Working with Mentally Retarded - Essay Example

 Working with Mentally Retarded I have had ample experience of working with disabled and mentally retarded people. I had always enjoyed doing welfare work, which would benefit the society and deserving people. I felt that the disabled are looked down in our society and thus they are not given equal opportunities at all fields of life. That is exactly the reason why I worked for Blackstone Valley Arc. For over five years. This was a very fulfilling experience in my life and un-doubtfully I would never forget this period from my life. I always remember that time as the best period in my life. Blackstone Valley Arc is a non profit organization which works exclusively for the mentally handicapped and disabled. Throughout that time I also worked at a Sunday relief center for youngsters and grownups with disabilities and mentally retarded who lived with their families, and later as the weekend personnel at a group home for 15 adult females. I have worked with groups whose extent of retardation varied from mild to intense. Mentally retarded adults and children have personalities, lifestyles and concerns as diverse as any other section of mankind. These people also have power to analyze their experiences and learn from them. Although their learning process might be a bit weaker than a normal person, but that does not mean that they cannot overcome this problem through persistent efforts and effective support from others. I learned that in order to enhance their learning ability, we would have to provide them the facilities and the proper moral support in order to motivate them in order to rise up to the level of others. The most common method to utilize this is by breaking up complex tasks into minor small parts which would let them comprehend and analyze the problem effectively. Another concern of such disabled and mentally retarded adults and children is that they should be treated as a normal person. Thus, these disabled and mentally retarded should not be considered as “absurd” or “special”, rather they should be treated just like any other person in their place. The biggest benefit of such an effort is that these people try to keep up their learning pace with those of normal people with them, which lets them compete effectively. Similarly, such mentally retarded children and adults should be encouraged to work (physically) just like a normal person. Although they should be given instructions in the same was as a normal person, but if they find difficulty in analyzing or comprehending such instructions so these instructions should be elaborated and explained in a slow but polite manner. This method of instruction would give the impression to these people that they are equitant both mentally and physically to any other person. These mentally retarded children and adults have a very little experience of dealing with different types of people. Thus, they expect every person talking to them is very honest and is providing information very honestly. This is a very difficult concept to eliminate and to teach these kinds of people that they have to face the wrath of the real world real soon. Thus, these kinds of people have to be told about how people cheat mentally retarded children and adults, and the various ways in which such quacks can be avoided. Mentally retarded people have and I.Q. level which lies below seventy points. The average I.Q. is about one hundred. Any person having an I.Q. level above one hundred and thirty can be considered a very intelligent (or a genius) person. Mentally retarded children and adults have difficulty in learning information. I would discuss some of the cases I had came across during my half a decade of welfare work with mentally retarded children and adults. A child with autism (XYZ) was taught by his parents to dress properly. He learned to iron his cloths and to wear cloths which matched the weather and mood. He used to come well dressed to the home and was even able to travel through public transport. He had gradually learned to speak properly and was able to initiate short talks. This child had the ability to create a very good impression on strangers. I found out about this problem faced by this child when I met him in the elevator. He initiated a short talk and thus he disclosed he suffered from this mental disability. He also told me about intentions for the future and that he wanted to become a doctor once he grew up. Once I received a call from my mother that my aunt was very severely ill, and thus I decided to take a day off. This person in my office (Mr. X) saw me worried and thus came up to me to inquire about my worry. I disclosed the reason for my concern and requested him to pray for my aunt. He promised to pray for my aunt. Later when I returned to work after a week, he inquired about the health of my aunt, and I informed him that she had recovered and was now regaining health. He was extremely delighted and said he was very sure that God would not let my aunt to die as he was praying for my aunt’s health. I felt so touched by this comment I immediately hugged him and kissed him. He then disclosed that he had no words to thank God as although he suffered from mental retardness, he claimed that God never overlooked his prayers, and thus he was very happy that God had not forgotten him, infact he considered his disability as a blessing in disguise. Another interesting experience I had was with a young lady who used to work with us. She was very dedicated and loved to work hard to achieve success. She was so devoted to her work that if anyone pointed out her mistake, she would feel very depressed and at time she also yelled and started crying. She thought that making is mistake was non-human. We all tried to convince her that making mistake was not such a big issue but all in vain. I thus decided to change our strategy and I pondered over this situation. I looked over the internet to research on