead she has be rehabilitated with others who has the same ‘problem.’ But since the residential home presented a rather nice place to stay, with relatives being allowed to visit and even a few things that can keep them occupied, she feels safe and at home, although still trapped. Considering the multi-dimensional model, she seems to be limited to only a few activities because of her age. However, she does not seem to have any actual physical defect or limitation, except from the obvious one which is age. Her mind is still sharp, and she can make intelligent conversation. Considering the universal model, she has can not be truly considered ‘disabled,’ but at the same time, environmental factors also play a part. The continuous model suggests that disability is not a simple ‘yes or no’ matter. Rather, it suggests that disability is a matter of degrees of functionality of a person. But so-called ‘thresholds of disabilities’ are optional, not mandatory, when it comes to considering if a person is disabled. It poses the question of how much the person is disabled. Considering the older adult in the project, she is still capable of a variety of functions, except perhaps motor skills. However, when it comes to extremities, such thresholds become important, as is the case if the person is completely blind or deaf, then there is a severe limitation to her functions, and not merely a degree. ICF considers the older adult when setting a threshold, rather than stating one for every person. It depends whether Arlene, for example, considers her age to be enough to prevent her from performing certain actions. The person, herself, however, could also judge herself too quickly, simply based on age. If not, then it is the environmental factors around her, specifically younger relatives, which will judge and set the threshold for the older adult. The interactive model considers that personal and environmental factors play important parts in the older adult’s health condition. However, this is mostly a non-linear, dynamic interaction. For example, a person with less than the normal amount of limbs can still interact quite well with his environmental, particularly the social environment, without any limitation whatsoever, especially if a means to get around is provided. If we consider Arlene, she does not really have any severe personal limitation, and she can still interact quite well with her environment, since she was able to make new friends in the residential home. The contextual factors still apply to Arlene’s situation, whereas before she was surrounded by a familiar environment and familiar social circles, now it has been changed, and she has to adapt accordingly. Personal and environmental factors are co-dependent, in a sense that her personality and skills will have to depend on the environment she is in. If she used to be a simple and silent housewife, she now needs to socialize a bit so that she can meet new people and gain new understanding of how the new environment and social dynamics work. At the same time, her environment also needs to adapt to her presence, which can cause a ripple effect, for good or for ill. Whatever disability she may have, which at the point of contact was not really obvious aside from her age, it was not at all physical. However, the ICF does not make a separation between mental and physical disabilities with regards to health conditions. Usage of proper language should also be observed. There are some terminologies that are better off left out of the vocabulary when it comes to the older adults, as such insensitive words can offend them, especially if they have any disability, mental or physical. ICF has given recommendations, such as using terms like ‘vision functions’ instead of ‘blindness,’ and ‘intellectual functions’ instead of ‘totally dull.’ It should be noted that such terminologies can also be applied to people with disabilities other than older adults. As such, it would help to include additional recommended terminologies. The term ‘health condition’ can include a wide variety of symptoms for the person, but at the same time it does not imply anything specific so as to make the person feel ashamed of his condition, whatever it might be. ‘Functioning’ is also a general term that implies the interaction between a person’s environmental and personal factors, usually in a positive way. ‘Disability’ is a term used for any lack in the functioning of a person, which can include limits to activities or the way she interacts with the environmental factors. ‘Barriers’ are factors in the person’s environment that can create a limitation in the way a person can interact with the environment through its absence or presence. While Arlene is not yet exactly considered disabled, because she can still make use of her capacities to interact with her environment, she has certain limitations in her capacity to perform certain activities that can make her unfit for their performance. Although she is very capable of interacting with her current environment and the environment seems to be favorable to her possible disabilities. Adapting well in her environment is the only thing she can do as of the moment, although she feels limited by it. She can still further develop. References Philippa Clarke 2009, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, viewed 25 April, 2010, http://www.elsevier.com/locate/maturitas World Health Organization, 27 April 2010, http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/ Read More