Challenges Encountered by People with Intellectual Disability in Their Everyday Life - Essay Example

Running header: Intellectual disability Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: Challenges encountered by people with intellectual disability in their everyday life Introduction Generally, disability refers to impairment, restriction or activity limitation and may be physical or mental. Other types of disabilities include sensory disability, intellectual disability, and developmental disability. Intellectual disability which has previously been referred to as mental retardation involves a person having below average mental ability or intelligence and lack or absence of those skills necessary for daily living. Although people with intellectual disabilities can and do learn new skills, they do so more slowly as compared to the normal person. There are many forms of intellectual disabilities that range from mild to profound intellectual disability. In addition, intellectual disability may occur at any age and for various reasons. For instance, some people are born with various forms of intellectual disabilities while others result from accidents that affect the victim mentally. Regardless of the form of intellectual disability, people with intellectual disabilities face challenges on a daily basis that make life for them difficult. For instance, individuals with intellectual disabilities have historically been denied their fundamental human and civil rights with no one to rescue them. However, the twentieth century has seen a turning point with in creased legislation as well as increased advocacy for their rights and hence it can be expected that their lives will be better in future. As stated by European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2010), persons with disabilities are no longer considered unable to play active role in society. Nor are they viewed as in need of fixing to fit in. Instead, their capacity is recognized and emphasis is placed on society’s need to adapt to facilitate the full participation of these individuals. As such, the emergence of advocacy groups as well as governments playing more active roles in making their lives better has seen the challenges faced by people with intellectual disabilities greatly reduced. However, despite the great efforts towards increased awareness on their rights, people with intellectual disabilities continue to face e many obstacles that prevent them from living fully inclusive lives. This paper looks at the challenges faced by adults with intellectual disabilities in their daily living as well as how the challenges can be overcame. Social exclusion and hence lack of community participation Adults with intellectual disabilities face social exclusion on a daily basis which results from the widespread misconceptions and stereotypes about adults with disability by the society. The misconceptions include that they pose danger to the society, them being a burden or a threat. In fact, many people mistake them for being mentally retarded and hence it is common to hear the society argue that adults with intellectual disability are better of in institutions of their own kind. The society also holds the belief that these adults are unable to make any meaningful contribution to the society and view them as not being of equal value as normal people and members of the society. Thus, the society has very low expectations for adults with intellectual disabilities since they view them as being unable to learn and hence unable to do anything useful (The arc, 2013). As such, their input is always ignored even in making decisions that concern them. The society denies them the opportunity to explore their potential, experience life and achieve success as it is assumed that they have limited potential. According to Walker, (2000) adults with intellectual disabilities are tolerated by the society although tolerance does not imply genuine inclusion and acceptance. In the present world, the values that dominate the society include power, wealth, beauty and physical prowess, intelligence, self-control and autonomy. As such, adults with intellectual disabilities are devalued and marginalized. Majority of society members fear engaging and including adults with intellectual disabilities owing to lack of knowledge and hence they treat them as “the other” as opposed to involving them. Many adults with intellectual disabilities in the society are isolated and hence lonely. In most cases, the barriers that prevent them from fully participating in community are attitudinal and social and hence are at times difficult to overcome. Few people appreciate how the exclusion and profound isolation impacts on the self esteem of the adults with intellectual difficulties. In addition, many adults with intellectual disabilities have their self esteem negatively impacted by the society’s labeling them as either lacking or being different. When the society frames them as such, it becomes difficult to develop and maintain a strong self esteem as well as establish and maintain relationships defined by mutual support and equality. In addition, the ability for adults with intellectual disability to come together and share their living experiences is vital for developing advocacy and a strong sense of identity. This is known as peer support and plays an important role in building of resilience. However, these adults lack opportunities for enhancing peer support. Adults with intellectual disabilities are left struggling for meaningful community engagement (Baum, 2005). The societal taboos surrounding intimacy and relationship greatly hamper their ability to meaningfully connect and enjoy similar rights to those enjoyed by the rest of the society hence making them one of the most isolated groups in the society. As such, family education and societal education is vital in ensuring that adults with intellectual disability are enabled to develop meaningful relationships as well as the possibility of intimacy. More than half of the adults living with intellectual disabilities experience exclusion and negative social attitudes not just from the society but also from their family members and friends hence finding themselves as subjects of ignorance and fear and being regarded as objects of pity . They are viewed as recipients of services and hence a burden rather than equal members of the society. As one such person noted, “the biggest challenge facing people