the latest methodology and techniques which were used to motivate such people with mental retardness and disabilities. I came across a very unique technique which I implemented just to experiment and learn. I made a chart and used to write on it with permanent marker. Thus, if any mistakes were made, I would not be able to correct it by erasing it. I took the chart to the worried young lady and started writing on the chart. She kept watching very intendly in order to analyze the problem which I was trying to convey. I told her to correct my sentences whenever I made any mistake. Thus, I purposefully made several mistakes and she rightly pointed it out immediately. She felt that it was unbeliever that I was making mistakes, and thus this method shattered her myth that humans cannot make mistakes. I regularly did this exercise with this patient and thus I had a tough time in convincing her that mistakes should not be taken in a pessimist view, but instead should be considered as a tool to achieve perfection in her work. Later, I found out that she looked forward to our comments and suggestions for her work and thus she learned to adopt to mistakes she make and the ways and means to rectify them. It has long been documented that employment is a major factor in independence and community amalgamation. This paper overviews the status of employment for children and adults with mental disabilities with mental retardation, considers emerging approaches to enhancing employment outcomes, and presents some of the future opportunities that will affect employment outcomes. Employment is a route to economic independence, a path to social identification, and a foundation for personal networking for most adults in United States society. In our adult years, we define ourselves by our careers, support our lifestyles through our wages, and develop our friendships through our place of work. Unfortunately, for many children and adults with mental disabilities with mental retardation, employment and the linked benefits have not been a realistic option. For children and adults with mental disabilities, who might have once been viewed as unemployable, these societal trends have fostered a shift from a medical model emphasizing a clinic or center-based approach of "fixing" or "curing" children and adults with mental disabilities with mental disabilities to the present emphasis on capabilities, choice, and workplace supports in maximizing the work potential of children and adults with mental disabilities with mental disabilities. Recently, other factors have also contributed to a positive outlook regarding the employment potential of Americans with mental disabilities desiring to work. These factors include favorable economic conditions and a strong demand for labor. I have noted that over the past two decades a number of factors have influenced the employment of children and adults with mental disabilities with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. Some of these relate to the evolution of the American children and adults with mental disabilities, whereas others reflect changes in the systems that support children and adults with mental disabilities with mental retardation. I learned that such mentally affected people have a very good condoling power, which lets them calm down people who are very worried and sad. Besides the incident I had mentioned above, another case was that of Cindy, who was a mentally retarded person whom I had worked with. Once our firm had lost a very valuable client, and thus everyone was lamenting this fact and was very sad over this situation. Cindy came up to our group and cheered us up and said that life goes on and thus we should look forward to new clients. If we look at the current American workfoce, we find that current unemployment rate is averaging 6%, with some areas of the country reporting less than 2%, would indicate that there is a growing need for workers in all sectors. In fact, many employers are considering workers who in the past would not have been regarded as part of the labor pool. Companies are offering supports to workers in the form of more flexible work schedules, home employment, nontraditional benefits plans, shared job options, and supports for workers who need personal or family assistance. In a few instances, employers have expanded human resource services, offering case management, childcare, and housing assistance. Although these are the exceptions, it would seem that, given the current shortage of employees, opportunities to increase the employment for workforce with mental retardation arc major. Unfortunately, the rate of unemployment (or "not in the labor force") for workforce with mental retardation hovers around 70%, which has been repeatedly stated by researchers. Overall, based on my experience, I can state that employers, while asking for assistance, arc having difficulty making the connection between the untapped labor resource of workforce with mental retardation and their company needs. A more direct link between employers and the public rehabilitation system (including community rehabilitation programs) is essential. Contribution in business associations (the Chamber of Commerce, Linked Industries, and local trade associations) will increase visibility, but, unless there is more aggressive marketing and outreach, such participation is unlikely to lead to real jobs for workforce with mental retardation. Community rehabilitation providers must understand employer needs, assist in responding to those needs, and link the labor resources available through these programs to the job duties in the company. The development of a strong employer relationship will open doors to jobs, but matching individual skills to a company's job needs is essential to effective job placement. The changing workforce, the increased emphasis on equality and opportunity, and the recognition that there is a need for a closer working relationship between