When I worked at the Center for Independent Living, we did a lot of community outreach to educate the public that people with disabilities are just like everyone else. We are raised in the same culture and we want the same things everyone else does.
At one point, we met a successful businessperson who asserted that if workers with disabilities were going to be hired in his company; they had to perform better than his other workers. We were astonished.
It is a lot of years later after that encounter, but something happened a couple of weeks ago that had me thinking about the possibility people with disabilities may not be allowed to have human characteristics (foibles). In a meeting, there was a discussion about a person who had some fears, and the services that could be used to address the fears. A colleague said he had fears too, and I shared my lament that disabled people are sometimes held to a higher standard.
Before I continue, I want to clarify that I am not downplaying the fact that certain fears lead to avoidant behaviors causing true dysfunction and an unhappy life. There are many strategies that can be employed to address harming behaviors.
However, in the world we live in today, I think it is perfectly natural to have some fears. There could be violence in the street, cars that hit pedestrians, dogs that bite, cyclists who hit walkers on the pavement. You name it. Fears are a warning system to be cautious.
The larger issue is sometimes the service system wants to solve every perceived problem an individual has, and goals are written and tracked. Support people are not usually peers who have a similar experience, they’re professionals. Regular people usually don’t set written goals, and they don’t face the same level of accountability when they cannot achieve a goal. An unmet goal can be a barrier to something the individual really wants.
In an earlier blog, Perplexed, I said that when individuals are moved to less restrictive settings, they usually experience new ways of living that diminish behaviors that don’t serve the person well. Seasoned direct support professionals promote communication and adopting new routines to replace old behaviors. Life Improves.
Just let us be normal, like you. If I eat junk food, it should be a prerogative of being human. Not a habit that has to be broken.