with intellectual disabilities is not the intellectual disability but coping with and confronting the negative attitudes, overcoming unwarranted stereotypes and challenging the limitations that the society places on them. They lack opportunity as opposed to ability. As such, there ought to be a strategy in place for breaking down the barriers and creating the opportunities adults with intellectual disabilities need to live the normal life they aspire to.” Furthermore, these people face frustrations due to the patronizing manner in which they are treated. The society treats them as though they are passive recipients of charity and seems to expect them to show considerable gratitude for whatever meager help they receive. As such, adults with intellectual disabilities experience a lot of difficulty in accessing the services the rest of the society take for granted (Brody, 2007). For instance, they face considerable barriers in accessing services for meeting basic health, social and recreational needs as well as education. Most adults with intellectual disability are confined into group homes. Although it may be argued that this is an improvement from the previous large institutional arrangement, this does in no doubt congregate and segregate them in a way that hinder communal inclusion. In addition, little choice is given to adults with intellectual disabilities regarding whom they live with and where they live while on the other hand the normal people have a choice on where, how and with whom to live with. It is a fact that very few or no adult with intellectual disability would live in the group homes had they any choice. However, this is necessitated by the fact that they do not have support through funded/paid support, even amplified by informal support networks or their families to enable them live in their own homes. Thus, the concept of these adults living in a community for people with intellectual disability implies much more than merely being physically present in the community setting which does not provide a guarantee for their integration and inclusion. However, it is worth noting that since support workers often work on their own, there is a significant risk for these individuals being abused and neglected. Having somewhere to live in is fundamental. However, having little or no choice on where to live has a philosophical impact on one’s mental health as well as the ability to participate in communal activities as well as employment. Unfortunately, this is the experience of most adults with intellectual disabilities. Being able and free to choose where and with whom one lives is a fundamental right/freedom. However, this is a right that few adults with intellectual disabilities are allowed to exercise. Although these individuals may desire to live independently in the society, the society fails to give them the support they need to do so (Web md.com, 2013). For instance, some individuals with intellectual disabilities admit that although they may want to move away from the group homes or family homes, they can not since they have no where to go to. In addition, very few adults with intellectual disabilities receive any form of government aided accommodation support. Lack of such support alternatives implies that such adults who live in unsuitable living arrangements have limited chances of moving out. Thus, most adults with intellectual disabilities find themselves living in severely compromised quality conditions. In most cases, this leads to continued segregation/exclusion, abuse and victimization. Overcoming this challenge The government has a great role to play in overcoming this challenge. There is need to establish a national disability policy that brings an end to segregated services and options for adults with intellectual disability since such ser vices only serve to reinforce and exacerbate prevailing beliefs and attitudes. There ought to be an integrated approach to services, programs and policies. In addition, the aims of disability specific programs and services should be broadened from function and independence to community participation and social inclusion. Education and awareness campaigns should also be intensified in a bid to address the invisibility of adults with intellectual disabilities in the society. This will go a long way into overcoming the social taboos, beliefs and attitudes of the society towards the adults with Intellectual disabilities. As far as housing is concerned, there is need for this group to have choice. Funds should be made available for increasing accommodation options for adults with intellectual disabilities in a bid to relieve the crisis in unmet needs. There is need for more creative thinking while models that are more responsive to their specific lifestyle and individual needs should be developed. There is need to develop lower cost, higher empowerment supported accommodation models for adults with intellectual disability. There is need to increase the availability of public housing stock for adults with intellectual disabilities. In addition, outcome based performance indicators as well as enforceable standards should be developed for all forms of accommodation as part of an accreditation process (Gerber, 2002). Ensuring that adults have a choice of where and with who to live will go a long way into eliminating social exclusion and hence making their lives less challenging. Discrimination and human rights violations Adults with intellectual disabilities experience discrimination in almost all aspects of their every day life. They are also subject to vast and aggregated forms of human rights abuse including their very basic survival related needs being neglected. Of greater concern is the fact that the violation of human rights does not only occur in underdeveloped world which may not have enlightened legislation and policies or the required resources necessary for enforcing their human rights. These violations also occur on a daily basis in all regions and nations in the world. Virtually, every adult with intellectual disability experience violation of human rights at some point of his/her life with majority experiencing it in their daily lives. For instance, it is not uncommon for adults with intellectual disabilities to die of starvation in specialist disability services in an enlightened and wealthy country, be unable to access life sustaining medical treatments, be raped or assaulted without detection of such crimes and