employers and those charged with facilitating the entry into work of the nontraditional worker are all elements that in the coming years will create more jobs for workforce with mental retardation. In addition, some systemic changes are occurring that will also facilitate increased employment opportunities. Another incident I can recall was with Mr. XYZ. He came to me and disclosed that he had a tough time convincing his family members to let him work to earn his own living. He stated that his mother thought he was too weak (mentally) to work and thus she encouraged him to stay back at home with her and to live like this throughout his life. His mother also discouraged him to socialize and to work with his friends and peers. He felt isolated and stated the he has been a gregarious person throughout his life, and thus without friends he would definitely go from bad to worse. I tried to understand the situation and explained this to the poor person. I inquired if he loved his mother, and he started crying. I knew he loved his mother like hell, but it was just a bit of frustration which had forced him to speak out against her. He later explained that his mother did not like the actions of current youth and especially with regards to indecent clothing and having promiscuous sex and having children out of wedlock. He stated that his mother was afraid that he would also fall for the same problems which were widespread throughtout America. I decided I should talk to her mother and thus I arranged for a meeting with his mother. When I met his mother, I discovered that she had no such toughts and infact she had left her other children on their own and they all used to live their own lives. I therefore, convinced her that she should not treat her mentally retarded kid in such a difficult and absurd way and therefore she should let him take up his own job and work just like a normal person. She agreed with my thoughts and immmeidatley allowed him to work. Throughout my experience, I had learned that natural supports are a promising method of increasing integration of workers with mental disabilities in employment settings. On the other hand, natural support methods lack empirical validation regarding increasing integration in the workplace and reflect the lack of evidence on natural supports in general. The need to continue research in this area is clear. Researchers had rightly noted that any instructional approach in supported employment must be effective for each individual and must be compatible with the setting in which it is to be used. It does not seem to us to be an either-or choice between natural supports and the traditional job-coach model. We believe that each worker with a disability first needs to be considered as a human being and then supports should be built around their needs, rather than arbitrarily deciding that a specific method is appropriate for achieving integration in the workplace. Ascertaining if a worker with mental disability is really included in the workplace is difficult, indeed . There can be no single indicator which can tell employment specialists if a human being is experiencing utmost inclusion at the work site. To a certain extent, a number of factors must be looked at when evaluating integration outcomes. In addition, each supported worker is going to have his or her own opinion as to what quality integration is and which characteristics of a work setting are rewarding. It is likely that a human being will be pleased with some aspects of a job and desire change or improvement in other areas. As researchers build up a better understanding of how to have room for the workplace to fit the strengths and needs of those with mental retardation, employers will be better able to utilize this under-represented segment of the American human resources. I am very confident that the future holds a lot of promises for the mentally retarded. Employment is a viable and necessary goal and should be included as an outcome in all transition plans. Rather than not being included in the workforce statistics by the Department of Labor, workforce with mental retardation should be reported as unemployed and part of the group of job seekers who would benefit from generic employment and training services and supports. The safe harbor of sheltered employment must be exposed as a setting that does not contribute to the independence, productivity, or integration of workforce with mental retardation. Networking and personal networks must be developed in early years, thus nurturing continuous Although the economy is booming and workforce with mental retardation arc showing some gain in the world of employment, we have a long way to go. I am hopeful that, given continued recognition of workforce with mental retardation as contributing members of society, the reality of the next decade will be one of greater employment opportunities for workforce with mental retardation in jobs that are not merely entry-level but that offer benefits, security, and a chance to be a contributing member of a workforce and a social culture within the workplace. In conclusion, I would like to restate that these mentally retarded people are not un-touchables and non-humans. They are humans just like us and thus they have feelings and emotions just as much as we do. The only major difference between them and us is that they learn things at their own pace and speed as compared to the rest of us. Besides that, they all are the same, and thus making such a minor difference the excuse to discriminate against them is very unethical to say the least. I believe that these disabled should be given fair chances to work in any workplace and to interact and work with others just like a normal person. I pray and with best of luck to such people. I had dedicated over half a decade of my life toward the improvement of such people, and I would encourage others also to join hands with me to promote this noble cause. Read More