their children being taken by children protection authorities while assuming that they are unable to undertake proper parenting. According to Australian Human Rights Commission, Adults with intellectual disabilities are discriminated in multiple areas including employment, health, education and housing. It is a known fact that meaningful employment is not only essential for a person’s economic security but also for physical and mental wellbeing and sense of identity. However, very few adults with intellectual disabilities are able to access meaningful employment. Most adults with intellectual disabilities experience open and active employer discrimination, misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding their needs. Although they w ant to work, they lack the opportunity. These individuals experience a lot of difficulties in obtaining and retaining employment mainly owing to employer attitudes. These include outright discrimination to misconceptions about the adjustments they require for them to perform. At times, otherwise qualified adults with intellectual disabilities are screened out and overlooked owing to their disability. This also includes use of tests in a generic rather than job specific manner (Gerber, 2004). Lack of employment and underemployment among adults with intellectual disabilities compared to the rest is rampant across the world. This causes such adults and their families to rely on governments’ assistance and in many times are trapped in poverty cycles of high costs and low incomes. Adults with intellectual difficulties also encounter frustrations owing to the poor quality of staff in the disability services sector. The sector is usually characterized by poorly trained and resourced staff who at times lack understanding and sensitivity to intellectual disability issues and hence offer poor quality or inadequate care. At time, the inadequate care results from negligence. In addition, the people employed in the disability services sector also encounter a lot of frustration that hinder them from offering adequate services to adults with intellectual disabilities. These frustrations range from poor pay, poor working conditions and lack of training that prevents the sector from attracting and retaining quality and qualified staff. This makes the sector understaffed which places additional pressure on the already overworked staff. This is particularly rampant in regional and remote areas of the country. As such, there is need for improvement in training for both educational and health sectors so as to ensure the needs of adults with intellectual disabilities are appropriately met. Overcoming the challenge There is need for ensuring greater protection of human rights for adults with intellectual disabilities including coming up with a comprehensive legislative and policy framework that ensures their rights are respected and protected. The human rights commissioner should also be empowered to investigate cases without necessarily requiring an individual complainant while advocacy groups should be enabled to bring cases on behalf of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Other measures for ensuring that the human rights for adults with intellectual disabilities are respected and protected include; i) Creation of a complaints authority specifically for adults with intellectual disabilities and related /similar groups, ii) Provision of free legal representation for adults with intellectual disabilities and similar groups where human rights have been violated, iii) Increment of both the number and funding of advocacy services groups for adults with intellectual disabilities in both urban and rural areas, iv) Provision of leadership training as well as capacity building for adults with intellectual disabilities. A secure income source and social benefits associated with employment is fundamental and hence the need for creation of more jobs targeting adults with intellectual disabilities so that they can be able to cater for their daily needs without necessarily relying on being helped. The government has a role of improving public service participation rates. In addition, organisations serving and supporting adults with intellectual disabilities ought to lead from the front by employing them and hence demonstrate commitment to change (Michaels, 2004). In addition, the negative employer attitudes ought to be addressed through education about intellectual disability and the need to avail resources to assist such people. In addition, the following should be done as far as their employment is concerned, i) Employment targets should be set for all levels of government ii) There should be tracking of students with intellectual disabilities after they complete studies in a bid to determine how they could be funded to translate their education into training and employment iii) Students with intellectual disabilities who graduate should be enabled to apply for equality based programs which target people with intellectual disabilities into graduate employment, There is need to recognize the value of care work in a bid to motivate care workers in this sector. There is need to recognize that care work is essential for a basic living standard as well as meaningful participation in society life for adults with intellectual disabilities. There is need for greater attention to workforce development in a bid to meet the needs of adults with intellectual disabilities. As such, reforms must be undertaken that should focus on creating and retaining skilled workforce which is able to provide high quality support for adults with intellectual disabilities. Such reforms should include increasing of pay rates, improving working conditions, improved training and education as well as development of clear education and career pathways. This way, the care workers will be encouraged and motivated and hence give services that make life for adults with intellectual disabilities less challenging. Personal challenges Adults with intellectual disabilities experience a number of challenges especially due to the fact that their disabilities involve learning disabilities. They often feel a sense of shame and at times a diagnosis only serves to stigmatize them. Unfortunately, the feelings of shame in most cases cause them to hide their difficulties as opposed to risking being labeled stupid, lazy or mentally retarded. In fact, most of them deny their intellectual disabilities as a defense mechanism. This is especially so for adults dealing with difficulties in basic learning skills, attention difficulties or forgetfulness. As such, they are constantly in fear which is mostly manifested by anxiety and anger. They live in fear of being found out by others and hence develop own coping mechanisms of hiding the disability. Unfortunately, some of the coping mechanisms can be detrimental to the person concerned. For instance, some may decide to quit their jobs instead of risking being humiliated or being sacked owing to their intellectual disabilities making it difficult for them to cope with the work demands. A national adult literacy survey conducted in 1992 found that 60% of adults with intellectual disabilities lacked the basic skills necessary for experiencing job and academic success (Michaels, 2004). This implies that such individuals will live in fear of failure on a daily basis. They tend to personalize failure and see no reason for not failing now if they failed in school. For a normal person, the fear of failure will serve as a motivation to work hard and hence succeed. However, for the individuals with intellectual disabilities, the anxiety is always paralyzing and hence this often prevents them from undertaking challenging opportunities. The society has also subjected adults with intellectual disabilities to fear of rejection for being labeled as capable as others. This is especially so for those in families where academic achievements or success is highly regarded. They also fear that their social skills deficit might prevent them from establishing meaningful relationships with others leading to social rejection. Adults with intellectual disabilities also experience difficulties in regulation of their emotions. As such, the individuals may often shift from one emotion to the other while others have difficulties in regulation of impulsive actions and thoughts. Although most adults with intellectual disabilities learn how to handle their emotional sensitivity with time and avoid engagement in negative social interactions or becoming overwhelmed, some of them often become depressed and anxious. for instance, lack of job, school and social success in most cases add to their emotional burden. In additional, emotional wounds from their childhood usually cause their heightened emotional responses to rejection. This often results to social phobia and social anxiety. To overcome this challenge, adults with intellectual disabilities should be helped to understand their situation and hence accept it. This should be done through counseling and encouraging them to do better even when they have not done as expected. The society has even a greater role to play in helping adults with intellectual disabilities overcome the above personal challenges. The society should be taught to change their attitude towards this group. To view them just as normal person who ought to be respected and appreciated. Advocacy groups should also educate the masses in a bid to overcome the taboos and beliefs associated with being intellectually disabled and hence promote their acceptance. Discrimination and isolation of all forms should also be fought against. This will in the long run help in fighting the personal challenges identified above and promote their inclusion into the society. This will go a long way into making their lives less challenging. Conclusion As observed above, the society is largely to blame for most of the challenges that confront adults with intellectual disabilities in their every day life. This is because of the taboos and attitudes they hold against these people. As such, adults with intellectual disabilities are isolated and regarded as lesser beings. They are discriminated to the extent that they are never involved even in making decisions that concern them. This is the sole reason why most of the adults with intellectual disabilities reject themselves for fear of being considered inferior, being discriminated and even being isolated. But as Stratford (1991) put it, each and every human life is equally sacred; each one of us is of infinite worth. To regard the life of a human with mental or physical handicap as being less valuable than the life of a normal human being is to violate this fundamental notion of equality. A s such, there is need for increased inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities into communal affairs. The society should also be educated against discriminating them on the basis of their disability. The government should also play a more active role in ensuring that resources are available for making their lives less challenging. This way, adults with intellectual disabilities will live less challenging lives as they will be more integrated into the society. References; Stratford, B. (1991). Human rights and equal opportunities for people with mental handicap- with particular reference to Down syndrome. International Journal of Disability, Development and equal education, 38, 3-13. The arc, Policy issues affecting people with disabilities. Retrieved on 19th August 2013, from; http://www.thearc.org/what-we-do/public-policy/policy-issues Baum, S (2005). Learning disabled adults with superior cognitive abilities, London, Rutledge European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, (2010). The fundamental rights of persons with intellectual disabilities and persons with mental health problems. Retrieved on 19th August 2013, from; http://www.fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/Factsheet-disability-nov2010.pdf Brody, J. (2007). Adults with Learning Disabilities: A review of the issues. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 70(3), 382-296 Web md.com (2013), Intellectual disability. Retrieved on 19th August 2013, from; http://children.webmd.com/intellectual-disability-mental-retardation?page=3 Gerber, B. (2002). Identifying alterable patterns in employment success for highly successful adults with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 61 (8) 475-487. Gerber, B. (2004). Learning Disabilities in Adulthood: Persisting Problems and Evolving Issues: Stoneham, Butterworth-Heinemann. Michaels, A. (2004). Transition strategies for persons with learning disabilities. San Diego, CA.  Walker, K. (2000). Self Regulation and Sensory Processing for Learning, Attention and Attachment. Occupational Therapy Department, University of Florida. 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